The Grumman F8F was a fast, agile, carrier-borne fighter aircraft developed as the ultimate dogfighter for the Pacific Theater. This is the most complete collection of Bearcat photography in print. The Grumman F8F was a fast, agile, carrier-borne fighter aircraft developed as the ultimate dogfighter for the Pacific theater. Although the plane ......

This new entry in the "Legends of Warfare" series features detailed photographic coverage of all variants of the Airacobra including prototypes, trainer versions, production models C through Q, and the P-400. With a midengined configuration, sturdy tricycle landing gear, and nose-mounted 37 mm cannon, the Bell P-39 was a thoughtful and ......

This new book provides a visual guide to every F-15 variant, from the first airframes produced in the early 1970s to the brand new F-15EX Eagle II. The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is one of the most successful fighter designs of the 20th century. The type first flew in 1972, transitioning directly from the drawing board to production with ......

Over 6000 made for a variety of uses including assault and night-fighter.

MUSTANG - Considered by many to be the best fighter aircraft of the Second World War. This new book by aviation historian Larry Davis begins with Mustang production in early 1941 with the British Air Purchasing Committee order fro 320 aircraft in August 1940 with the first Mustang I, RAF serial AG 345, rolling off the Inglewood, California ......

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 ......

This highly illustrated book gives readers an insight into this remarkable aircraft.

This book explores the fascinating feats of RAFs photographic reconnaissance aircraft. During World War 2, photographic reconnaissance in the RAF started gathering intelligence on the enemy using cameras installed in PR Spitfires. The aircraft that proved this concept was the Supermarine Spitfire, which, ......

Using archival photographs sourced directly from Vietnam, specially commissioned diagrams and combat accounts from veterans, Istvan Toperczer reveals how the MiG-21 defended Vietnam between 1966 and 1968. One of the most successful communist jet fighters ever built, the MiG-21 "Fishbed" was involved in a series of deadly duels ......

The Fairey Swordfish story is one of an aircraft initially frowned upon when it entered service in 1936, respected by the beginning of World War Two and deemed legendary by the time peace was declared. The Swordfish was the only torpedo bomber Britain had in significant numbers at the beginning of the war and it would prove to be so much more. ......

Messerschmitt Me 262: Arrow to the Future tells the dramatic story of the Me 262s combat career as a fascinating chain of events in which planning, luck, and even blind stupidity played important roles. Even by todays engineering standards, magnificent is the only word to describe the effort to bring the planes jet engines, which eclipsed the ......

The Lockheed P-80/F-80 Shooting Star was the first American operational jet fighter. David McLarens new book chronicles the development and early trials of the aircraft during Lockheeds groundbreaking attempts to create a viable jet fighter, in a period when jet propulsion was still an innovative unknown. This period also saw engineers and test ......

This book covers the complete and long overdue history of the Hunting/BAC Jet Provost and Strikemaster, which for thirty-eight years trained generations of pilots and pioneered the RAFs all-through flying training programme. Originally designed and built in 1951 as a private venture by Percival Aircraft in Luton, the Jet Provost became the ......

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 ......

With specially commissioned artworks and dynamic combat ribbon diagrams, this volume reveals how the last of the gunfighters, as the F-8 was dubbed by its pilots, prevailed against the growing MiG threat of the Vietnamese Peoples Air Force. When the Vietnam War began, the F-8 was already firmly established as a fighter ......

Packed with full-colour images. Written by a former German Starfighter pilot. Part of the Historic Military Aircraft Series. The F-104 Starfighter was one of the most fascinating aircraft of the Cold War era in Europe. Several European air forces operated the aircraft, with Germany alone having 916 Starfighters in its inventory. The General ......

The F-104 Starfighter was one of the most fascinating aircraft of the Cold War era in Europe. Several European air forces operated the aircraft, with Germany alone having 916 Starfighters in its inventory. The General Electric J-79 engine howl was unique and filled the European skies for many years. This book covers Starfighter pilot training ......

Successful aircraft manufacturer de Havilland began design development of the Vampire in 1941, to assess the feasibility of jet propulsion as a means of powering fighter aircraft. Rolling off the production line too late to see action in World War Two, this jet fighter was a popular aircraft in operational squadrons. Easy to fly, maintain and ......

This book examines the last generation of high-performance British propellor-driven fighters, types such as the Firecrest, late mark Spitfires and Seafires, Spiteful and Seafang, Sea Fury, late mark Tempests, Hornet and Sea Hornet, M.B.5 and Wyvern. From about 1942 onwards these extraordinary and very complex aeroplanes brought British piston ......

During the five years of the Second World War, the power of engines and speed of aircraft increased as much as it did during twenty years of peacetime.

Mosquito History of a Legend is a fascinating telling of the development of the de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito, a British twin- engined, light bomber introduced during WWII.

Britains first-ever wartime fighter plane, the Hawker Hurricane shot down more enemy planes than any other fighter. It was the true aviation hero of the Battle of Britain.

Often eclipsed by the legend and aerial heroics of the Spitfire, the Hurricane was the authentic warhorse of aviation ......

Special Forces are a key component of every modern army, capable of carrying out clandestine operations, reconnaissance, and incisive attacks behind enemy lines. Units such as the British SAS, US Navy SEALs, the US Armys Delta Force, Polish GROM and the Frances National Gendarmerie Intervention Group are famous for their bravery and formidable ......

Using specially commissioned artwork and detailing technical specifications, this book explores the Bf 109s different roles occasioned by wartime necessity, from its employment as a fighter to its evolution as a fighter-bomber. One of the principal types in the Luftwaffes inventory at the beginning of World War II, the ......

A comprehensive and vivid history of the North American Mustang, one of the most important aircraft of the last century. If it looks right, it will probably fly right - a tired old saying among airmen, but one that persists. Think if you will of the handful of aeroplanes that most people would probably agree are the best-looking examples of ......

A white-knuckle account of life in the dog-eat-dog arena of fighter combat This is the story of what it takes to make it in fighter combat. In the cockpit or crew room, the pressure is relentless, the humour merciless. Its no place for the faint-hearted. Whether landing on a pitching aircraft carrier deck at midnight, or saving heroes under ......

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 ......

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 ......

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 ......

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 ......