Osprey | C-47/R4D Units of the ETO and MTO

Reviewed by Brad Hagen

C-47/R4D Units of the ETO and MTO
Osprey Publishing
Combat Aircraft 54
Softcover
1 84176 750 6
7.25 X 9.75 inches
96 pages
Illustrations: 96 b/w; 18 color

The C-47/R4D was used throughout WW2 on all fronts and was involved in some of the most dramatic actions. This volume covers the European and Mediterranean theaters and is the only book of its type on the subject matter currently in print.

This volume covers the airborne assaults in north Africa, Sicily, Normandy, southern France, Operation Market Garden and the crossing of the Rhine. The night drop for D-Day and the Bastogne supply missions, along with more typical accounts of training, formation flying, airdrops and casualty evacuation missions. This volume details an aircraft that remains a popular favorite among modelers and historians alike.

Finding operational information on this aircraft has never been easy and this volume does a good job of giving a good general overview of the different operations it was used on. I was in a bit of a quandary while reading this book, on the one hand it was interesting finding out facts I didn't know of operations that I had read about before and also more detailed use of an airplane I had heard so much of but that I knew so little about; on the other hand I found the reading a bit on the dry side. It definitely doesn't read like a novel, but then again, it wasn't meant to.

In the large scale, I don't know if there are any vac kits available, if not, that only leaves the Guillows kit. If you're thinking of buying this book for reference photos for detailing your model, they really won't be of much help. While the book as a very nice selection of photos, they're mostly overall photos of the aircraft or of the aircraft in use, the book was never intended to be used for detailed reference. It does have a nice selection of profiles which would be of a great help picking out a unique scheme for your C-47/R4D!

Conclusion

Even though the writing style was a bit dry for my tastes, I still learned new information about operations I had read about and a lot about an aircraft I had always liked that I knew virtually nothing about and I am glad I read it. I recommend this book if you are interested in this aircraft or learning more about the particular operations.

Review sample compliments of Osprey Publishing.

© Brad Hagen 2006

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This review was published on Saturday, July 02 2011; Last modified on Wednesday, May 18 2016