Military Model Scene

Title: Fairy Gannet AS.1
Author: Dariusz Karnas & Artur Juszczak
Publisher: MMP Books
ISBN: 978-83-67227-28-5

Number 49 in the Single series from MMP Books, covering the Cold War era Fairy Gannet in it's early anti-submarine variant. A 24-page soft-cover book.
The book opens with 4 pages containing scale plans of the aircraft, including a series of fuselage cross-sections and front views showing it with wings extended and folded to enable it to be stowed in an aircraft carrier hanger deck. These are followed with18-pages of detailed photos, showing complete aircraft as well as the smaller details. There is a page showing the instrument panels from the centre cockpit, thought nothing on the front and rear crew cockpits. The photos show the Gannet in service with the Royal Australian Navy along with more detail from museum examples in collections at the Luftwaffenmuseum at Berlin-Gatow and another at the IWM site at Duxford, in Cambridgeshire. They also include good coverage of the 8-bladed contra-rotating propellors of the double Mamba engines. The final 2 pages at the back of the book have colour profiles and a plan view of a Royal Navy example from 820 squadron, on HMS Bulwark in 1957.
A handy reference, especially for modellers, maybe those working on the recently released 1/48 Airfix kit. Some neat detail in the photo collection. It is a super addition to the MMP Single series, and attracted my attention because I am a regular volunteer at the Museum of Berkshire Aviation, where we have an example of the T.5 variant, a pilot and armament conversion trainer. As a fan of the Gannet, I particularly liked this new addition to the Single series.
Thanks to Casemate UK, who are UK distributors for MMP Books, for the review copy.

Robin