Hub Plott
Reviews By Author
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Sub Hunters: Australian Sunderland Squadrons in The Defeat of Hitler’s U-Boat Menace 1942-43Published:
This book covers Australian Sunderland operations against the U-boats in Europe in 1942 to 1943. The book is divided into 10 chapters along with an introduction and three appendices, telling the stories of Nos. 10 and 461 Squadrons and their exemplary service in the RAF’s Coastal Command. Serving from UK territorial waters to the Bay of Biscay these Sunderland crews faced the many hazards of weather, long patrols over sea, German fighters, and flack. These two squadrons were responsible for sinking 11 German U-boats and one Italian submarine. Of the 54 aircraft used by these squadrons, 23 were lost. 12 were shot down by enemy aircraft, 6 crashed on takeoff or landing, 1 disappeared after an SOS and another was lost at sea, after engine failure, 1 was shot down by a U-Boat, 1… more |
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Foreign Planes in the Service of the LuftwaffePublished:
This book covers the many captured foreign aircraft that were put into service and tested by the Luftwaffe. The book has twelve chapters. Chapter one has many pictures of aircraft taken from Czechoslovakia and absorbed from Austria. Many Fiat, Avia, Letov are featured in the accompanying photos. . Chapter two has great photo coverage of planes from Poland, Norway, the Netherlands. Many of these were put into Luftwaffe service especially in the training role. Chapter three covers the aircraft taken with the fall of France. These included all types of home manufactured aircraft such as Bloch, Dewoitine, LeO and Morane as well as American made aircraft used by the French such as Hawk 75 (P-36) and North American models 57 and 64 trainers. Also included are the… more |
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Pacific Profiles Vol.1 Japanese Army Fighters New Guinea & the Solomons 1942-1944Published:
The author spent his early years in the 1960s in New Guinea becoming fascinated with the many WWII aircraft wreck in the area. The book documents as accurately as possible the colors and markings of the various units in and around the Solomons and New Guinea in 1942-44. The book is broken down into 16 chapters along with an introduction, postscript, sources and acknowledgements, and index of names. Each Sentai covered has its own chapter. Those discussed are the 1st Hiko Sentai, 11th Hiko Sentai, 13th Sentai, 24th Hiko Sentai, 33rd Hiko Sentai, 59th Hiko Sentai, 63rd Hiko Sentai, 68th Hiko Sentai, 77th Hiko Sentai, 78th Hiko Sentai and the 248th Hiko Sentai followed by… more |
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Day Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe 1939-1942Published:
This book is from the Men, Battles, and Weapons series. It has 10 chapters after a timeline and introduction. The book is profusely illustrated including a few rare color photos. Chapter one covers the Polish Campaign and the Phony war as well as early success by Galland and Pingle. Chapter two covers the war in the west. Chapter three by far the book’s largest at 21 pages covers the war over England in 1940. Chapter 4 is the lead up to Barbarossa. Chapter 5 covers the Barbarossa campaign and the 5046 claimed Luftwaffe victories between 6/22 and 9/30/1941. Chapter 6 covers the 1941 battles in Africa. Chapter 7 returns us to over the English Channel in 1941 with the last 3 chapters covering the Eastern front, over the West and the Mediterranean respectively. The book concludes… more |
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T-33A/RT-33A Shooting StarPublished:
This book is from the Italian Aviation Series and covers the T-33A/RT-33A mostly in Italian service. Like several other Italian aircraft book series this one too provides text and captions in both Italian and English. Chapter one is an introduction to the design, where chapter two covers its design and beginnings with the USAF. Chapter three by far the book’s largest at 45 pages covers the Shooting Star’s (better known in the USA as T-bird) service to the Italian AF. The first T-33 was received in July of 1952 and the type served the IAF until March of 1982 a career of almost 30 years of uninterrupted service. Chapter four covers the use of Canadian built CT-133 in a hail preventing operation. Chapter five is a modeler’s note section with building the 1/72 Heller kit of this… more |
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RAF Fighter Command: Defense of the Realm 1936-1945Published:
This book details RAF’s fighter command from just prior to the conclusion of WWII. Their job was to be the defensive shield for the home islands from all comers. This chapter explains how despite this mission the flying and training during this time did very little to prepare them for aerial combat much less the all-out struggle for survival during the early days of aerial combat in WWII! The book is broken down into 17 chapters, beginning with as it is titled “The greatest Flying club in the world” giving an overview of planes and issues used by and facing the RAF from WWI up through1945. Chapter 2 has the RAF playing catch up with the Nazis albeit with the sound and familiar designs of the Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire. One of the biggest advances and… more |
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Lockheed F-104 Starfighter A HistoryPublished:
The F-104, known as “the missile with a man in it” is a sterling example of US cold war aircraft design. Designed to intercept incoming Soviet bombers the F-104 had great speed at the expense of range and the addition of wingtip tanks came at the expense of armament. Frontline USAF service was not that lengthy, although they did serve in Vietnam. The F-104 did serve a long time with the National Guard. Foreign Service is where the F-104 was used in the greatest numbers and the longest time. License built in Europe and Japan there was a long history of service in these various air forces. Mr. Bowman’s book is broken down into 11 chapters, covering from development to the post military service Starfighters display team. The book is an easy, enjoyable read with many pilot’s… more |
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American Secret Projects 2: US Airlifters 1941 to 1961Published:
This book is the second in a series on American prototypes and secret projects, the first on cargo aircraft. It covers many different aircraft from WWII types to right up till the early cold war. The authors were granted an unprecedented level of access to the various manufacturers’ archives and the amount of information in the book really shows this! This book covers over 200 designs from the well-known to those beyond obscure. The book is broken down into nine chapters. The first is a brief overview of the last 80 years of airlift design and usage. The second chapter covers the design challenges facing aerospace engineers especially when the government demands were outpacing the technology. Everything from wing placement to cargo door size and placement are discussed… more |
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NAA P-51D-10-NA Mustang (Single No. 4)Published:
This is volume four in the Single series. This is a thin book with no text other than photo captions. The book contains very nice 1/72 and 1/48 scale drawings, B&W photos of various details and pages from the manuals showing different systems. There are also three-color photos of cockpit details. One page that should prove extremely useful to the model builder is the diagram on page 20. Showing which wing areas were natural metal which areas had two coats of filler those with one coat of filler and then sprayed with silver paint and the areas of silver paint only. There is also a beautiful rendition of the instrument panel and an index to its layout. The book concludes with three pages of color drawings of P-51D 44-14292 “Man O War”. This is a nice inexpensive book… more |
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F-80 Shooting Star Units of the Korean WarPublished:
Designed during WWII and built in 180 days the F-80 did see some service in Italy in the final days of WWII. Post war many were stationed both in Europe and in Japan. Those in Japan were the first to answer the call when the North Koreans invaded South Korea. The F-80 compiled a strong record in the Korean conflict. The aircraft is credited with shooting down 17 enemy aircraft, using in excess of 80,000 air to ground rockets and dropping over 33,000 tons of bombs during almost 90,000 combat sorties. A most admirable record for any aircraft. They served throughout the conflict and were the first US jet to engage in jet to jet combat. The book is broken down into six chapters covering their use with mostly the 49th and 8th Fighter Bomber Wings. The… more |