Reference

Title: American Secret Pusher Fighters of WWII: XP-54, XP-55, and XP-56
Author: Gerald H. Balzer
Genre: Non-Fiction, Reference
Reviewer: Frank Evans

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1580071252

American Secret Pusher Fighters of World War II analyzes the state of military aircraft procurement just prior to the start of World War II. It provides insight into the difficulties encountered by America's air services in dealing with an isolationist Congress and a limited mindset in the Army, which was seemingly indifferent to the aeronautical progress being made in Europe by the British and Germans. The book then focuses on the three winners of the 1940 fighter competition - the Vultee XP-54, the Curtiss XP-55, and the Northrop XP-56. These radical designs ("Pusher" referred to having the engine in the back) used non-strategic materials and were developed in secret. At the time, the aerodynamics of these aircraft far outpaced engine development. In addition, this book details the technical difficulties of mating an advanced aircraft design with inadequate engine development.

Title: U.S. Experimental & Prototype Aircraft Projects
Author: Bill Norton
Genre: Non-Fiction, Reference
Reviewer: Frank Evans

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1580071090

America's military aircraft industry was forced to grow at an incredible pace during World War II. At the beginning of the conflict, the nation's air arms were out-matched by better-performing Axis aircraft. It was the development, often in secret, and subsequent performance of America's fighter aircraft that helped turn the tide of the war.
This book focuses on those American fighter projects of WWII that never reached combat forces, or only in a very limited manner. The book illuminates little known or minimally documented aircraft and projects that significantly advanced fighter design but never went into full-rate production and deployment. The standard types are also examined to illustrate the state of the art at the time, the American posture and capabilities, goals set by national and military leadership, and general factors affecting the course of development for classes of fighters. Hence, this work follows the overall development of American fighter aircraft, but emphasizes those little-known projects that matured to the point of significant design development such as mockups, wind-tunnel models, and especially those yielding flying prototypes. Also includes dead-end variants of service types, those only exported after US evaluation, and aircraft that entered service in only small numbers before being overcome by more advanced models or the end of hostilities.

Title: The Book of Weapons: Tools of War Through the Ages
Author: Dwight Jon Zimmerman
Genre: Non-Fiction, Reference
Reviewer: Rob Ballister

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): B003W8GQ4Q

The Book of Weapons is a sequel to the award-winning The Book of War. It covers the history of weaponry from the earliest most primitive instruments of destruction up to the technologically advanced weapons wielded today. Following in the profusely illustrated format of The Book of War, this history is organized chronologically, and is a fascinating survey that reveals the incredible array of arms, animals, methods, and concepts that were forged, fashioned, manipulated, subverted, and even seduced, into becoming the means to bring defeat and destruction to an enemy.

Title: Grumman F9F Panther/Cougar
Author: Brad Elway
Genre: Non-Fiction, Reference
Reviewer: jim greenwald

ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 1580071457

By the end of World War II, piston-powered fighters were at their absolute zenith. As good as those airplanes were, America's aviation industry found itself starting over in the Jet Age with new airplanes powered by anemic and somewhat cantankerous turbine engines. More importantly, just as these new aircraft were maturing, they were thrust into war in the skies over Korea. Grumman's first jets were potent aircraft in their own right, but also proved to be the building blocks from which two more famous Grumman 'cats' were born -- the supersonic F11F Tiger and swing-wing Mach 2 F-14 Tomcat.

Grumman F9F Panther/Cougar tells the story of the pivotal F9F Panther from its initial concept through early design and manufacturing, flight test, aircraft carrier trials, and combat operations in the Korean War. Completing this story is coverage of the more advanced swept-wing transonic Cougar that goes on to become an effective trainer and photo-recon aircraft as well. Detailed appendices provide the reader with complete data on F9F production numbers, carrier deployments, and squadron histories.