Book Review of
The British Aircraft Carrier
HMS Furious
Author: Witold Koszela
Kagero Top Drawings Series No. 27
English-Polish Publication
ISBN: 97883-66673-88-5
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2011
MSRP: $24.95
English-Polish Publication
ISBN: 97883-66673-88-5
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2011
MSRP: $24.95
THE BOOK:
Kagero is based in Lublin, Poland. They do their books in both Polish and English. This book is in both languages.
It is in soft-cover of 28 pages in 8” x 11 ½” page format.
The cover art shows a top and side view illustration of the Furious as an aircraft carrier. It is in shades of grey with a red water line below the hull, posed on a red background.
The back cover also shows the Furious as an aircraft carrier as a top and side view in colors already described.
HISTORY:
The British aircraft carrier HMS Furious is one of the most unusual-units of the Second World War.
The ship was designed during the previous conflict as a “great light cruiser”, with 457mm guns, but far-reaching changes were made during construction. Furious entered service in June 1917 as an aircraft cruiser with a large aircraft deck in the bow and the stern and a single turret with with a gun of the mentioned caliber in the stern. The Furious made history as one of the precursors of British on-board aviation, becoming a floating platform for various types of trials and tests with airplanes.
In quickly turned out that the aircraft deck took up the entire bow part and was insufficient to meet the day-to-day expanding on-board aviation. Therefore, after carrying out only a few patrols on the waters of the North Sea, the ship was returned to the shipyard in the same year, where it underwent reconstruction.
This time, the aft tower and mast were removed and in their place was built another hangar with an aircraft deck, which was connected to the bow with special platforms running on the sides of of the preserved superstructures. Since then, Furious was already a powerful aircraft carrier.
Unfortunately not very successful, considering the superstructure with a chimney that occupies the entire amidships, which apart from obviously taking up space, caused air turbulences induced by the huge dimensions and warm exhaust gases coming from the chimney.
However, this did not prevent Furious from becoming the hero of the historical event, which was on-board aviation first strikes on land targets, which took place on July 19, 1918. The target of the attack was the German Zeppelin base in Tondern and it was carried out using Sopwith Camel planes taking off from the deck of the Furious.
After the war, the ship was briefly put into reserve, and then in the early 1920’s the decision was made about one more –third consecutive reconstruction of Furious, this time converting it to an aircraft carrier in the full sense of the word, with a powerful hangar and continuous aircraft deck.
Since then, Furious has been one of the Royal Navy’s most valuable aircraft carrier.The unit was intensively exploited almost continuously for various types of trials and tests with the use of on-board aviation. It was on its decks that new planes were tested and experience for later projects of modern aircraft carriers, such as the famous Ark Royal or the Illustrious Type.
Throughout this time, the ship was modernized, the silhouette was changed, and most of all, the weapons and electronic equipment.
After the outbreak of WWii, Furious, although it was already aged, was still suitable for operational use. The ship was repeatedly sent to search for German raiders and convoy cover. During operations in Norway, planes taking off from its deck supported the Allied soldiers fighting on land and fought against German shipping.
Interestingly, similarly to the previous war, the ship went down in history during this conflict as well, when on April 11, 1940, the Swordfishes taking off from its deck carried out a torpedo attack on a German destroyer in the area of Trondheim, which Is commonly considered the first ever attack on a warship by planes taking off from the deck of an aircraft carrier.
Later, the ship was directed to its next tasks. Between November 1940 and May 1941, Furious made several transport cruises to West Africa and transfers of planes to Malta. It also took part I the rally to the ports in northern Scandinavia occupied by the Germans.
The turn of the years 1941-1942 saw Furious spending time in the United States where it underwent a long modernization. Then the ship returned to Britain continuing further combat service.
The book contains 85 line drawings:
In 1/850th scale there is a cutaway of the Furious as the original cruiser.
