Squadron
from the USA have
some interesting new products out this month – two new books – one on the Fletcher
class destroyer the USS Kidd in WWII and Korea as well as another of the excellent “In Action” series about
the Korean-Vietnam War era F3D Skyknight. Also on the books is a resin
replacement cockpit from True Details to replace the Roden parts in their T2
Trojan kit. Let’s have a look at all three in our preview
True
Details 1/48 Scale Aircraft Accessories…
Resin
cockpit upgrade including tandem cockpit tub, seats (x2), rear bulkhead,
sidewall panels, forward instrument panel, rear instrument panel with coaming,
rudder pedals, control sticks and throttle grips. For Roden kit RD0441.
New from
Squadron/Signal Publications…
By David
Doyle
Fletcher-class
destroyers were the mainstay of the US Navy's destroyer force during WWII. With
175 of the class commissioned, the Fletchers were the most numerous of the
American 'Tin Cans' - as destroyers are affectionately known. Today, only one
of the type has been preserved in WWII-configuration, the USS Kidd. Named after
Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd, who gave his life on the bridge of his flagship USS
Arizona at Pearl Harbor, the destroyer USS Kidd (DD-661) conducted two years of
successful operations in the Atlantic and Pacific during World War II, before
being struck by a kamikaze on 11 April 1945. In that incident, the Kidd lost 38
of her crewmen killed and another 55 wounded. After repairs, the destroyer
rejoined the fleet, only to be decommissioned after the war. Recommissioned and
brought back to active service during the Korean War, the Kidd remained an
active Naval vessel until she was decommissioned for the last time in 1964.
Documented in colour close-up photos are the details of the exterior of the
ship, as well as her interior spaces, where destroyer sailors lived, fought,
and some died, painstakingly restored and preserved today in Baton Rouge by the
Louisiana Naval War Memorial Commission. Illustrated with 234 photographs.
Doyle; 80 pages.
By Alan
C. Carey
The US
Navy's first all-weather jet fighter, the Douglas F3D Skyknight, traces its
origins to 1945, when the Navy began studies for a jet-powered, carrier-based
night fighter. Ready for service when war broke out in Korea in 1950, the
Skyknight, also known as 'Willy the Whale', proved its worth in the capable
hands of pilots and radar operators with Marine Night Fighter Squadron
VMF(N)-513.
The F3D
scored the highest number of aerial victories for an all-weather jet fighter in
that conflict. Later, in the late 1950s and 1960s, Douglas Aircraft, in
conjunction with the Navy and Marine Corps, modified a number of the Skyknights
to perform a variety of tasks. This book chronicles the development and
operational history of the Navy fighter from conception to duty in the Korean
War, to service as a night interceptor in Vietnam, where it was an ECM/ELINT
platform, jamming North Vietnamese missile and anti-aircraft sites. Packed with
never before published colour and b/w photographs covering the entire
operational life of the F3D-1/2, F3D-2B, F3D-1/2M, F3D-2T2, and the EF-10B
variants. Illustrated with more than 196 photos and 10 line drawings; 80 pages.
Check out
the Squadron
site for more details and some great service