Review of
Mitsubishi A5M Claude
Author: Dariusz Paduch
No. 3075
Kagaro Publishing
ISBN: 978-83-66673-35-9
Copyright: 2021
MSRP: $33.95
ISBN: 978-83-66673-35-9
Copyright: 2021
MSRP: $33.95
HISTORY:
The Mitsubishi A5M, formal Japanese Navy designation Mitsubishi Navy Type 96 Carrier-based Fighter, experimental Navy designation Mitsubishi Navy Experimental 9-Shi Carrier Fighter, company designation Mitsubishi Ka-14, was a Japanese carrier-based fighter aircraft.
It was the world's first low-wing monoplane shipboard fighter to enter service and the predecessor to the famous Mitsubishi A6M "Zero". The Allied reporting name was Claude.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Carrier-based fighter
Manufacturer: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd
Designer: Jiro Horikoshi
First flight: 4 February 1935
Introduction to service: 1936
Retired: 1945
Primary user: Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
Number built: 1,094
Variants: Mitsubishi Ki-18, Mitsubishi Ki-33
THE BOOK:
Kagero Publishing is based in Lublin, Poland.
This book is soft-cover of 86 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format. It comes in a self-sealing clear cello envelope.
The cover art shows a color illustration of a A5M Claude, that is flying above the clouds. It is overall silver-grey, with a black cowling and a red rudder and elevators. It has a wide diagonal red fuselage band and a narrower red horizontal one. It has a black fuselage code that is Japanese letters – 260 and white code W-101 on the sides of its rudder.
On top of the wings the Japanese letters – is repeated-largely on top of the right wing and large 260 on top of the left wing. Both are black. It is carrying a white Japanese rising sun flag flying from its radio antenna.
It is a Mitsubishi A5M4 Claude from Soryu Air Group, flown by Capt. Tamotsu Yokuama, Commanding Officer of the carrier’s fighter squadron, Blockade of China’s Eastern Seaboard, November 1939
This aircraft is illustrated again as a color 4-view inside the book.
It contains 106 black and white wartime photos. One photo shows one on a carrier deck.
58 photos are of the Mitsubishi A5M Claude.
There is a photo of a DeWoitine D.371
A photo of a Curtis Hawk III
A photo of a Nakajima A1N2, NK1F, A4N1, two of a Ki-11 and four of a Ki-14
A photo of a Mitsubishi 1MF10, a 3MT5, two of a Ki-14, two of a Ki-18 and two of a Ki-33
There are 24 walk-around type photos that show a Claude inside and out.
Eight photos of Japanese pilots.
Four photos of a Claude that was captured by the Chinese and then given to the Soviet Air Force. It is marked with red stars.
There are 12 1/48th scale line-drawing profiles, including illustrations of the interior bulkheads of a Claude. A top and bottom1/48th scale line drawing.
Four data lists.
An advertisement for Kagero’s A6M Reisen Zeke books no. 72 vol. 1 and vol. 2 no. 73.
A page showing 87 tiny black and white cover arts of other Kagero books.
Six color side-view illustrations of the Claude.
One color 4-view of it.
A loose color advertisement announcing 4 up-coming books from Kagero that will include decal sheets:
Eastern Front Tanks, Bf-109A-F, P-40 and Japanese Fighters.
This is a neat book about the Claude. It will be of interest to modelers planning to build a Claude or to aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Kagero books and all Kagero titles can be viewed on Casemate’s web-site at:
The Mitsubishi A5M, formal Japanese Navy designation Mitsubishi Navy Type 96 Carrier-based Fighter, experimental Navy designation Mitsubishi Navy Experimental 9-Shi Carrier Fighter, company designation Mitsubishi Ka-14, was a Japanese carrier-based fighter aircraft.
It was the world's first low-wing monoplane shipboard fighter to enter service and the predecessor to the famous Mitsubishi A6M "Zero". The Allied reporting name was Claude.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Carrier-based fighter
Manufacturer: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd
Designer: Jiro Horikoshi
First flight: 4 February 1935
Introduction to service: 1936
Retired: 1945
Primary user: Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
Number built: 1,094
Variants: Mitsubishi Ki-18, Mitsubishi Ki-33
THE BOOK:
Kagero Publishing is based in Lublin, Poland.
This book is soft-cover of 86 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format. It comes in a self-sealing clear cello envelope.
The cover art shows a color illustration of a A5M Claude, that is flying above the clouds. It is overall silver-grey, with a black cowling and a red rudder and elevators. It has a wide diagonal red fuselage band and a narrower red horizontal one. It has a black fuselage code that is Japanese letters – 260 and white code W-101 on the sides of its rudder.
On top of the wings the Japanese letters – is repeated-largely on top of the right wing and large 260 on top of the left wing. Both are black. It is carrying a white Japanese rising sun flag flying from its radio antenna.
It is a Mitsubishi A5M4 Claude from Soryu Air Group, flown by Capt. Tamotsu Yokuama, Commanding Officer of the carrier’s fighter squadron, Blockade of China’s Eastern Seaboard, November 1939
This aircraft is illustrated again as a color 4-view inside the book.
It contains 106 black and white wartime photos. One photo shows one on a carrier deck.
58 photos are of the Mitsubishi A5M Claude.
There is a photo of a DeWoitine D.371
A photo of a Curtis Hawk III
A photo of a Nakajima A1N2, NK1F, A4N1, two of a Ki-11 and four of a Ki-14
A photo of a Mitsubishi 1MF10, a 3MT5, two of a Ki-14, two of a Ki-18 and two of a Ki-33
There are 24 walk-around type photos that show a Claude inside and out.
Eight photos of Japanese pilots.
Four photos of a Claude that was captured by the Chinese and then given to the Soviet Air Force. It is marked with red stars.
There are 12 1/48th scale line-drawing profiles, including illustrations of the interior bulkheads of a Claude. A top and bottom1/48th scale line drawing.
Four data lists.
An advertisement for Kagero’s A6M Reisen Zeke books no. 72 vol. 1 and vol. 2 no. 73.
A page showing 87 tiny black and white cover arts of other Kagero books.
Six color side-view illustrations of the Claude.
One color 4-view of it.
A loose color advertisement announcing 4 up-coming books from Kagero that will include decal sheets:
Eastern Front Tanks, Bf-109A-F, P-40 and Japanese Fighters.
This is a neat book about the Claude. It will be of interest to modelers planning to build a Claude or to aviation historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Kagero books and all Kagero titles can be viewed on Casemate’s web-site at:
Highly recommended.