08 The de Havilland Hornet & Sea Hornet - Detailed Guide

Airframe Album 8 — de Havilland Hornet and Sea Hornet

It is a reference publication, not a kit. Valiant Wings Publishing has treated the land-based Hornet and the carrier-borne Sea Hornet as one whole in it and presents them from a modeler's point of view: the structure assembly by assembly, the development of the versions, the finishes and model builds. The author is Richard A. Franks, the text is in English, the format is A4 and the binding is softback.

What the book contains

• a technical description of the structure from the nose to the tail, with the emphasis on the cockpit and the engine nacelles
• the development of the type: prototypes, land-based and carrier-borne versions and the night-fighter rendition
• camouflage and markings with color profiles
• isometric drawings of the structural assemblies
• model builds in 1:72 and 1:48 scale and appendices with an overview of kits, accessories and decals

The aircraft

The Hornet was a British long-range twin-engine fighter that built on the experience with the wood-and-metal structure of the Mosquito era. It was among the fastest piston-engine aircraft the Royal Air Force ever had and it came into service only after the end of the Second World War; among other places it was used in Malaya. The carrier-borne Sea Hornet was given a folding wing and equipment for operating from aircraft carriers, including a night-fighter rendition for the Fleet Air Arm. The wooden structure is also held responsible today for the fact that no airworthy example has survived.

Who it is for

For modelers who build the Hornet or the Sea Hornet in 1:72, 1:48 or 1:32 and need material on the details, and for anyone interested in the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm in the first postwar years. It is not a book about the operational history of the units. The reader should count on an English text.