Mitsubishi Babs Vol. 2

Mitsubishi Babs Vol. II is a comprehensive history of Japan's revolutionary high-speed strategic reconnaissance aircraft design, covering the Imperial Japanese Navy's attempts to develop its own aircraft and their decision to adopt the Army's Ki-15 design. The book includes detailed technical descriptions, artwork, and photographs, as well as a review of the aircraft's capabilities and manufacturing details.

Format: Hardback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 30 May 2023
Publisher: Wydawnictwo STRATUS, Artur Juszczak

Mitsubishi Babs Vol. II: The World's First High-Speed Strategic Reconnaissance Aircraft

Completes the History of Japan's Revolutionary High-Speed Strategic Reconnaissance Aircraft Design

This second volume delves into the Imperial Japanese Navy's attempts to develop its own high-speed strategic reconnaissance aircraft and their eventual decision to adopt the Army's magnificent Ki-15 design into Navy service as the C5M/Type-98 Reconnaissance Plane (Allied codename Babs).

Spanning eight chapters, Mitsubishi Babs Vol. II provides a comprehensive account of the unit histories and operational deployment of Navy C5M aircraft during the Sino-Japanese and Pacific War. It explores how, through Army support and training, the Navy finally gained the capability to conduct its long-range strategic reconnaissance missions deep into mainland China and Australia.

A significant portion of Vol. II is dedicated to the first highly detailed technical description of the Babs aircraft since the Mitsubishi engineering department completed the final airframe in August 1941. Individual coverage of the Ki-15-I, civilian Karigane-I, Ki-15-II, Karigane-II, C5M1, C5M2, and Ki-15-III offers aviation historians and modellers a deep understanding of individual airframe systems and reconnaissance equipment, supported by custom artwork, cutaways, original engineering drawings, and detailed photographs.

A chapter is also devoted to the pilots operating manual, which outlines the precise techniques for flying this high-performance aircraft.

To counter the often inaccurate reports about Babs' capabilities, two chapters review the Allied intelligence teams' beliefs about the aircraft, supported by crash investigations and technical reports.

Mitsubishi Babs Vol. II is a valuable resource for aviation enthusiasts, historians, and modellers, shedding light on the development and operational history of Japan's revolutionary high-speed strategic reconnaissance aircraft.

Weight: 1154g
Dimension: 216 x 304 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9788367227162