DOC Vought F4U Corsair: Volume 1 (Monographs) by Tomasz Szlagor; Leszek A. Wieliczko in History

Review

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. A hard book to reviewBy Jim DavisAt first glance this book fits right into the long established Monographs series by publisher Kagero. It is an 8-1/4" x 11-3/4"; square bound card cover of 104 pages. It's the 52nd book in the series (no. 3052). It is the first volume devoted to the famous Vought F4U Corsair. But the F4U has already had two books in this series devoted to it (nos. 9 and 26). Why not just reprint those with any corrections or additions? This would make sense for Monograph 9 in any case; the English was very poor.However; Kagero has gone in a different direction. The present book is completely different from the previous ones. The text is much more extensive and much better translated and supported by well selected black and white photographs. The text is divided into three sections each with its own bibliography and end notes. The first section; pages 3 through 27; covers the background; design and development; and technical description up through the XF4U-3 variants. The second section; pages 28 through 32; cover the camouflage and markings of the aircraft through its entire service history. The third section; pages 33 through 94; is a comprehensive service history of the F4U in the Solomons campaign and the subsequent aerial assault on Rabaul. There is a map on page 92 which is very useful in following movements. There are some appendices covering production; performance; and characteristics of the aircraft in tabular form. The book concludes with 8 pages of color profiles (9 including the rear cover).There are also some pages out of order. The pages should be read in order 1-42; 44-45; 43; 46-104.However; the book has none of the extensive drawings that are a normal feature of these series; either the traditional line drawings or the more extensive 3D computer models. Are these planned for subsequent volumes or are the excellent ones in the aforementioned Monographs 9 and 26 supposed to suffice?In conclusion; it's hard to evaluate this book without knowing what plans are in store for subsequent volumes on the F4U. The book is excellent value as it stands but there is little that can't be found elsewhere. I felt a little cheated without the strong graphical content that this series usually provides.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy John TaylorGreat book and a lot of info.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. No Scale Plans or detailsBy TechnoDave61I was disappointed with this series; didn't give enough detail of the engines; cockpit etc.. to make scale models;NO scaled blue prints as in the Nakajima Hayate