Reviewed by Cookie Sewell

On Deck USS Lexington is available online from Squadron.com

I have to admit that I have become a big fan of the naval books that Squadron has published in recent years, and really liked the first one in this series on the USS Alabama (BB-60). I have the one on Essex Class carriers (Squadron/Signal # 4010) as well as the "Detail and Scale" volume on the Lexington itself (D&S #29), but I am happy to say that this book provides totally new and fresh photos and descriptions as compared to those two volumes.

I assume from the commentary that Mr. Adcock was in the Navy as he has a very large personal collection of photos, both black and white and color, which make up the majority of those presented in this book. Unlike the other two, he alternates photos from the WWII history and configuration of the carrier to its postwar configuration, its service as the training carrier for shipboard qualification of naval aviators, and its current status as the third and last Essex Class carrier to become a floating museum (USS Yorktown (CV-10) is at Patriot's Point in Charleston, SC, and USS Intrepid (CV-11) is tied up in Manhattan on the Hudson River.)

The photos selected have a very good cross section of the main points of interest most modelers have with carriers, namely the flight deck, hangar deck, and armament details, but Mr. Adcock also provides a number of lesser seen elements such as the various compartments in the island used for command and control of the ship in combat, pilots' ready rooms, berthing spaces, and other sections not commonly seen or understood by the public.

The timing of a third good reference on this particular ship is very good, as sharp-eyed modelers will probably have noticed that the Chinese company Trumpeter has announced that they are following up their release of a 1/350 scale model of the USS Hornet (CV-8) with a 1/350 model of the USS Essex (CV-9) in her WWII configuration. Books like this will be a boon to anyone who wants to do a good WWII version of either the Essex class carriers or the USS Lexington itself.

Thanks to Squadron/Signal for the review copy.

Cookie Sewell
AMPS
 

Review Copyright © 2002 by Cookie Sewell
Page Created 10 December, 2002
Last updated 22 July, 2003

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