- White Series No. 9116
- Authors: Ryusuke Ishiguro, Tadeusz Januszewski
- Illustrator: Zygmunt Szeremeta
- Published: Published Stratus available in UK from Mushroom Model Publications
- Format: Paperback 128 pages, A4 size; illustrated throughout, black and white and some colour photos, colour profiles and multiple line drawings, English text.
- Price: at time of review £17.99 from all good bookshops, or direct from the publishers MMP via their MMP on-line store
- ISBN 978-83-89450-61-6
Review by Geoff Coughlin (April 2013) 
Our thanks to Stratus – Mushroom Model Publications for supplying our review sample. Get this excellent title here now at: www.mmpbooks.biz
The Japanese were the only nation in WW2 to use submarine-borne reconnaissance aircraft in any numbers and this book tells the story of the most important of these aircraft; the aircraft was nicknamed “Kingyo” (goldfish) by its pilots. One E14Y Glen, launched from a submarine, was the only enemy aircraft to ever drop bombs on the US mainland – in two sorties over the Oregon forests. These attacks were in retaliation for the “Doolittle” raid against Tokyo and other Japanese cities carried out by B-25 Mitchell bombers. The Glen featured in many Japanese submarine operations throughout the war, including the first transport missions to Germany, here described in detail.
In addition to full technical details of the E14Y, the book describes and illustrates earlier submarine-borne aircraft, and the submarines that carried them.
Useful for scale modellers…
This book is profusely illustrated with photos, plans, maps and colour profiles and even has colour photos of the sole remnants of the E14Y still submerged in the wreck of the Akibasan Maru off Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific.
The quality of the profiles is extremely high and the line drawings provide additional detail very helpful to the modeller. Also beneficial are the period photos showing the airframe in close up towards the end of the book. I like this title a lot, it is well written and provides excellent insight into the role of an important WWII Japanese aircraft.
Click on the images below to enlarge each picture:
Recommended
Geoff C.