Bismarck, the pride of the German navy, displaced more than 50,000 tonnes fully loaded and when commissioned she was the largest warship to date. The Bismarck took part in only one operation that ended with her sinking after just nine days. Three days earlier, she was engaged in a classic naval battle where she sunk Britain's largest warship, the ......

Formed in 1859, the Bersaglieri "sharp shooters" served as the "Tip of the Spear" paying the price in blood during the Italian Wars of Unification, the colonial forays into Africa, the First World War, the Ethiopian War and the Second World War. Over 300 images chronicle the "Plumed Warriors" rise to equal status among the world's military elite.

What forces contrived to motivate the "Supermen" of the Third Reich? They would be carefully, relentlessly molded into that which the world famous German writer of the day, Thomas Mann, would describe as "machinists of death" motivated by a "terrible obedience." Here their story is told via the photos they took at home and on the battlefront.

In the 1930s, the British public's emotional response to the atrocities of the Spanish Civil War, including the bombing of Guernica, shaped the mass-politics of the age. Similarly, alleged German atrocities in World War I against the Belgians and the French had led to campaigns in Britain for donations to support the victims. Why then, was the ......

In the first half of the 20th century the possibility of flight opened up entirely new avenues of thought and exploration. In the age of H.G. Wells and Biggles, the opening up of the air to balloons and planes- the Royal Flying Corps was founded in 1912 - appealed to concepts of courage and bravery which would be both encouraged and undermined by ......

In the years following World War II, the allies occupied a shattered Germany. Britain held North-Western Germany for ten years, overseeing the rehabilitation of 'the biggest single forced population movement in modern history', as Germans from around Europe were expelled from the crumbling Third Reich. This was a humanitarian crisis - with most ......

The Battle of the Bulge raises many questions which, until now, have not been adequately answered: How did the major tank types perform during the battle? What were the specific 'lessons learned' from the combat? And did these lessons result in changes to tanks in the subsequent months? Offering detailed answers to these questions, and many more, ......

Rate of Climb is an original and continually entertaining biography, drawing on previously unpublished family and archival material, from a leading ex-RAF fighter pilot who flew Lightnings, Phantoms, Tonrado F2/3s and other high-performance aircraft.

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914 by a Serbian nationalist has set off a crisis in Europe. Can war be avoided one more time? Europe on the Brink plunges students into the July Crisis as representatives of the European powers. What choices will they make?

The cruise missile is a widely employed tactical and strategic weapon, capable of striking ground or ship targets with conventional or nuclear warheads. Much of this book addresses the US Navy's Regulus missile program and the similar Soviet Navy's cruise missile efforts.

Hercules Boys contains a fascinating collection of first-hand and highly entertaining accounts by the ground and air crews themselves who adapted to everything that the elements, enemy and `airships' in Whitehall threw at them. A must for any military aviation devotee.

The Boeing F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet is an evolutionary redesign of the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 A/B Hornet. The Legacy F/A-18 Hornet first flew in 1980 and met the requirement for a multirole fighter to complement the larger and more expensive Grumman F-14 Tomcat, serving in fleet defense interceptor and air superiority roles. The Hornet proved to ......

A highly engaging personal account by a decorated RAF pilot.

As the outbreak of World War II approached, Nazi Germany ordered artillery manufacturers Krupp and Rheimetall-Borsig to build several super-heavy siege guns, vital to smash through French and Belgian fortresses that stood in the way of the Blitzkrieg. These 'secret weapons' were much larger than the siege artillery of World War I and included the ......

This first volume of German Fighter Aces trace the story of the Luftwaffe's day fighter arm (der Tagjagd) from its inception to 1942.

The latest book in the Polish Wings series shows famous Russian bombers and training aircraft in service with the Polish Air Force during and after WW2.

Even today, almost eighty years after its first flight, the North American P-51 Mustang remains one of the most famous and recognisable aircraft in the world. Nimble and fast, qualities that lead the Mustang to be used even today in air races, the aircraft was forged in battle. This, the second of two volumes on this iconic aircraft, explores the ......

