At the peak of the Cold War in the 1950s the Soviet Union possessed some 12,000 aircraft, making it the largest air force of all the protagonists. By the 1990s this had declined to around 8,000, the reduction largely reflecting the increase in aircraft capability. As well as fighters and bombers, the Soviet inventory included trainers, ......
The General Dynamics F-111 was a swing-wing tactical fighter, interdictor, nuclear bomber and electronic warfare aircraft developed in the early 1960s in the belief that requirements from the US Air Force and the Navy could be satisfied more economically and efficiently by a single design. The idea was flawed and the Navy never got its aircraft ......
Originally conceived as a carrier-born maritime attack aircraft, the Blackburn design included many original features such as Boundary Layer Control, a system which blew hot air over the flying surfaces to increase lift when landing. The rotating bomb bay was also new and enabled easier maintenance, accessibility and reduced drag. The first ......
The untold story of the 868th Bomb Squadron, the Nightstalkers, who paired cutting-edge technology with daring - launching single-aircraft night-time missions stalking the Japanese in the Pacific. In August 1943, a highly classified US Army Air Force unit, code-named the "Wright Project," departed Langley Field for Guadalcanal in the South ......
Fighter pilots! Images of Baron Manfred von Richthofen and Eddie Rickenbacker in the Great War, Johnnie Johnson, Robert Stanford Tuck and Richard Bong in the Second World War, or Robin Olds in Vietnam, all spring to mind. Volumes have been written about them, past and present. Understandably, most of these revolve around the skill, cunning and ......
A detailed investigation into the downing of an American B-17 Flying Fortress and the fate of her crew in the final months of the Second World War. On March 18, 1945, the B-17G "Lady Jane II" lifted off from her base at Deenethorpe, England; she never returned. The story is one of deep tragedy and survival, of sacrifice, and of the love the ......
The B-17 Flying Fortress was conceived by the well-known US aviation designer and manufacturer Boeing during the 1930s, principally as a defensive weapon. Owing to the high levels of publicity it received during its service, it duly became a symbol of the Allied war effort. Indeed, the B-17 became one of the most important US aircraft of the ......
While many airliners from the Second World War have either disappeared completely or only survived as remnants in a museum, approximately 55 Constellations out of the 856 built still survive today, and two of them, both C-121s, are airworthy. A real head turner, the Connie raised the bar in both performance, economy and passenger comfort and ......
Founded in 1910 by Alliott Verdon Roe, A.V. Roe and Company Limited built its first military aircraft two years later. By 1914, the company was literally flying when it designed the first of many iconic aircraft in the shape of the Avro 504, which sold in colossal numbers and was the key factor in keeping the company in the aviation industry ......
This definitive work on air rescue operations of the US Army Air Force and US Air Force takes the reader from the birth of the service during World War II, through the Korean and Vietnam Wars, to present-day operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Detailed text, accompanied by numerous photos - including many never before published - presents all ......
This book explores the reconnaissance aircraft used by the British armed forces in the 1970s and 80s, namely the Avro Shackleton, Hawker Siddeley Nimrod, Fairey Gannet and English Electric Canberra. The maritime patrol and airborne early warning (AEW) Shackleton was a descendant of the Avro Lancaster and Lincoln and was in service from 1951 to ......
During the 1970s and 80s, the RAFs helicopters went from strength to strength, playing a significant role in the RAFs endeavours both at home and abroad. The Westland Whirlwind was used in the search and rescue (SAR) role before being replaced by the Westland Sea King. Highly visible in their bright yellow liveries, both these aircraft were ......
In 1955, the Vulcan B.Mk2 was proposed and a new wing modification was designed to take advantage of the more powerful Olympus engines and a new stand-off missile known as Blue Steel. The new wing was known as the Phase 2C development. Avro were given a contract for an aerodynamic prototype on 10 July 1956, with the first prototype VX777 making ......
The first half of the 20th century saw the birth of the airplane and its development as an instrument of war and commerce. Within five decades, contraptions barely able to take to the air had given way to jet-powered aircraft, a rate of technological advance unparalleled in any other field. With carefully colorized images, this book chronicles ......
This fully illustrated volume looks at the classic jet fighter, the Hawker Hunter. The types development, entry into service and operations are examined in detail. Development of the Hawker Hunter began in 1946 under the steady hand of chief designer Sydney Camm. With so many advances in aircraft design and technology during the late 1940s, the ......
