Military Model Scene

Title: US Air Power 1945-1990 Vol1
Author: David Baker
Publisher: Helion & Co
ISBN: 978-1-804513-75-0

Volume 1: US Fighters and Fighter-Bombers, 1945-1949, number 2 in the new Technology @ War series from Helion & Co. An 84-page soft-cover book.
The first in a planned series of 15 volumes tackling the story of US Air Power between 1945 and 1990. Volumes 2 and 3 will cover bombers and then naval aircraft over the same early period. This one gets us off to a great start. There are plenty of aspects to this story. It starts at the end of WW2, when the US was like so many other governments, needing to get back to peacetime levels of military expenditure, and with huge volumes of equipment still in their inventory, but spread around the world. There is new organisation, new technology with the move from propeller driven aircraft to the new jets. and the industry that had proved itself during WW2 now adapting to the post-war challenges, along with the emergence of Russia as the potential opposition in what would be come to be known as the Cold War. As well as the jets that went into service, there were plenty that were built as projects, though never made it into production/service. Lots of archive photos throughout, which include some of the weird and wonderful experimental machines and a good number of modern colour images of airframes preserved in museums today. From the odd looking Twin-Mustang, the Convair XF-92, McDonnell XF-85 Goblin and others, it was a time of great change.
Add the section of colour artwork profiles in the middle of the book and this is one I am sure will be popular with modellers, just as much as aviation enthusiasts. The mix of well known aircraft such as the F-84 and F-86, through all the other experimental work delivered in this period, including of course the X-1 breaking the sound barrier. So many pioneering designs, I found this a really interesting read, plus some great reference pictures.
Thanks to Helion & Co for the review copy.

Robin