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Midland Publishing |
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Mikoyan-Gurevich Mig-19 The Soviet Union's First Production Supersonic Fighter by Yefim Gordon |
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Reviewed By Charles Landrum, #26328 |
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MSRP: $32.95 USD 160 pages with over 200 color and B&W Photos including 16 pages of drawings and 12 pages of color profiles Midland Publishing under their AEROFAX Series continues to fill the void of information on Soviet/Russian aircraft. A comprehensive volume of this important type was overdue, especially since it was the first Soviet supersonic interceptor. With three significant model kits available of the Mig-19 (Trumpeter in 1/48 and 1/32 and HiPM in 1/48), this work could not have come at a better time for the modeler. Yet this book like others in the series is intended for both armchair aviation enthusiasts and modelers alike. This volume on the Mig-19 is up to the high standard that have come to expect from the partnership of Yefim Gordon and AEROFAX. Once again Yefim Gordon pulls out a seemingly endless amount of detail about Soviet aircraft development. The book is divided into six chapters. The first two study the development of this supersonic fighter in the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact Allies licensed to build the aircraft. The third chapter devotes a significant percentage to the Chinese copies and derivatives of the “Farmer”. The fourth chapter details the operational service of Mig-19 with an emphasis on its use in combat. This section of Yefim Gordon’s books is always fascinating and leaves me wanting many more operational stories of the aircraft in operation. Chapter 5 is, as usual, a comprehensive list of the nations operating of the aircraft and a brief history for each. Lastly the sixth and final chapter provides detailed information on the Mig-19 and all of it’s variant. This really is more a technical description of the plane, rather than a detailed series of photos. I am always fascinated with the quality of the photographs he is able to produce; many of the best photos come from his own personal archive. Almost all of these are in sharp black and white, but that is more a function of the vintage of the photographs and not an apparent intent to limit color. Color photos are provided as well. Once again the back of the book has a nice comprehensive collection of variant drawings and color profiles. The pictures and drawings help tell the story of the Mig-19 and provide valuable references for the modeler. However, I wish this monograph included, more walk around photos, aircraft system schematics, more drawings/photos of the cockpit area and a station diagram showing ordnance loadout options. The lack of this information does not detract from the quality of the publication, it is just that this information is hard to come by and Mr. Gordon seems to have a boundless talent for ferreting out obscure information. Overall, this is another fine AEROFAX publication that I highly recommend to enthusiasts and modelers of Soviet/Russian aircraft. |
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