U. S. Navy and Marine
Carrier-Based Aircraft
of World War II

About the Book:

Detail & Scale presents U. S. Navy and Marine Carrier-Based Aircraft of World War II, a unique look at all of the American carrier-based fighters, scout/dive bombers, and torpedo bombers of World War II.  Each of the well-known aircraft types are covered, but so too are the lesser known aircraft that reached the flying prototype stage during the war.  The book also includes a section with maps showing the major battles and engagements as well as the capital ship losses on both sides in the Pacific Theater.  The final section covers Navy paint schemes and markings used on these aircraft in the years leading up to the war, and how they continued to evolve during the conflict.

Book Features:

Features of Detail & Scale’s newest publication, U. S. Navy and Marine Carrier-Based Aircraft of World War II include:

  • The fighter chapter covers fourteen aircraft.  The most famous of these are the F2A Buffalo, F4F Wildcat, F4U Corsair, and F6F Hellcat.  Also included are those aircraft that were flying operationally as the war came to an end, such as the F7F Tigercat, F8F Bearcat, and the FR-1 Fireball, although none of these arrived in theater in time to see combat.  Finally, this chapter covers those aircraft that were not pursued for a variety of reasons after the prototype flew.  These aircraft either carried exotic names like Airabonita, Skyrocket, Flying Pancake, Dark Shark, and Stingeree, or they were never given a name, simply being known by their designation like the Curtiss XF14C and XF15C-1, and the Boeing XF8B-1.
  • The dive and torpedo bomber chapter covers eleven torpedo bombers, scout/dive bombers, and the beginning of a new generation of attack aircraft.  Again, the well-known types, including the two Curtiss aircraft named Helldiver, the Devastator, Vindicator, Dauntless, and Avenger, are covered.  Other named aircraft in the chapter are the Buccaneer, Sea Wolf, and the Destroyer, while the designation-only aircraft include the Brewster XSBA-1 and SBN-1, and the Kaiser-Fleetwings XBTK-1.
  • Each aircraft section includes photographs and a history of the aircraft.  For those with significant histories, each variant of the aircraft is described and illustrated.  Photographs of cockpit and aircraft details, long the trademark of Detail & Scale publishing, are also included for the most famous variants.
  • The book also includes two appendices.  The first provides maps and a brief history of naval combat in the Pacific Theater in World War II.  The second contains a significant amount of colorful details on the paint schemes used on Navy and Marine aircraft, and the general marking systems in use.  This look begins with the colorful “Yellow Wing” aircraft of the 1930s and shows how war clouds on the horizon in 1940 began a six-year period of evolving camouflage schemes for naval combat aircraft.  Details of Navy markings over the same timespan are also provided and are profusely illustrated with artwork.

A DETAIL & SCALE  SPECIAL EDITION BOOK

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BOOK REVIEWS

Cybermodeler.com

Detail and Scale is back with another electronic title in their growing library of digital references. This latest release is an interesting compilation of US Navy and Marine carrier aviation aircraft from World War II, but not just the well-known production models, but also those that didn’t progress beyond the prototype stage. As with their previous titles, this electronic book uses the interactive features of the iPad and Kindle which you cannot replicate in printed titles. What does that mean to you?

  • You can use menu hyperlinks to jump straight to a section of interest
  • You can expand photos and drawings to full-screen
  • You can zoom in on details in photos and drawings for a closer look
  • You can search for specific text within the title
  • You can bookmark items of interest
  • You can highlight and annotate the book with your own notes

If you’ve seen the Detail and Scale hardcopy titles of the past, you can think of this as an abbreviated version of that series, but instead of focusing on one aircraft subject, this one covers the breadth of US carrier aviation (operational and prototypes) through the end of WWII. For each subject, there is a brief summary of the aircraft’s development and history, period photos of the aircraft in action (or test), color photos of the cockpit interior (where available), and a discussion of relevant markings and camouflage colors carried by each subvariant.

You can see in the sample pages below that this is still the thorough Detail and Scale format, but there’s lots more of it at your fingertips. What’s more, my iPad is no heavier with 274 more pages of reference inside…

Coverage includes:

  • Fighters
    • F2A Buffalo
    • F4F/FM Wildcat
    • XFL Airabonita
    • XF5F Skyrocket
    • F4U/FG/F3A Corsair
    • XF14C
    • F6F Hellcat
    • F7F Tigercat
    • F8F Bearcat
    • XF5U Flying Pancake
    • FR Fireball
    • XF2R Dark Shark
    • XF-15C Stingaree
  • Scout/Dive Bombers
    • SBC Helldiver
    • SB2U Vindicator
    • XSBA/SBN
    • SBD Dauntless
    • SB2A Buccaneer
    • SB2C Helldiver
  • Torpedo Bombers
    • TBD Devastator
    • TBF/TBM Avenger
    • XTBU/TBY Sea Wolf
  • Attack Aircraft
    • XSB2D/BTD Destroyer
    • XBTK

In addition to looking at individual aircraft types, this reference provides a description of key carrier aircraft actions in World War II (Appendix 1) and a thorough discussion of the identification markings used both early and late in World War II to identify an aircraft’s squadron/air group, and aircraft carrier assignment (Appendix 2).

If you’re a fan of a one or more of these aircraft, by all means grab the relevant D&S titles for your reference, but if you like to model US Navy/Marine carrier aviation but not to the extent of having stacks of references on your shelf, this handy title will provide you with a one-stop-shop reference to get your project accurately to completion.

Head over to Amazon or the iTunes Store and order a copy. This technology is also truly instant gratification as the title will download to your tablet on completion of your purchase.

Definitely recommended!

You can see the review at their website here: https://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/ref/ds/book_ds_usnwwii.shtml

Sprue brothers models

In addition to Amazon, scale modelers will be happy to know that all of our print editions can be ordered from Sprue Brothers. Detail & Scale recommends Sprue Brothers as a premier online hobby shop that provides good prices and great service. Check them out at their website, www.spruebrothers.com.