Eagle Editions Ltd  

The 86th Fighter Group in WWII  

Have Guns (and Bombs) Will Travel  

written by Steve W. Luce  
with illustrations by Terry Higgins

Reviewed by Rodger Kelly

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I always look forward to any new publication from by Eagle Editions.  They are meticulously researched, well illustrated with hitherto unseen period photographs and well presented.

The latest addition to their catalogue, the 86^th Fighter Group in WWII, has not blunted my high expectations of Eagle Editions either.  It is far more than just a picture book, it tells the whole story of the 86^th Fighter Group from its formation on 10 February 1942 as a unit of the 3^rd Air Force at Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma through its various changes in designation from Bombardment Group (Light), Bombardment Group (Dive), Fighter-Bomber Group with the Twelfth Air Force, until it was finally de-activated as a Fighter Group in Germany on March 31, 1946.

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The chapters of the book take you along with the Group and its three squadrons, the 529^th, 526^th and the 527^th all the way from its initial training in Meridian, Mississippi through its initial deployment to North Africa in 1943, to Italy and Corsica in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations and thence to France and Germany in Europe in the early months of 1945 where they operated until the end of the war.

The book was written by Steve Luce, the son of one of the Group’s pilots and the text conveys more than just facts and figures, it tells the stories of the Group’s members as well as the machines they flew and maintained through personal accounts of combat and daily life. 

The book’s chapters are as follows:

• Chapter One :  Zone of the Interior

Meridian, Mississippi/Key Field

• Chapter Two:  North African Interlude

Casablanca, Morocco/Cazes Field

Oran, Algeria/La Senia Field

Tafaraoui, Algera/Tafaraoui Field

• Chapter Three:  North Africa and Sicily

(Corba (Cape Bon), Tunisia/North Korba Field

Gela, Sicily/West Gela Landing Ground

Messina, Sicily/Barcellona Landing Ground

• Chapter:  Four Italy and Corsica (again)

Salerno Beachead/Sele Landing Strip

Battipaglia, Italy/Seretelle Landing Ground

Naples, Italy/Pomigliano D’Arco Airfield

Caserte, Italy/Marcianese Landing Ground

Rome, Italy/Ciampino Airfield

Albinia, Italy/Orbetello Landing Ground

Casamozza-Bastia, Corsic/Portella Landing Ground

Grosseto, Italy/Pisa Airfield

• Chapter Five:  France and Germany

Tantonville, France/Tantonville Airfield/Y-1

Gross Gerau, Germany/Braunshardt Airfield/Y-72

Gun Camera Stills

• Chapter Six:  V-E Day and Beyond

Colour photos and Aircraft profiles

• Chapter Seven:  Colours and Markings

86^th F.B.G. Victory Credits

Stallions of Camargue

A real strength of the book is the illustrations.  There are 250 black and white ones, five colour ones with 14 colour profiles and a further seven nose art scrap views, the latter artworks are all expertly rendered by artist Terry Higgins.  The black and white illustrations are really something.  The majority of them appear to have come from the scrapbooks of ex-Group members and as such are very rare.  I especially welcomed the photographs and artwork of the A-36 as reference on these machines in an operational setting is rare indeed – hopefully, one of the decal manufacturers will pick up on this and produce decals for the Accurate Miniatures A-36 kit.

The book is hard back, measures 8.5" x 11" in size, and comprises 144 pages printed on good quality glossy paper.

The book will appeal to a broad spectrum of enthusiasts.  The armchair historian will welcome the easy reading style and the modeller will enjoy the wealth of detail photographs as well as the chapter dealing with the colours and markings of the Group’s aircraft.  Both will be very pleased with the price of just USD$34.95 which is very, very reasonable considering what you are getting.

Highly Recommended.

Thanks to Eagle Editions for the review sample