These little single books by MMP Books are quite interesting. They focus on a single subject that is covered very well. The only text is the captions which are written in English. They do an adequate job.

These books are designed with the modeler in mind. As such they have scale drawings in 1/72^nd and 1/48^th scale. I couldn’t find fault with these. They look very accurate to me. After the drawings there are some historical photos and pictures from the parts manual of the aircraft. Intertwined with those photos are plenty of detail photos that should satisfy most modelers. The detail photos are of the F-4 in the Canadian Museum. There are four color pages and one aircraft of Hermann Graf is presented in a three view profile.

Overall these books are very concise and to the point. They are perfect for a modeler who is on a budget but needs the information. At a little over $11.00 they are a bargain.

David Doyle's book on the B-29/B-50 Superfortress is one of the latest entries in the 'Legends of Warfare' series with entries in Ground, Naval, and Aviation. The is Volume 2 that follows David Doyle’s earlier work, B-29 Superfortress, Vol. 1: Boeing XB-29 through B-29B in World War II, that was released on April 20, 2020. The Legends of Warfare series has expanded rapidly since its 2017 debut in the market with now over 50 titles released. This hard cover series covers a wide variety of monographs at a good price point.

Aircraft and History

The O-2A Skymaster, known as “Oscar Deuce” is a small twin engine aircraft used primarily as a Forward air controller (FAC) and psychological operations (PSYOPS). The USAF starting using the O-2 in 1967 in the Vietnam War as a replacement for the O-1 Bird Dog. With just a few years service, the O-2 was intended to be replaced by the OV-10 Bronco but the O-2 remained in service, primarily for night operations.

The USAF requested Cessna to make a military version of its 337 Super Skymaster with “hardpoints” under the wings, additional windows for observers and new cabin arrangement. A unique feature of the Skymaster is the engine arrangement. Unlike traditional twin-engine aircraft with engines on each wing, the Skymaster has one in the nose and another on the rear fuselage. This arrangement allows centerline thrust so if one engine loses power, aircraft control (in yaw) is minimal if any at all which is a significant safety advantage.