US Heavy Cruisers in Action (Part 1) By Al Adcock Squadron/Signal Publications, ©2001 ISBN 0-89747-422-8 50 pages Reviewed By Michael Benolkin

This new title in Squadron's line-up begins to fill a void in the Naval modeler/historian's shelf. With the previous coverage of US aircraft carriers, battleships and light cruisers, the heavy cruiser was left wanting…until now.

Mr. Adcock begins coverage of the US heavy cruiser in the Introduction just before the turn of the 20th century and leads through the developments of the cruiser up through the opening of the Second World War. From there, this title goes into detailed coverage of the Pensacola, Northampton, Portland and New Orleans classes.

As with all of the 'In Action' series, this book is packed with black & white photographs that beautifully illustrate the details and configurations of each class as well as significant ships from each class. The 'centerfold' contains six color profiles showing the typical camouflage schemes applied to these vessels, as well as scrap diagrams showing the color schemes worn by the embarked seaplanes.

This title will be a welcome addition to any naval modeler and/or historian's bookshelf. My sincere thanks to Squadron/Signal Publications for this review sample!