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 ......

Dreadful Lady over the Mekong Delta looks at the men of No 2 Squadron and the operations they flew in the Vietnam War in their Canberra bombers. From April 1967, the squadron spent four years attacking enemy targets, many of them in the Mekong Delta region, and contending with the politics, weather, and fog of war. The riverine operations ......

Martin Bowmans considerable experience as a military historian has spanned over forty years, during which time he has spent hundreds of hours interviewing and corresponding with numerous men and women and their relatives, in Britain, America and beyond, resulting in a wealth of material on the war at sea from World War One to the Falklands and ......

Reknowned Japanese aircraft historians Richard Bueschel revises and updates his classic series of books on Japanese Naval and Army Air Force aircraft of World War II. The Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa is presented in this volume. All variations and markings are covered in this the second in a projected multi-volume series. The first volume in ......

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 fully illustrated study of the Nakajima Ki49 Helen, the twin-engined bomber of the Pacific War, from Japanese aviation expert George Eleftheriou. The Nakajima Ki-49 Donryu (Dragon Eater), codenamed Helen by the Allies, was a twin-engined Japanese bomber designed to undertake daylight attacks without 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 ......

More than 100 photo illustrations, evoking the early days of aerial development. Images of craft are included alongside those of the men and women who populated the scene. When the Wright Brothers made their first flight in the early years of the twentieth century it sparked the imagination of those who wanted to fly, both in their country and ......

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 ......

A Legends of Warfare guide to the most iconic military flying boat ever produced. The PBY Catalina, designed and produced by Consolidated Aircraft, whose production was supplemented by that of Boeing Canada, Canadian Vickers, and the Naval Aircraft Factory, was the most widely used flying boat of all time. Developed in the 1930s, the famed ......

The history of the Royal Navy flagships that led the fleet through the Cold War, ensured victory in the Falklands War, and saw action in Iraq and the Balkans. In 1945, at the end of World War II, the Royal Navys carrier fleet proved essential to the post-war world. Royal Navy carriers fought in the Korean War with the UN fleet, ......

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 ......

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 ......

First published in the 1970s, Military Aircraft Markings has become an indispensable annual publication for aircraft enthusiasts, historians and students of military aviation. At the heart of Military Aircraft Markings is the most complete listing of all the aircraft of the UK Armed Forces; the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, Army and associated ......

This book is a concise, visual history of this iconic RAF WWII bomber by noted aviation historian Ron Mackay. The Vickers Armstrong Wellington, affectionately dubbed the "Wimpy" after the hamburger-scoffing cartoon character, lays claim to two distinctions within RAF WWII annals. The first related to its geodetic structure, with a cloth ......

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 V Force consisted of three four-jet bombers, the Valiant, the Vulcan and the Victor, all required as part of the nuclear deterrent in the Cold War following the end of the Second World War. The Valiant was less aerodynamically advanced than the other two and went into service in 1955. The Vulcan entered service in 1956 and the Victor a year ......

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, ......

If the North American Aviation B-25 Mitchell had only participated in the Doolittle Raid, it would have cemented its place in history - but it did so much more. Whether flying dangerous low-level strafing missions across the south Pacific from New Guinea to the shores of the Japanese Home Islands or battling nature and deadly German flak over ......

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 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 ......

The first major history of the American glider pilots, the forgotten heroes of World War II, by New York Times bestselling author Scott McGaugh. A story of no guns, no engines and no second chances. This book distills war down to individual young men climbing into defenseless gliders made of plywood, ready to trust the ......

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 ......

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 ......