Guideline Publications Bristol Britannia/Canadair CP-107/Argus & CC-106 Yukon – Warpaint #125

[Mike]

Bristol Britannia/Canadair CP-107/Argus & CC-106 Yukon – Warpaint #125

Guideline Publications

 

 

The Britannia began development during the final days of WWII in an attempt by the British aero-industry to regain some of the lost experience in building civilian and cargo aircraft, having specialised in fighting aircraft for over 5 years.  It was to use Turboprop engine that were in their early days, leading to some delays, but it was also affected by the problems occurring with the De Havilland Comet, that led to the requirement for thorough and lengthy testing of the design to avoid similar issues that otherwise might not show themselves until after entry into service.  The end result was the delay of the type reaching service until 1957, by which time the aircraft’s formerly impressive speed and range advantages had been lost to overseas competition.  Only 85 Britannias were made, with Canadair adding to the total with the maritime reconnaissance Argus using the wings and some of the other parts, but with a substantial Americanising of the inner workings to facilitate easy maintenance and fulfil their role.  The Yukon was also based on the Britannia with lengthened fuselage, cargo doors and hinged tail for easy access for larger loads, and Rolls-Royce engines.

 

 

 

This book is by author Charles Starfrace and covers the birth and development of the airframe in much more detail, as well as providing tons of excellent pictures of many airframes both in military and civilian service, some of which are in colour due to their being contemporary shots, plus 1:144 plans of the 300 series and profiles in the centre, penned by John S Fox.  There are also profiles showing the Yukon, Argus and Guppy, which was a one-off conversion to increase the cargo load in the same manner as the Super Guppy and Beluga.  The book is in the usual Warpaint format of portrait A4(ish) with a soft card cover and 60 pages plus additional content printed on the four glossy pages of the covers.   A short introduction details the birth of the type and its subsequent variants and Canadair types.

 

• RAF Britannia Tribute
• Britain and transport aircraft from 1939
• The Bristol Aeroplane Company
• Bristol Type 175 and Proteus
• Problems at Filton
• Building the Britannia
• The Britannia enters service with airlines
• Britannias for the Royal Air Force
• Britannias kept busy
• Post-RAF service
• The Canadair models
• Canadair CP-107 Argus
• RCAF Lancasters and Neptune P2V7s
• The “All Seeing” Argus
• Argus Electronics
• Argus enters service
• Profiles x 3
• Britannia Series 300 1:144 Plans
• Profiles x 3
• Was the Argus nuclear-capable?
• Operational history of the CP-107 Argus
• The Argus’s tasks expand
• Arctic patrols and Exercises
• The 1970s – the Argus’’s swan song
• Canadair CC-106 Yukon
• The civilian “Swingtail” CL-44D-4
• Not on Canadian Air Force markings
• Profiles x 3
• The civilian Britannia gallery
• Bristol Britannia in Detail
• Profiles x 9
• CP-107 Argus detail page

 

The pages include a lot of useful pictures with informative captions of aircraft on the apron, on the runway and even with the tail folded in the middle of swallowing a stripped-down F-104 Starfighter, with appropriate photos and drawings dotted around.  In the short "In Detail" section there are many close-up photos with some items numbered that will be a boon to modellers as well as people that like to know what everything does.

 

 

 

There are several kits of the Britannia available in the smaller scales due to the overall size of the type, including Roden, 26 Models and F-Resin in 1:144, and Mach 2 in 1:72 for those who dare.  Sadly, there are no kits for the Yukon or Argus, so you'd be left to scratchbuild or convert a Britannia, which would be fun!

 

Conclusion

The Warpaint series always gets a thumbs-up due to their inability to produce a bad one.  This is an excellent book that will see plenty of use by anyone interest in, or building on of these early post-war airliner/cargo aircraft.

 

Very highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of

[busnproplinerfan]

Looks like a great book on a somewhat neglected plane. I saw the cover on aviation megastore but the ups they use dings me heavily. Glad it’s now here. Have to get one.

[busnproplinerfan]

There is an original RCAF Britannia in Latin America someplace. Know the guy who took a picture of it. Unfortunately it’s not flyable but would be nice to see it brought back. I think it’s the only one left. The cost would be huge by truck and would be a shame to cut it up for transport.