Following his stand-alone history of the Sixth Air Force and Antilles Air Command in 1995, the author has now completed the study of WWII U.S. Army Air Forces colors and markings history with Volume 1 of this multi-volume series, dedicated to the single-engine fighters that saw wartime service in the far reaches of the Latin American tropics.

After the conclusion of the East African Campaign, the participating SAAF fighter squadrons moved north to Egypt and Palestine for the Desert War, where they were joined by new and reformed squadrons. The squadrons eventually operated Hurricanes, Spitfire Mk. Vs, Tomahawks and Kittyhawks in this successfully completed campaign.

In the early stages of World War Two, the Italian Forces in Abyssinia, East Africa, consisting of 200,000 troops and nearly 400 aircraft constituted a grave threat to Kenya and the Sudan. To meet this threat three South African Air Force (SAAF) fighter squadrons were deployed to East Africa to counter the attacking Italian Air Force.