Air
Showing 201–240 of 274 results
Spitfire
The Spitfire was the warbird on which the British pinned their airborne hopes during World War II. Covers the Spitfire's design and development, describes the variations built of the plane, and includes more than 100 historic photographs and first-hand accounts from Spitfire combat pilots.
Spitfire at War
The Spitfire was the most famous aircraft ever to serve in the Royal Air Force. It remained in production for twelve years which bracketted the hardest-fought and technically most innovatory war in history. When the last one rolled off the production line more than twenty-two thousand had been built. Never before, and rarely since, has an airframe design been so successfully, continuously, aggressively and thoroughly developed. At the end of its development life the Spitfire carried an engine giving more than twice the power and weighing about three-quarters more than the original, had its maximum speed increased by a quarter, its rate of climb almost doubled, its maximum take-off weight more than doubled and its fire-power increased by a factor of five. The Spitfire was unsurpassed as an air-superiority fighter for most of the nine years following its first flight and remained in front-line service in the Royal Air Force for a further nine years after that. In this book, the author has made an objective analysis of the Spitfire legend.The result is a unique account which casts new light not only on the Spitfire, but also on the nature of air combat during the Second World War. If you flew Spitfires or serviced them or even fought against them, or if you wish to learn what it was like to have done these things, then this is the book for you.
Spitfire: The History
Fully illustrated with B&W photographs, line drawings and colour markings. The most detailed reference work yet representing 25 years of research covering 71 related type numbers and information on more than 22,500 aircraft.
Spitfire: The Legend Lives On
This commemoration of the Spitfire aircraft illustrates the surviving airworthy examples of the Spitfire which have been restored, repainted in different squadron markings and camouflage colours, and continue to entertain thousands of spectators at airshows across Britain. This book is a follow-on from Spitfire: A Living Legend, and includes all the new aircraft that have subsequently been restored.
Stealth Fighter Pilot
A penetrating profile of the most elite pilots in the US Air Force - the men who fly the new generation fighter-bombers - the F-117A Stealth Fighters. Based on interviews with actual F-117 pilots, this book tells you what its like to fly and fight in the invisible black jet. Get all the details of the bases, the planes, and the day-to-day activities of these elite pilots.
Stealth: Deception, Evasion, and Concealment in the Air
Aircraft that no radar can find, that no missile can strike - it sounds life science fiction, but it is fast becoming a reality. Stealth, the most complete book yet produced on today's hottest aviation and military topic, describes the aircraft and the technology behind the most significant developments inaerial warfare since the jet engine and atomic weapons. It penetrates the cloud of secrecy, disinformation, and speculation to provide a detailed survey of the ingredients of this top-secret technology, its current uses, and its influence on the tactics of the 21st century.
Storms of Controversy: Secret Avro Arrow Files Revealed
The development of the Avro Arrow was a remarkable Canadian achievement. Its mysterious cancellation in February 1959 prompted questions that have long gone unanswered.
- What role did the Central Intelligence Agency play in the scrapping of the project?
- Who in Canada’s government was involved in that decision?
- What, if anything, did Canada get in return?
- Who ordered the blowtorching of all the prototypes?
- And, did Arrow technology find its way into the American Stealth fighter/bomber program?
Storms of Controversy answers these questions. Using never-before-released documents, the book exploded the myth that design flaws, cost overruns, or obsolescence had triggered the demise of the Arrow.
Storms of Controversy: The Secret Avro Arrow Files Revealed (3rd Edition)
New documents clarify the American government's role in the scandalous decision to scrap the Avro Arrow.
Not since the Spitfire of World War II has an aircraft single-handedly captured a nation's imagination, and no one has uncovered more new insights into this legendary aircraft than Palmiro Campagna. For this edition, Campagna has done just that, turning up new documents that further clarify John Diefenbaker's role in the Arrow cover-up, addressing Cabinet Minister Pierre Sevigny's mysterious claims in February 1998 about the destruction of the Arrow, and asking why, when the names of so many government officials appeared on the orders to kill the Arrow, Diefenbaker alone shouldered the blame.
