The Aircraft Carrier Hiryu (Anatomy of The Ship)

Easily the best book on the market today for the subject matter. (I should know, I own them all.) Exhaustive detail, gorgeous linework and renderings, and original research combine to create a must-have resource for any historian, warship enthusiast, or modeler.

A really outstanding review, renderings, and drawings of the ship!!! I am completely floored by the overall detail and complexity of design!! I defiantly recommend this issue of "The Anatomy of a Ship" series!!!!

Well written, lots of plans here, could eaily be used for modelling and or improving any plastic/woden kit on the market. good source for historians of Japanese naval architecture. recommended as a useful long term-value purchase.

The author informs us that, unlike other Japanese subjects, the construction documents for Hiryu are largely intact. Both through line drawings and perspectival renderings, the ship has been revealed in all its detail. Anatomy of the Ship has been a remarkable series, eg HMS Dreadnought, but this takes it to another level. There is so much information on the structure of the ship, and in terms of layout it is fascinating to see the solutions in particular for crew accommodations. No, not everything is shown. I was unable to understand how meals were prepared and assume cooking was done in the mess areas. It took me a while to understand how the anti-aircraft director was accessed--through sliding doors and rungs on the director base. That was visible on the rendering but not on the plan drawing.

The "new" Anatomy of the Ship series, as published by Osprey since 2017, has been a real hit-or-miss affair so far. The revised "Yamato" was a bit of a Frankenstein, the "Iowa" was a bitter disappointment, "Scharnhorst" was kind of middle of the road, and "Bismarck" was such a huge improvement over the 2005 edition I was willing to forgive some flaws. I await each new volume with a mixture of trepidation and excitement, knowing full well that, no matter how slickly produced and beautiful it may be, they'll never match the "classic" anatomies of the 80s and 90s in terms of structural and mechanical detail. That being said, I'm actually pretty happy with the way this one turned out. Although there's still an emphasis on exterior views and fittings, we actually get a much more detailed view of the ship's interior than previous volumes allowed. Based on how many Japanese-language publications are mentioned in the bibliography, Stefan Draminski did some serious research this time. The deck plans are presented at 1:300 scale, spread across four pages, and individual compartments are much more detailed than they were in earlier Draminiski volumes. The 3D views that accompany the deck plans are also much larger and more detailed, giving the reader an excellent sense of the ship's internal layout and just how densely packed the hangars were with a full complement of aircraft aboard. We also get 22 transverse views at 1:200 scale, and all of the superstructure levels at 1:100. The shell plating for once looks sensible, with alternating in-and-out strakes which reduce in width at the ends. We finally get a few decent machinery views, mostly related to the boiler uptakes, engine room ventilation, aircraft elevators, and shell hoists, and even a nice view showing the arrangement of the hull framing and double bottom. This is, unsurprisingly, a book aimed at modelers, and the level of external detail shown in the traditional and computer-generated images is exceptionally good, and they're quite crisply rendered and aren't hopelessly murky as they frequently are in the "Super Drawings in 3D" series. Of course, this is an area where Mr. Draminski has always excelled, and this is no exception. As "Hiryu" never received any major refits, most of the book depicts her as she appeared on the morning of December 7, 1941, with an occasional scrap view showing the ship as commissioned and at Midway. The last third focuses on armament, fire control devices, aircraft, boats, and deck fittings, right down to draft markings, antenna insulators, bulkhead vents, and scupper covers. So why only four stars? The new format still feels kind of superficial and self-indulgent in places, and it occasionally feels like everything but the kitchen sink was crammed in to stretch the page count to 336. The line drawings and 3D models are frequently beautiful, but all too often the drawing keys are sketchy or even nonexistent in places. I imagine I'd find many of these illustrations more useful if I was super-detailing a model, but as a naval enthusiast, I like to know the names of all the sub-components making up a particular item. Although I'm still not totally sold on the series' new direction, Osprey has FINALLY started taking some baby steps in the right direction, the result being the most detailed depiction of an IJN warship I've ever seen. Considering the significant impact Japanese naval air power had on the conduct of the Pacific War, I'm shocked it took 80 years for a book like this to be published.

