Aircraft Pictorial #3
OS2U Kingfisher

by Dana Bell

Classic Warships Publishing

Reviewed by Steven Eisenman

OS2U Kingfisher by Dana Bell is available online from Squadron.com
 

 
Dana Bell always promised that when he retired from his position at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum he would write books about aircraft that were of particular interest to him. Well, Dana has retired and it appears he is achieving his post-retirement ambitions with a vengeance.
 
This monograph on the Vought OS2U Kingfisher is the second monograph Dana has written for the Aircraft Pictorial series from Classic Warships Publishing.  His first, on the SB2U Vindicator, was reviewed here at Hyperscale.

This monograph begins with an overview of the history of the Kingfisher’s service with the United States Navy from the -1 model through the -3 model.  It then describes the evolution of the various camouflage schemes applied to the aircraft.  Dana even points out the serial numbers of the aircraft where a transition in scheme occurred.

 
But, after these two pages comes the heart and substance of the monograph, the pictures and explanatory captions.  Dana has amassed an amazing collection of pictures, many of which I have not seen before, to fully illustrate the aircraft from its structure to the various camouflage scheme.  All are well reproduced, and a number of the pictures are in color.
 
Dana does not leave the pictures to stand alone as explanation.  He offers extensive commentary on each of the pictures, pointing out details.  So, items such cockpit structure, control surfaces, floats and aircraft marking are not left up to the reader to decipher from the pictures. Dana takes the time to explain it all.
 
Finally, Dana has included Vought general arrangement drawings (GAs) for both the float and wheeled arrangements.  The drawings provide the various dimensions of the airframe.
 
My only complaint is with the organization of the monograph.  Pages dealing with the airframe and structure are broken up with pages about markings and camouflage and pictures of aircraft recovery.  I would have preferred a tighter organization with a sense of distinct subject matter sections within the monograph.

While Dana’s monograph is probably the best of its type on the Kingfisher, it is more than just a book about the airframe and colors and markings.  This monograph is an indispensible aid to any modeler who wants to do justice (Advance Modeling Syndrome) to a model of the OS2UKingfisher.

As far as I am concerned, this is required reading for any modeler interested in the subject.

Review Copyright © 2012 by Steven Eisenman
This Page Created on 15 August, 2012
Last updated 15 August, 2012

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