Thunder Models THU35001

DUKW on Iwo Jima. USMC and U.S. Army DUKWs

More

U.S. Army M1A1s & M1A2 SEP TUSK in IRAQ

More

Building the Supermarine Spitfire The iconic Supermarine Spitfire, the most strategically important British single-seat fighter of World War II. The Spitfire, renowned for winning victory laurels in the Battle of Britain along with the Hawker Hurricane, served in every theatre of the War and was produced in more variants than any other British aircraft. The Spitfire was designed by Reginald Mitchell of Supermarine Ltd., in response to a 1934 Air Ministry specification calling for a high-performance fighter with an armament of eight wing-mounted 0.303-inch machine guns. The airplane was a direct descendant of a series of floatplanes designed by Mitchell to compete for the coveted Schneider Trophy in the 1920s. One of these racers, the S.6, set a world speed record of 357 miles per hour in 1929. Designed around a 1,000-horsepower, 12-cylinder, liquid-cooled Rolls-Royce PV-12 engine (later dubbed the Merlin), the Spitfire first flew in March 1935. It had superb performance and flight characteristics, and deliveries to operational Royal Air Force (RAF) squadrons commenced in the summer of 1938. A more radical design than the Hurricane, the Spitfire had a stressed-skin aluminum structure and a graceful elliptical wing with a thin airfoil that, in combination with the Merlin's efficient two-stage supercharger, gave it exceptional performance at high altitudes. The version of the Spitfire that fought in the Battle of Britain was powered by a Merlin engine. Faster than its formidable German opponent the Bf-109 at altitudes above 15,000 feet and just as manoeuvrable, Spitfires were sent by preference to engage German fighters while the slower Hurricanes went for the bombers. More Hurricanes than Spitfires served in the Battle of Britain, and they were credited with more 'kills,' but it can be argued that the Spitfire's superior high-altitude performance provided the margin of victory. Meanwhile, Supermarine was developing more-capable versions of the Spitfire driven by progressively more-powerful Merlin's. The eight 0.303-inch machine guns gave way to four 0.8-inch automatic cannons, and by war's end the Spitfire had been produced in more than 20 fighter versions alone, powered by Merlin's of up to 1,760 horsepower. Though outperformed by the German Fw-190 on that aircraft's introduction in 1941, the Spitfire restored parity the following year and eventually regained the advantage. It remained a first-line air-to-air fighter throughout the war. Spitfires were used in the defence of Malta, in North Africa and Italy, and, fitted with tail hooks and strengthened tail sections, as Seafires from Royal Navy aircraft carriers from June 1942. Spitfires helped to provide air superiority over the Sicily, Italy, and Normandy beachheads and served in the Far East from the spring of 1943. Fighter-bomber versions could carry a 250 or 500lb bomb beneath the fuselage and a 250-pound bomb under each win One of the Spitfire's most important contributions to Allied victory was as a photo-reconnaissance aircraft from early 1941. Superior high-altitude performance rendered it all but immune from interception, and the fuel tanks that replaced wing-mounted machine guns and ammunition bays gave it sufficient range to probe western Germany from British bases. n late 1943 Spitfires powered by Rolls-Royce Griffon engines developing as much as 2,050 horsepower began entering service. Capable of top speeds of 440 miles per hour and ceilings of 40,000 feet, these were used to shoot down V-1 'buzz bombs.' During World War II, Spitfires were exported in small numbers to Portugal, Turkey, and the Soviet Union, and they were flown by the U.S. Army Air Forces in Europe. When production ceased in 1947, 20,334 Spitfires of all versions had been produced, 2,053 of them Griffon-powered versions. Fighter versions of the Spitfire were withdrawn from RAF service during the early 1950s, while photo-reconnaissance Spitfires continued in service until 1954. In Model Aircraft 'Extra Special' #6, the biggest book of this series some 22`Spitfire build projects will be included, in a 'how-to' format, and continue this fantastic series modelling guides from MA Publications, the new name in scale modelling.

