Japanese Aero-Engines 1910-1945
Product ID: 76641476
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In this book the authors have endeavored to remedy the notable lack of comprehensive coverage. The development of all the many engines produced by Japanese aero-engine manufacturing companies from 1912 to 1945 is explored in detail, including a full explanation of the different systems used to identify them. Furthermore, the developments are related to the aircraft in which the various engines were used, including prototypes, flying test-beds, and changes in the make or type of engine during an aircraft’s operational service. In other words aircraft evolution in Japan is viewed in snapshots as it happened from the aero-engine aspect and not from the complete aircraft aspect as is featured in most publications. Unfortunately this approach necessitates numerous cross-references in the text where several different engines are associated with a particular aircraft, for which the authors can only apologize. Lastly, to illustrate the industrial background, the origin and development of each of the aero-engine manufacturing companies is also outlined briefly Review: Comprehensive look at a neglected subject - MMP Books breaks new ground with this book covering Japanese aircraft engines from the beginning through the end of World War II. It is a comprehensive book that covers all aspects of the subject. The engines developed by the major manufacturers take pride of place and space but the pioneers and minor manufacturers are not neglected nor are the engines built under license. There is a natural chronological bias as well with engines in production during the war getting proportionally more attention than prewar types. Japanese designation systems are gone into in great depth but it is very easy for even the long time enthusiast to get confused by the bewildering number of systems in use at any given time. One gets the impression that the joint system started in 1943 did little more than add to the confusion. With Japanese aircraft one can pick a designation system (short designation for Navy and kitai number for Army works best for most of us) with little chance of confusion since the Army and Navy rarely used the same aircraft. But that's not the case with engines. The book is a laminated hard cover with decorated boards, an 8-1/4" x 11-3/4" text block, and 216 pages, all put to good use. There is no color to be found in these pages. The book has illustrations but they are all photos of completed engines so are of limited value in discerning details. Engines are not the most photogenic of subjects. Drawings are to be preferred but there are none to be had. A strong point of the book is the comprehensive tables and indexes that allow the reader to extract data with minimum effort. Another strong point is the focus on the aircraft the various engines powered. There are a few minor complaints. There was a word processing breakdown that left a lot of words hyphenated mid line like "pro-duction". Also, the decision to break up the Mitsubishi and Nakajima companies into prewar and war chapters was ill considered as many engines (some of the more widely used ones) straddled both chapters adding confusion to an already confusing subject. Highly recommended. The book has a wealth of information and should do for Japanese engines what the two Putnam volumes did for Japanese aircraft decades ago. Review: Incredibly Thorough - This book has almost too much information... listing models of engines that were only experimental or didn't reach production... Because of that, it is sometimes difficult to follow--- and not helped by all the names and numbers the Japanese used to identify their aircraft engines!... It would have been improved if the authors spent a little more time in separately-identified sections discussing the merits and demerits of each engine instead of burying that information in the ultra-dense text... But clearly a reference book I will re-read many, many times!
| Best Sellers Rank | #658,038 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #283 in Model Building #571 in History of Engineering & Technology #588 in Aeronautics & Astronautics (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.3 out of 5 stars 30 Reviews |
J**S
Comprehensive look at a neglected subject
MMP Books breaks new ground with this book covering Japanese aircraft engines from the beginning through the end of World War II. It is a comprehensive book that covers all aspects of the subject. The engines developed by the major manufacturers take pride of place and space but the pioneers and minor manufacturers are not neglected nor are the engines built under license. There is a natural chronological bias as well with engines in production during the war getting proportionally more attention than prewar types. Japanese designation systems are gone into in great depth but it is very easy for even the long time enthusiast to get confused by the bewildering number of systems in use at any given time. One gets the impression that the joint system started in 1943 did little more than add to the confusion. With Japanese aircraft one can pick a designation system (short designation for Navy and kitai number for Army works best for most of us) with little chance of confusion since the Army and Navy rarely used the same aircraft. But that's not the case with engines. The book is a laminated hard cover with decorated boards, an 8-1/4" x 11-3/4" text block, and 216 pages, all put to good use. There is no color to be found in these pages. The book has illustrations but they are all photos of completed engines so are of limited value in discerning details. Engines are not the most photogenic of subjects. Drawings are to be preferred but there are none to be had. A strong point of the book is the comprehensive tables and indexes that allow the reader to extract data with minimum effort. Another strong point is the focus on the aircraft the various engines powered. There are a few minor complaints. There was a word processing breakdown that left a lot of words hyphenated mid line like "pro-duction". Also, the decision to break up the Mitsubishi and Nakajima companies into prewar and war chapters was ill considered as many engines (some of the more widely used ones) straddled both chapters adding confusion to an already confusing subject. Highly recommended. The book has a wealth of information and should do for Japanese engines what the two Putnam volumes did for Japanese aircraft decades ago.
M**Y
Incredibly Thorough
This book has almost too much information... listing models of engines that were only experimental or didn't reach production... Because of that, it is sometimes difficult to follow--- and not helped by all the names and numbers the Japanese used to identify their aircraft engines!... It would have been improved if the authors spent a little more time in separately-identified sections discussing the merits and demerits of each engine instead of burying that information in the ultra-dense text... But clearly a reference book I will re-read many, many times!
