Kagero | Martin B-26 Marauder & Douglas A-26 Invader In Combat over Europe
Reviewed by Kevin Williams
Publisher: Kagero
Author: Tomasz Szlagor
Publishing date: 2012
ISBN: 978-83-62878-35-2
For me, the SMI Library series books from Kagero, represent great value for money, featuring great archive imagery from WWII regarding the chosen subject, many of which I’ve never seen before. Also included in every book, are great decals, printed by Cartograf of Italy, further enhancing the value of this series, as well as several marvelous illustrations of chosen and representative subjects, along with a choice few color photos.
This particular book (No. 04 in the series), depicts the iconic & heavily implemented US medium bomber, the Martin B-26 Marauder, and it’s chock full of representative material; live in air shots, as well as many photos on the ground (sometimes wrecked all to heck), Rounding out this volume, is a rather nice collection of profile color illustrations. The Marauders took a terrible beating at the hands of German fighters and flak, and this volumes illustrates that fact with some very sad photos, but the Marauders also gave as good as the received, and their contribution to the overall strategic bombing campaign cannot be underestimated. This particular volume also covers the companion Douglas A-26 Invader, but to a much lesser extent.
Typical Photo Quality to be Found Throughout
The Lovely Decal Sheet (Cartograf of Italy)
To me, the high point of these volumes (and this one is no exception), is a tossup between the great photographs (a few in WWII color), and the splendid decal sheets, the latter being selections of specific airframes depicted within the book itself.
For me to loudly proclaim that these books are a desirable addition to the aviation library, is nothing more than an honest appraisal of what I feel is the great value these books bring to the table.
Though no 1:32 kit currently exists of the Marauder, I’m confident that we will see one one day, and when that occurs, this book will prove to be a valuable reference.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d rate this book as a 10, no question about it. There are currently two more volumes in the series that I don’t yet have (P-40 Warhawk and F6F Hellcat), but I’ll be adding them to my personal library as soon as I’m able, I enjoy them that much.
© Kevin Williams 2014
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This review was published on Friday, April 25 2014; Last modified on Wednesday, June 24 2015