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Pearl Harbor to Coral Sea Book by AIRfile The surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, on the island of O’ahu, Hawaii, by Japanese naval aircraft on the morning of December 7 1941 brought the United States into the war which, until then mainly involved the forces of Britain against Germany and Italy. Immediately following this attack, Japanese forces attacked Thailand, Malaya, the Philippines, Guam, Wake Island and Midway. These attacks brought Britain and the United States to declare war on Japan and became known as the Pacific War. Over the following weeks Japan extended its operations, invading Singapore, Sumatra, Hong Kong, Burma and New Guinea. They also mount attacks on Port Moresby which was only approximately 500 miles (800 Km) north of Australia. The Book This book describes the events of the first six months of the Pacific War; the Far Eastern element of World War Two, and the initial chapter covers the lead-up to and including the attack on Pearl Harbor. When the Pacific War is mentioned, the general theme points to the United States versus Japan, however many countries were involved in the fighting in that area. Within these pages the reader will find the colour schemes and markings of the aircraft of all the main combatants that were involved in the first six months of the Pacific War; from the pre-emptive strike against Pearl Harbor at the beginning of December 1941 to the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942. There are explanatory texts, included with colour illustrations, describing the events; development of the colour schemes and markings of the aircraft of all main combatants that were involved in the first six months of the Pacific War from Dec 7 1941 to the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942. These include British; US; Japanese; French Indo-Chinese; Thai; Dutch; Chinese and Australian air forces. Neil Robinson has set the layout in order to present the aircraft details by theatre of conflict; with encompassing sections on: Pearl Harbor; French-Indo China; Hong Kong, Malaya and Singapore; the Battle for the Philippines; Guam and Wake Island; the Dutch East Indies and New Guinea; China, Burma and the American Volunteer Group (AVG); and Australia – the Darwin Raids. The book finishes with the aircraft involved in the 5 day Battle of the Coral Sea. There is also a colour profile of a civilian Douglas DC-3, of Hawaiian Airlines, which was strafed at Honolulu Airport during the Pearl Harbor attacks. An additional chapter is incorporated within the sections above and describes the aircraft of the Doolittle Raid. This section includes a narrative, describing the reasoning and build up of the raid, plus the fates of the aircrew and aircraft. Five of the sixteen US Army’s B.25 Mitchell twin-engined bombers are shown in profile depicting their colours and markings. Conclusion This is a very well presented book and is designed with the modeller in mind. The subject aircraft, which are nicely illustrated by Peter Scott, are laid out in full colour profile, plus some have full 4-drawing profile and plan, and each incorporates a short history of the unit and squadron. There is also a breakdown of the colour scheme and markings included, many of them illustrated here for the first time. There are approximately 240 colour illustrations, consisting 77 Japanese; 75 United States; 43 British (inc Australian); 10 AVG; plus various Thai; French Indo-Chinese; Philippine aircraft and also one civilian airliner. The reference information, within the chapters and alongside the many illustrations, appears to be well researched and includes details from dozens of reference books; magazines and from private sources. There are plenty of different types of aircraft depicted here and should be a real asset for the modeller of WW2 aircraft, especially those of the Far Eastern campaign. It is informative and colourful and I thoroughly recommend it to be held in the modeller's reference library. Review sample courtesy of Kindly mention Britmodeller.com to the supplier when making enquiries or orders .