"God's Samurai" is the unusual story of Mitsuo Fuchida, the career aviator who led the attack on Pearl Harbor and participated in most of the fiercest battles of the Pacific war. A valuable record of major events, it is also the personal story of a man swept along by his times. Reared in the vanished culture of early twentieth-century Japan, war hero Fuchida returned home to become a simple farmer. After a scandalous love affair came his remarkable conversion to Christianity and years of touring the world as an evangelist. His tale is an informative, personal look at the war "from the other side."

The Finnish Air Force operates at the world's most northerly latitudes in an often extreme climate. During the Cold War, it was overshadowed by the Soviet Union, but remained fiercely independent. Since then, it has worked hard to deepen cooperation with its neighbours. It modernised its aircraft fleet and intends to acquire a new generation of combat aircraft through its HX fighter competition. Illustrated with over 170 photographs, this book examines the development of the Finnish Air Force from the Cold War, concentrating on its modern organisation, training and operations. It also covers its increased cooperation with neighbouring countries and NATO, and the use of reserve air strips, along with wartime mobilisation and its reserve forces. Although concentrating on the Finnish Air Force, there will also be coverage of the Finnish Army's helicopters and HX Competition.

First published in 1944, Guy Gibson's Enemy Coast Ahead quickly became regarded as the classic Bomber Command book, following Gibson's RAF career from flying the Hampden and Manchester at the beginning of WWII to the triumphant return home of the Lancasters from the famous 1943 Dambuster raid which Gibson led and for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. Enemy Coast Ahead is also the inside story of life in Bomber Command throughout the first five years of WW2, culminating in breath-holding drama as the RAF planned, practiced and strove towards breaching the dams on that famous night in May 1943.

A fully illustrated history of how the US Navy destroyed Truk, the greatest Japanese naval and air base in the Pacific, with Operation Hailstone, and how B-29 units and the carriers of the British Pacific Fleet kept the base suppressed until VJ-Day. In early 1944, the island base of Truk was a Japanese Pearl Harbor; a powerful naval and air base that needed to be neutralized before the Allies could fight their way any further towards Tokyo. But Truk was also the most heavily defended naval base outside the Japanese Home Islands and an Allied invasion would be costly. Long-range bombing against Truk intact would be a massacre so a plan was conceived to neutralize it through a series of massive naval raids led by the growing US carrier fleet. Operation Hailstone was one of the most famous operations ever undertaken by American carriers in the Pacific. This book examines the rise and fall of Truk as a Japanese bastion and explains how in two huge raids, American carrier-based aircraft reduced it to irrelevance. Also covered is the little-known story of how the USAAF used the ravaged base as a live-fire training ground for its new B-29s -- whose bombing raids ensured Truk could not be reactivated by the Japanese. The pressure on Truk was kept up right through 1945 when it was also used as a target for the 509th Composite Squadron to practise dropping atomic bombs and by the British Pacific Fleet to hone its pilots' combat skills prior to the invasion of Japan.

Southern England. Late summer 1940. The UK is fighting for its very survival and the Luftwaffe's aerial offensive is unrelenting. All that lies between invasion and salvation for Britain is the "thin blue line" of RAF Fighter Command and its pilots. This newly illustrated anniversary edition of "Life as a Battle of Britain Pilot" reveals what it was like to fly a fighter plane in the Battle of Britain. Who were the Spitfire and Hurricane pilots of 1940? How did they spend a typical day? And when pitched together in combat at 30,000 feet, which was the better machine--Spitfire or Me109? Read" Life as a Battle of Britain Pilot" and then ask yourself: would I have been up to the job?

