Military Model Scene

Title: Spitfire Photo-Recce Units of World War 2
Author: Andrew Fletcher
Publisher: Osprey
ISBN: 978-1-4728-5461-2

Number 150 in the Combat Aircraft series from Osprey. A 96-page soft-cover book in the ever growing series.
Possibly the most famous fighter aircraft in WW2, the Spitfire also made a significant contribution as an effective photo-reconnaissance platform throughout the war. Starting with very small numbers at the very start of the war, the aircraft were made lighter by stripping out armour, the armoured windscreen, and armament. It was in search for speed. It details a multitude of detail changes in detail changes, such as extra fuel tanks, even in the wings, to extend their range, and extra oil, resulting in the larger bulge beneath the engine, blisters on the side of the canopy to improve the view for pilots and of course, the development of cameras and lenses. This is all mixed in with the story of the various units, from very small at the outbreak of war, growing to full squadrons which operated around the world.
Some of the numbers quoted I found surprising, such as the number of missions flown to photograph the German warships Gneisenau, Scharnhorst and Prinz Eugen while in port at Brest from 1941 to 1942, when they made the Channel Dash. Missions being flown 6 or 7 times each day they were there, subject to weather conditions. In addition to high level photos there were also some famous low level obliques. Add the detail which modellers will enjoy, with colour schemes, and 11 pages of excellent colour profiles, plus individual commentary in the appendix at the back of the book. An interesting read on the subject of these very special Spitfire variants.
Thanks to Osprey for our review copy.

Robin.