AF Editions

Air Collection No. 1: Japanese Military Aircraft: Fighters of the Imperial Japanese Army 1939-45

by  Eduardo Cea

Reviewed By  Dennis Tennant, IPMS# 41582

MSRP: $28.95 ISBN: 977-84-96016-87-3 119 pages, all in color AF Editions books are available from Casemate Publishers (www.casematepublishing.com) There's a new book out there for modelers like me who have gone through life blissfully ignorant of the various Imperial Japanese Army units, markings and color schemes. This book helps makes sense of the somewhat confusing naming conventions of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force and offers clear descriptions of the various tail, fuselage and other unique markings to boot. Before this book came along, I didn't know a chutai from a sentai, had no clue about how Japanese WWII army planes were marked, what squadrons were based where or even the "official" color of their hinomarus. This book explains all these topics and more through the use of tightly written descriptions and excellent color illustrations printed on high quality paper.

In the first six pages, the author dives into an explanation of how the various air groups (sentai) and squadrons (chutai) were organized throughout the war, the seven main types of aircraft flown by the Imperial Japanese Army, how the Japanese classified and numbered the different versions of their aircraft, the proper placement of combat and mother country bands and the coloring of the hinomaru that were prominent on every Japanese aircraft (you'll find that there was no single "right" color for the red used in their "meatball"). The rest of the book is divided into sections describing fifty operational sentai in numerical order. For each, a short history of the sentai, the number of chutai per group, the types of fighters flown and the group's operational area throughout the war is provided. Color profiles show the general color schemes used along with the distinctive tail, fuselage and nose markings employed by the various chutai. While the book was obviously well researched, I was surprised at the lack of any wartime photographs. Though I'm sure that the book's color illustrations are better at showing colors and markings of these fighters, I would have appreciated just a few photos of Japanese fighters "in the wild." The only other quibble I had was that the book's translation of Cea's Spanish to English was a bit hard to follow in some places - forcing me to read and re-read a few sections before they made any sense. Despite these two admittedly minor points, Cea's book is a must-have for anyone interested in modeling Imperial Japanese Army aircraft during WWII. It's loaded with interesting information that I'm sure any WWII aviation fan will be interested in reading. Thanks to AF Editions for providing the IPMS with a review copy of this fine book. Editor's Note: A separate review all 3 volumes of this collection is posted on this website.

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