Sikorsky 53 S-43/JRS-1 Amphibian Book Review
By David L. Veres
| Date of Review | June 2016 | Title | Sikorsky 53 S-43/JRS-1 Amphibian |
|---|---|---|---|
| Author | Douglas Siegfried, Steve Ginter | Publisher | Ginter Books |
| Published | 2017 | ISBN | 978-0-9968258-5-6 |
| Format | 104 pages, softbound | MSRP (USD) | $29.95 |
Review
Cutting plastic on Special Hobby's 1:72-scale Sikorsky JRS-1? Tackling Eduard's recent re-release?
Number 103 in Steve Ginter's popular "Naval Fighters" series details the Sikorsky S-43/JRS-1 – and includes USAAC Y1OA-8/OA-8 and OA-11 amphibians.
Author Ginter kicks-off contents with S-43 development notes, chronicles international civil "Baby Clippers", and recaps the Hughes Aircraft Company upgrade.
Text next turns to US Navy and US Marine Corps service. That's followed by a superb section on S-43 details – cockpit, miscellaneous interior, power plant, hull, landing gear, empennage, struts, and wings. And US Army and postwar usage completes core coverage.
Seeking passenger compartment details? They're there. Target-towing equipment? Yep. Wheel well configurations? Those, too. Squadron service? Yowzer. Ginter musters mountains of minutiae. And modelers will go ga-ga.
His understandably anemic model section sports just one lonely injection-molded subject: the Sword/Special Hobby/Eduard boxings. Execuform's 1:72-scale vacuum-form also commands one page of coverage.
Building an early US Navy JRS-1? Don't forget to sand-off the external fuselage strengthening ribs.
What an excellent effort! In true "Naval Fighters" fashion, Ginter surveys design, development, production, service and fate of all 53 S-43s built. In short, you get whole, lavishly illustrated shebang – except, as usual, an index!
Robustly recommended!
With thanks to Ginter Books!