The history of Cold War reconnaissance in the words of the man who proved the aircraft, commanded the units, and flew the missions. This is the biography of pilot Col. William Gregory, whose astonishing career with the CIA and the US Air Force encompassed the attempts by US intelligence to understand Cold War Soviet Union.

The story of the top-scoring ace in history, a Luftwaffe pilot named Erich Hartmann who totalled 352 kills.

The Grumman-designed TBF Avenger was unquestionably the most successful torpedo bomber in the US fleet during WWII. Developed just prior to the US entry in WWII, the type made its combat debut at the Battle of Midway. Demand for the large carrier-borne aircraft, which could drop conventional bombs and depth charges in addition to torpedoes, soon ......

The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was not only the largest and most advanced US aircraft to see combat in World War II, it was also the most expensive weapons system of the war, even exceeding the cost of developing the atomic bomb - the weapon that ultimately would be delivered to Hiroshima and Nagasaki by a pair of B-29s in August 1945. Through a ......

This latest photo album in the "Camera On" series documents the German Army's six-wheeled 6x4 light off-road truck and artillery tractor, produced between 1934 and 1941.

A mere 20 Sea Harriers operating from two aircraft carriers would take on the might of the Argentine air force, some 200 planes strong.

This latest photo album in the "Camera On" series features 150 more photographs of private cars adapted for military use by the German forces during WWII.

The P-8A Poseidon, a variant of the Boeing 737 series of airliner, takes over the role of antisubmarine warfare from the P-3 Orion, itself a derivative of an airliner, the Lockheed Electra. The P-8A brings new capabilities, endurance, and crew enhancements to the art form of maritime patrol, surveillance, and reconnaissance. The Poseidon also ......

The story of an iconic model in the long history of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, the WLA, which was used by Allied forces during WWII, is told for the first time. Developed for the US Army's mechanised cavalry, it became the leading US military motorcycle of the war. It served the US armed services as a messenger and military police vehicle. The ......

The Hummel ("bumblebee") and Nashorn ("rhinoceros") are two of Nazi Germany's most widely recognised self-propelled artillery pieces. The Hummel, with its heavy field howitzer, was indispensable as heavy field artillery despite its open-top fighting compartment. The Nashorn, also known as the Hornisse ("hornet"), utilised the same chassis but ......

Lance Corporal Neville 'Timber' Wood was among the last British soldiers to be evacuated from Dunkirk, he served in North Africa and Sicily, took part in the D-Day landings and saw Bergen-Belsen liberated. This is his extraordinary story.

Graphic images, many never seen before, of Heavy Tank battalions in action.

The first of two volumes illustrating the camouflage and markings of the day fighters used by the Yugoslav Air Force from 1918 to 1941 on aircraft of British, German, Czech and French origin.

The first of two volumes which describe and illustrate all the German cruisers that were in Kriegsmarine service during WWII, complete with full technical specifications.

Originally published in Japan in 2005, each album in The Japanese Naval Warship Photo Album Series contains official photographs taken by the Kure Maritime Museum, as well as those taken by private individuals. These pictorial records document the main types of Japanese vessels, from battleships to submarines.

The most comprehensive illustrated study of the post-war Swedish jet fighter aircraft which was a design ahead of its time and with revolutionary double-delta wings.

Originally published in Japan in 2005, each album in The Japanese Naval Warship Photo Album Series contains official photographs taken by the Kure Maritime Museum, as well as those taken by private individuals. These pictorial records document the main types of Japanese vessels, from battleships to submarines.

The most iconic planes of WWII, the Supermarine Spitfire, Hawker Hurricane, DeHavilland Mosquito and the Avro Lancaster, were all powered by one engine, the Rolls-Royce Merlin. The story of the Merlin is one of British ingenuity at its height, of artistry and problem-solving that resulted in a war-winning design.