On 10 May 1940, the French possessed one of the largest air forces in the world. On paper, it was nearly as strong as the RAF. Six weeks later, France had been defeated. For a struggling French Army desperately looking for air support, the skies seemed empty of friendly planes. In the decades that followed, the debate raged. Were there unused ......

As a young band of brothers flies over German-occupied France, they come under heavy fire. Their B-17 is shot down and the airmen--stumbling through fields and villages--scatter across Europe. Some struggled to flee for safety. Others were captured immediately and imprisoned. Now, for the first time, their incredible story of grit, survival, ......

National Bestseller • "An instant classic." —Dallas Morning News

On the morning of June 4, 1942, high above the tiny Pacific atoll of Midway, Lt. (j.g.) "Dusty" Kleiss burst out of the clouds and piloted his SBD Dauntless into a ......

At the outbreak of the First World War, the United Kingdom had no aerial defence capability worthy of the name. When the war began Britain had just thirty guns to defend the entire country, with all but five of these considered of dubious value . So when raiding German aircraft finally appeared over Britain the response was negligible and ......

Since its first flight in May 1958, the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II proved to be a tough, rugged and excellent all-weather, air superiority fighter/bomber. From flying fleet defence missions during the Cuban Missile Crisis and performing as an air superiority fighter/bomber during the Vietnam War, to taking out Iraqi surface-to-air missile ......

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, ......

The iconic Hawker-Siddeley Harrier was designed to fight the Cold War from the fields of West Germany but won its battle spurs in the Falklands, Belize and Afghanistan. It was controversially scrapped by the British Government fifty years after entering service with the RAF and its loss raised serious questions over Royal Navy fleet protection. ......

Pat Hughes is today perhaps the greatest unsung hero of the Battle of Britain. Ranked sixth in the `ace of aces of the aerial campaign of summer 1940, he shot down at least fourteen enemy aircraft, mostly the Spitfires closely matched rival the Messerschmitt Me 109. As a flight commander in 234 Squadron he advocated bold, close-in tactics and ......

The 1970s were an event-filled and action packed decade for the Royal Air Force. Many events are worthy of note and all are recorded here, in words and images. Keith Wilson takes up from where he left off with RAF In Camera 1960s in order to take us on a journey through a particularly significant decade. The start of the 1970s saw the ......

The key roles played by the Royal Observer Corps in the Second World War have, all too often, been overshadowed by more glamourous arms of the defence forces. The teams in the Sector Stations, plotting the battles raging above, and the Spitfires and Hurricanes swooping upon the formations of enemy fighters and bombers, present easily-imagined ......

Reconnaissance aircraft have always been the spearhead of the various air forces, helping to provide the basis for any further military operations. At the time of the Cold War and before the satellite era, the use of reconnaissance aircraft reached its zenith, as the warring nations were determined to know what was happening on the other side. ......

"The enemy bomber grew larger in my sights and the rear gunner was sprayed by my guns just as he opened fire. The rest was merely a matter of seconds. The bomber fell like a stone out of the sky and exploded on the ground. The nightmare came to an end." In this enthralling memoir the author recounts his experiences of the war years and traces ......