Revell RV5204

Book ‘Airlift to the Top of the World’ (book to accompany Shorts Sunderland decals) https://www.lindenhillimports.com/lhi-blog#/ "By 1950 it had been almost forty years since a publicly funded British polar expedition had been attempted. In contrast to the days of Scott and Shackleton, it was now possible to support such a venture with both motor and air transport. The British North Greenland Expedition (BNGE), a combined scientific and military venture to a remote region within 800 miles of the North Pole and headed by a Royal Navy Lieutenant-Commander, would not have been possible without the support of military aviation, mostly in the shape of the Royal Air Force’s Coastal and Transport Commands. This book examines the origins of the Expedition and for the first time tells the full story of the role played by the RAF in transporting the BNGE northwards, supplying it, supporting its scientific research work, and bringing it safely home. It is a story that includes both potential and actual calamities and details missions flown by the RAF in some of the world’s most extreme climatic conditions."

More

Lockheed F-94 Starfire, 160-pages. The F-94 was developed from the Lockheed TF-80C/T-33 two seat trainer version of the famed P/F-80 Shooting Star. It was redesigned around a afterburning engine and a Hughes nose mounted radar system to become a interim all-weather night fighter until replaced by Northrop F-89s and North-American F-86D/Ls. F-94Bs would see combat in Korea where they protected B-29 formations and kept "Bed Check Charlie" at bay. The F-94A/B/C served actively with the USAF and the Air Guard from 1950 through 1959.

More

Re-printed! Curtiss P-40 Warhawk (In Action Series) by Rich Dann. Squadron Signal Books. Expanded Edition with more photos, updated content and 20 extra pages'. The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, a U.S. single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft, first took to the air in1939. In service throughout World War II and used by most Allied powers during the war, the P-40 was the third most-produced American pursuit plane. A total of 13,738 of the aircraft were produced by the time output ceased in November of 1944. The P-40 first saw combat with British Commonwealth forces in June 1941, even before the U.S. had entered the conflict. It was in the Pacific, however, that the aircraft became an icon. Decorated with menacing shark mouths, P-40s served as workhorse fighters of the American Volunteer Group-better known as the “Flying Tigers," who came to China in late 1941, following the withdrawal of the Soviet Volunteer Group earlier that year, as the USSR faced with the full onslaught of Nazi Germany, struggled to maintain a precarious neutrality with Japan and avoid a two-front war. Meanwhile, the P-40 was the first Allied fighter to be supplied to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease for use against the Germans. After Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Army Air Force flew the P-40 extensively in the Mediterranean Theater and during Operation Torch and the subsequent advance northwards into Europe. Illustrated with 168 photographs, numerous color profiles, and detailed line drawings, this volume traces the development of the various modifications of the P-40 throughout the war years and carries on with a few contemporary shots of surviving P-40s still going through their paces at airshows today. 80 pages.

More

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.

More