Škoda RSO Typ 175
Radschlepper OST - Typ 175 Porsche
Army Wheels in Detail
Photo Manual AW14
By Petr Brojo

Capricorn Publications
Zeniskove 2124/8, 149 00 Prague 4,
Czech Republic

ISBN: 978-80-87578-02-5
40 pages soft cover

Review by Terry Ashley

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This latest book from Capricorn Publications in their Army Wheels in Detail series covers the Škoda RSO Typ 175 Radschlepper OST - Typ 175 Porsche produced between 1942 and 1943 with 206 vehicles completed. All the black and white photos in the book are WWII period shots with text in English and Czech.

There is a short development history inside the front cover giving a detailed history of the design and production of the RSO plus a specification data chart with all the relevant data. The following 19 pages have a series of photos showing the Prototype RSO undergoing trials, the photos are mostly semi-close-up and giver very good overall external views of the prototype details.

The next 17 pages cover the production RSO Typ 175 Porsche with the most notable differences between this and the prototype being the solid wheels and air filter mounted over the cab. There are some excellent shots of the chassis and suspension taken from a vehicle under construction so there are no other parts obscuring the view, the same goes for the engine with six excellent shots of the engine out of the vehicle. The cab interior views have shots of the instrument panel and one on the production line showing the engine firewall, gearbox and gear levers mounted in the chassis, this shot also shows the fuel tank mounted behind the seat and provides some excellent details.

There are a few shots of the cab and engine compartment exterior providing nice details as well as exterior and interior shots of the rear cargo tray plus close-up shots of the open tool boxes showing the layout of the tools in the boxes. Along with the B&W photos are illustrations from the field manual for many of the components and details which compliments the photos very well to provide additional details.

Finally there is a set of four view 1:35 plans for the production RSO and a left side plan of the Prototype along with three illustrations showing typical paint and markings details for the Prototype and production RSO.

As with other books in this series the 40 pages are packed with excellent details and a very good overview coverage of the RSO with all the period photos of good quality offering some excellent details of both the prototype and production vehicles supplimented by the manual illustrations.

With the just announced RSO kit from Riich Model this will be an indespensable reference for modellers.

Highly recommended

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Thanks to Capricorn Publications for the review book.