Reference, The Factory, Jungle Armour, British and Indian Army Shermans in the Far East

THE FACTORY PUBLISHING

Jungle Armour, British and Indian Army Shermans in the Far East; Colours and Markings series. By Dennis Oliver. Soft covers, 32 pages, 8.25 x 11.75-inches. Contains 49 B&W photos, eight pages of color art, two organization charts, one table and bibliography. ISBN 978-0-9804631-2-5.

Continuing to produce titles that are devoted to lesser-known (or poorly-represented) units or combat theaters, The Factory has just released an extremely interesting title describing the use of armor (er, armoUr) by the so-called Forgotten Army. Specifically, the Sherman tank comes in for close scrutiny, along with the British and Indian Army units that used them and their colors and markings, as part of the 14th Army in Burma. To say that this title is welcome by this reviewer is an understatement.

The text begins with an introduction, which sets the tone for all that is to follow. Following that, a concise description is given of the Indian Army of the era. Then, the various types of Sherman tanks used in theater are gone over in some detail. The emphases then shifts to modifications of import to operations in this particular theater of war. This section alone should be enough to get a modelers creative urges going! Next up are descriptions of camouflage colors and vehicle markings, with both broken down further to provide complete coverage. Finally, the specific British and Indian armored units are given their due, with detailed information on their equipment and deployment. This is all complimented by several rather extensive appendices which cover such subjects as Indian Army ranks, markings and colors.

Several tables and charts back up the text; these are extensively annotated and are literally dense with information. These include one organogram detailing a typical Indian Armoured Regiment and another detailing the AFVs used by several of the 14th Armys assigned armored units. The table lists WD census numbers and the vehicles that wore them as well as the units they were assigned to, where known. An extensive, annotated bibliography finishes off the text.

The photographs are simply outstanding, with many (actually, almost ALL) new to this reviewer. They are well-reproduced and informatively captioned, with the emphases on markings and unusual fittings. In fact one segment is devoted entirely to field mods made in-theater; these will also prove a boon to modelers looking for something different.

The final jewel in this crown are the eight pages of color plates by the author. They are of excellent quality and usually feature extensive commentaries. Another positive feature in this regard is that if the author is not absolutely sure of what he is depicting, he comes out and says so. How refreshing is that?! Between the profiles and scrap views, nearly two dozen Shermans (mostly Mk.Vs with a couple of Mk.III DDs thrown in for good measure) are depicted.

In the end, this book is just about a perfect a product as can be. It is focused, detailed, authoritative and just the right thing to have if building a Tasca Sherman V with Bison Decals markings.

Highly recommended.


The Factory books are available in North America from DragonUSA at: www.DragonUSAonline.com.


Reviewers note: Since May of 2005, I have been writing books for Concord Publications, a division of DML. The reader may wish to take this into consideration. For my part, I will attempt to maintain an objective viewpoint when writing these reviews.


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