Vought SB2U Vindicator Book Review
By David L. Veres
| Date of Review | March 2018 | Title | Vought SB2U Vindicator |
|---|---|---|---|
| Author | Steve Ginter with Joe Weathers, Jr. | Publisher | Ginter Books |
| Published | 2018 | ISBN | 978-0-9993884-0-2 |
| Format | 248 pages, softbound | MSRP (USD) | $52.95 |
Review
A US Navy "Golden Age" icon gets full-on Ginter Books treatment in the publisher's latest foray.
Vought SB2U Vindicator – no. 106 in Ginter's "Naval Fighters" series – spans 248 picture-packed pages.
Coverage follows the publisher's proven prescription. Contents broadly divide into design, development and service sections. And like past installments, it's amazingly illustrated.
Several hundred photos, drawings and technical-manual excerpts tincture text. And unlike many Ginter productions, color illustrations aren't restricted to covers alone.
But it's not all eye candy. Text comes packed with absorbing anecdotes and action accounts.
Did you know that a Vindicator "almost killed" FDR's son John, a Navy supply officer? Nor did I. Details of training efforts with SB2Us proved surprisingly – and extremely – interesting. And combat chronicles of USMC Vindicators during the Battle of Midway and Aéronavale V-156Fs during the Battle of France certainly snagged my attention.
Several manufacturers released Vindicator kits to 1:72 and 1:48 scales. And hobbyists will naturally reference Ginter's usual modeling section for useful notes on most of these.
An excellent effort. But that's a Vultee YA-19 (V-11) behind the Vindicator on page 167 – not a "Northrop A-17[A]". And that should be a 500 lb – not 5000 lb – bomb on page 219.
But I nitpick. If your library contains just one book on Vought's SB2U Vindicator, make it this one.
Roundly recommended.
With thanks to Ginter Books!