N139 - DHC-2 Beaver

By Adrian M. Balch

The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engine high-wing propeller-driven short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft developed and manufactured by de Havilland Canada. It has been mainly operated as a bush plane and has been used for a wide variety of utility roles, such as cargo and passenger hauling, aerial application (crop dusting and aerial topdressing), and civil aviation duties. It has been used by military armed forces in a variety of roles worldwide and has seen conflict in both the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Production lasted 20 years and when it finally ceased in 1967,a total of 1657 DHC-2 Beavers had been constructed since the first flight in 1947. The Beaver was designed for flight in rugged and remote areas of the world and today hundreds of Beavers are still flying many of them heavily modified to adapt to changes in technology and needs.

This is the second de Havilland Canada type in the Warpaint Series written by author Adrian Balch with over 100 rare photographs from his extensive archives, nearly all in colour and many never seen before, supported once again by excellent colour profiles and drawings by artist Sam Pearson. With the Airfix Beaver kit recently reissued, this is a must for modellers of the type and aviation historians alike as this is the first comprehensive publication published on this type in so much detail.