MMP Books Polish Aircraft (1939) Instrument Panels

AUTHOR:	Dariusz Karnas, who also did the drawings
PRICE:	£15.00 SRP
REVIEWER:	Scott Van Aken
NOTES:	ISBN 978-83-65281-40-17, Hardback, A4

It never ceases to amaze me at the variety of books have have been produced for the aviation enthusiast. It really was not that long ago when our options were somewhat limited, but over the years that has changed.

This particular book is one that I find to be very cool and one that detail modelers will find quite useful. The subject in this case is Polish Air Force aircraft of 1939. There are six different airplanes included in this edition, including the PZL.11c, PZL.37, PZL.43, Lublin R-XIII, RWD-14, and the PWS-26. These were all front line planes at the time of the German invasion so it is appropriate that they would be the subject.

Each entry includes not only huge images of the aircraft's instrument panel, but also images of the individual instruments and several excellent period photographs. This latter addition really helps to place each section into context. As you can probably tell from the cover of the book, these instruments were not simply black and white, but had several subtle background shades, making the panels a lot more colorful than what were on contemporary British or American aircraft.

Several of the planes used some of the same instruments, but this was not always the case as one will find quite a variety. In all, it makes not only for an interesting read, but also a valuable reference for the detail modeler.