Boeing B-50 Book Review
By David L. Veres
| Date of Review | February 2013 | Title | Boeing B-50 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Author | Geoffrey Hays | Publisher | Ginter Books |
| Published | 2012 | ISBN | 9780984611492 |
| Format | 240 pages, softbound | MSRP (USD) | $49.95 |
Review
I just found the perfect reference for ACADEMY's 1:72 Superfortress kits.
The lavishly illustrated BOEING B-50 – number 215 in GINTER BOOKS' popular "Air Force Legends" series – sports 240 pages of incredibly in-depth information.
It's not your dad's B-29, either. Bombers, tankers, trainers, weather birds and recon versions. Inside and out. From design and development through deployment and disposal, author Hays competently – and chronologically – chronicles the Superfortress in six sumptuous sections:
- B-50A
- B-50B, RB-50B, YB-50C, B/RB-54A & XB-55
- B-50D & WB-50D
- KB-50, KB-50J & KB-50K Tankers
- B-50 Test & R&D Aircraft
- TB-50A, TB-50D & TB-50H Trainers
Detail fanatics! Grab your drool cups! Over 700 photos and illustrations – many of the latter from USAF tech manuals – flavor this fulsome account. Charts and diagrams further spice the study. And concluding remarks offer helpful hints on accuratizing ACADEMY's offerings. (Hint: some require ACADEMY's B-377 airliner.)
Crackerjack prizes abound. Hays sows strategically placed color comments keyed to FS specs in text. And coverage includes notes on the only B-50 lost to hostile action. My inner "what-if" also appreciated addenda on Boeing's XB-54 and XB-55 proposals.
Irritants mar this otherwise outstanding effort. Hays' copious compendium really required contents and indices for referencing. And those page-wide paragraphs proved really irksome to read. Multi-column formats work much better.
Gripes aside, get GINTER's splendid BOEING B-50. It's the ultimate opus on this unsung Cold Warrior.
Strongly recommended.
With thanks to GINTER BOOKS!