Modeler's Close-up #3 - EA-6B Prowler

Here's another title aimed straight for the modeler from Dataview Publications. This title provides color coverage of the Grumman EA-6B Prowler.

The EA-6B was a follow-on to the EA-6A, which was the first electronic warfare (EW) version of the A-6 Intruder. The A-6 was one of Grumman's famous backwards designs where the pointy end of the jet was in back. It excelled in all-weather day or night attack missions, and its airframe was well-suited to be modified to house all of the specialized avionics and antennas for the EW mission. Like the A-6, the EA-6A was a two-place aircraft.

Grumman decided to stretch the fuselage to house four crewmen in the cockpit and additional avionics in the rear. This derivation became the now-familiar EA-6B Prowler. While the Prowler initially was designed to escort the A-6 Intruders into and out of a hostile environment, it had no offensive capability. This was later rectified with the introduction of the AGM-88 HARM. Now Prowler crews have the option of passive jamming with chaff, active jamming with ECM, or terminal jamming with HARM.

This title is a compilation of US Navy photos combined with up-close shots of the aircraft on the flightline. Most photo pages contain only one picture per page, giving you essentially an 8"x10" detail shot at your fingertips. What's more, the title is spiral-bound so you can easily prop any page open for reference whilst working on the bench.

This Modeler's Close-Up is cover-to-cover color photography which has been color laser printed on quality paper stock. While the subject aircraft are mostly subdued gray camouflage, the color printing helps to quickly identify those non-gray details to help you bring your own Prowler project alive. This title is definitely recommended!

This title is available directly from the publisher at Dataview Publications (www.dataviewbooks.com).

My sincere thanks to Dataview Publications for this review sample!