The BMD is an air-droppable infantry combat vehicle built originally for the Soviet Airborne Forces. It was one of the first vehicles into Afghanistan in 1979 and like BMP soon proved to be inadequate to the task. Like the BMP, the BMD was upgraded as a result of the war experience, being fitted with a 30mm 2A42 automatic cannon and 7.62mm PKT machine gun and the AT-5 Spandrel anti-tank missile system. These upgraded vehicles were built and they served in Afghanistan and in Kosovo with SFOR. The vehicles still serve in the airborne forces of Russia and Ukraine. According the Cookie Sewell 2500 were built and the majority of the BMD-2 and the older BMD-1s were placed in storage in depots around Russia and the Ukraine. Fast forward to 2014 and crisis erupted in the Donets Basin (DONBAS) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donbass)

My fascination with the A-4 Skyhawk dates back to 1979 when I attended my first air show at Lemoore Naval Air Station in the California’s central valley. As a freshman at Fresno State I was enamored with the Air National Guard F-106 Delta Darts, then flying out of the Fresno Air Terminal. I wanted to get a closer peek of the aircraft at the upcoming air show. After the long drive to and onto the base we were parked on, the northwest end of the base next to ramps was full of hundreds of A-4 Skyhawks and A-7 Corsairs. It was explained to us that these aircraft, although still front-line attack aircraft were waiting disposition, as they were in line to be replaced by the soon arriving F/A-18A. Most still had their colorful markings that were applied during the Vietnam War. I sure wish I had taken more photos as we walked down the ramps parallel to these historic aircraft.

Many modelers have a general knowledge of the Royal Navy’s air attack on the Italian base at Taranto and its outcome but are sketchy on the finer points. So, you have bought one of the new, marvelously detailed kits of the Fairey Swordfish “String bag” and all the aftermarket goodies for it, but the last particulars are not clear in your head. This full-of-specifics history will tell you not only the scope and swoop of the Mediterranean naval campaign of the early WWII years, but exactly who flew which aircraft, its unit and letter/number designator and the weapons load. Did you know that the planes flew off with only two crewmen each rather than the usual three? And why? This book will tell you. But, I get ahead of myself.