Grover C. Loening built his first airplane in 1918, the diminutive single seat M-2 Kitten monoplane, soon refined into the more powerful 2-seat M-8 that was accepted and purchased by the Army Air Corps. However, due to the resistance towards monoplanes he reverted to a biplane configuration in creating his most successful design six years later, the OL amphibian. The Loening OL and it’s derivatives would soldier on with the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard for another decade.

Author Steve Ginter describes the development of the Navy’s OL-1 thru -7 and Army OA-1 and -2 liquid cooled Liberty and Packard-engined amphibians, as well as later P&W radial engined OL-8s. Development continued after the merger of the Loening and Keystone companies with the OL-9. Much of the text is devoted to the operational history of the OLs and OAs, particularly the historic aerial surveys undertaken with the Loenings of Alaska, the Philippines and Central and South America in the late 1920s and early 30s.

Aside from the informative text, the bulk of the information in these 64 pages comes from the abundant period b/w manufacture’s and operational photographs and their accompanying captions. A number of the images highlight lesser known aspects of the aircraft’s history, such as shipboard operations and air ambulance service, and many photos are provided to show wing and fuselage structure, cockpit, engine, landing gear and interior areas is great detail.

The Loening Amphibians were developed and flown during a period of rapid technological advancement, when the aviation industry was in it’s adolescence and operational procedures were literally being created “on the fly”. This book provides abundant detailed information on this transitional aircraft.

Thanks to David Doyle Books and IPMS for providing this volume for review.