Perry Downen
Reviews By Author
|
The Luftwaffe's Blitz, The Inside Story - November 1940 - May 1941Published:
This is the latest book from Chris Goss published by Crecy Publishing covering the air war between England and Germany. Gross has written several books on this subject some of which include: The Luftwaffe Bombers’ Battle of Britain, The Luftwaffe Fighters’ Battle of Britain, and Brothers in Arms. The Luftwaffe’s Blitzis a hardback book measuring 6-1/4” X 9-1/2” and contains 264 pages. It comes in a high quality, semi-gloss paper cover. The book contains many never before published black and white periodphotographs. Each photograph is accompanied by a block of text explaining the action or activity seen. Adolf Hitler gave a speech on September 4, 1940 in which he announced that the Luftwaffe would respond to England’s nightly raids on Germany by… more |
|
1959 Ford Galaxie Skyliner with Retractable TopPublished:
I would like to express my sincere thanks to Revell for providing this kit to IPMS/USA and to them for allowing me to review it. The Ford Skyliner was an innovative full-size car that came with a retractable hardtop and was built for only three years, 1957, 1958 and 1959. It had a very complex mechanism, which folded a section on the front part of the roof and then retracted it under the rear deck lid. It had three roof drive motors driving four lift jacks, four door lock motors, ten solenoids, four locking mechanisms for the roof, and a total of 610-ft. of wiring. It was the first retractable hardtop to be mass-produced. The standard engine was a 332 cu. in. or an optional 352 cu. in. was available. Transmissions available on the Skyliner were two manual transmissions, a three… more |
|
Hurricane I vs. Bf 110 - 1940Published:
In the early months of WWII much of the air war in Western Europe and Southern England was carried on between Spitfires, Hurricanes and Bf 109s. Having gained a degree of success over Poland, Norway and France, German introduced its “heavy fighter,” the Bf 110 Zerstörr, into the fray. The story of how the Hurricane in particular bested the highly touted twin-engine fighter is covered in this book. This soft bound 7-1/4” X 9-3/4” book consists of 80 pages. The book contains numerous black and white period photographs. Each photograph is accompanied by a block of text explaining the action or activity seen. Artist Jim Laurier has provided full-color three-view, cockpit drawings and armament views of the two planes. The quality of this artwork is excellent. The… more |
|
Il-2m3 Sturmovik, Weekend EditionPublished:
The Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik was a ground-attack aircraft produced by the Soviet Union in the Second World War. Soviet sources give the number produced as over 36,000. It is regarded as the most formidable aircraft of WWII and best ground attack aircraft of all. The aircraft’s engine, cockpit, radiators, and fuel tanks were protected by a steel “tub “designed to be an integral part of the load-bearing frame. This design made it ideal for its low-level ground attack and anti-tank roles. The Il-2m3 (Type 3) version was introduced in 1943 in the battle of Stalingrad. It was so successful that the Soviets produced this version more than all the others. It was armed with two 23-mm Vya cannons and two 7.62-mm ShKAS machine guns in the wings. The rear gunner operated a 12.7-mm… more |
|
B-17 Flying FortressPublished:
The B-17 is most recognized bomber of WWII and certainly one of the most recognizable airplanes to ever fly. It was an effective weapons system particularly when accompanied by the P-51 Mustang. It dropped more bombs than any other U.S. aircraft in World War II and its survivability was much greater than most other planes of that time. This legendary aircraft has been the subject of many books. It is the subject of the latest offering from Squadron/Signal’s long list of In Action series. This soft bound 8-1/4” X 11” book consists of 80 pages. The book contains approximately 200 photographs and drawings. The photographs are all period photographs and many are in color. Each photograph is accompanied by a block of text explaining what is depicted. The quality of these period… more |
|
He-162A-2 SalamanderPublished:
The Reich Air Ministry (RLM) issued requirements for a single-seat fighter powered by a single BMW 003 jet engine on September 10, 1944. From the many German aircraft manufacturers interested, Heinkel’s proposal was selected. Heinkel designed and built The He-162 very quickly. The final design was chosen on September 25th and the He162 flew for the first time on December 6th, less than 90 days later. It was made primarily of wood due to the short supply of metals. In early test parts came unglued in flight with one such event resulting in the death of the test pilot. As a result, parts were strengthened and some redesign was needed. The glue for the wood parts was found to be defective in many cases. The aircraft was the fastest jet aircraft in the air hitting 550 mph at sea… more |
|
Vought F8U-3, Crusader III/Super CrusaderPublished:
Crusader III (Naval Fighters # 87) is a paperback book measuring 8-1/2” X 11” and consists of 92 pages. The cover and pages are printed on polished paper. The book is full of sharp black and white photographs only with accompanying text. Also included are 3-view drawings, comparison tables, line drawings and performance charts. The author begins by setting the stage for one of the closest aircraft selection competitions the Navy ever experienced. It began in 1953 when Vought’s F8U-1 Crusader beat out McDonnell’s entry for a high-performance day fighter. When the Navy went looking for an all-weather (night) fighter, the competition began. Thompson states, “The Navy also preferred to deploy two different carrier-based fighters with complementary attributes…” In… more |
|
Fokker D.VII (MAG)Published:
I would like to express my sincere thanks to Eduard for providing this kit to IPMS/USA and to them for allowing me to review it. We are all familiar with the Fokker D.VII, but a little historical background may be helpful to explain the markings seen on the subject of this review. The D.VII was such a formidable aircraft that the Armistice ending WWI specifically called for all surviving D.VIIs be delivered to the Allies. The United States pick up a few for testing, but nothing ever came of the effort. However, other countries used them operationally. One country, the Hungarian Soviet Republic, a short-lived Communist regime established in the chaos following WWI, used a number of D.VIIs in the Hungarian/Czechoslovakina/Romanian War of 1919. Some of these aircraft were ex-… more |
|
U.S. Air Force Special OperationsPublished:
Several weeks ago, I attended a change of command ceremony for a unit of the United States Army Special Forces at Ft. Bragg. My mind was still full of memories of Ft. Bragg and the visit to the Airborne & Special Operations Museum when this book became available for review. I jumped at the chance to do the review. Thank you SAM Publications for providing the review sample. The Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) probably had it’s beginning during WWII. It was not until the Vietnam War that Special Operation came into its own. During that war elements of the U.S. Air Force provided concentrated firepower to confined areas, infiltrated and exfiltration troops into and out of enemy terratory and provided resupply and refueling operations all across enemy territory.… more |
|
Model Art Plamo Manual, #801Published:
PLAMO MANUAL, No. 801 is the latest in a series of modeling manuals from ModelArt. Previous manuals have addressed, among other topics, planes, cars, ships and airbrushing. The subject of this review is a manual on modeling armor. The manual comes in a convenient size, 7-1/4” X 10”. It consists of 112 picture- packed pages and is bound in a high gloss paper backing. The pages are also of high gloss paper. The photographs are excellent quality, bright, crisp, and each is very focused on its topic. Thepictures in the articles speak for themselves. The down side of this publication for me is that 99.5% of it is in Japanese. However, because the manual is so well organized, and the material is presented in such a logical manner it is easy to follow. The first article… more |