Kagero's fine series on famous aircraft now continues with its ninth edition, this one on the Chance Vought Corsair.

In line with others in the series, the first volume covers the development of the aircraft and its early use; mainly as a land based fighter with the US Marines in the South Pacific Theater. Here the big story is of Marine Air, in conjunction with US Army and Navy bombers, attacking Japanese strong-holds as the US moves from Guadalcanal up the Solomons chain until they are able to neutralize the main Japanese base at Rabaul.

It was during these times that names such as Boyington, Walsh, Hanson and Kepford made themselves well known to US households for their feats. Included in this tale is Tommy Blackburn's VF-17, which was sent into action as the Corsair was not yet suitable for carrier operations. The book carries you up to and including the F4U-1A version, with later variants slated for a later volume.

Like others in this series, the book is dual language with both Polish and English write-ups. It is also profusely illustrated, though many of the images will be familiar with those who have read a great deal on the subject. There are some color photos to add to the mix and Kagero has provided its usual excellent three-view drawings and color profiles. Included in this book is another fine Techmod decal sheet, offering six subjects in the three major scales; three 'birdcage' Corsairs and three -1A versions; all USMC aircraft.

I should take this opportunity to mention that there are a few areas that need improvement. One is that whoever chose the photos, did a terrible job of captioning them. They just don't fit the write-up that well at all. In some cases, the same image is repeated and given completely different explanations as to what is going on in the picture. This is completely at odds with the excellent historical write-up and I assume some apprentice editor was given a 'hurry up and get it done' job. I also spotted a profile that didn't match the image in that the aircraft in question was provided the early blue-grey over light grey camo while the image clearly had the tri-color camouflage. The final thing is that the book would have you believe that there were F4U-2 night fighters made from both the -1 birdcage Corsair and the later -1A variant. I've never seen a photo of the later -1A variant used as a night fighter, nor has any other reference mentioned this. I'm more than willing to be proven wrong, but thought you should know about this as the drawings show the -2 as a modification of the -1A and not the -1 birdcage that most of us are familiar with.

Regardless of these glitches, this is an excellent book. The author has made the story exciting and easy to read; the drawings are a real help to modelers, and there is a super section showing the differences between the different variants. It is a book that Corsair enthusiasts will want to add to their library.

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