During the Great War, 1914-1918, New Zealanders were keen participants in the new field of military aviation. Close to 850 men, and a small number of women, from the Empire's southernmost dominion sought positions in the British and Australian air services. Drawing on extensive archival material from New Zealand, Australia and Britain, historian Dr Adam Claasen explores New Zealand's reluctance to embrace military aviation, the challenges facing the establishment of local flying schools and the journey undertaken by the New Zealanders from their antipodean farms and towns to the battlefields of the Great War. In spite of their modest numbers the New Zealanders' wartime experiences were incredibly varied. Across the conflict, New Zealand aviators could be found flying above the sands of the Middle East and Mesopotamia, the grey waters of the North Sea , the jungles of East Africa, the sprawling metropolis of London and the rolling hills of northern France and Belgium. Flying the open cockpit wood-and-wire biplanes of the Great War, New Zealanders undertook reconnaissance sorties, carried out bombing raids, photographed enemy entrenchments, defended England from German airships, strafed artillery emplacements and engaged enemy fighters. By the time the war ended many had been killed, others highly decorated, some elevated to `ace' status and a handful occupied positions of considerable command. This book tells their unique and extraordinary untold story.

In NATO's Gamble, Henriksen discloses the origins and content of NATO's strategic and conceptual thinking on how the use of force was to succeed politically in altering the behavior of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY). The air campaign, known as Operation Allied Force, was the first war against any sovereign nation in the history of NATO and the first major combat operation conducted for humanitarian purposes against a state committing atrocities within its own borders. This book examines the key political, diplomatic, and military processes that shaped NATO and U.S. management of the Kosovo crisis and shows how air power became the main instrument in their strategy to coerce FRY to accede to NATO's demands. Dag Henriksen is a lecturer in air power at the Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy.

Originally published to acclaim in 2009, this paperback re-issue aims to give readers access to the tangible remains of hundreds of historic aircraft that still lie at crash sites on the moors and mountains of the British Isles, all of which can be visited. It covers almost 500 selected sites, with emphasis placed on those located within open access land. The book includes accurate verified grid references, up-to-date site descriptions and recent photographs. Arranged geographically, each chapter features details of all major recorded air crashes to have occurred in that particular region. Areas covered include: South-west Moors - 15 entries. ~ Wales - 93 entries. ~ Peak District - 82 entries. Pennines - 76 Entries. ~ Lake District - 32 entries. ~ North Yorkshire Moors - 23 entries. Isle of Man - 18 entries. ~ Scotland: Lowlands - 47 entries. ~ Highlands and Islands - 85 entries. ~ Ireland - 19 entries. Representing the main upland areas of the British Isles, each of these sections is introduced with a brief narrative describing its geographical characteristics and aviation background, discussing the factors and trends lying behind the concentration of losses within each area and noting any especially significant incidents. Individual site entries include precise location details including, where required, additional references for scattered major items of wreckage and any relevant notes to aid finding or interpreting the crash site, together with details of the aircraft, names and fates of those onboard and the circumstances of the loss.

The evolution of British airborne warfare cannot be fully appreciated without reference to the technological development required to convert the detail contained in the doctrine and concept into operational reality. Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment is a detailed investigation of the British technological investment in an airborne capability and analyses whether the new technology was justifiable, or indeed, entirely achievable. The book combines the detail contained in the original policy documentation for airborne warfare and the subsequent technological investigations to determine whether sufficient strategic requirement had been demonstrated and how policy impacted upon the research programme. Without clear research parameters technological investment could not achieve maximum efficiency and consequent military effectiveness. The allocation of resources was a crucial factor in the technological development and the fact that aircraft suitability and availability remained unresolved throughout the duration of the war would suggest that the development of airborne forces was much less of a strategic priority for the British than has previously been suggested. Ultimately, despite the creation of a dedicated research institution in 1942 (Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment), and the development of specialist hardware such as the assault glider, the British did not possess the material resources required for the large-scale deployment of airborne troops. Analysis of the technology has revealed that the development of airborne warfare was as much for the purpose of psychological warfare and British morale as it was for offensive operations.

