Ensign and Man O’ War Book Lists

I am listing these two series together as they can be considered to be the same in almost all respects except the titles. In fact, three of the Man O’ War volumes are reprints of earlier Ensign titles. The Ensign series came first, they were published from 1972-75 by Bivouac Books, Man O’ War were published from 1978-81 by RSV Publications (US), Arms and Armor (UK), and later Plaistow Press.

All volumes shared an 8.0 x 10.0 x 0.2 inch format and ran to 56-60 pages. The authors present a short history of the subject class and the variations seen throughout the production run. The volumes are very well illustrated with numerous photos and line drawings throughout. In the center of the book is a double gatefold section which typically contains line drawings as well as color profiles showing examples of camouflage schemes. The authors are a who’s who of naval experts of the time, including Alan Raven, Anthony Preston, John Roberts, and Maurice Northcott.

Being long out of print these books can sometimes demand exorbitant prices on the secondary market, but still can be occasionally found at model shows or other sellers for reasonable prices. They are valuable references and provide a wealth of information for Royal Navy enthusiasts, so if you locate one at a good price pick it up.

Ensign

King George the Fifth Class Battleships
Dido Class Cruisers
Flower Class Corvettes
Queen Elizabeth Class Battleships
Town Class Cruisers
War Built Destroyers O to Z Classes
Hood + Admiralty Loss Report Insert
Renown and Repulse

Special – Hood Design and Construction

Man O’ War

County Class Cruisers
“V” and “W” Class Destroyers
Battleships Rodney and Nelson
Hunt Class Destroyers
Town Class Cruisers *
Hood *
Flower Class Corvettes *

The last three Man O’ War volumes are reprints of previous Ensign books.

Ensign series covers, there are still some gaps in my collection.

Man O’ War series covers, volumes 1 through 6

Republic F-105G Thunderchief Wild Weasel Walk Around Part III

Photographs taken at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force (NMUSAF), Dayton, Ohio.

Part IV here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2025/07/06/republic-f-105g-thunderchief-wild-weasel-walk-around-part-iv/

Women Warriors 326

Female Protection Forces of the Land Between Two Rivers Christian Militia in Syria

Soviet sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko, 309 kills

P. A. Holden, Australian Womens Army Service with Thompson SMG

ww501_USAF_StacyPearsall — **USAF dog handler Stacy Pearsall**

**British Army Medic Michelle Norris MC in Iraq, 2006**

ww504_WAAF_nurses_C47 — **WAAF nurses with C-47 Dakoda**

ww304 — **WASP pilot Phyllis Jarman at Avenger Field**

To see more Women Warriors, click on the tags below:

Sword AD-3/4 Skyraider Build in 1/72 Scale Part II

Being a limited run kit the fit was off along several seams. The wing to fuselage joint was gapped enough to need shimming. Plan on spending some quality time with your sandpaper and files here. The silver lining is the trailing edge of the wings is molded into the top wing sections and does not require any additional thinning to look right.

The kit comes with a canopy mask which is always welcome, and the canopy is molded in two pieces to give the modeler the option of posing it opened or closed. I ran a Sharpie along the mating surface of the clear parts to hide any stray imperfections caused by gluing or filling.

I primed with Mr. Surfacer 1000 and immediately filled any visible seams with Mr. Surfacer 500. After sanding and re-priming I re-scribed any lost panel lines.

Since the finish on this Skyraider was overall Glossy Sea Blue I deviated from my normal build sequence and attached the majority of the fiddly bits at this point. This will provide for a good glue joint and allow the model to rest on her wheels while the paint dries. Gun barrels have been replaced with Albion Alloys tubes.

Here is the model with a coat of overall Mr. Color Glossy Sea Blue cut with a few drops of white. When that dried I applied a coat of Future thinned with Mr. Leveling Thinner to prep for decals.

The kit decal sheet provides four marking options, all in overall Glossy Sea Blue. The decals performed well, but the aircraft number on the cowl is oversized. The kit decals do not include any stenciling or bomb markings so if I were to build another I would look for some aftermarket decals.

I went ahead and built up several bombs to use on this batch of aircraft and to have extras ready for future builds. The two bombs in the upper left are 1000 pounders from the Special Hobby Bearcat kit, the next six are 250 pounders from the Sword Skyraider. These were a bit rough and took some work to sand down. The remaining two dozen are Academy B-29 500 pound spares which were molded better than the examples in the Skyraider kit.

The finished model carries 1000 pounders on the inboard wing stations, 500 pounders on alternate outboard wing stations, and a drop tank on the centerline. This is copied from a loadout in a reference photo. 5,000 pounds is an impressive payload for a single engine type!

The finished model in Glossy Sea Blue. This kit is not without its challenges and I would only recommend it to experienced modelers with good references. It would benefit from a decal sheet with stencils and bomb markings, as well as some aftermarket goodness to spruce up the cockpit. The problem with the engine mounting is solvable but I can’t understand why it happened in the first place. The Sword Skyraider is not a box-shaker but can be built up into a good model with a little extra work.

