Book Review of
AB 205 Huey
Nell’ Esercito Italiano
In Italian Army Service
Aviation Collectables Co.
Italian Aviation Series
ISBN: 978890523199
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2021
MSRP: $24.95
Italian Aviation Series
ISBN: 978890523199
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2021
MSRP: $24.95
HISTORY:
The Bell 204 and 205 are the civilian versions of the UH-1 Iroquois single-engine military helicopter of the Huey family of helicopters. They are type-certificated in the transport category and are used in a wide variety of applications, including crop dusting, cargo lifting and aerial firefighting.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Utility helicopter
National origin: United States
Manufacturer: Bell Helicopter
First flight: 20 October 1956 (XH-40)
Introduction to service: 1959
Status: In service
Primary users: United States Army (historical), Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, Australian Army (historical) and others
Produced: 1956–1987
Number built: >16,000
Variants: Bell UH-1N Twin Huey, Bell 204/205, Bell 212
Developed into: Bell AH-1 Cobra, Bell 214
THE BOOK:
Aviation Collectables Co. is based in Italy.
The book is soft-cover of 65 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format.
The books are authored by a group of 6 writers, which is Aviation Collectables way of doing in their books.
The cover art shows two Huey’s flying in formation over the countryside. Both are overall olive-drab with black bottos The only marking you can make out on them is the Italian Air Force roundel on their sides..
The back cover shows 2 color side-profiles of Hueys . The one at the top is overall olive-drab with the black word ESERCITO on its side and serial no. EI-205 also in black.
The one below it is overall white, with a black nose and undercarriage. It has a black serial no. 348 on its rudder.
The book contains 129 color photos, including the ones on the covers (19 are the walk-around type). There are 7 black and white photos.
There are 2 color posters that advertise Hueys, a line-drawing of the weapon system (M-21) that consists of 2 machine guns mounted atop a missile launcher, two battle maps, photos inside the Bell factory, some really spectacular paint jobs, a few that have Santa and his sleigh painted on their sides, One with a yellow comet with a long tail down the whole side of the Huey.
There are 8 color side profiles of Hueys. Two are in a wave pattern of grey and green with a black anti-glare panel in front of the windshield. One of them has a red panel under the cockpit. The one at the top has white ESERCITO and serial no. EI roundel 252 on its sides, along with a tail propeller warning.
The second one carries a white serial no. IEE73 and a rectangular Italian flag below the cockpit and further back on the fuselage sides the white serial code. I-EIAB with the rectangular flag and the propeller warning.
One is in a wave pattern of 2 shades of green with a black anti-glare panel. It carries white ESERCITO below the cockpit, serial no. E.I. roundel 320 on the fuselage sides and the propeller warning. It has a round squadron shield on the rudder, too small to describe.
One is all white with a black anti-glare panel in front of the windshield and a partial area of its top in black. It has a black UN under the cockpit and a red cross painted on the last cockpit window, black serial no. 273 on the rudder and the propeller warning sign
The last 4 profiles are all in overall olive-drab with black anti-glare panels.
The first one has white ESERCITO under the cockpit and large FMP followed by serial no. E.I. roundel 302 and the propeller warning on its fuselage sides.
The second one has black ESERCITO under the cockpit, serial no. E.I. roundel 282 in black on its fuselage sides along with the propeller warning.
The third one has white EUFOR under the cockpit and black serial no. E.I. 293 on the fuselage sides with the propeller warning.
The fourth, and last one, has black ESERCITO under the cockpit and black serial no E.I. roundel 315 and the propeller warning on the fuselage sides.
The modelers section of the book features the building of the Italeri 1/72nd scale kit It shows a color illustrations of the kits box art and decal sheet, there are 5 color walk-around type photos of the model being made up.
This is followed by a page with a color illustration of the instrument panel of the Huey, with a list of the names of the instruments.
The end of the book has pages with TECHNICAL DATA, ITALIAN ARMY ENGLISH TERMS, SERIALS & CODES, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & the BIBLIOGRAPHY.