Strategic Air Command
Lindsay T. Peacock Hardcover 128 pages Out of Print.
Stuka Ju-87
This is a pictoral and photographic history of one of the most famous dive-bomber aircraft, the Stuka Ju-87.
Content covers:
The Stuka Concept
Role, Tactics and techniques
Development and Production
Stuka Formations at War
The Night Harassment Wings
Rudel: the Stuka Ace
Stuka!
This book is a photo album of the famous German WWII dive-bomber in action from the outbreak of war to the final surrender in 1945. The book contains B&W photographs, line drawings, data and detailed captions.
Stukas, Jagdbomber, Schlachtflieger: Bildchronik der deutschen Nahkampfflugzeuge bis 1945
English:
This is a German-language text that covers all dive bombers, fighter-bombers and attack aircraft used by the German airforce up to 1945. More than 40 types of aircraft and numerous sub-versions from World War II are covered. The book also looks at interesting weapon developments and aircraft projects.
German:
Dieses Buch deckt alle bis 1945 von der deutschen Luftwaffe eingesetzten Tauchbomber, Jagdbomber und Angriffsflugzeuge ab. Es werden uber 40 Flugzeugtypen und zahlreiche Unterversionen aus dem 2. Weltkrieg behandelt. Das Buch befasst sich auch mit interessanten Waffenentwicklungen und Flugzeugprojekten.
Super Carriers: U.S. Naval Air Power Today
This is a photographic history of American naval aircraft carriers.
This book covers: Top cats; SLUF: the magic war weapon; High-tech, low level aircraft: Prowlers and Intruders; Phantoms; Hawkeyes and Vikings; the personnel and the ships in port.
Supermarine Spitfire Restoration Manual: An Insight into Building, Restoring and Returning Spitfires to the Skies
The Spitfire remains one of the most iconic combat aircraft and to own an airworthy example is the Holy Grail for Warbird collectors. For an aircraft that first flew more than 70 years ago it may seem incongruous that there is a flourishing industry centred on this aircraft in the 21st century. Whether scratch-building or restoring an original Spitfire to airworthy condition, this is big business where aircraft change hands for several million pounds. Paul and Louise Blackah reveal what it takes to build or restore a Spitfire and return it to the skies.
Supermarine Spitfire: 1936 onwards (all marks) Owners’ Workshop Manual
The legendary Supermarine Spitfire receives the famous Haynes manual treatment with the full co-operation and authorization of the Royal Air Force. This is a unique guide for anyone wishing to own and operate a Spitfire, as well as a wonderful insight into the engineering and construction of this remarkable airplane; includes a developmental history of the aircraft, cutaway drawings, and the restoration and repair process . Presented mainly in color, this highly detailed and attractively designed manual is based around the restoration of the Spitfire Mk XVI at RAF Coningsby.
The Air Combat Paintings of Robert Taylor
Volume One, first published in 1987, has sold more copies than any other aviation art book. Highlights include Return of the Few -- spitfires returning low over the English coast; Dambusters -- raids destroying the dams in Germany's Ruhr industrial heartland; and Last Moral Support -- a Hurricane fighter pilot accompanying a badly damaged comrade to safety.
The Airship VC
Ray Rimell's acclaimed biography of Lt. William Leefe Robinson who brought down the first German airship on British soil in WWI. Profusely illustrated, the life and career of the modest young airman is meticulously recorded with material and rare photos from the family archives.
The American Aircraft Factory in World War II
Few industrial phenomena have been as dramatic as the United States mid-20th-century shift from peacetime to wartime production. The American Aircraft Factory in World War II documents the production of legendary warbirds by companies like Boeing, North American, Curtiss, Consolidated, Douglas, Grumman, and Lockheed. It was a production unmatched by any other country and a crucial part of why the allies won the war.
Author Bill Yenne considers the prewar governmental acts that got the plants rolling, as well as the gender shift that occurred as women entered the work force like never before. He also describes the construction of mega-factories like Willow Run, factory design considerations, and the postwar conversion back to peacetime production. Illustrated with 175 period photographsincluding 50 rare color photos never before seen in print.
