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By fStop Fitzgerald | 18 July 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

Lasarte U.S Cruise Missiles

jeeringly From Kettering’s 1920s’ Bug & 1950’s Snark to Today’s Tomahawk

By Bill Yenne

Specialty Press, 2018. 203 pages. $34.95.

Unmanned aircraft are, in general, of little interest for me. It is the man—and now, woman—in the cockpit that brings an aircraft literally to life. The story of aviation is more about people than equipment, so I approached Bill Yenne’s work with a bit of a chip.

I was wrong.

This book is a very worthy addition to anyone’s aviation book collection. It is a very solid basis from which to understand unmanned aerial vehicles. And Yenne does put the humanity in these pilotless craft.

The first chapter, “From Bug to Buzz Bomb,” covers the subject from the earliest days of aviation through the end of World War II. This chapter is packed with information, but had me wanting more, especially about the earliest years. Subsequent chapters, however, flesh out the many early projects from the Matador and Mace, through the two versions of the Regulus, Navaho, Snark, Rascal, and Hound Dog. Most of these garner little comment and many details of inception, production, and deployment are generally unknown to the general reader. Yenne changes all that.

One leaves this book with the sense that they have a firm foundation in the history and evolution of pilotless aviation.

For one, I had always been impressed by the XSM-64 Navaho. As a 12-year-old in the ’50s, I simply thought it was neat and never could figure out why it never went anywhere. Yenne dedicates eight full pages to the subject, including a dozen photographs—most in color—and three sets of illustrations and drawings.

The SM-62 Snark was another favorite. How could anyone not love a bright red missile with white markings? Especially if you could get one for 98 cents at your local hobby shop. Yenne gives it 11 pages, eight photographs—but none showing the red versions in color—and six drawing sets and a map.

Both sections significantly added to the knowledge base and clearly explained each missile’s significance.

Just a few missiles, the modern ones—primarily the Air Force’s air- and ground-launched cruise missiles (ALCM and GLCM) and the Navy’s Tomahawk—consume half the book. Their tales are as much a study of military weapons procurement as they are about the design, engineering, production, and use of the missiles. Yenne successfully navigates the minefield of political and military intrigue that appears to surround every weapon purchase. Everything is put in perspective.

Yenne’s prose and presentation of the subject matter is very easy on the reader. Comprehension of even the most complex issues is easy. And, of course, in what appears to a standard for the Specialty Press, the book is printed on thick, high-gloss stock, which reproduces photographs almost perfectly. Few spreads are lacking for imagery. Photographs and informative illustrations and charts are placed where needed to buttress points made in the text.

All in all, this book is worthy of being read and adding to your collection.

What an Addition to the Aviation Bibliography

By fStop Fitzgerald | 18 July 2019 | Comments 0 Comment

Boeing B-47 Stratojet: Strategic Air Command’s Transitional Bomber

By C. Mike Habermehl and Robert S. Hopkins III

Specialty Press, 2018. 320 pages. $44.95.

The Stratojet was every 1950s kid’s ideal of U.S. aviation might. It was big. Six jets hanging out there on the wings for all to see. It was fast. It even looked like it was going 600 mph when it was just sitting on the ramp. When discussing “clean” aircraft, the B-47 is among the first mentioned.

It was among the first designs released by Revell in 1954 once that company began producing plastic models from their own molds in 1953. It was re-released in 2006. Yes, the big jet caught the public’s attention. And the Soviets’ as well.

There are nearly a dozen significant books about the B-47, most published since the type went out of service. Thus, they should be very informative about even some of the most classified aspects of the bomber’s operations. Habermehl and Hopkins have very obviously capitalized on this and produced the most recent and perhaps the best on the topic.

This is an impressive work. It easily replaces—replaces—at least five books on my shelves. Few books can make that claim. One gets that sense that the narrative is an airframe-by-airframe, minute-by-minute account of the B-47’s history. It is, however, only a sense. The prose never has the staccato recitation of aircraft and dates. The hardcore airplane junkie readily finds that information in the expansive 66 pages of appendices.

It is the authors’ attention to detail—significant detail—and their logical presentation that yields the sense, but not the reality of information overload. Despite six decades of following aviation, I found many revelations in their work, a number of them surprising. For instance, the Air Force’s FICON (Fighter Conveyor) wingtip-tow project is well known. But the authors, in a section called “Drawing Board Disasters,” discuss not only a B-47/dual F-86 combination, but also a B-36/dual B-47 concept. Surprising as it is, they note that aerodynamic studies supported the feasibility of both projects. But these never got off the drawing board.

The physical presentation of the material is in a word “fantastic.” All books should be printed with this quality. The paper is thick, glossy stock, which reproduces the well-exposed and processed photographs as close to their original state as possible. Of course some images could or should be larger, but in the interest of more being better (more images, more information), they are reproduced large enough for the detail to be seen. Excellent informative graphics and charts are strategically placed throughout the book, further enhancing the narrative.

In this day of paying $50 for specialty books being the norm, this is an unequivocal no-brainer. If you want to know everything about the B-47, if you are interested in the early days of jet-propelled bombers or the Strategic Air Command or simply the evolution of an aircraft, this book not only belongs on your shelf, it must be read and re-read.