This is a neat book about the Huey helicopter. It will be of great interest to modelers who plan to build one and to aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. They are the North American distributor of Aviation Collectables books and all Aviation Collectables titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
The Bell 204 and 205 are the civilian versions of the UH-1 Iroquois single-engine military helicopter of the Huey family of helicopters. They are type-certificated in the transport category and are used in a wide variety of applications, including crop dusting, cargo lifting and aerial firefighting.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Utility helicopter
National origin: United States
Manufacturer: Bell Helicopter
First flight: 20 October 1956 (XH-40)
Introduction to service: 1959
Status: In service
Primary users: United States Army (historical), Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, Australian Army (historical) and others
Produced: 1956–1987
Number built: >16,000
Variants: Bell UH-1N Twin Huey, Bell 204/205, Bell 212
Developed into: Bell AH-1 Cobra, Bell 214
THE BOOK:
Aviation Collectables Co. is based in Italy.
The book is soft-cover of 65 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format.
The books are authored by a group of 6 writers, which is Aviation Collectables way of doing in their books.
The cover art shows two Huey’s flying in formation over the countryside. Both are overall olive-drab with black bottos The only marking you can make out on them is the Italian Air Force roundel on their sides..
The back cover shows 2 color side-profiles of Hueys . The one at the top is overall olive-drab with the black word ESERCITO on its side and serial no. EI-205 also in black.
The one below it is overall white, with a black nose and undercarriage. It has a black serial no. 348 on its rudder.
The book contains 129 color photos, including the ones on the covers (19 are the walk-around type). There are 7 black and white photos.
There are 2 color posters that advertise Hueys, a line-drawing of the weapon system (M-21) that consists of 2 machine guns mounted atop a missile launcher, two battle maps, photos inside the Bell factory, some really spectacular paint jobs, a few that have Santa and his sleigh painted on their sides, One with a yellow comet with a long tail down the whole side of the Huey.
There are 8 color side profiles of Hueys. Two are in a wave pattern of grey and green with a black anti-glare panel in front of the windshield. One of them has a red panel under the cockpit. The one at the top has white ESERCITO and serial no. EI roundel 252 on its sides, along with a tail propeller warning.
The second one carries a white serial no. IEE73 and a rectangular Italian flag below the cockpit and further back on the fuselage sides the white serial code. I-EIAB with the rectangular flag and the propeller warning.
One is in a wave pattern of 2 shades of green with a black anti-glare panel. It carries white ESERCITO below the cockpit, serial no. E.I. roundel 320 on the fuselage sides and the propeller warning. It has a round squadron shield on the rudder, too small to describe.
One is all white with a black anti-glare panel in front of the windshield and a partial area of its top in black. It has a black UN under the cockpit and a red cross painted on the last cockpit window, black serial no. 273 on the rudder and the propeller warning sign
The last 4 profiles are all in overall olive-drab with black anti-glare panels.
The first one has white ESERCITO under the cockpit and large FMP followed by serial no. E.I. roundel 302 and the propeller warning on its fuselage sides.
The second one has black ESERCITO under the cockpit, serial no. E.I. roundel 282 in black on its fuselage sides along with the propeller warning.
The third one has white EUFOR under the cockpit and black serial no. E.I. 293 on the fuselage sides with the propeller warning.
The fourth, and last one, has black ESERCITO under the cockpit and black serial no E.I. roundel 315 and the propeller warning on the fuselage sides.
The modelers section of the book features the building of the Italeri 1/72nd scale kit It shows a color illustrations of the kits box art and decal sheet, there are 5 color walk-around type photos of the model being made up.
This is followed by a page with a color illustration of the instrument panel of the Huey, with a list of the names of the instruments.
The end of the book has pages with TECHNICAL DATA, ITALIAN ARMY ENGLISH TERMS, SERIALS & CODES, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & the BIBLIOGRAPHY.
This is a neat book about the Huey helicopter. It will be of great interest to modelers who plan to build one and to aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. They are the North American distributor of Aviation Collectables books and all Aviation Collectables titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Highly recommended.