Revell RV5204

Curtiss XP-55 Ascender By Gerry Balzer, 72-pages, 148-b&w photos, 4-color photos. The Curtiss XP-55 Ascender was a tailless swept-wing WWII pusher fighter design born out by the USAAC 1940 fighter competition. The USAAC was looking for a fighter to counter the threat of the German Bf-109 and the Japanese 'Zero' and replace the obsolete P-35s, P-36s and the front line P-40s just entering service. From this competition three unusual pusher prototypes were ordered, the Consolidated XP-54, Curtiss XP-55, and the Northrop XP-56. A low powered full scale flying model (model CW 24B)was built out of wood and cloth to substantiate the flying qualities, and was first flown on 2 December 1941. The XP-55 mock-up was completed in August 1942, and the first of three XP-55s was completed on 26 June 1943 with its first flight being conducted on 13 July 1943. The first aircraft was destroyed on 15 November 1943. Changes deemed necessary were incorporated in the second airframe in which performance testing began on 16 September 1944. Although the much more capable P-38, P-47, and P-51 had entered service, research into the XP-55s unusual design continued. The third XP-55 had entered flight testing in April 1944 and was used at Eglin Field for armament tests before being lost during a war bond rally display on 27 May 1945. By then the program had been terminated. Today, the second XP-55 presides in restored condition at the Kalamazoo Air Museum.

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MDF31 The A-4 Skyhawk. US Navy, US Marine Corps & Foreign Versions. 200 pages The Douglas A-4D/A-4 Skyhawk is without doubt one of the more successful military aircraft of the post-War era. It entered service with the U.S. Navy in late 1956 and served with distinction for many years, bearing much of the early action in carrier-based strikes against North Vietnam during the 1960s. The Skyhawk was in continuous production for over twenty-seven years, and although the A-4 is no longer serving with the U.S. Navy and US Marine Corps, a few examples are still operational in foreign hands, and private defence contractors. Douglas built 2,960 Skyhawks between 1954 and 1979, and this small yet effective aircraft packed a mighty punch and these lightweight, high-speed bombers was affectionately nicknamed ‘Heinemann's Hot Rod’, the ‘Bantam Bomber’ and ‘Scooter’. Upgraded models had improved engines and a drogue parachute, new avionics displays, larger cockpit canopies and more ammunition for the two cannons, and the two-seat trainer versions included the TA-4F and TA-4J series. As noted, its combat career began with the first American carrier-launched raids on North Vietnam, August 4, 1964, and during Israel's Yom Kippur war in 1973, Israeli Air Force Skyhawks provided much of the short-range striking power on the Sinai and Golan Heights fronts. Skyhawks were also in action against British forces during the 1982 Falkland’s conflict, where they paid a heavy price against the Sea Harrier. The Navy's ‘Blue Angels’ flight demonstration team flew the Skyhawk from 1974 to 1986, and Skyhawks were also used by the armed forces of Australia, Kuwait, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and New Zealand. An additional role undertaken by the Skyhawk was that of ‘aggressor aircraft’. During the Vietnam War, it was found that the air-to-air kill ratio against North Vietnamese fighter aircraft was too low. In an attempt to improve this, the Navy Fighter Weapons School - better known as ‘Top Gun’ - designed to train pilots against Soviet-bloc aircraft, adopted the Skyhawk and when its avionics and weapons systems were stripped out it proved to be an extremely agile aircraft, and one which could simulate the performance characteristics of the MiG-17. The A-4 Skyhawk remains one the iconic designs of the Cold War era, and its history and operations are celebrated in these pages of this new Datafile from SAM Publications.

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Douglas C-54/R5D Skymaster and DC-4 The Douglas C-54 Skymaster, a direct adaptation of the civilian DC-4 while still on the production line, became the outstanding long-range four-engined transport aircraft of the Second World War. With its origins as a civilian airliner, it served chiefly on the long-distance haul of Air Transport Command of the United States Army Air Forces on the Atlantic and Pacific routes, where it cut flight hours between the United States and the theatres of operation thousands of miles away. The reliability of its airframe and engines was put to good use also on the India-China 'Hump' route, which was described as the most arduous of all within the responsibility of Air Transport Command. Like its smaller Douglas stable mate the C-47, the C-54 boasted legendary reliability, and was the preferred long-range transport from among its contemporaries. A special VIP version was built for use by the President of the United States, Franklin D Roosevelt. The Royal Air Force also used it in small numbers during the Second World War, one of which was outfitted as a VIP aircraft for use by Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The U.S. Navy acquired it under the designation R5D. All production having been commandeered by the USAAF on the outbreak of war, no civilian DC-4s flew during the war. After 1945, however, hundreds became available for use by civilian airlines, which converted them into airliners with passenger seating and comfort, or used them as freighters. Douglas re-opened its production line for new builds in 1946, but the cheap price of the second-hand market kept back this production to only 79 examples. Also in 1946 Canadair ventured to build a Rolls-Royce Merlin-powered version, which it named North Star, used by both military and commercial operators. The DC-4 was a common sight in the immediate post-war period up to the 1950s flown by leading European and United States airline liveries, until it started to be replaced by Douglas's own DC-6 and DC-7. The aircraft came in handy during the 1948-49 Berlin Airlift, during which it hauled food supplies and even coal to the beleaguered German city, and again during the Korean War, airlifting the wounded to Japan and the United States. Dozens of variants of the C-54 were employed in a wide variety of non-combat roles such as air-sea rescue, scientific and military research and missile tracking and recovery. No fewer than 1,315 examples of Skymasters were built in the United States and Canada, flown by 35 air arms of other countries in a variety of versions and roles, and full information on serials, versions and other remarks are all included in very detailed tables in this book. The Aviation Traders Carvair cross-Channel car ferry is not forgotten in this account, and a chapter is dedicated to this unique aircraft converted in Britain from standard C-54s. This new 96 page Warpaint publication written by Charles Stafrace contains 200 colour and B&W photos plus eleven pages of colour artwork by Richard Caruana.

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