Military Model Scene

Title: The Supersonic BONE
Author: Kenneth P. Katz
Publisher: Pen & Sword
ISBN: 978-1-39901-471-7

The Development and Operational History of the B-1 Bomber. A hefty 375-page hardback which tells us the roller-coaster story of the B-1. The B-1B has always been such an impressive machine at air shows over many years now so a very welcome book. The B-1B, officially known as the Lancer, but still better known simply as the 'BONE'.
It all started with the requirement for a replacement for the B-52, even as that was only due to come into service. In the search for a supersonic nuclear bomber there was the design for the Valkyrie but then there was the B-1A. The early B-1A programme is described in great detail, with all the testing detail about the aircraft design, even the crews for the various flights. After just a few prototypes though that was cancelled by the then President Carter. Then with the election of a new President, Ronald Reagan, new life was breathed into the B-1 programme and the B-1B developed. We are taken through the details and development of the airframe structure, the engines, crew positions, avionics and more. A swing-wing, supersonic aircraft, with 3 internal weapons bays there is so much to learn in this story, as the aircraft grew through a period of great change. From a nuclear bomber of the Cold War, it came to be used for conventional weaponry as well, with guided bombs as well as missiles. It has developed along with technology amidst a changing series of threats and politics around the world, not just at home in America. There are details of the aircraft serving in SAC (Strategic Air Command), operational/combat use in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as breaking records such as round the world flights. One story tells how a Bone helped a surrounded Special Forces unit, too close to drop the bombs it carried, but the surprise & noise of a B-1 flying suddenly low overhead was enough to scare them. Some of the early examples were retired so the later models could have more money spent on them with maintenance and upgrades. The final chapter does look at the planned replacement when it is ready, the B-21 Raider, and what is happening to the remaining airframes in the closing years of the B-1B.
There is all the detail I think we could ask for within the text but the extra element to the book is the collection of hundreds of simply stunning photographs of each aspect of the aircraft, from designs, in the factory, the weapons loads and inside and out of the while aircraft. A stunning book and if you like the B-1, then I think this really should be on your bookcase, because I can't imagine it being bettered.
Thanks to Pen & Sword for our review copy.

Robin