This volume contains information I have never seen before on the Hiryu, and illustrations that are intricately detailed. This is a must for a model builder.

Excellent reference book!

As expected

Bardzo wartościowa książka. Starannie wydana.

The IJN Hiryu or "Flying Dragon" has always been my favourite IJN Aircraft Carrier of the WW2 "Kido Butai" and this book certainly is the last word on the subject in terms of the sheer wealth of detail it provides. Upon opening it for the first time, one is literally overwhelmed by the volume of material as well as the quality of it! Modelers, historians and general naval enthusiasts will not find this book wanting in any way I should think. I'm super pleased to have added it to my shelf and if you are a fan of the IJN's WW2 Hiryu; you won't be disappointed adding it to yours!

Tous est dans le titre, livre de référence sur ce porte avion.

idea.- El primer libro de esta serie que adquirí fue el Bartolomeo Coleone, después el Intrepid y, más tarde el Victorious, todos en Londres cuando viajaba por motivos de trabajo. Así que tengo unos cuantos libros, pero el Hiryu siempre fue mi profile "esperado" y, un día, sin más apareció. Pues bien, el libro es fantástico, si te gusta la imagen 3D, en otro caso, no tanto. a título de ejemplo el Victorious en 2D, por lo que voy a compararlos, sólo en unas pocas cosas: los Drawings son mejores en el libro 2D que en el 3D, ya se que el 2D son en blanco y negro y, el 3D añade el color, pero, pese a eso, la escala de grises es suficientemente ilustrativa. a nivel de detalle, la descripción de Accommodation no admite comparación, quizá porque no se disponga de tal grado de información y para cerrar, las Transverse sections, son mucho más claras en 2D (sólo existen 11) que en 3D (a pesar de ser más y muy profusa, por ejemplo en la maquinaria), pero el esquema de la protección submarina (antitorpedo) en 2D se observa perfectamente, en 3D no. Otro ejemplo es la escala, la escala. La escala 2D a 550 es suficiente, mientras que la escala 3D, 300 por enorme, no permite ver la planta de ninguna cubierta de una vez, siempre está partida en dos secciones popa y proa (esto tambien pasa en el Intrepid). A título de mini ejemplo, el 2D página 70, se encuentra perfectamente definido el casco del Victorious, en el 3D pese a la presencia de más descripciones, no. No, lo que le pasa es que carece de visión de conjunto. La descripción del Body Plan 1/320 de la página 71 es suficiente, igual que la sección B4 , misma página de la cuaderna 106; el 3D tiene más, muchas más, pero ... siempre con el mismo problema, la visión de conjunto. La descripción vertical de los hangares del Hiryu, pg 102 y 103 es muy buena, pero, al no estar tomada en el eje del buque, el hangar superior desaparece sustituido por las paredes de lo que parece ser salas o pasillos. Por último, la mínima (o inexistente) descripción del "contenido" conmparado con el Victorious es otra carencia. hasta aquí lo negativo, lo positivo, algunos drawings son maravillosos, por ejemplo la cubierta de botes, el perfil de la cubierta de vuelo, el esquema del sistema de aterrizaje y muchos otros. Todo ello sin contar con que la presencia de las imágenes 3D, casi una por cada una 2D, deja poco espacio para la imaginación, se ve; se ven los aviones, los botes, etc. Pues, pese a lo negativo que he expuesto, es porque esperaba más, es un buen libro, muy buen libro.

Mr. Draminski has unequivocally produced the finest AOTS tome with this latest offering of the H.I.J.M.S Hiryu. The attention to detail is astounding. The exceptional CGI of each and every component of the ship, inside and out is more comprehensive than I could ever have imagined. The line drawings as impeccable as the earliest AOTS Yamato, oh those years ago. Even compared to the other recent entries in the AOTS series, this book stands head and shoulders above the rest. Kudos to the author. I was spellbound and gobsmacked as I flipped from one page to the next. I would give this book a 10 out of 5 stars if I could.