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Description of  Fireflies and other UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles)

094254854X pdf This is the sequel to William Wagner's "Lightning Bugs and other Reconnaissance Drones" published in 1982. That work documented the development and operational use of the Ryan 147 FireBee series of drones in Vietnam war. This work,"Fireflies and other UAV's" cover the period from the end of that war till 1992 when the book was published. The book covers the development and use of such Ryan drones as the BGM, Firebrand and Firebolt series. Of particular interest is the development of the "mini-drones", the Model 262 Manta Ray and the Model 328 as well as the Model 235 Compass Cope. Perhaps the most interesting chapter of the book covers the development and operational deployment of the Model 124I for Israel. This chapter is based on Ryan technical representative reports and contains many insights into Israeli operational use of the drones. Overall the book contains many interesting photos, none in color however, and line drawings of the Ryan drones. This is not a technical work, but rather a highly readable and very enjoyable history of the Ryan company and its drones.