W**8
Every model # you can dream of...
Not enough photos and/or pictures, and too many of those came from one junkyard...
J**E
helpful book
This book will give me more information about each engine and the minute details that i cannot find on line. so it is greatly appreciated.
J**L
A Valiant Effort Worthy of Purchase
The authors and their supporting team are to be congratulated on a superb effort in producing this book. Readers maybe disappointed by some gaps within the book and the description of the book on Amazon freely acknowledges the difficulties in gathering, collating and presenting the information. Read the description carefully before you buy this book. The presentation of the information in the book is very, very good if not a touch dry. (This is not a H. Smith or B. Gunston style book. Although to be fair, there might be some translation issues as the contributors and editors brought English, Polish, Italian,and Japanese into the fold. Also consider the fact that the primary author died some time before this book went to press) Edit: I've been rereading the book. My comment about the writing being dry was a bit harsh. The first clue to the level of difficulty faced by the writing team in the tabular data is presented as "Known Characteristics". Given the state of production, cooperation and destruction at the end of WW II, the authors have done a great job of combing through the influences of different people, academia, the Zaibatsu and of course the usual inter-service rivalry between the IJ Army and Navy. I can heartily recommend this to anyone with a serious interest in the subject. Modelers will be ill-served by this volume and I would recommend the Herschel Smith volume over this book for those with a casual interest in Japanese engines. https://www.amazon.com/History-Aircraft-Piston-Engines-Continental/dp/0897450795/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1495310782&sr=1-1&keywords=herschel+smith+aircraft+engines This volume although small at 240 pages does have a great amount of tabular data and written technical/historical details. A nice surprise was the authors briefly touching on gas turbines as well. The aircraft installations are covered, but additional references will be needed to find illustrations of the the aircraft. It is not heavily illustrated except for ATAIU/manufacturers pictures of the engines in the second half of the book. This book will require a few revisits to get the most out it. Also, it may really have been deserving of being split into two volumes, however that would have driven up the price point and the market for this level of specialized writing may not be large enough to justify the costs and be profitable for the publisher. This is a very welcome addition to my library.
D**K
Reference Book Quality, Best Book On The Subject By Far !
I had many web conversations with Mike Goodwin about Japanese engines and aircraft, produced or planned in the J-aircraftdotcom site that we were both volunteer moderators. He was extremely knowledgeable and very enthusiastic about Japanese aircraft and engines and had the right technical background to make sense of the details. Like Mike, Peter Starkings is an enthusiast/expert on aviation history uncovering details and information you'll never hear on History Channel. I had to take a break from the website and lost contact but when I saw this book on Amazon, I immediately ordered it. I had very high expectations on the book (I am en engineer, I expect all details) and the authors delivered them all and much more. Unfortunately, my joy and enthusiasm turned into sadness, when I saw on the first page that Mike passed away and did not see his book published. Therefor I have this to say to the readers; This is not a book that is written in short time by collecting information here and there. This is product of decades of diligent and painstaking work of collecting, filtering and compiling information. Believe me, I know, I still have Mike's emails from 15 years ago that he was working on excel spreadsheets to make sense of variants and hunting for technical information lost so that one day obscure history may be uncovered. To Mike; Wherever you are now, well done my friend. History of Science and Tech owes you and Peter big one on this. You'll be missed.
J**A
Nice book.
Speedy delivery. Nice book.
M**C
Very detailed info.
Well detailed but NO mention of Shoda aircraft and Shoda-Hikoki...
D**G
Great
helps with the a rare interest
A**R
Japanische Kolbenmotoren, ein kaum dokumentiertes Thema....
Eines der wenigen Bücher welches einen Überblick verschafft über Produktion, Entwicklung und Einsatz von japanischen Flugmotoren. Sehr interessant sind die nicht weniger als bis zu vier verschiedenen Bezeichnungssysteme für die Triebwerke. Das Buch beschäftigt sich in erster Linie mit den Entwicklungsgeschichten einzelner Motoren. Es geht dabei um Produktionsmethoden, Standorte und die zahllosen Schwierigkeiten die der Krieg mit sich brachte. Auch die permanente Konkurrenz zwischen den Teilstreitkräften (Marine und Heer) wird hier beleuchtet. Und welch absurde Situationen daraus entstanden. Technische Details und präzise Kenndaten der Triebwerke sind leider rar gesät. Auch sind manche Bilder falsch betitelt. Ersteres ergibt sich aber wahrscheinlich aus der mehr als schwierigen Quellen/Dokumenten-Lage. Im großen und ganzen ein interessantes Buch über ein kaum dokumentiertes Thema. Der Autor bedient sich gern unkonventioneller Formulierungen der englischen Sprache. Weshalb ich öfters etwas nachschlagen musste.
A**R
Five Stars
Very informative book on an obscure subject. Very fast delivery, great
J**D
WW2 Japanese aero engines but needs so much more.
A very confusing history. What a pity the author died so suddenly and left us readers without the extra photos and coherence that this study needs. His inside knowledge will be surely missed.
G**Y
japanese aviation
Very well written by the author. It is different from the other books in my collection. If you have an interest on Japan aviation add to your collection.Good price.Gary
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