Having learned their trade on the subsonic MiG-17, pilots of the Vietnamese People's Air Force (VPAF) received their first examples of the legendary MiG-21 supersonic fighter in 1966. Soon thrown into combat over North Vietnam, the guided-missile equipped MiG-21 proved a deadly opponent for the US Air Force, US Navy and US Marine Corps crews ......

Following Argentina's military operation to take possession of the Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's government launched a major naval operation to return them to British rule. Defending the Royal Navy task force were two small squadrons totalling 20 Sea Harriers (SHARs). Initial clashes between SHARs and ......

Unusual and rarely-seen images taken from aircraft gun cameras

A special edition of The Dam Busters by Paul Brickhill reissued with a bright retro design to celebrate Pan's 70th anniversary. On 17 May 1943, nearly 350 million tons of water crashed into the valleys of the Ruhr when the Lancaster bombers of 617 Squadron breached the giant Moehne and Eder Dams with colossal `blockbuster' bombs. The Dam Busters ......

The text of this book essentially describes development work undertaken since the end of the Second World War, but a line is drawn at around 1950 in order to exclude those first generation jets whose airframes incorporated primarily wartime technology, and about which much has been written already.

Clive 'Killer' Caldwell was a natural and brilliant pilot, a superb shot, and a born leader. He saw action against the Germans, Italians and Japanese, and remains Australia's greatest ever fighter pilot - this is his definitive biography. Now part of the HACHETTE MILITARY COLLECTION.

The Flying Legends 2017 sixteen-month calendar features legendary World War II warbirds from around the world, captured in flight by award-winning photographer John M. Dibbs.

As early as 1944 France began the task of re-building its military aircraft industry and developing high performance aircraft for its armed forces. In doing so, French aircraft manufacturers produced some of the most innovative and outlandish bomber projects, proposals, designs and prototypes of the Cold War era.Many French bomber projects started ......

D-Day, Operation Market Garden, Battle of the Bulge--the US Airborne divisions were integral at all these major points in World War II. But they also played a significant role in North Africa, where they first saw action, and in Italy in 1943. Right on the tail of these planes, this expert history follows the airborne divisions from the ......

Stanislaw Skalski was the top Polish fighter ace and the first Allied fighter ace of World War II. His combat career began on the war's very first day, and within two weeks, he had achieved ace status, with six German kills to his credit. His in-the-cockpit memoir vividly describes what it was like to take on the vaunted German Luftwaffe.

Illustrated with never before seen images of RAF, SAAF, RAAF and USAAF aircraft and their crews.

First-hand accounts from Allied and Luftwaffe aircrew.

Focusses on the McDonnell Douglas F4 Phantom's role as an air defence fighter.

Ken Delve explores the roles of leadership, external support and community spirit and the parts they played during one of Maltas most challenging eras.

Countless acts of personal courage and self-sacrifice have punctuated the history of Bomber Command's Yorkshire airfields. The author has consolidated stories taken from thirty-three sites across the Yorkshire area.

A unique pilot's-eye view of flying the U-2 spyplane, the so-called Dragon Lady, from one of the pilots who knew her best.

The Fairey Battle is best known for being one of the worst aircraft ever to serve in the Royal Air Force. On operations, it suffered the highest loss rate of any plane in the RAF's history, and the missions flown by its brave crews became a byword for hopelessness and futility. Born out of muddled thinking, condemned before it even reached the ......

This book covers the design, development, production and operations of the Hawker Hurricane before, during and after the Second World War. Without the courage and perseverance of the young men from Britain and the Commonwealth, who risked their lives to beat the Luftwaffe and forestall the enemy invasion of Britain, there would not have been a ......

This is a flying adventure book set within the framework of the Cold War and told through the lens of the RAF Pilot's Flying Log Book. Philip Keeble's logbooks cover ten different types of aircraft: from learning to fly in a Chipmunk trainer in 1965, right through to flying the Tornado F3 Fighter in 1994. These true tales are told as anecdotal ......

The process to deliver a modern combat aircraft from concept to introduction to service is often measured in decades. Described as a weapon system, modern designs such as the Eurofighter Typhoon are intricate jigsaws with a fusion of new techniques and sometimes unproven, emerging technologies. By the time the new weapons system reaches the front ......

Time Flies: Reflections of a Fighter Pilot' retells the exploits of David Hamilton's thirty years of service in the Royal Air Force. He had a wide and varied career; flying Lightnings to defend UK airspace, operating from HMS Ark Royal in F-4 Phantoms, and defending the Inner German Border from RAF Wildenwrath. In the UK MoD he was a staff officer ......

Up to and during the First World War, the Royal Navy was at the forefront of developments in aviation: concerned not just with the use of military aircraft to defend the fleet, but also securing the homeland against Zeppelin raiders and undertaking tactical air strikes into enemy territory. With the aeroplane a totally new and revolutionary ......

Most people think the US Army only flies helicopters, but it has quietly flown a multitude of fixed-wing aircraft for decades. One of the Armys best aircraft providers is Beech Aircraft of Wichita, Kansas. Beginning about the time of the Korean War and up to present day, the Army has utilized twin-engined Beech aircraft for an abundance of ......

Originally designed as a cargo and paratroop transport during World War II, the Fairchild C-82 Packet is today mainly remembered for its starring role in the Hollywood film The Flight of the Phoenix (1965). Its ungainly appearance earned it the nickname "the flying boxcar" but the aircraft was the first to achieve practical end-loading and aerial ......

First-hand accounts of opening the air attack against dictator Saddam

Following in the wake of Javelin: An Operational History this new release from Mike Napier approaches the subject of the Tornado GR1 from the perspective of the RAF squadrons that actually operated the aircraft.

The 353rd Fighter Group, the 'Slybirds', participated in the major WWII aerial battles. 450 photographs provide a unique window on this historic group.

Revised 2nd edition of the illustrated history of the American B-17 bomber used for long-range reconnaissance during WWII by RAF Coastal Command.

Illustrated production and service history the contemporary Soviet attack helicopter, the Mi-24 'Hind' and its many variants in Russia and abroad.

Nearly 400 colour photographs reveal fascinating detail on the planes and the men of the Luftwaffe, as they progressed from seeming invincibility to utter defeat.

From the autumn of 1943 to the last days of winter in early 1944, RAF Bomber Command directly assaulted the German capital Berlin. The authors, utilising considerable primary source material piece together the remarkable, yet ultimately tragic stories of some of those lost fighting the Battle of Berlin.

An accessible history of flying aces, from the first aces in 1915 to the high-powered aerial dogfights of WWII and beyond.

Japanese anti-submarine aircraft of World War II are not well documented and this book is the first in English with full technical details of these historic aircraft and illustrations of their fascinating colour schemes.

During the 1960s and early 1970s, northern Arizona played a critical role in fulfilling President Kennedy's bold challenge of sending humans to the moon. From the rocky depths of the Grand Canyon to lofty cosmic views from Flagstaff's dark skies, northern Arizona was ideal for activities ranging from moon buggy testing and geology training to ......