Early US Jet Fighters: Proposals, Projects and Prototypes
By Chris Banyai-Riepl
Author: Tony Buttler
Publisher: Hikoki Publications
ISBN: 978-1-9021093-0-5
Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 208
The transition of the world's air forces from piston engines to jet power was a challenging one, and it resulted in quite a few difficulties, false starts, and hidden gems. This new title from Hikoki Publications takes a look at those early American jet fighter designs for both Air Force and Navy, with some overlap in the predecessor to the Air Force, the Army Air Force.
The book begins with, well, the beginnings. Two chapters detail the specific beginnings for the Air Force and Navy, respectively, in their search for jet fighter aircraft. Following this introduction, the book then looks at specific types of fighter aircraft. This begins with three Army Air Force concepts: the all weather fighter, the penetration fighter, and the interceptor. Similar concepts evolved on the Navy side, with separate chapters given to the Navy night fighter, day fighter, long range escort fighter, and interceptor. The remaining pages document miscellaneous projects, flying boat fighters, and supersonic aircraft.
Each section covers the different concepts developed for the specific mission. For example, for the Army Air Force interceptor, the book documents some of the early delta-wing concepts, moves through to the Douglas D-558 test aircraft, and on to the XF-92 and XF-91 designs that saw extensive flight testing. In addition to the written text, the book is peppered with great photos and drawings that help show the evolution of design.
For those interested in how we got to the aircraft in service, this is a very useful book. Many of the subjects presented are available as model kits as well, so this becomes a good modeler's reference too. My thanks to Specialty Press for the review copy.