Finished photographs here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2025/07/15/sword-douglas-ad-4-skyraider-build-in-1-72-scale/

Picture of the Week 78

Grumman TBM Avengers recover aboard USS Lexington (CV-16) in November 1943. The nearest plane already has its wings folded as it taxis forward, a second is about to make its landing, while a third can be seen in the distance on approach. Some indication of the speed and coordination required to launch and recover large numbers of aircraft can be determined from this photograph. (80-G-K-15290)

German Navy Submarine Hunters – Kriegsmarine U-Boot-Jäger Part II

A U-Boot-Jäger (submarine hunter) of the 12. U-Jagd-Flottille alongside a pier in Norway. The U-Boot-Jäger were converted from fishing trawlers or whalers and shared many features of the similar Vorpostenboote (outpost boats). This example displays the emblem of the 12th Flotilla on her bow. The pipe running down her bow is part of a device used to sweep acoustic mines.

Another 12. U-Jagd-Flottille vessel underway in a moderate swell. The U-Boot-Jäger were fitted with light Flak guns, often in prominent bandstands as seen here. Virtually all the Kriegsmarine Security Forces vessels were also fitted with minesweeping gear and depth charges, making them capable of performing a wide variety of missions.

UJ-1218 (former Torlyn) and UJ-1215 (former Star XIV) nested alongside a pier. This perspective gives a good view of the unusual crossed mast arrangement common to these small ships. Noteworthy are the lack of radars and signal yardarms.

UJ-1710 underway. From the bow perspective there is little to distinguish her as a warship, she appears to be a commonly seen fishing vessel.

Three 12. U-Jagd-Flottille vessels seen moored alongside in the Gulf of Finland on 17AUG42, from a series of photographs. Simply stopping on the open ocean was unusual, a nest of vessels such as this would make a tempting target. (SA-Kuva)

The same three vessels seen from the Finnish Minelayer Ruotsinsalmi. The differences between the vessels are evident, indicative of their expedient conversions. (SA-Kuva)

Two of the U-Boot-Jäger underway giving a good view of their splinter camouflage patterns. The purpose of a splinter camouflage is to break up the outline of the ship, making it difficult to determine her size and configuration. (SA-Kuva)

Another view showing a splinter camouflage pattern. This is the port side of the ship in the foreground of the previous photo, a rare instance where both sides of the same ship were photographed on the same day. Prominent before the bridge and aft of the mainmast are stacks of the square Kriegsmarine life rafts. These could be either yellow or painted in one of the ship’s camouflage colors, but it is often impossible to tell which in black & white photos. (SA-Kuva)

A beautiful portrait of a 12.Flotille U-Boot-Jäger in an intricate splinter pattern. The prominent weapons platforms were a common feature of these converted ships, intended to maximize the fields of fire for the weapons. However, they would have also increased the vessel’s tendency to roll. (SA-Kuva)

Pre-war this vessel was the whaler RAU IV. She was impressed into the Kriegsmarine and converted to the Vorpostenboot V 1511. The damage seen in this photo was attributed to an aerial bomb, she appears to have been abandoned as evidenced by the empty boat davits. She was rebuilt as U-Boot-Jäger UJ-1213. Ultimately, she was torpedoed and sunk by the submarine HMS Trident on 30NOV41.

A view from onboard a U-Boot-Jäger showing the crew standing by the fo’c’sle weapons. In the background is UJ-1224 (KUJ-10) which was sunk by Soviet aircraft on 15AUG44 in Kongsfjord.

Part I here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2025/06/18/german-navy-submarine-hunters-kriegsmarine-u-boot-jager-part-i/

Kriegsfischkutter KFK here: https://inchhighguy.wordpress.com/2025/08/20/kriegsfischkutter-kfk-of-the-german-navy-in-wwii-part-i/

Ensign 3 Flower Class Corvettes Book Review

Ensign 3 Flower Class Corvettes

By Alan Raven and Anthony Preston

Softcover, 56 pages, color profiles, gatefold line drawings

Published by Bivouac Books Ltd., 1973

Language: English

ISBN: 85680 004 X

Dimensions: 8.0 x 10.0 x 0.2 inches

The Flower class corvettes will always be associated with the Battle of the Atlantic. Derived from a commercial whaler hull, almost 300 were produced. They were designed as low-cost escorts which could be produced quickly and in great numbers to counter the German U-boat menace. They were barely fast enough, relatively lightly armed, poor sea boats, and generally overcrowded. They were also the right ships at the right time, and ideally suited for their intended mission.

This is the third volume of the excellent Ensign series, authors Alan Raven and Anthony Preston need no introduction to naval enthusiasts. At 56 pages this is a rather short book, but there is a wealth of information crammed into this small volume. The authors present a short history of the Flower class design and the various changes made throughout the production run. Numerous photos are included throughout. In the center of the book is a gatefold section containing line drawings of both long and short fo’c’sle Flowers, as well as eight color profiles showing examples of camouflage schemes. HMCS Snowberry is presented in a full color gatefold profile. There are scrap drawings of six different bridge arrangements, including the interesting asymmetric fittings of the Type 271 Lantern radar.

The Flower class have always been popular with modelers due to their wide variety of camouflage, navies in which they served, and the bewildering array of hull configurations & fittings. This book is an invaluable reference for those contemplating building a model of one, although it has become difficult to locate a copy and is often quite expensive if one does become available. While I wouldn’t recommend paying collectors’ prices for this book, definitely keep your eyes open for one at a reasonable price, you won’t be disappointed!

Hasegawa Nakajima A6M2-N Rufe of the Takuma Kokutai in 1/72 Scale

This heavily weathered Rufe was flying in the operational trainer role from Takuma in 1944, the diagonal stripe on the fuselage indicates a flight leader. Attempting to model the worn paint was irresistible!