More

Douglas C-74 Globemaster By Nicholas M. Williams, 104 pages (88 in b&w, 16 in color), 141 b&w photos, 35 color photos, 22 illustrations. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 brought U.S. Army Air Corps strategists to the realization that a new global transport was needed to carry large loads over great distances. The Douglas Aircraft Company in Santa Monica, California, also quickly saw this need and design studies were begun immediately on an expanded version of the company's DC-4. The "C-74 Project Group" adopted a design philosophy to produce a "no frills" transport able to accommodate at least two of the Army's T-9 tanks, two 105mm Howitzers, or two angle dozers. Douglas contacted the Air Corps early in 1942 to determine their interest and a letter of intent was issued in March 1942 for procurement of the Model 415A, now designated the C-74. A contract of over $50 million was signed in June 1942 for fifty airplanes. To speed its delivery to operational units, the C-74 was designed to be released without the benefits of an experimental or prototype model, all aircraft being designated as C-74s with design features following conventional "state-of-the-art" practice. Originally, powered by Wright R-3350 engines, a decision was made in March 1943 to switch to the new, mammoth Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major. The first C-74 was rolled out in July 1945 from the Douglas Long Beach factory. At rollout, the C-74 was the largest land-based transport in the world with a wingspan of 173 feet, length of 124 feet, and gross weight of 145,000 pounds. Able to carry 125 passengers, the C-74 was called the Globemaster as its 11,100-gallons of internal fuel gave it a maximum range of over 7,000 miles, enabling it to circumnavigate the world with only two refueling stops. In its final form, the C-74 was a remarkably efficient airplane, using a semi-laminar flow airfoil for its wings with a full-span flap arrangement. The pilots were enclosed by two teardrop-shaped, double-bubble canopies that provided them with a 360-degree view. Douglas had every intention of adapting the C-74 into a civil airliner once hostilities had ended. In 1944 Pan American World Airways ordered 26 examples of the civil version, the DC-7, for a route expansion program into Latin America. However, further development of this DC-7 design increased its gross weight to 162,000 pounds and the unit cost to $1.4 million and Pan American cancelled its order in October 1945, opting for smaller transports. The first C-74, 42-65402, made its maiden flight from Long Beach in September 1945, but with the end of World War II, most of the C-74 production order was cancelled and only 14 Globemasters were built. Unfortunately, during contractor demonstration flights the second Globemaster crashed. The fourth C-74 was subsequently diverted for static tests and its components tested to destruction at Wright Field, Ohio. Beginning in September 1946, the remaining twelve C-74s were flown for the next nine years by the Army Air Forces' Air Transport Command and the U.S. Air Force's Military Air Transport Service. Once in service, the C-74 Globemaster, based first in Memphis, Tennessee, then Morrison Field, West Palm Beach, Florida, finally at Brookley AFB, Mobile, Alabama, set many records for tonnage carried. In November 1949, a C-74 flew the Atlantic to England with a record 103 passengers aboard. One Globemaster set several records during the Berlin Airlift, averaging over 38,000 pounds of cargo and setting a new Airlift Task Force utilization record by flying 20 hours in a 24-hour period. Until one C-74 was converted to the prototype C-124A and the Globemaster II became available, the C-74 was the only Air Force transport capable of carrying outsized cargo. After the C-74's retirement from service in 1955, several were purchased surplus and began flying for a contract air carrier, Aeronaves de Panama, hauling prize cattle from Denmark to the Middle East, horses to Singapore, and ships' parts and vegetables throughout Europe. Unfortunately, after the tragic crash in 1963 of one C-74 in Marseilles, France, the airline suspended operations and its C-74s eventually were scrapped. Today, no examples of this record-setting transport exist. This monograph of the C-74 Globemaster is written by Nick Williams, an award-winning author of over two dozen articles published in the Journal of the American Aviation Historical Society and publications in the U.K. Nick has written two previous books in Steve Ginter's Naval Fighters series as well as his 1999 book published in the U.K., "Aircraft of The Military Air Transport Service 1948-1966". His new book on the C-74 is the result of nearly fifty years of research, containing comments from several of the C-74's engineers as well as former Douglas and Air Force pilots.

More

Boeing C-47D Chinook part 1. 1. CH-47D, 89-00150, "Black Pearl", Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in Afganistan, between 2007 and 2009 2. 71-20955, was known as the 'Widow Maker'. On 27 April 1983, 71-20955 was performing a mission to an island mountain top in support of the United States Air Force (USAF). 3. 90-00217, Boeing D model kit number M3369, was a CH-47D helicopter. The U.S. Army acceptance date was 28 June 1991. 4. CH-47A 67-18452 "Boony Bus". 132nd ASHC aircraft between 1970 and 1971, Vietnam.

More

Douglas A-20 HAVOC IN ACTION Doyle. The Douglas A-20 Havoc was a light bomber, attack, and intruder aircraft of World War II. Used by the American Army Air Forces, nearly one-third of the aircraft served with the Soviet military, while many other A-20s fought with the RAF. Taking its first operational shape on the eve of the outbreak of the war in Europe, the 7B prototype actually crashed with a French observer aboard, kicking off a scandal in still-isolationist America where military aircraft were not to be exported. U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt pressed for a change in that restrictive rule and the French, impressed by the plane's rugged dependability and maneuverability, proceeded to place orders for 100 of the aircraft, albeit with modifications that resulted in the DB-7 version. Even before shipments began in November 1939, Paris had increased its order by another 170 aircraft. Many of those, however, found their way into the British RAF, which flew them under the nickname Boston, after the fall of France in June 1940. The U.S. Army Air Corps issued its first contracts for the aircraft they called the A-20 and A-20A, in May 1939, these were only delivered during the months from late 1940 through much of 1941. A dozen A-20As had recently arrived in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese surprise attack destroyed two of them on the ground. Modifications of the design continued and it was after the U.S. entry into the war when the A-20C version, produced by Douglas and Boeing, first were accepted. Of the first 515 A-20Cs, 108 were retained by the U.S. Army Air Forces, while 407 were shipped off to the Soviet Union. Numerous versions of the aircraft followed. About half of the A-20G were sent to the Soviet Union, as were many of the A-20H. In fact the Soviet air forces had more A-20s than the USAAF. Illustrated with 192 vintage photographs and detailed line drawings. 80 pages. (now out of print so be quick!)

More

155mm Long Tom Gun (In Action Series) David Doyle. The 'Long Tom' or more properly, the '155mm gun M1A1 with M1A1 carriage and M5 limber', and the related 8-inch howitzer M1 formed the backbone of the U.S. Army's heavy field artillery during World War II and Korea. These towed artillery weapons initially used the Mack NO 7ƒšé½-ton 6x6 as a prime mover, which was augmented by the M4 high-speed tractor during the later stages of the Second World War. With ranges of just over 14 miles for the gun, and 10ƒšé½ miles for the howitzer, the duo served for many more years - with an associated change in the prime mover, to the M125 10-ton 6x6. This 80-page book documents the development and deployment of these iconic weapons, as well as their prime movers and caissons through 227 archival photos.

More