Books

Best known by their French acronym for Forces Armées du Royaume – FAR – the Royal Lao Armed Forces were the official defence force of the Kingdom of Laos – what is now the Lao People’s Democratic Republic – from 1949 until 1975. Founded in 1947, when King Sisavang Vong declared Laos an independent nation (and a Kingdom from 1949), the FAR originally included a collection of pre-existing Lao police and militarised constabulary units, regular indigenous colonial troops and locally raised irregular...

To say that the Pakistan Air Force has an eventful history would not be an overstatement. From its very inception it was involved in the support of ground troops in Kashmir while trying to stand on its own feet in the immediate aftermath of the partition of British India. Two major wars ensued in which it performed well against the numerically superior Indian Air Force. The Eagles of Destiny mini-series covers the early years of Royal Pakistan Air Force, initially while still being led by second...

Volume Twelve covers 9-11 September the tipping point of the Battle where the Luftwaffe changed tactics and started bombing London. These combats are illustrated with specially designed maps showing the amount of aircraft involved, the area that the engagement took place and the location of where the casualties came to earth. Each combat and casualty report is illustrated with a photo of the pilot wherever possible.

Read all about the Fokkers in Swedish service, both civil and military. The following types are described: Fokker D.IV, Fokker Dr.I, Fokker D.VII, Fokker F.VIIa, Fokker F.VIII, Fokker F.XII, Fokker F.XXII, Fokker C.V-D & E, Fokker G.I, Douglas DC-3, Douglas DC-2, Saab 90 Scandia, Saab 91 Safir, Fokker F.27 Friendship Fokker F.28 Fellowship. All in service from 1918 until today. Numerous photographs many never published before, colour profiles and tables.

The helicopter, referred to also as rotorcraft, plays a significant role in aviation. That it is also the most versatile machine in the skies is beyond dispute. The helicopter’s ability to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally, enables it to operate in congested or isolated areas where the lack of runways prevents fixed-wing aircraft, even those with short take-off and landing (STOL), from performing successfully. Its multi-role capability is wide-ran...

The wartime Jeep continues to fascinate enthusiasts around the world, nearly eight decades after the first prototypes were built. Yet while it is true that there was only ever one Jeep, it is emphatically not the case that there was only one variety of Jeep. Not only were Jeeps built by both Willys and Ford, but the supposedly standardised design continued to evolve during production.

The Land Rover was a huge success for its makers right from the start in 1948, when it was introduced as a product to keep the Rover factories busy in the difficult economic times that followed the Second World War. Developed with a speed that was remarkable even for the relatively unsophisticated vehicles of those days, it was regularly updated in both major and minor ways over the next five years as improvements became necessary or suggested themselves. For owners and enthusiasts who aim to ...

This is a compelling account of the German defense of the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Against overwhelming Soviet forces the book shows how the German Army Group North was driven across the Baltics from Leningrad and fought a number isolated battles including the defense of Narva, Memel and the Kurland pocket. The book outlines in dramatic detail how Hitler forbade his troops to withdraw, ordering them to follow his Halt Order Decree and fight to the death.

Created in 1943 from members of the Hitler Youth born in 1926, the division was attached to I SS Panzer Corps in March 1944 and transferred to Normandy. Based around Caen, it was intended to repel a possible and expected invasion from the sea. When the invasion came in June, it was one of the two closest panzer divisions to the landing beaches.

Battling flak and enemy fighters over the skies of Europe during World War II, the US Army Air Force Martin B-26 Marauder bomber named Flak-Bait completed a remarkable 201 combat missions, a feat that made it the highest mission scorer of any Allied medium or heavy bomber. For many years the author has held a special interest in the B-26, and especially those of the 387th Bomb Group. It was during his first visit to the National Air & Space Museum in Washington, DC, over 20 years ago, where Flak...

This second of two volumes on the North American B-25 Mitchell covers the late-WWII G through J, F-10, and PBJ variants of the famed US medium bomber. Among the many topics discussed are the Mitchell versions used by the US Navy and Marine Corps, as well as photo-recon and experimental types. B-25s in foreign wartime service are also shown, including those used in Poland, France, England, and Soviet Russia.

Operation Hoss or Aktion Hoss was the codename for the mass deportation of Hungarian Jews and their murder in the gas chambers of Birkenau extermination camp. Between 14 May and 9 July 1944, 420,000 Jews were sent to Auschwitz from Hungary, or about 12,000 per day. On arrival some twenty-five percent were selected for forced labour while the remainder were immediately gassed. The name of this atrocity came from Rudolf Hoss, who returned as the commandant of Auschwitz to increase the killing capa...