Steve Ginter Books

Naval Fighters Number Seventy-Nine Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawk

by  by Capt. Richard Hoffman USN RET

Reviewed By  Charles Landrum, IPMS# 26328

65 pages, over 124 photos, 9 pages of drawings Steve Ginter; Simi Valley, CA MSRP: $17.95 ISBN: 0-942612-79-5 Website: www.ginterbooks.com The Sparrowhawk enjoys a unique place in the history of aviation of any nation, as the first operational parasite aircraft. While the RAF and US Army initially explored and then abandoned the concept, it was the US Navy that developed it to fruition. The US Navy successfully deployed it on the airships Akron and Macon, and today the four-plane detachment embarked on Macon rest in her remains off the California Coast. While the USAF went on the tested the concept for strategic bombers, the concept was never fielded. Naval Fighters Number Seventy Nine by Steve Ginter is a welcome addition to his family of reference monographs on US aircraft, providing coverage on a unique and important, if short-lived, aircraft. Authored by CAPT Richard Hoffman, USN, Ret, he keeps the narrative short, preferring to fill the 64 pages with 146 black and white photograph and drawings. CAPT Hoffman brings a unique perspective because as a child he witnessed over flights by Navy airships as they passed over his school in San Francisco in the 1930s. They obviously left an indelible mark that persists 75 years later. While the book is not broken into chapters, the organization is clear and follows a standard monograph flow of information. If can be broken down as follows: Early Navy experiments with parasite fighters and the subsequent development of the Sparrowhawk. Sparrowhawk operations 1931-1935 including a description of the launch and recovery trapeze and gantry. Saving the sole preserved Sparrowhawk. Details and descriptions of the Sparrowhawk including 3-view drawings, fuselage details, power plant details and vintage and restored photos of the cockpit. Lost Sparrowhawks found. A brief review of the Williams Brothers 1/32 kit. The legacy of the Sparrowhawk - USAF developmental efforts. For such a short-lived aircraft, CAPT Hoffman weaves a complete story. Most insightful is his coverage of Sparrowhawk operations and the challenges faced by the pilots and aircrews. I found it interesting to read how much the pilots were trail blazers, developing standard operating procedures and even proposing practical refinements to the trapeze and transfer hoist which were adopted, thereby improving efficiency. Also of interest were the trials without landing gear and the fact that the planes retained tailhooks and the pilots had to remain carrier qualified. This monograph also pulls together many photographs into a single volume, many of which I had not seen before. Modelers will recognize several of the drawings from the Williams Brothers 1/32 scale kit. Most exciting for me is to see the paint schemes for the different Macon aircraft and that each had different cowling and fuselage band colors. Aviation enthusiasts and hobbyist alike will enjoy this volume with its mix of narrative, photographs and drawings that provides a clear understanding of the function and operation of these fighters. With a price of $17.95 it is a real value and invaluable reference to modelers of the aircraft. My thanks to Ginter Books for an excellent book