One thing about books from Specialty Press is that they are always excellent reads and this one is no exception. Authored by Dan Hagedorn, whom many will recognize from his other superb works, this book is on one of the more famous aircraft in the history of aviation, the North American T-6 and the nearly bewildering number of variants.

Most would say that the T-6 and the DC-3/C-47 are vying for which can stay flying the longest. Both are rugged, both were built in the thousands, and both are still types that one can see, at least in North America, with great regularity.

The T-6 family was originally designed as an advanced trainer. One that had all the modern attributes; retractable landing gear, low wing monoplane design and a full vision canopy. In fact, several variants were sold as armed light bombers while some were purposely built as single seat fighters. All of this is fully covered by what is to this reviewer, the best book on the T-6 family yet published. Though there are still a few blanks or uncertainties in the type's history, most of these have been filled and you'll find it all here.

Not only are there superb photos and excellent illustrations, but the research that has gone into this book makes it an equally useful research tool. Not only are all the pre-war and war-time aircraft covered, but so are the many rebuilds that were done post war. Those that were sold by the military after the war were often purchased by North American for rebuilding to later standards. This was done for both the USAF and the Navy. Frequently at rebuild to T-6G standard started as an SNJ. It is stated in the book that often times, North American converted and resold the same plane three times.

There is an extensive serial number listing of converted aircraft as well as a rundown of all the nations that flew the plane. The listing is seriously long and the author has tried to find photos to represent each nation.

This is not one of those titles that will linger on the shelves to gather dust, but one that will be read and re-read many times. It would be a bit of an understatement to say that this is a book that I highly recommend. If you are a fan of the T-6, you simply must have this one. It is that good.

June 2009

Review book courtesy of Specialty Press , where you can order your copy of this and many other superb aviation and modeling books.

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