This book gives a rare insight into the life inside the tanker squadrons of the Royal Air Force, viewed through the eyes of Tony Golds, one of the RAF tanker fleets longest serving Navigator/Plotters. During his service career which spanned four decades, he flew in dozens of aeroplanes, for literally thousands of hours and covered something in excess of two million miles. Initially the prime role of the first tankers (Valiants) was to service the legendary English Electric Lightning interceptor fighters patrolling the North Sea. During his career, Tony served in every continent of the world, including a healthy series of tours at Ascension just after the Falklands War. He was in one of the tanker crews chosen to assist in devising the procedures needed to get both the Vulcans in the Black Buck operation down to the Falklands, and subsequently the Hercules C130 freighters to form the Ascension / Falklands air bridge, so vital for the support of the Falkland Islands, once the shooting war was over.

The German invasion of the Netherlands was meant to be a lightning-fast surgical strike, aimed at shoring up the right flank of the assault on France and Belgium. With a bold plan based largely on Luftwaffe air power, air-landing troops, and the biggest airborne assault yet seen, a Dutch surrender was expected within 24 hours. But the Netherlands possessed Europe's first fully integrated anti-aircraft network, as well as modern and competitive aircraft. On 10 May, the German attack was only partly successful, and the Dutch fought on for another four days. On the fifth day, with its original strategy having largely failed, the Luftwaffe resorted to terror-bombing Rotterdam to force a surrender. Explaining the technical capabilities and campaign plans of the two sides, and charting how the battles were fought, this fascinating book reassesses this little-known part of World War II. Author Ryan K. Noppen argues that while the Holland campaign was a tactical victory for Germany, the ability of the well-prepared but outnumbered Dutch to inflict heavy losses was a warning of what would come in the Battle of Britain.

The Spitfire Story, published in association with Imperial War Museums, is a fascinating anthology of first-hand stories from Spitfire heroes and heroines, as well as the people behind the scenes.

The Spitfire is the world's most iconic aeroplane. Coming into its own during the Battle of Britain, it became famous during the Second World War as the only plane that could match the enemy fighters in the sky.

Yet, even today, the history of the Spitfire contains many hitherto hidden or little-known stories of the men and women behind the plane; not only the gifted creators and inventors who brought the Spitfire to life, or the brave fighter pilots from many countries who triumphed in battle, but also the thousands of other people whose lives were affected by their personal connection to it - engineers, ground crew, factory or office workers, and their families.

The Spitfire Story recounts the memories and stories of these people, from the birth of the iconic Spitfire in the 1930s to the present day. Among these accounts is the extraordinary tale of the fighter pilot who only discovered, fifty years on, the tragic truth of his last Spitfire flight, the businessman whose blank cheque changed the course of the war, the ninety-five-year-old Royal Air Force engineer who was determined to be reunited with his beloved Spit before he died, and the little girl who inspired the plane's creation - and went on to marry a movie star.

Using documents, letters and photographs from the Imperial War Museums' unparalleled archive, plus exclusive first-hand interviews, these stories of the Spitfire are a revelatory collection of small but significant histories, to be treasured by all who love and admire the iconic plane.

Very few people would include Mexico in the list of U.S. World War II Allies. Sadly, Mexico's aid to the United States and the Allies has been largely ignored by historians and is mostly absent from American history books. When the Mexican aviators had the opportunity to show their courage in battle, they did so with valor. Allied theater commander General Douglas MacArthur commended the pilots and 150 support personnel. The 31 pilots of Mexican Expeditionary Force 201st Fighter Squadron flew missions supporting ground troops in the Philippines and long-range sorties over Formosa. The Aztec Eagles helped the Allies defeat Japan. They helped end the isolationism of Mexico. They paved the way for important agreements between the United States and Mexico. They helped modernize the Mexican Air Force and demonstrated that Mexico could mount a successful expeditionary force. Significant as these achievements are, perhaps the unit's most important legacy is that the Aztec Eagles fought for honor and for Mexico as Allies in WWII, creating national pride throughout their homeland. That pride endures and is evident today as the story of the Aztec Eagles can be heard in towns and villages across the nation.