In 1/200th scale there are:
A cross-section of the Furious at beginning of its service as a cruiser and rebuilt as an aircraft carrier, its forecastle and bow deck as a cruiser, a 3-view of the chimney when still a cruiser, a 2-view of its main superstructure as a cruiser, the bow after change to a carrier and before the change, a 3-view of the stern section after becoming a carrier, the bow portion 140mm gun as still a cruiser, a 2-view of amidship section as a cruiser, the lower landing deck as a carrier, the bow deck as a carrier, a 4-view of the chimney shafts after rebuild as a carrier, a 3-view of deck boat bays, a 2-view of the stern after rebuild as a carrier, a 2-view of the superstructure as the original cruiser, a 3-view of the main turret with 457 mm gun on the cruiser and also the 140mm L40 Mk. 1 gun, a 2-view of a 25ft fast speed boat, a 25ft motor cutter, a 32 ft motor cutter, a 16 ft dinghy, a 32 ft lifeboat, a 30ft gig, a 34 ft fast speed boat, a work raft, a 37 ft whaler, a 14 ft dinghy.
In 1/100th scale there are line drawings of:
A 3-view of a 102mm Mk. III gun, a view of a 102mm Mk. XIX gun, a 4-view of a 76mm Mk.1 gun, a 3-view of a salute gun, a 2-view of a Paravane minesweeper, and a 2-view of a Pinasa launch.
In 1/72nd scale there are line drawings of:
A 4-view Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber, a 3-view of a Fairey III, a 3-view of a Fairey Flycatcher, a 3-view of a Sopwith 1 ½ Strutter and a Sopwith 2F1 Camel. There are about a hundred line-drawings of details of the ship and the aircraft carried.
There are 2 fold-out sheets, printed on both sides with line-drawing blueprints.
Both sheets are in 25” x 18” format and folded twice to fit the book.
The face side of the first sheet shows a 3-view line drawing of the Furious as a carrier in 1/400th scale.
The other side shows a 3-view of it as a cruiser, also in 1/400th scale.
The face side of the second sheet shows a 3-view color illustration of the Furious as a carrier. It is in medium-grey, red water line, white dashes on deck, tan rear lower wood stern deck.
The reverse shows a 3-view of it as a carrier.
This book will be of interest to modelers and naval 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 website at:
Kagero is based in Lublin, Poland. They do their books in both Polish and English. This book is in both languages.
It is in soft-cover of 28 pages in 8” x 11 ½” page format.
The cover art shows a top and side view illustration of the Furious as an aircraft carrier. It is in shades of grey with a red water line below the hull, posed on a red background.
The back cover also shows the Furious as an aircraft carrier as a top and side view in colors already described.
HISTORY:
The British aircraft carrier HMS Furious is one of the most unusual-units of the Second World War.
The ship was designed during the previous conflict as a “great light cruiser”, with 457mm guns, but far-reaching changes were made during construction. Furious entered service in June 1917 as an aircraft cruiser with a large aircraft deck in the bow and the stern and a single turret with with a gun of the mentioned caliber in the stern. The Furious made history as one of the precursors of British on-board aviation, becoming a floating platform for various types of trials and tests with airplanes.
In quickly turned out that the aircraft deck took up the entire bow part and was insufficient to meet the day-to-day expanding on-board aviation. Therefore, after carrying out only a few patrols on the waters of the North Sea, the ship was returned to the shipyard in the same year, where it underwent reconstruction.
This time, the aft tower and mast were removed and in their place was built another hangar with an aircraft deck, which was connected to the bow with special platforms running on the sides of of the preserved superstructures. Since then, Furious was already a powerful aircraft carrier.
Unfortunately not very successful, considering the superstructure with a chimney that occupies the entire amidships, which apart from obviously taking up space, caused air turbulences induced by the huge dimensions and warm exhaust gases coming from the chimney.
However, this did not prevent Furious from becoming the hero of the historical event, which was on-board aviation first strikes on land targets, which took place on July 19, 1918. The target of the attack was the German Zeppelin base in Tondern and it was carried out using Sopwith Camel planes taking off from the deck of the Furious.
