Offered by Over The Blue Horizon and recently obtained in Tokyo is the increasingly difficult-to-obtain premier publication from the very well-regarded Maru ‘MECHANIC OF WORLD AIRCRAFT’ Series – Volume 1 from 1992 featuring three Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) aircraft:  the Kawanishi N1K-J Shiden (GEORGE);  its improved follow-on -- the N1K-J2 Shiden-Kai; and the Kawanishi Type 94 E7K ALF Reconnaissance Aircraft.

This 'MECHANIC OF THE WORLD' series was printed in the early 1990s, and was good enough to still be in high demand today.  Most of the books in the series covered multiple aircraft and offered very specific line drawings, photographs, and color and b/w drawings and profiles – absolutely perfect for the serious aviation historian and advanced aircraft modeler.  

The first of the three aircraft covered in this book is the Kawanishi N1K-J Shiden (GEORGE), the Imperial Japanese Navy land-based version of the earlier seaplane N1K fighter.  The GEORGE possessed a heavy armament and, unusual for a Japanese fighter, could absorb considerable battle damage.  It retained the N1K seaplane fighter’s mid-fuselage wing placement and with the need to drive a huge four bladed propeller, necessitated a very long landing gear which proved to be troublesome.  Although its performance was promising, a number of related mechanical difficulties prevented it from becoming effective.  Despite its superior performance, it was produced too late and in insufficient numbers to affect the outcome of the war.

The N1K GEORGE was redesigned as the N1K2-J Shiden-kai  (kai meaning modified) to address its major defects, primarily the mid-mounted wing which necessitated the overly complex long landing gear. The wings were moved to a lower position which permitted the use of more conventional, shorter landing gear legs, the fuselage was lengthened, the tail redesigned, and the whole aircraft was made much simpler to produce and to use fewer critical materials in short supply.  With its improved design, the N1K2-J Shiden-kai was one the IJN’s finest aircraft of WWII but proved to be yet another case of too little, too late.

The third aircraft covered in this publication, the Kawanishi E7K ALF was a Japanese 1930s three-seat reconnaissance floatplane used extensively by the Japanese Navy from 1938 until the beginning of the Pacific War, by which time E7K1 were relegated to second-line duties. Its improved variant, the E7K2, continued in front-line service until 1943 and both versions were used in Kamikaze operations in the closing stages of the war.

Condition of this 164-page, 7/5 x 10.5 inch hardcover with dust jacket is GOOD+ with light shelf wear to the dustjacket; otherwise, the book is TIGHT, BRIGHT and CLEAN.  Text is in Japanese but these 'Mechanic of the World' books prove the old adage that 'a picture is worth a thousand words'. 

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