Offered by Over The Blue Horizon and recently obtained in Tokyo is a superb publication from the very well-regarded MARU ‘MECHANIC OF WORLD AIRCRAFT’ Series – Volume 11 from 1994.  This particular series was printed in the early 1990s and is still highly sought after today.  Most of the books covered multiple aircraft, and they although they were written primarily in Japanese, offered very specific line drawings, photographs, and color and b/w drawings and profiles – all with a focus on the mechanical aspects of the aircraft and absolutely perfect for the serious aviation historian and advanced aircraft modeler.  This particular auction is for the hardcover Volume 11 from this series and it features two Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) dive bombers: the AICHI D3A VAL and the YOKOSUKA D4Y SUISEI JUDY. 

Although obsolescent at the beginning of WWII, the AICHI D3A VAL with fixed spatted landing gear was the first Japanese aircraft to drop bombs on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Designed to a 1936 carrier-based dive-bomber requirement, early production D3A1s were powered by the 1000 hp Mitsubishi Kinsei 43 radial which gave it a top speed of 240 mph with 814 lb bomb load.  Following limited land-based operations in China and Indo-China, D3As were flown in all major carrier actions during the first 10 months of the war and sank more Allied naval vessels than any other Axis aircraft, among them the HMS Hermes -- the world's first carrier to be sunk by carrier-based aircraft.  Heavy losses among D3A1s during and after the Battle of the Coral Sea, however, forced withdrawal by most of the survivors to land bases. In 1942, the improved D3A2 was introduced with increased fuel capacity and more powerful engine, but by 1943 the aircraft were hopelessly outclassed by American fighters; a small number was subsequently employed in kamikaze attacks.

Designed as a replacement for the VAL, the JUDY was a fast carrier-based attack bomber and powered by a license-built German Daimler-Benz DB 600G engine.  First flown the D4Y1 in December 1941, JUDYs began to roll off the production line in the late spring of 1942. The first operational mission/loss was at Midway but with the losses of Japanese carriers, especially at the Battle of the Philippines Sea, JUDYs became primarily a land-based asset. Although constantly improved and eventually refitted with a more available radial engine, the over 2,000 JUDYs produced never achieved the success of the VAL it replaced, and finished the war as a kamikaze aircraft.

These two IJN stalwarts enjoy superb coverage in this 173 page, 7.5 x 10.5 inch hardcover with dustjacket that was published in 1994.  Condition is GOOD+ bordering on VERY GOOD – the book shows light shelf wear to the dustjacket but everything else about it is TIGHT, BRIGHT, and very CLEAN. Here’s an outstanding opportunity to obtain an increasingly rare ‘MECHANIC OF WORLD’ hardcover in great condition! Note that Over the Blue Horizon ships from the USA with FREE United States Postal Service (USPS) PRIORITY shipping to USA buyers! eBay charges sales tax for certain states; Over the Blue Horizon charges Hawaii residents state general excise tax. Your purchase will be carefully wrapped to ensure that it arrives in the same condition as described in the eBay listing.  If you are not happy with your purchase for whatever reason, we will work something out -- your satisfaction is GUARANTEED.  Regardless of where you are in the world, buy with confidence from a well-established eBay merchant with a sterling reputation and an exceptionally high customer satisfaction rate.