Description
ABOUT THIS PRODUCT
The Dutch D.XXIs saw less than a week of action following the German
invasion of the west on 10 May 1940, with many of the country's 28 fighters
being destroyed on the ground. However, those that survived the initial
onslaught inflicted losses on the Luftwaffe. By then, however, the D.XXI had
found everlasting fame in Finland during the Winter War of 1939-40. Proving
itself a real thorn in the side of the Soviets, the fighter, operating in
primitive conditions and against vastly superior numbers, Finnish D.XXIs
racked up an incredible score against the Red Air Force. The D.XXI also has
the distinction of producing the first ace in a single mission' in World
War 2, when then 1Lt Jorma Sarvanto shot down six Ilyushin DB-3 bombers on 6
January 1940. After spending a year providing home defence and flying
coastal patrols during the early stages of the Continuation War in 1941, all
surviving Finnish Fokker D.XXIs were relegated to the reconnaissance role,
which they performed through to the end of hostilities in September 1944.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Kari Stenman is the world's leading authority on the Finnish Air Force
during World War 2, and has written or co-authored many books on the units
and aircraft of this most interesting service. Peter de Jong is a
professional editor and translator, and has collaborated on numerous modern
history and aviation history books, as well as having written numerous
magazine articles since 1995. His comprehensive work on the most
historically significant Fokker aircraft of World War 2, the D.XXI, was
published in French in 2005, and is soon to be followed by a revised volume
in his native Dutch.Chris Davey has illustrated more than 30 titles for
Osprey's Aircraft of the Aces, Combat Aircraft and Elite Units series since
1994. Based in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, and one of the last traditional
airbrush artists in the business, he has become the artist of choice for
both World War 2 fighter types.
CONTENTS
Origins
Into service
Winter War
War in the West
Obsolescence
Appendices