After the war, the ship was briefly put into reserve, and then in the early 1920’s the decision was made about one more –third consecutive reconstruction of Furious, this time converting it to an aircraft carrier in the full sense of the word, with a powerful hangar and continuous aircraft deck.
Since then, Furious has been one of the Royal Navy’s most valuable aircraft carrier.The unit was intensively exploited almost continuously for various types of trials and tests with the use of on-board aviation. It was on its decks that new planes were tested and experience for later projects of modern aircraft carriers, such as the famous Ark Royal or the Illustrious Type.
Throughout this time, the ship was modernized, the silhouette was changed, and most of all, the weapons and electronic equipment.
After the outbreak of WWii, Furious, although it was already aged, was still suitable for operational use. The ship was repeatedly sent to search for German raiders and convoy cover. During operations in Norway, planes taking off from its deck supported the Allied soldiers fighting on land and fought against German shipping.
Interestingly, similarly to the previous war, the ship went down in history during this conflict as well, when on April 11, 1940, the Swordfishes taking off from its deck carried out a torpedo attack on a German destroyer in the area of Trondheim, which Is commonly considered the first ever attack on a warship by planes taking off from the deck of an aircraft carrier.
Later, the ship was directed to its next tasks. Between November 1940 and May 1941, Furious made several transport cruises to West Africa and transfers of planes to Malta. It also took part I the rally to the ports in northern Scandinavia occupied by the Germans.
The turn of the years 1941-1942 saw Furious spending time in the United States where it underwent a long modernization. Then the ship returned to Britain continuing further combat service.
The book contains 85 line drawings:
In 1/850th scale there is a cutaway of the Furious as the original cruiser.
In 1/200th scale there are:
A cross-section of the Furious at beginning of its service as a cruiser and rebuilt as an aircraft carrier, its forecastle and bow deck as a cruiser, a 3-view of the chimney when still a cruiser, a 2-view of its main superstructure as a cruiser, the bow after change to a carrier and before the change, a 3-view of the stern section after becoming a carrier, the bow portion 140mm gun as still a cruiser, a 2-view of amidship section as a cruiser, the lower landing deck as a carrier, the bow deck as a carrier, a 4-view of the chimney shafts after rebuild as a carrier, a 3-view of deck boat bays, a 2-view of the stern after rebuild as a carrier, a 2-view of the superstructure as the original cruiser, a 3-view of the main turret with 457 mm gun on the cruiser and also the 140mm L40 Mk. 1 gun, a 2-view of a 25ft fast speed boat, a 25ft motor cutter, a 32 ft motor cutter, a 16 ft dinghy, a 32 ft lifeboat, a 30ft gig, a 34 ft fast speed boat, a work raft, a 37 ft whaler, a 14 ft dinghy.
In 1/100th scale there are line drawings of:
A 3-view of a 102mm Mk. III gun, a view of a 102mm Mk. XIX gun, a 4-view of a 76mm Mk.1 gun, a 3-view of a salute gun, a 2-view of a Paravane minesweeper, and a 2-view of a Pinasa launch.
In 1/72nd scale there are line drawings of:
A 4-view Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber, a 3-view of a Fairey III, a 3-view of a Fairey Flycatcher, a 3-view of a Sopwith 1 ½ Strutter and a Sopwith 2F1 Camel. There are about a hundred line-drawings of details of the ship and the aircraft carried.
There are 2 fold-out sheets, printed on both sides with line-drawing blueprints.
Both sheets are in 25” x 18” format and folded twice to fit the book.
The face side of the first sheet shows a 3-view line drawing of the Furious as a carrier in 1/400th scale.
The other side shows a 3-view of it as a cruiser, also in 1/400th scale.
The face side of the second sheet shows a 3-view color illustration of the Furious as a carrier. It is in medium-grey, red water line, white dashes on deck, tan rear lower wood stern deck.
The reverse shows a 3-view of it as a carrier.
This book will be of interest to modelers and naval 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 website at:
Highly recommended.