Twenty-four aircrew who flew the iconic aircraft with the Fleet Air Arm, the Royal Air Force and the South African Air Force (SAAF) relate their experiences and affection for the Blackburn Buccaneer. Arranged in chronological order, the book traces the history of the aircraft and the tasks it fulfilled. In addition to describing events and activities, it provides an insight into the lifestyle of a Buccaneer squadron and the fun and enjoyment of being a `Buccaneer Boy' in addition to being part of a highly professional and dedicated force. This lavishly illustrated book concludes with accounts of the aircraft's final days in RAF service and some reflections on its impact on maritime and overland air power.

Equipped with well-balanced air wings, huge aircraft carriers have formed the backbone of the United States Navy's doctrine and strategy since the Second World War. Packing an enormous punch, their purpose is to exercise control over enormous portions of airspace - in the offence or defence. From the mid-1970s until the mid-2000s, the spear tip of the USN air wings was the famous Grumman F-14 Tomcat - widely considered one of the finest air superiority systems in the world. Originally designed as a fast, manoeuvrable and well-armed fighter, the Tomcat entered service as the ultimate long-range fleet defender and became the biggest, most complex and most expensive naval aircraft of its time. Including a unique and exceptional combination of flight characteristics, detection systems and weapons, it earned itself the status of a legend by the mid-1980s. The F-14 Tomcats of the US Navy achieved their first aerial victories during freedom of navigation exercises off Libya in 1981. However, the period during which they saw most combat followed several years later, during Operations Earnest Will and then Desert Storm, from 1987 until 1991. To date, very little has been published about the operations in question. Indeed, the widespread belief is that USN F-14s saw next to no air combat against Iran, and even less so during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. As so often, the reality is entirely different: Tomcats engaged dozens of opponents, often on the verge of the engagement envelope of their powerful AWG-9 radars and AIM-54 Phoenix long-range air-to-air missiles, and sometimes at such close ranges that their pilots selected 'guns'. Weather- and communications-related problems, but also the incredible discipline of their crews prevented them from scoring up to a dozen aerial victories: however, it is perfectly possible that they scored at least one, perhaps more previously entirely unknown aerial victories - and also lost one of their own to an enemy fighter. Richly illustrated by over 100 photographs and authentic colour profiles, 'Tomcats of the Storm' is an exclusive source of reference about some of least-well known air combats fought by US Navy's fighter crews in recent history.

The Vulcan, the second of the three V bombers built to guard the UK during the Cold War, has become an aviation icon like the Spitfire, its delta shape instantly recognisable as is the howling noise it makes when the engines are opened for take-off. Vulcan Boys is the first Vulcan book recounted completely first hand by the operators themselves. It tells the story of the aircraft from its design conception through the Cold War when it played out its most important job as Britains nuclear deterrent; before unbelievably, at the end of its service life, also playing a significant role, with its bombs and missiles, in liberating the Falkland Islands for which it gained much celebrity. The individual accounts detail how hours at a time were spent on readiness, waiting to be scrambled to defend their country in the event of a third world war. In addition how their aggressive skills were honed by carrying out Lone Ranger sorties flying to the States and westward around the world, and taking part in Giant Voice and Red Flag, competitive exercises against the United States Strategic Air Command. The attacks in the Falklands using Shrike missiles are described accurately and in great detail for the first time including the landing at Rio de Janeiro alongside a vivid account of Black Buck 2. Vulcan Boys is a fascinating and completely authentic read reminding us of the Cold War, how it was fought and the considerable effort required to prevent all-out nuclear war.

