James Kelley
Reviews By Author
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American Panther Tanks: An Examination of the Five Surviving Panzer V Tanks Including the Rare Panther IIPublished:
American Panther Tanks: An Examination of the Five Surviving Panzer V Tanks Including the Rare Panther II might be considered as a strange title for a book; however, there are five Second World War examples in the US. It is believed that fourteen captured Panzer V Panther tanks were shipped to the United States after hostilities ended in 1945. Most were cut-up and scrapped after being used for testing and target practice on live firing ranges. The Panzer V Ausf.A Panther tank at the American Heritage Museum, Hudson, Massachusetts, near Boston, has been completely restored to an extremely high standard. The other four Panther tanks are at Fort Benning, Columbus, Georgia, under the care of the U.S. Army Armor and Cavalry Collection (U.S. AACC). They are awaiting their turn to be… more |
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Single No. 26: Messerschmitt BF 108B-2Published:
The Messerschmitt Bf 108 Taifun (English: “Typhoon") was a German single-engine sport and touring aircraft, developed by Bayerische Flugzeugwerke in the 1930s. The Bf 108 was of all-metal construction. Originally designated the M 37, the aircraft was designed as a four-seat sports/recreation aircraft for competition in the 4th Challenge International de Tourisme (1934). The M 37 prototype flew first in spring 1934, powered by a 250 PS (247 hp, 184 kW) Hirth HM 8U 8.0-liter displacement, air-cooled inverted-V8 engine, which drove a three-blade propeller. Although it was outperformed by several other aircraft in the competition, the M 37's overall performance marked it as a popular choice for record flights. Particular among these traits was its low fuel… more |
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Japanese Fighters w/Decal SheetPublished:
Kagero Publishing is widely known in scale modeling circles as producers of reference books that often come with a bonus decal sheet. That all started in 2001, with their immediately successful “Camouflage & Decals” series. Apparently, they had technical issues surrounding the decal sheets so the series was, unfortunately, short-lived. “Japanese Fighters” brings the series back to us. Consisting of 40 pages, this A4-sized book starts on page one describing the history of the series, and where the company hopes to go with it. Also on the same page is a chart of colors the Japanese used in WWII, complete with the correct Japanese names for them. All text is in English and Polish. After the first page, the rest of the book consists of color profiles with a brief… more |
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North American P51-D Mustang (Filletless Tails)Published:
HistoryColonel Thomas J.J. “Jack” Christian’s personal mount was an early P-51D-5-NA, serial number 44-13410, Code E2-C, with “LOU IV” painted on the port side of the engine cowling, forward of the cockpit and just rearward of the exhaust manifolds. The aircraft was named after his wife, Marjorie Lou Ashcroft Christian. The name “ATHELENE” was painted on the starboard side of the fuselage forward of the cockpit and below the exhaust manifolds. LOU IV was the most photographed P-51 Mustang of World War 2, and was an early P-51 D-5-NA (with the “bubble” canopy) without the stabilizing tail fin addition of the later definitive –D models. Additional photographs better indicate LOU IV’s colors and markings, including a yellow propeller spinner, a yellow engine cowling, a bare… more |
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Mitsubishi A6M ZeroPublished:
The quality of Japanese aircraft came as an unpleasant surprise to the Allies at the outbreak of the Pacific War, and it was personified in one type, the Mitsubishi A6M Zero. One of the finest aircraft of all time, the Mitsubishi A6M Reisen (Zero fighter) first flew on 1 April 1939. It soon showed itself to be clearly superior to any fighter the Allies could put into the air in the early stages of the Pacific campaign. Armed with two 20mm cannon and two 7.7mm machine-guns, it was highly maneuverable and structurally very strong, despite being lightweight. Instead of being built in several separate units, the Zero was revolutionary in that it was constructed in two pieces. The engine, cockpit and forward fuselage combined with the wings to form one rigid unit; the second part… more |
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1/144 Propeller Planes Volume 1Published:
1/144 is arguably the aircraft scale that has seen more growth in recent times, attracting a large number of followers, especially due to the high-quality detail currently achieved by the manufacturers. This scale has many advantages, but its main benefit is that it allows us to model the largest planes, which in larger scales are frequently too big to display or store at home once finished. Another great advantage is the simplicity and speed of assembly and painting of these models, which makes them very enjoyable and addictive. In addition, its small size facilitates the creation of small scenes and dioramas of manageable and practical sizes. In this book you will discover, thanks to the guidance of master modelers and through detailed step-by-step articles, all the keys… more |
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P-51 MustangPublished:
Robert Jackson is the author of over eighty books on military, aviation, naval and scientific subjects. He was defense and science correspondent for a major British newspaper publishing group. Among the other books he has compiled for Pen & Sword are Bf-109 in the FlightCraft series and for TankCraft he has written extensively on the T-34, the Panzer I and II, the Centurion and Chieftain Main Battle Tanks as well as the Russian T54/55. 200 color and b/w illustrations The North American P-51 Mustang was one of the most successful and effective fighter aircraft of all time. It was initially produced in response to a 1940 RAF requirement for a fast, heavily-armed fighter able to operate effectively at altitudes in excess of 20,000ft. North America built the prototype in 117… more |
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Air War on the Eastern FrontPublished:
The Red Air Force versus the Luftwaffe in the skies over Eastern Europe. June 1941: Having conquered most of Western Europe, Adolf Hitler turned his attention to the vast Soviet Union. Disregarding his Non-Aggression Pact with Joseph Stalin, Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa, a full-scale invasion of the Soviet homeland aimed squarely at Moscow. In the skies over Russia, the battle-hardened airmen of the Luftwaffe made short work of the Red Air Force during opening days of Barbarossa. To make matters worse, Stalin had executed many of his best pilots during the perennial "purges" of the 1930s. Thus, much of the Red Air Force was destroyed on the ground before meeting the Luftwaffe in the skies. By 1944, however, the Soviet airmen had regained the… more |
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War Photographer 1.2Published:
This new photo book series presents various selections of rare wartime photographs. They are selected based on numerous subjects. Each volume introduces photographs from battles, operations, vehicles, or complete photo albums from soldiers who fought in World War Two. This volume is divided into two separate subjects. The first part presents a number of new photographs from the personal photo album of Oberleutnant d.R Peter Prien who began his army career with Pz.Nachr.Abt.37 with 1.Panzer-Division in January 1941 and finished the war as Führer of the Stabskompanie of Pz.Rgt.3 of 2.Panzer-Division. His album contains mostly photos of his time with 2.Panzer-Division around the time of the Kursk battles. The second part presents a series of photographs of the 8.8cm Flak 18… more |
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Boeing F/A-18 A/B & C/D Hornet: Aircraft in DetailPublished:
Casemate & HMH Publications presents to us another excellent book from their “Duke Hawkins” series, providing a close up of the "Legacy" Hornet in all its versions: A, B, C and D including the ATARS version. Over 400 photos show every side of the famous jet in service with the US Navy, USMC and the Air Forces of Spain, Finland, Canada, Switzerland, Malaysia and more. The first thing I noticed upon opening the cover is, there aren’t any chapters proper. Rather, the book is divided into “sections”, each notated in the upper right-hand corner of the right page. Sections include:
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