Ki-43 ‘Oscar’ Aces of World War 2 Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 85 Written by Hiroshi Ichimura Illustrated by Jim Laurier Osprey Publishing 2009, 96 pages ISBN: 978-1-84603-408-4 Ki-43 'Oscar' Aces of World War 2 at Osprey... Ever since reading Hurricanes Over Singapore, I’ve been fascinated by the Japanese Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa (Peregrine Falcon) code named Oscar by the Allies. This fighter was the Imperial Japanese Army equivalent to the famed Zero of the Navy, and it took the Japanese approach to air combat to the extreme. The Oscar was modern fighter designed to replace the Ki-27, its fixed undercarriage predecessor. Since the specifications required that it be just as manoeuvrable, the result was an extremely light fighter armed with just one heavy and one light machine-gun. This machine fought throughout the war in every theatre that the Imperial Japanese Army fought from 1941 until 1945. It fought in China, South East Asia, India, the South West Pacific, and the Philippines. Although initially facing Buffaloes, Hurricanes and Mohawks, they eventually found themselves pitted against Spitfires, P-40 Warhawks, P-38 Lightnings, P-51 Mustangs, and F6F Hellcats.

The book covers the initial troubles with the aircraft, its service in Burma, China, New guinea, and the Phillipines, and has a list of aces who scored on this type. The main sections go through each battle noting major events and pretty much every kill made on the type and the events leading to the loss of aircraft. The accounts are short and to the point, but give all the pertinent information about the units and pilots involved, where the fight took place, what happened, and where available, the enemy’s version of events. It can be a bit dry if you try to read through the whole book like a novel, but as a reference or a book to just open and read at random, it’s excellent. It is well illustrated with black and white photos of the pilots and their aircraft along with 32 colour profiles and 1:48 scale plans. If you are interested in the Imperial Japanese Army’s aircraft, or just like reading about air combat, this is a really interesting book. I found it particularly fascinating to read the Japanese viewpoint and how the pilots coped in combat with a fighter that was quickly outclassed by the opposition Phil