Born of necessity during the Vietnam War, the Vought A-7 Corsair II ushered in a level of lethality, target accuracy, and economy not realized in any plane before it, and, arguably, any that followed. Originally designed as a "bomb truck," the A-7 would, with the assistance (and insistence) of the US Air Force, realize its full potential. It was the first combat aircraft to feature a heads-up display (HUD)-an incredibly accurate, integrated navigation/weapons computer-and a host of other innovations like fly-by-wire and forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras, abilities today's combat pilot takes for granted. This book tells the story of the A-7 from design and development to combat deployment from Vietnam to its last use in Operation Desert Storm. Its multiple variants are discussed along with its use by the US Navy and Air Force, as well as overseas with the air forces of Greece and Portugal.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER A masterly history of the Dambusters raid from bestselling and critically acclaimed Max Hastings. Operation Chastise, the overnight destruction of the Moehne and Eder dams in north-west Germany by the RAF's 617 Squadron, was an epic that has passed into Britain's national legend. Max Hastings grew up embracing the story, the classic 1955 movie and the memory of Guy Gibson, the 24-year-old wing-commander who won the VC leading the raid. In the 21st Century, however, Hastings urges that we should review the Dambusters in much more complex shades. The aircrew's heroism was wholly authentic, as was the brilliance of Barnes Wallis, who invented the 'bouncing bombs'. But commanders who promised their young fliers that success could shorten the war fantasised wildly. What Germans call the Moehnekatastrophe imposed on the Nazi war machine temporary disruption, rather than a crippling blow. Hastings vividly describes the evolution of Wallis' bomb, and of the squadron which broke the dams at the cost of devastating losses. But he also portrays in harrowing detail those swept away by the torrents. Some 1,400 civilians perished in the biblical floods that swept through the Moehne valley, more than half of them Russian and Polish women, slave labourers under Hitler. Ironically, Air Marshal Sir Arthur 'Bomber' Harris gained much of the credit, though he opposed Chastise as a distraction from his city-burning blitz. He also made what the author describes as the operation's biggest mistake - the failure to launch a conventional attack on the Nazis' huge post-raid repair operation, which could have transformed the impact of the dam breaches upon Ruhr industry. Chastise offers a fascinating retake on legend by a master of the art. Hastings sets the dams raid in the big picture of the bomber offensive and of the Second World War, with moving portraits of the young airmen, so many of whom died; of Barnes Wallis; the monstrous Harris; the tragic Guy Gibson, together with superb narrative of the action of one of the most extraordinary episodes in British history.

This is an illustrated guide shown in over 100 images. It is a compelling history of the Supermarine Spitfire, from the first single-seat prototype of 1936 through to post-war planes that equip fighter units around the world. It includes complete technical specifications detailing the Spitfire's armament, power plant, dimensions, weight and performance. It features over 100 photographs of the Supermarine Spitfire in action, as well as a cutaway diagram showing the interior construction of this classic fighter aircraft. The legendary Supermarine Spitfire was designed solely as an air protection interceptor, to engage and destroy enemy bombers attempting to attack targets in the British Isles. It was also ideal as a reconnaissance aircraft, providing photographs and crucial details of enemy involvement. This book describes the design and development of this outstanding combat aircraft, and includes eyewitness accounts from pilots who flew it during the Battle of Britain and beyond. Wartime photographs and cutaway diagrams accompany the expertly written text, making this an essential volume for everyone interested in these history-making aircraft.

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 Argentine Mirages and Daggers on 1 May 1982 failed to eliminate the Sea Harrier defenders. FAA fighter-bomber pilots relied on daring and courageous ultra-low level attacks, frequently escaping the Sea Harrier's limited capabilities, against Royal Navy warships and auxiliaries, causing considerable damage during Operation Corporate, the large-scale amphibious operation to repossess the islands. Publishing 35 years after the end of the conflict, this fully illustrated volume offers a balanced and objective examination of the SHAR and the Argentine Mirage and Dagger aircraft, highlighting the attributes of both and the skills and courage of the pilots flying them.