The mighty Blackburn Buccaneer was considered an important and capable Cold War aircraft. This fully illustrated book details the types development and entry into service with the Royal Navy, RAF and South African Air Force, operations, weaponry and test flying.
It is fair to say that the DC-3 was the very first true airliner, and it paved the way for the hundreds of increasingly advanced commercial aircraft that have emerged over the eighty years since Douglas design was developed. The story of the C-47 is of course well known, but the history of the civil DC-3 (which directly led to the creation of ......
The Dassault Mirage 2000 was for many years the backbone of the French Air Force. This multi-role, fourth-generation fighter has been used during a number of wars and operations, including the Gulf War, the Bosnian War and the war in Afghanistan. It has not just served the French Air Force but has been exported to a number of countries, ......
From the first experience through the procurement of GNAT-750 and I-GNAT UAVs made by General Atomics in the mid-1990s, Turkey launched a continuously expanding development of domestic designs. Initially basing its designs on the TAI Sahit X1, then the TIHA Heron (TAI Anka), it gradually developed its own drone industry. Turkeys Drone Force ......
Sleek, futuristic and deadly - the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon was born from the crucible of the air war over Vietnam and the need for cheaper, simpler, and more maneuverable fighter aircraft with which to combat the many thousands of Soviet-bloc supplied aircraft sold around the world.
Back in the early 1970s the F-16 ......
The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor was conceived for peace but turned to a warlike purpose savaging convoys bringing vital supplies to Britain. The aircraft Churchill called "the scourge of the Atlantic" became synonymous with the struggle to supply the Allies by sea. As a truly long-range reconnaissance bomber, the Condor acted as the eyes and ears ......
Airpower Pioneers studies twelve especially influential airmen, detailing their impact on the evolution of the United States Air Force (USAF). Rather than focus on command in a series of air campaigns, this book describes the personal qualities and careers of people who distinguished themselves first and foremost by advancing airpower ......
An illustrated exploration of the dramatic aerial combats between the US Navys long-range bomber and Japanese flying boats in the Pacific War. Edward Young explores these rarely written about combats, examining the aggressive and strategic tactics deployed by both US Navy and Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force and analyzing the ......
With first-hand insight into the into the key role of the US Air Forces fighter-bomber from the Vietnam War through to Operation Desert Storm during the First Gulf War, this book is an unmissable account of some of the most dangerous and demanding missions in the two ......
Over the last two decades, the Aeronautique Navale, French Naval Aviation, has grown into a powerful and battle-hardened force equipped with a large inventory of Rafale Marine naval strike fighters, E-2C Hawkeye early-warning aircraft, Falcon 50, Gardian and Atlantique 2 maritime surveillance/maritime patrol aircraft, Dauphin, Panther, Alouette ......
One of two Lockheed reconnaissance "black" jets that emerged during the 1950s and 1960s, the SR-71 was operated by the USAF and NASA. Produced in tremendous secrecy, and initially flown from areas away from public gaze, the SR-71 is renowned for its high speed and distinctive design. The Lockheed Blackbird family the A-12, YF-12, and SR-71 were ......
This fully illustrated book looks at the German Luftwaffes famous bomber, the Ju 88, in all its variants. Chapters on bombers, heavy fighters, night fighters and reconnaissance sub-types are included, along with a look at foreign operators. The Junkers Ju 88 was one of the most important tactical bombers of the World War Two era. Its beginnings ......
Great Britain was once filled with a plethora of aircraft manufacturers. The seeds of many of them were sown as the demand for aircraft gained pace following the outbreak of World War One. However, not all survived after the war, and while Supermarine managed to keep going by the skin of its teeth, it certainly did not settle into a profitable ......
Will resonate with readers of the The Forgotten 500 and Code Talker. The exploits, trials, disappointments, and victories of members of the American 57th Bomb Wing in WW II, including one young bombardier who would go on to write legendary WW II novel, Catch-22.
"He had decided to ......
This fascinating story begins with post-World War Two sales of surplus Mustangs to various foreign governments and a few civilian customers. More than a decade later, in 1957 and 1958, the US Air Force auctioned off its remaining inventory of P-51s. These Mustangs became high-speed executive transports in the days before the introduction of the ......
During the first half of the 1970s, two new fighter aircraft entered operational service in the United States: The Navys Grumman F-14 Tomcat and the Air Forces McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. These two aircraft were part of the backbone of the tactical air power of the United States; their introduction was accompanied by comprehensive reforms in ......
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