Mick Powis describes the novel threat posed to the British war effort by the raids of German airships, or Zeppelins, and the struggle to develop effective defences against them. Despite their size and relatively slow speed, the Zeppelins were hard to locate and destroy at first. They could fly higher than existing fighters and the early raids ......

Pat Hughes is today perhaps the greatest unsung hero of the Battle of Britain. Ranked sixth in the `ace of aces of the aerial campaign of summer 1940, he shot down at least fourteen enemy aircraft, mostly the Spitfires closely matched rival the Messerschmitt Me 109. As a flight commander in 234 Squadron he advocated bold, close-in tactics and ......

The Dambusters were the go-to forces for dangerous precision attacks: They bombed Hitlers prize battleship, Tirpitz, as well as rocket sites, weapon strongholds, and the dams at the heart of the industrial Ruhr; they targeted enemy leaders including Hitler and Mussolini; and they created a false fleet on D-Day, which fooled the Germans. But ......

Following the Battle of Britain, the RAF started taking the air war to the Germans. A small number of bombers, escorted by large numbers of fighters tried to force the Luftwaffe into battle. Much air combat ensued with RAF light bombers escorted by scores of fighters, but it was not until Germany invaded Russia in June 1941 that operations were ......

(Previously published as After the Flood) Former RAF Tornado Navigator and Gulf War veteran John Nichol sets out on a personal journey to discover what happened to 617 Squadron after the flood. RAF 617 Squadrons destruction of the dams at the heart of the Ruhr made them heroes and celebrities of their time. But this elite squadron was also ......

From the stunning victory at Pearl Harbor until its dramatic reversal at Midway, the Imperial Japanese Navy swept all before it in its numerous victories in the Pacific and Far Eastern waters. Indeed, even after its setback at Midway, the IJN inflicted severe setbacks on the US Navy at Guadalcanal and elsewhere. This book focuses on the ......

RAF Fighter Command was established in July 1936 to provide the airborne element in
the defence of Britain against air attack. The aerodromes under the Command described in
this book came under the control of several Groups: No. 9 in the west, No. 10 covering the
south-west, No. 11 in the south-east, No. 12 on ......