Bill Kluge
Reviews By Author
The Naval Siege of Japan: War Plan Orange TriumphantPublished: March 21, 2020 In the final months of the Pacific War, the U.S. Navy unleashed its full fury on the Home Islands of Japan. Beginning with airstrikes to cover the amphibious landings on Iwo Jima in February, 1945 until the day of the Japanese surrender on August 15, aircraft and naval vessels of the American navy (soon joined by the British Pacific Fleet) ranged up and down the length of the Japanese Islands… more |
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Bobcat IL-28TPublished: February 17, 2020 The long awaited IL-28T torpedo bomber is the first release of what will probably be a series of IL-28 versions from Bobcat Hobby Model Kits (formerly Xuntong Model). The parts are molded in a grey, slightly soft/slightly brittle plastic (more on the drawbacks of this later). Each of the half dozen sprue trees is individually wrapped in a resealable plastic bag. The kit has been well designed… more |
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German Fighter Aircraft in World War I : Design, Construction, and InnovationPublished: January 14, 2020 Nowadays, when we think of cutting-edge aviation technology, things like stealth materials, satellite guidance and pilotless flying come to mind. But what was the cutting edge one hundred years ago, at the dawn of aviation? How about hinged ailerons, or steel tubing, or cantilevered wings? For better or worse, warfare spurs innovation, and by the time of the Great War, the needs of the… more |
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USS Tennessee (BB-43) From Pearl Harbor to Okinawa in World War IIPublished: November 18, 2019 Launched on the last day in April, 1919, and commissioned just over three years later, on June 3, 1920, this sixth vessel to carry the name Tennessee was the name ship of her class (which included her sister, USS California) and the last US battleship to carry 14” guns. In this Naval edition of his extensive “Legends of Warfare” series, author David Doyle provides another extensively… more |
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US Navy Battleships 1886 - 98Published: August 3, 2019 In the 1860s the US Navy led the world with the innovative, turreted ironclad USS Monitor - a vessel that gave rise to a series of warships whose name defined the class. However, within ten years of the end of the Civil War, the US Navy had become a mere ghost of its former size and power. Ships were decommissioned, sailors released from service, and the Secretary of the Navy was returning… more |
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Bristol Blenheim Mk.1FPublished: January 25, 2021 The Airfix 1/48th scale Blenheim is another in a growing line of new kits from Airfix that reflect a high level of detail and sophistication that are proving highly popular with modelers. Molded in slightly soft, light grey plastic, this first Blenheim out of the gate represents the Mk.1F night fighter adaptation of the standard medium RAF bomber. A separate tree of parts is provided to… more |
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French Battleships 1914 - 45Published: March 6, 2019 Despite having produced the world’s first ocean-going ironclad warship in 1859, the Glorie, the French Navy (Marine Nationale Francaise) entered the twentieth century unsure of its direction and at the mercy of confusing political demands. It was left with a hodgepodge of capital ships at the end of the nineteenth century few in number and facing obsolescence. It took the… more |
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Imjin River 1951Published: December 6, 2018 In November, 1950, “volunteer” forces of the Chinese Army crossed the Yalu River and swept the advancing UN forces out of North Korea and back below the 38th Parallel. By the following February, Allied forces had halted the Chinese and stabilized the front, pushing them back into North Korea with limited counterattacks. By April, with an infusion of fresh divisions, the Chinese were once again… more |
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Royal Netherlands East Indies Army 1936-42Published: November 3, 2018 The long held Dutch colony of the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) encompassed a huge swath of maritime territory across the southwest Pacific ocean, from the eastern end of the island of Sumatra to the western half of New Guinea, including the major islands of Java, Timor, most of southern Borneo, the octopus-like Celebes, and hundreds of smaller islands in between. For most of its history, the… more |
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World War II US Marine Infantry RegimentsPublished: August 20, 2018 Prior to the First World War, U.S. Marine units were generally small and specialized, primarily naval base guard units or ship based detachments. In the decade leading up to The Great War, these smaller units were combined as needed to form provisional regimental sized units for specific missions, and disbanded when those missions were completed. Fourteen Marine regiments were raised during… more |