Aviation

The Darkest Hour presents the Imperial Japanese Navy offensive in the Indian Ocean area in March–April 1942, the main goal of which was to destroy the Royal Navy in the Far East and achieve domination on the western flank of the Pacific War on the eve of the Battle of Midway. The bold operation by two Japanese task forces Kido Butai and Malay Force in the Indian Ocean would only be possible with the fall of Singapore in February and the Dutch East Indies in early March 1942.

While the heroic exploits of The Few of Fighter Command are rightly lauded, those of The Many of Bomber Command often remain overlooked. Night after night, the bomber crews ranged across Europe seeking out and attacking targets in an all-out endeavour to undermine the German war effort against Britain and prevent invasion. Bomber Command's Forgotten Summer tells the stories of the young men who carried out dangerous missions on a nightly basis, battling against both the enemy and the elements, r...

One of the most versatile strike aircraft of World War 2, the Beaufighter served in campaigns from Norway to the Pacific, from the Sahara to Arakan. It was surely one of the most important British types of the conflict. Easily the most comprehensive profile of the type yet, this volume provides individual histories of the 5,564 aircraft built in England and the hundreds built or assembled in Australia for use against the Japanese. Several hundred were used as night interceptors by the USAAF, and...

This monogram about the de Havilland DH91 Albatross tells the full story of one of the de Havilland’s most beautiful aircraft. The book was long overdue. It gives the reader an insight in the development, test work, and operation of the de Havilland DH91 Albatross, of which only seven were built. The appearance of the aircraft left an everlasting impression on the viewers and all fell in love with the beautiful lines of this aircraft. It was unbelievable that in the time of the upcoming all-meta...

This book contains a history of all United States Air Force Tactical Air Command flying units that were resident in the United Kingdom during the period 1950 to 1992. From the cockpit testimony from aircrew who were assigned to the individual squadrons and wings is an integral part of the narrative; which is supported by 467 illustrations, 168 of which are in colour. The tactical nuclear mission was central to the operations of many of the UK based units and is covered in detail from its beginni...

In 1944 the head of the US Strategic Air Forces, General Carl Spaatz was intent on a new campaign that aimed to cripple the German war machine by depriving it of fuel. The USAAF's Oil Campaign built up momentum during the summer of 1944 and targeted these refineries and plants with its daylight heavy bombers. Decrypted German communications made it clear that the Oil Campaign was having an effect against the Wehrmacht.

This volume examines the history and development of the Ju 188 twin-engined aircraft, the Luftwaffe's attempt to enhance and improve its peerless Ju 88. The Junkers Ju 188 was the epitome of mid-war German twin-engined aircraft design, representing the enhancement of an earlier type and incorporating increased performance and technological sophistication. As part of the 1939 'Bomber B' programme, it was intended as a replacement for the Ju 88 and He 111 medium bombers, taking advantage of uprate...

Alarmstart South completes Patrick Eriksson's Alarmstart trilogy on Second World War German fighter pilots, detailing their experiences in the Mediterranean theatre (1941-1944), and during the closing stages of the war over Normandy, Norway and Germany (1944-1945). He utilises extensive personal reminiscences of veterans and original documents, set within a brief factual framework of campaigns, equipment and the progress of the war. Veterans who flew in Me 109, Fw190 and Me 110/410 aircraft prov...

This well illustrated album contains a wealth of historical photographs and detailed images of the worlds preserved aircraft during production and service use, isometric views and colour profiles in addition to a list of all accessories and decals and special builds.

Close support for the Army by the Royal Air Force evolved during WWII from being virtually non-existent to a fully developed part of the battle plan. Nowhere was co-operation more refined and developed than in the Mediterranean theatre. The first part of this work traced the evolution of close air support through the inter-war years to disaster in France and the first attempts at immediate on-call cover in East Africa provided by the South African Air Force. This led to a much improved system fr...

During the Cold War, communist Czechoslovakia was one of the largest arms exporters to the Middle East among the Soviet Bloc countries. The third volume of this mini-series describes the history of arms exports from Czechoslovakia to Egypt including related military assistance. Although Egypt had expressed interest in buying Czechoslovak arms just before the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, no deliveries were made as Prague fully supported the nascent Jewish state. The situation began to change from July...

Few aircraft encompass as many contradictions as the Fairey Swordfish – the legendary ‘Stringbag’ naval torpedo bomber was approaching antiquation at the start of the war yet struck mortal blows against some of the most powerful battleships in the Axis fleets. Naval aviation historian Matthew Willis explores how modern technology such as radar kept the Swordfish effective in the early years of the war and enabled it to find and hit the Italian fleet at Taranto, and the Bismarck in the Atlantic, ...