Grumman SF
By Matt Bittner
Allied Wings No. 15
Author: Phil H. Listemann
Publisher: Philedition
Binding: Softcover
Pages: 25
The last book I have from Allied Wings is on the Grumman FF, the sibling to the Grumman SF. Comparing the two books, the first thing you notice is the size of the new releases put out by Philedition (RAF in Combat). The first releases from them were in a smaller format; since turning to a "publish on demand" system, Philedition has made the books a larger size. I definitely like the new size although it is a little difficult keeping it open on the modeling workbench.
Not only do the page numbers remain the same, but so does the content, thankfully. Mostly. The one item I like in the older books (I also have their book on the BT-1) is the section on "detail". That section contained a number of detail photos of the subject matter. Granted, it could very well be that there are no detail shots available (since both this and the book on the Curtiss F11C series both don't contain that section) but in any event, speaking as a modeler it is missed. The color pages, being larger, are fewer, but do not contain anything less than the earlier books. The same amount of information is covered, it's just that with a larger-format book, you can fit more information onto a single-page. (One color item to note: the section color known as "Lemon Yellow" is not the same color as the orange-yellow used on the top of the flying surfaces, as the color artwork shows; "Lemon Yellow" a very light yellow.)
To be honest, it was my assumption the Grumman SF was just a re-named Grumman FF. Not so. The Grumman SF had the guns in front of the pilot removed to add more fuel in that area; one gun was moved to the top of the upper wing, the other was made "flexible" and added to the rear cockpit. Granted, later on in its life some SFs had the wing-gun removed, so it can be quite difficult to distinguish the SF from the FF in passing, but it was not the same aircraft. It's knowledge like this that makes this book a must.
The book starts with the prototype then moves into the production models, discussing the small production run. There were only 34 SFs made, and its front-line service was short (but some survived in second-line units until close to the start of WW2). The book then discusses usage of the Grumman SF by the only front-line unit - VS-3B - followed by discussion of the second-line units. Following that is a list of all known airframes (since the run was only 34 it's easy to do) and their life-status. The last section in the book contains the color pages showing some of the aircraft and how they were painted, including squadron section colors.
The only real issue I have with the book are the spelling errors, but do NOT let that keep you from purchasing this book. It's the only title I know of on the Grumman SF, with quite a lot of period photographs and is a must, especially if you're building the MPM (and now newly re-tooled Special Hobby) 1/72 Grumman FF/SF. Heck, this book is a must if you're a student of US Navy 'tweener aircraft in general.
Many thanks to RAF in Combat for sending the review copy.