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AJ Press |
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F4U Corsair Aircraft Monograph 19 by Adam Jarski |
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Reviewed By Art Silen, #1708 |
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MSRP: $37.99 USD Available from airconnection.on.ca Corsair fans, you’ve gotta have this one! Since the F4-U Corsair first flew in 1940, people have been writing books about it; and truth be told, I own quite a few, one going back to 1944, and more than a dozen other titles spanning the next sixty years; but none of them has the wealth and depth of data, detail, photographs, and scale drawings that Adam Jarski of AJ Press has put together. The book is in standard A4 format (8.25 x 11.75, 210 mm x 298 mm), 264 pages, with good quality, glossy paper. Jarski starts at the beginning, with the Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics issuing of a specification in February, 1938, for a high performance, carrier-borne, single-seat fighter. The Corsair’s design history, from the XF4U-1 through the F4U-7, and the F2G-1 Super Corsair, is related in detail sufficient to please the most demanding technophile. Next come 53 (count ’em, 53) pages of detailed 6-view 1:48 scale drawings of every Corsair variant: from the prototype XF4U-1 through the F4U-7 and AU-1, with variants within type –
This cache could keep Corsair modelers busy for at least another decade without ever coming up for air. Next treated are the Corsair’s camouflage and markings, which include United States schemes from 1940 through the late 1950s; British and New Zealand color schemes; French, and Latin American colors. The photography is excellent, and in an age when the same material seems to be recycled from book to book to book, many of the photographs included appear to be new. Along with the clear, crisp photographs, there are sixteen pages of color profiles by Zbigniew Kolacha, each as good as any published to date. The next 98 pages cover the Corsair’s service history, first with the United States Navy and Marine Corps, first land-based in the South Pacific, and later from aircraft carriers in the last stages of the war against Japan., and finally, Korea. Corsairs in British service follows, beginning in June 1943, and lasting until Japan’s surrender. A section of color photographs is also included, several pages of which I have seen for the first time. Most interesting were two color prints of LT Guy P. Bordelon’s F4U-5NL, including one showing that aircraft following a landing accident occurring after Lieutenant Bordelon departed Korea. All this is capped off by a great color cut-away drawing by Jaroslaw Wrobel. This is the best cutaway drawing of its type since Tokiyoshi Kamoshita did one for The Maru Mechanic book on the F4U-1D (Maru Mechanic #38) in 1983. (The drawings are similar, but Kolacha is the better artist). In any even, Britain’s and the Commonwealth’s contribution to the Allied victory against Japan is better detailed here than anywhere else that I have seen. Lastly, a technical description of the Corsair is included, starting with an exploded view of the F4U-1D, and proceeding with shop drawings of fuselage sections and location of its internal frame structure. A series of manufacturer photographs and drawings follows, starting with the cockpit and moving on to wings, hydraulic systems, wing folding mechanism, tail and landing gear. Also shown are right, left, and bottom views of the Pratt & Whitney R-2800-8 engines, and drawings of the oil system, coolers and piping system. Next following, the Corsair’s fueling system, detail drawings of the P& W R-2800’s interior components, engine mounts, and similar details for the F4U-4, and the R-2800-32 model that powered the F4U-5., including the latter ‘s twin superchargers. Final details include detailed photographs and interior drawings of the P&W 4360 “corncob” engines, armament systems, and a very nice 1:48 scale drawing of the F4U-1’s interior structure. This truly is the super-detail fanatic’s dream come true. Are features missing from this book that could have been included? Undoubtedly, yes; but nothing significant, except perhaps the multi-colored structural drawing in the Maru Mechanic mentioned above. The book lacks close-up views of restored museum aircraft that populate Dai Nippon’s Aero Detail and Squadron Signal’s Walk-Around series, but what it has is more than worth the asking price. What else is there to say, except say, no, shout, buy this book now, before the publisher discovers that this is a world-beater, and doubles the price. I have mine, now it is up to you to get yours. You will not regret it. |
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