Title:

T-6 in North Africa

Author:

 Alain Crosnier and Gilbert Nëel

Publisher

 DTU

Price

 $

Reviewer:

Jean Paul Poisseroux
Notes: ISBN 2-912749-06-9

Characteristics:

21cm x 29.7 cm, 89 pages, in landscape format, French language, 133 color pictures, 215 b/w
1 page of 1/72 drawings, 35 pictures  in photoscope, 39 color profiles.

The publisher of the French well-known modelling magazine REPLIC aside its new range called Check list, has just published a new study on a famous well-known US aircraft, the N.A T-6 Texan. The famous trainer has been the mount of thousand young pilot across the world, and numerous of them still fly on civil register. But how many of them have seen “fire” on conflicts? At least one country  employed extensively the venerable airplane in a domestic “war”, that was for a long time called “pacification” and maintien de l’ordre”, an independence access for Algerian people unfortunately full of blood on the two sides.

Until today, only two books dealt with this T-6; Ouest-France, with a little booklet, and Atlas edition with “les T-6 dans la guerre d’Algerie”(OOP, now). So for fans of the T-6, French or not, this new book is great  for historians and modellers. If you don’t read French, that will let you aside the history and organisation of the program (though copy, past on a translator will help you to understand the main ideas), the unpublished pictures in black and white and ESPECIALLY the ones in color (really a gift on this season) taken by personnel in action .

The two first pages try to fix the number of T-6 (all versions, from all countries), that France received after the second World War to train its pilots. By crossing infos, it appears that 930 aircrafts had been inventoried from 1956 to 1959.Used initially for training mission, the events in Algeria, led to a re-armament of the aircrafts. The pages 3, 4, 5 explain the initial gun on the cowling of T-6D, and the heavy version on the G type, full of machine guns in gondolas, T10 rockets, Matra rocket launchers, bombs support, napalm tanks. Equipped with air/ground radio, fixed with armor plates, the dangerous bird became heavy to fly in the courageous hands of converted jet pilots. After these preliminaries, the festival of color pictures start! In natural aluminium, or in yellow dress, a lot of unexpected images came to life! Taken in air and on ground, on Ops areas, or with the mechanics, ideas for dioramas are there.

Aside the pictures, color profiles show interesting aspect of the aircrafts with codes, and EALA (Escadrille d’Aviation Légères d’Appui, for Light support aviation squad) colored  insignias, and ferocious teeth around the cowling. The last pages concern a little photoscope of internal and external details with extracts of the cockpit manual. In final the five view drawings quoted 1/48, are in fact in 1/72 scale. Modeller will note that this bird has been produced in 1/72 by Heller and by Revell AG in bright yellow scheme and could be find in stores or in swap meets. (Aeromaster ref 48-398 , Model Art 48-008 / 72029 also produce decals sheets for them). And now we wait for the next! Thanks to the authors and editor for this “Christmas gift”              

 Available at DTU : dtu.sarl@wanadoo.fr

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