Rivet Counter Guide Number 2
Painting the Fleet
Interwar Battleship & Cruiser Aviation
by Dana Bell


 
 Reviewed by Martin J Quinn
April 2023

Rivet Counter Guides Publications has sent us their latest volume to review.  It's called Rivet Counter Guide Number 2, Painting the Fleet - Interwar Battleship & Cruiser Aviation, by Dana Bell.
Between the First and Second World Wars, the aircraft of the United States armed forces, especially the US Navy, were painted in very colorful markings.  Deciphering the reasons for those markings and the changes and modifications made to them as time went along can be quite confusing for the casual armchair historian or enthusiast. 

Enter the latest work from Dana Bell, Rivet Counter Guide Number 2, Painting the Fleet - Interwar Battleship & Cruiser Aviation.  This 72 page soft cover book attempts to bring some clarity to US Navy colors between wars, with a focus on unit organization markings for battleships & cruisers, between 1925 and 1941, all based on primary research at the US National Archives. 

Inside the book, you'll find full color representations of squadron markings, sixty color illustrations and over 100 photos, many in period color, and artwork of select aircraft by aviation artist Tom Tullis.   The book is laid out in sections, detailing painting and marking experiments, colors used, what basic markings were used, and so on. 

Contents

  • Experiments
  • Launch and recover
  • Basic colors
  • SOC Wings
  • Basic Markings
  • Serials & Unit Markings
  • Flagplanes
  • Asiatic Fleet
  • Battleship aircraft colors (subsequently broken down by division)
  • Cruiser aircraft colors (same as above)
  • Tail Colors
  • Squadron Insignias
There is a lot of great information in this book.  I especially liked the illustrations and the unique photographs.  One of my favorite photos shows two aircraft onboard the USS California, which also shows the very interesting checkerboard markings on turret 4.  How interesting would that look on a model? 		 click to
enlarge images

Conclusions:

Interwar (between World War I and World War II) aircraft of the US Navy have long been popular subjects for enthusiasts and scale modelers.  While most of the focus has been on carrier based aircraft, Dana Bell turns our attention the aircraft carried aboard battleships & cruisers, and sheds some lights on the markings of these colorful birds.   This is a really fine publication, with lots of great information, pictures and illustrations.  If you are an armchair naval historian, or just a fan the colorful US Navy interwar aircraft, you'll want to add this book to your collection.  Highly Recommended!

This is Rivet Counter Guide Number 2, Painting the Fleet - Interwar Battleship & Cruiser Aviation, by Dana Bell. Published by Rivet Counter Guides Publications, ISBN 979-8-218-12157-0.  Price is $29.95 (USD) and it is available on both eBay and Amazon. 

Thanks to Dana Bell for the review sample. 

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