New Books: De Operaties van 320 Squadron

[Ruy Horta]

After finishing both volumes I can say that they were worth the purchasing price.

Although both are good, the Operational Record deserves most of the praise and attention. The Aircraft book is very much a companion volume that you could do without without losing much of the overall picture.

With some minor mistakes the Operational Record is a worthy addition to any dutch collection. Well written, although sometimes a little archaic in style, packed with photographs and statistics. Even if you don't read dutch this might still be an interesting pictorial history.

No. 320 was based on escapees from the MLD, served with Coastal Command flying Hudson, before joining Bomber Command and later 2nd TAF flying Mitchells. It had a varied career, and later became a veritable multinational force, although always keeping its Naval heritage.

Minor note of criticism. Although Geldhof mentions the sad fact that 320 Sqd. was finally disbanded in 2005, he doesn't cover the post war period at all. The author could have covered the post war history with a page or two, which would have placed its final disbandment in the proper historical context.

Of course, this is a very minor issue that doesn't detract from the work he did provide us: an excellent unit history on an (very) interesting squadron (especially for the Dutch).

Recommended.