Guideline Publications Guideline Publications is the UK's leading publisher of modelling and hobby-related magazines. With a world-class portfolio of titles and an international Social Media presence, Guideline Publications has a dedicated readership that is constantly expanding into new areas.

Kev Darling is an aviation historian, writer, and publisher based in South Wales. He served in the Royal Air Force as an aircraft engineer for nearly 30 years, from June 1973 to March 2003. He has written at least 30 books since 1987, working in the RAF Illustrated series, Crowood Aviation series, Crowood Combat Legend series, Specialty Press' WarbirdTech series, as well as Guideline's Warpaint series.

Warpaint's latest is their standard A4 format softbound publication that is 92 pages, not including the covers. Sam Pearson contributes five pages, plus both inside covers, of color profiles that feature 21 Stratofortresses. Sam Pearson also provides the 1/144 line drawings for the big fold out that totals eight pages. A four view (Top. Bottom, Front, and Side) of a Boeing B-52D comprises one side. The opposite side shows off six side profiles of the following: 1) RB-52B, B-52B, B-52D, B-52C. B-52E, and a B-52F. I counted 159 clear black and white photographs and 72 color pictures.

The front cover features a Sam Pearson color side profile of 55-0101, a B-52D-60-BO of the 4133rd Bombardment Wing. Painted in a SEA camouflage scheme, she was based at Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, in 1968. If you go to Page 91, a larger color profile is displayed that shows off nose mission markings. The color photograph at the bottom of the front cover shows off a KC-135 Stratotanker looking to refuel a B-52E, 57-014, of the 11th Strategic Wing based out of Altus AFB in Oklahoma. The upper half of the back cover features a color photograph of 56-0671, a B-52D, as she prepares to land at RAF Wyton. Based at March AFB in California, she was taking part in the RAF Double Tap bombing and navigation exercises. The lower color photograph on the back cover depicts 52-005, a B-52B that had originally been manufactured as a RB-52B before being modified to the bomber configuration prior to delivery. She served with the 93rd Bomb Wing at Castle AFB in California.

Kev Darling opens up with the first chapter, Evolution Not Revolution, and follows with the second chapter, Army Dreaming – Along the Path to the Big Bomber, that both describe the initial development of the Stratofortress. While not identical, these first chapters cover a lot of the same ground. A good example is Page 11 that shows off the special calibrating markings on the first Stratofortress to fly, the YB-52. The YB-52 and XB-52 are easy to identify from their tandem seat cockpit for the pilot and copilot versus all subsequent Stratofortresses that utilized a side-by-side arrangement. These two chapters lead into a technical description of the Stratofortress design and equipment with Stratofortress Under the Skin.

Service introduction is addressed next, covering training and service assignments. Early issues and accidents are addressed here, including several Broken Arrow (nuclear bomb) incidents. Modernization and upgrade programs to improve operational capabilities are discussed, as well as the transition of the Stratofortress from a high altitude nuclear delivery program to a low level non-nuclear platform. Page 30 shows this transition as the B-52D camouflage changed from an anti-flash white paint underneath to a green and brown camouflage over black that was common in Vietnam. Each variant up to the B-52F is described next before heading into Added Extras Bangs Types and Loadings. A table of every munition the Stratofortress could carry is a handy reference. Page 57 that shows off the Hound Dog nuclear cruise missile that were mounted on two pylons inboard of the inner engine pods. A nice inclusion in this chapter is on the McDonnell ADM-20 Quail decoy.

Combat operations are addressed in From Castro to Saigon, beginning with the Cuban missile crisis. Although bombing of Cuba did not occur, bombing of Vietnam did., and it started off horribly. The initial Arc Light mission resulted in two bombers lost as they flew into each other while waiting to refuel before going to Ben Cat, north of Saigon. The final chapter is on the use of the Stratofortress as a mother ship and testbed. Although many research programs were involved, arguably the most visible was as a launch platform for the North American X-15. The final section features color side profiles by Sam Pearson. Page 91 illustrates three of these, focusing on B-52D Stratofortresses in South East Asia camouflage. The Chapters include:

• Evolution Not Revolution
• Army Dreaming – Along the Path to the Big Bomber [Page 11]
• Stratofortress Under the Skin
  • B-52A-F Technical Details [Table]
• Into Service [Page 30]
  • B-52A-F Operational Units [Table]
• The Variants Described
  • B-52A
  • B-52B/RB-52B
  • B-52C
  • B-52D
  • B-52E
  • B-52F
  • Losses of the Tall Tail B-52’s in Service [Table]
• Added Extras Bangs and Similar Stuff [Page 57]
  • B-52B-F Munitions Types and Loadings [Table]
  • McDonnell ADM-20 Quail
• From Castro to Saigon
  • Boeing B-52 Combat Losses in Vietnam War [Table]
• The Ultimate Testbed
  • B-52A-F Operators – Strategic Air Command [Table]
  • B-52A-F Production [Table]
• Colour Profiles

I found a lot of interesting sections, but the initial development chapters captured my attention. It is amazing that the Boeing stayed with the concept for close to six years to make the Stratofortress happen. The initial development of the B-52 began during WWII in June 1945 to have a replacement for the Convair B-36 Peacemaker. That of course meant that the US Army Air Force / US Air Force had to agree to what they really wanted. Boeing’s proposal, Model 462, was essentially a scaled up B-29 Superfortress, but it was announced it had won the competition in June 1946. Then the dithering began. Three months later, the USAAF notified Boeing that the Model 462 was too big, too expensive, and didn’t meet specifications. Boeing proposed additional models, some with four piston engines, some with four turboprops, eight jet engines, coaxial propellers, straight wings, and swept wings, but it wasn’t till February 1951 that a contract was finally signed. That really didn’t end the debate, because by October 1951, the USAF came back to Boeing demanding that all B-52 production be transformed to reconnaissance aircraft. Luckily language was included to provide the ability to convert the aircraft to the bombing mission.

I was able to read this monograph over five days. The text is well supplemented with very clear photographs and captions. Sam Pearson provides well executed color side profiles and the 1/72 line drawings. This is a nice reference on the tall-tail B-52 Stratofortresses and would be a handy addition to your reference library. I would guess a second volume would soon be appearing on the late Stratofortresses, the B-52G and B-52H. Whether you are building any of the standard scale model kits (or even the box scale kits), I would consider this edition essential as an aide to your build. There are also no shortage of decals, photo-etch, and resin bits to detail your kit, especially in 1/72 and 1/144 scale. If anything, with the easier availability of 3-D printing, there will be even more details / conversions available.If you own any of the previous releases in the Warpaint series, you know what you are getting. If this is your initial entry into this series, you will be quite pleased.

My thanks to Guideline Publications and IPMS/USA for the chance to review this great monograph.

Highly recommended!