This latest edition of their Aircraft in Detail series is on the Fairchild A-10A/C Thunderbolt II. Designed specifically as a ground attack aircraft, the A-10 is pretty much an aircraft that the USAF did not want. However, they did not want the Army to have it so they begrudgingly accepted it. Despite several attempts to mothball the aircraft, it has stayed in service for well over 40 years, because it has proven itself to be the best aircraft of the task. Heavily armored and with multiple redundancy in its systems, the A-10 has frequently returned back from combat with major pieces blown off. As long as there is air superiority, the  A-10 has been quite competent in its mission. So much so, that, with no direct replacement in sight, the type has been fully upgraded in terms of avionics and the fleet will soon be undergoing structural upgrades to keep it flying another 15 years or so.

As with other books in the series, you have various sections that include the Fuselage, Cockpit, Wings, Front and Main Landing Gear, Maintenance, and Things under Wings, along with an In Action section of photos. All of the photos in the book were taken fairly recently so other than a couple of special scheme images, there are a lot of grey A-10s. It would have been nice to include some of the earlier camo schemes, but that isn't the way these books are set up. There is no history section, but you can get a lot of information from the photo captions. The photos are superb and provide the sort of detail that modelers love. It all makes for a superb book not just for those who like great photos, but those who are interested in more of the detail stuff. It is a book that I can quite easily recommend to fans of the type and modelers alike.

March 2024

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