The B-1 Bomber (2nd Edition)
Traces the history and development of the B-1 bomber, describes its weapons, controls, and design features, and discusses the future role of the aircraft.
The C-130 Hercules: Tactical Airlift Missions, 1956-1975
Traces the history of the C-130 cargo plane and recounts its use in special airlift missions.
The Doolittle Raid: America’s Daring First Strike Against Japan
In April, 1942, President Roosevelt urged the military high command to prepare a devastating carrier-launch raid against the Japanese home islands. And the only person who dared to lead the mission was the best-known risk-taker in the U.S. Air Force, Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle.
This book recaptures the World War II bombing raid over Tokyo under the command of Lt. Col. "Jimmy" Doolittle and the incredible seek-and-destroy mission that he and other American pilots endured after the bombing.
The Fokker Dr.1 & D VII in World War I
These early fighters used by Germany are considered by many to be the best of World War I.
The Guinness Book of Aircraft: Records Facts and Feats
A good guide to aircraft records of the past century.
The Hardest Day: Battle of Britain: 18 August 1940
This is the story of one single day in the Battle of Britain. Sunday 18 August 1940 saw the Luftwaffe launch three major air assaults on Britain and the events of that day changed the destiny of the war. Alfred Price gives a compelling minute-by-minute account of that hardest day as experienced by those involved RAF and Luftwaffe aircrew, behind-the-scenes planners and strategists, and members of the public above whose towns and villages the battle was waged. The authors exhaustive research was indeed timely because many of those he interviewed during the 1970s are no longer alive.
The Illustrated Directory of Fighting Aircraft of WWII
This hefty international directory profiles every aircraft ever to have fought in WWII. This amazing volume contains detailed color illustrations especially useful to modelers and artists. More than 450 historical black and white, plus dozens of color photos, deliver amazing value and detail for every WWII enthusiast.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft Armament
Today's generation of high-performance combat aircraft is among the most potent and awe-inspiring of man's technological creations. The millions of people who flock to airshows, build model kits, and buy aviation books and magazines testify to the enduring fascination. It should not be forgotten, however, that all this glamorous hardware exists to flight--most combat aircraft are weapons platforms, and their mission is to carry and deliver ordnance to a specific target. However simplistic it may sound, it is worth stressing that without aircraft armament, the fighting aircraft would not exist.
This book provides the reader with a fully illustrated directory of all the airborne weapon systems that are currently in service, or being actively developed, worldwide. It falls into 2 distinct sections. The first 50 pages are devoted to examining the evolution of aircraft armament from the earliest days to the present. This historical survey is split into 3 segments: pre-1920, pre-1950, and post-1950. It takes the reader from the dawn of fighting in the air and the initial problems of fitting weapons onto aircraft, through World War II and the proliferation of guns, turrets, rockets, and bombs, to the conflicts in Korea, Israel, Vietnam, and Afghanistan, a period that has witnessed very rapid development of a wide range of guided missiles, torpedoes, "smart" bombs, mines, and so on.
The 2nd and largest part of the book consists of the directory of weapons currently in the military arsenal that can be fitted either to fixed-wing aircraft or helicopters. This again is divided according to weapon type, with separate sections devoted to air-to-air missiles, unguided ordnance; air-to-surface missiles and torpedoes, and guns and installations.
The text provides comprehensive specification and data for each entry, while the narrative text describes the weapon's design history, combat use, and in-service status. Illustrated with color and black and white photos.
The Jolly Rogers: The Story of Tom Blackburn and Navy Fighting Squadron VF-17
In an action-packed war memoir and squadron history, ace fighter pilot Tom Blackburn describes exactly how he shaped a crew of over-eager hotshots into one of the highest scoring fighter squadrons of World War II and U.S. Navy history. In only 76 days of combat, Blackburn's Jolly Rogers downed a record 154 enemy warplanes, and Blackburn himself emerged as one of VF-17's leading aces with eleven aerial combat victories to his credit. A complete history of the squadron from its commissioning in January 1943 to its disbanding in April 1944 -- including a harrowing account of the squadron's intense, winning campaign against the Japanese over the northern Solomon Islands and Fortress Rabaul -- this book offers a fascinating look at Blackburn's approach to organizing, training, and leading his pilots -- thirteen of whom, the author included, became air aces.
The Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain has always been seen as one of the major turning points of the war: the might of the Luftwaffe, devastator of half of Europe, turned towards the beleaguered British Isles to stamp out the RAF and prepare the way for Operation Sea Lion, the first proper invasion of Great Britain since 1066. So much pride and national spirit is tied up in this crucial battle that it has spawned numerous films and its anniversaries are greeted by television and newspaper coverage year after year. Hundreds of books have been written on the subject, its stories retold time and time again and one would think a new approach to the subject well nigh impossible.
The McDonnell Douglas OH-6A Helicopter: Aero Series 38
While greatly eclipsed in the annals of military aviation by the Huey and Cobra helicopters with which it served in the Vietnam War, the OH-6A earned a reputation of strength and reliability unmatched by its contemporaries. The first modern turbine-powered light observation helicopter, the OH-6A served as the U. S. Army's main scout for search and rescue missions in combat zones.
The Messerschmitt BF110: Over All Fronts 1939-1945
Over 6000 made for a variety of uses including assault and night-fighter.
The Pictorial History of Air Warfare
This is a photographic history of combat aircraft.
Content covers:
Pioneer Days
The Experimental Stage
The Early Peak
Air-to-Air Armament World War I
Air-to-Surface Armament World War I
Air-to-Air Armament Between the Wars and World War II
Air Warfare Between the Wars
Tactical Air Power in Europe and North Africa World War II
Strategic and Tactical Air Power in Europe World War II
Air Tactics
Air-to-Surface Armament World War II
The PAcific Teatre World War II
Korea, Indo-China, Suez
Modern Air Warfare
Surface-to-Air Armament
The Pictorial History of Fighter Aircraft
Fighter aircraft and their pilots are the knights on grand steeds of the aerial battlefield. This was just as true in skies over Europe in 1914 as it is in the skies of the Middle East or other such world trouble spots.
In terms of speed and power, fighters have always been on the leading edge of aviation technology. These planes and their pilots also operate—as always—on the leading edge of danger, in that rarified environment where the heat of battle meets the cool nerves that are essential to survival.
Fighters can be—and frequently have been—adapted to a variety of roles, but their raison d'etre is fighting other airplanes. Like the mounts ridden by the knights of the Middle Ages, and indeed like the knights themselves, fighters are bred to fight, bred to win.
A fighter aircraft must serve its pilot almost as though it were an extension of his hand and mind. It must give the pilot the maximum in clean unobstructed vision. In World War 1, the pilot sat in an open cockpit with a very good view of the entire hemisphere above him. Over the years, the cockpit became more and more enclosed until, by the early 1940s, the pilot's field of view was compromised by a lattice-work grid. By the 1970s, however, advancements in Plexiglas technology caught up, and bubble canopies (including one-piece bubble canopies on American F-I6s) reappeared. To become an extension of the pilot himself, the fighter airplane not only must give him a clear field of view, it must give him a clear field of action. It must respond instantly to his every whim. To do this, it must be very maneuverable; and to be very maneuverable a fighter must be very unstable. Stability is the characteristic most sought for the airliners in which most people travel, but the chariot of the fighter pilot must be just the opposite—unstable to the point of being almost dangerous yet capable of spins, loops and power dives that no airliner would ever undertake.
Like the medieval knight with whom we have compared him, the fighter pilot is a specialized breed. So is his airplane. They fly and fight in a world far removed from the rest of the battlefield. It is a distant yet deadly world where survival depends on a pilot's ability to apply his skills in one-on-one com-bat against someone who aspires to the very same skills. In this world, the pilot's only assets are his own ability to do his job with speed and precision, and the ability of his steed to respond to, and support, him.
This is the story—in pictures and words of the successive generations of airplanes that have been the outposts on the leading edge of aviation technology, the silver birds that have carried successive generations of the twentieth century's most daring aerial warriors.
The Radar War: Germany’s Pioneering Achievement 1904-45
Describes the development history of the radar, including Germany's usage of radar during World War II.