On 5 December 2002, trainee pilot Nathan Gray walked away from an 'unsurvivable' crash at RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire. His instructor, seated behind him, was killed instantly. Despite the physical pain and mental scars, he found the strength and resilience to continue his flying career. Today Commander Nathan Gray is one of the UK's elite test pilots - the best of the best. Hazard Spectrum allows us to share Nathan's dizzying journey to the top of the Fleet Air Arm. With over 140 combat missions to his name, he is among the most decorated pilots in the British armed forces - our very own Maverick. In an exhilarating first-person narrative, Nathan takes us inside the cockpit as he holds Taliban fighters at bay in Afghanistan, and leads a top-secret mission to seek out kill Osama Bin Laden in the mountains of the Hindu Kush. In 2018, Nathan was chosen to complete the first take-off and landing of the world's most advanced fighter aircraft - the F35 stealth jet - on the flight deck of the flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth. A television audience of millions held its collective breath as he geared up for the task. This is the inspiring and unforgettable story of a man with a supreme ability to fly the most sophisticated and deadly planes ever created, who overcomes his personal demons to push the hazard spectrum to the limit - and beyond.

Although one of the best medium bombers of the Second World War, fast, tough, and with an excellent bomb load, the Tu-2 is little known in the West. This book provides a comprehensive history of this important aeroplane, complete with its developmental history in the Second World War and later, and its long postwar history, both with the Soviet Union and other countries. First produced in 1942, the Tu-2's initial production ended in 1943, then as its combat capabilities became clear, it was reinstated into production. Because of the stop in production, the Tu-2 was not used in large numbers until the last year of the war, where it proved a very useful weapon indeed. Neither its development nor production stopped with the end of the war, and it was developed into additional variants, including an all-weather fighter. In addition to its service in the Great Patriotic War, it saw service in the Korean War with the Chinese Air Force. This book also features accurate colour profiles of the Tu-2 in the colours of the various nations it was in service with postwar, as well as colour profiles from its wartime service with the Red Air Force.

The Albatross was the premier fixed-wing rescue aircraft for the U.S. Air Force and Coast Guard. Its very colorful history begins in 1946 and spans nearly a quarter of a century, including service with twenty-two foreign nations. With a total of 466 built by Grumman, more than eighty examples still thrive on the civil register. The Albatross also saw extensive service in the Korean and Vietnam wars. The fascinating history of this unique aircraft is complemented by over 200 photographs including many in color showing the great variations in color schemes and markings.

In the summer of 1915 the Royal Naval Air Service found itself engaged in an unexpected war at sea, the fight to prevent the German submarine fleet from disrupting the flow of vital supplies to the British Isles, necessary for the conduct of the war. It was a war that had to be won because by the spring of 1917 the U-boat campaign against Allied merchant shipping was close to bringing the British war effort to the point of collapse. Airships of the RNAS played a vital part in this new war at sea. This book tells the story of the young men who ventured out over the often hostile waters around the British Isles in airships, who were expected to hunt down the German submarines and to attack them with the hopelessly inadequate weapons at their disposal. The story is told by those who took part in this new form of warfare, through pieces written by them or via interviews with veterans. It covers the entire experience of being an airship pilot, from initial training, through their numerous adventures while flying these frail craft over the coastal waters of the British Isles, to the final victory in 1918.

During the first 10 months of the war in the Pacific, Japan achieved air supremacy with its carrier and land-based forces. After major setbacks at Midway and at Guadalcanal, the empire's expansion stalled, in part due to flaws in aircraft design, strategy and command. This book offers a fresh analysis of the air war in the Pacific during the early phases of World War II. Details are included from two expeditions conducted by the author, revealing the location of an American pilot missing in the Philippines since 1942, and clearing up a controversial account involving famed Japanese ace Saburo Sakai and U.S. Navy pilot James "Pug" Southerland.

Britain's Cold War Bombers explores the creation and development of the jet bomber, tracing the emergence of the first jet designs (the Valiant and Vulcan) through to the first-generation jets which entered service with the RAF and Fleet Air Arm. Each aircraft type is examined, looking at how the design was created and how this translated into an operational aircraft. The basic development and service history of each type is explained, with a narrative which links the linear appearance of each new design, leading to the present day and the latest generation of Typhoon aircraft. Other aircraft types covered are the Canberra, Sperrin, Victor, Scimitar, Buccaneer, Nimrod, Phantom, Sea Harrier, Jaguar, Tornado GR1/4 and Typhoon.

At the A-7 Corsair II's peak in the mid-1980s, some 30 US Navy squadrons flew various versions of the aircraft, including six Naval Air Reserve units, and these many of these units saw action across the Middle East. By the time the jet saw combat in Operation Desert Storm (1991), there remained only two fleet squadrons - many fleet squadrons having either disestablished or transitioned to the F/A 18 Hornet - but both of these units (VA-46 and VA-72) played a major role in the campaign to free Kuwait. The book details the technological development and improvements that were introduced to the airframe post-Vietnam (the FLIR targeting pod from 1979 and AGM-88 HARM missile from 1983 being the most important), and how they shaped operational employment of the aircraft. The jet's combat experiences in conflicts during the 1970s (Cambodia), 1980s (Lebanon, Grenada, Libya and Iran), and 1990s (Iraq) are explained in detail, and Peter Mersky's expert analysis is supported by numerous first-hand accounts from naval aviators that saw action with the A-7 during these campaigns.

This book provides a concise historical survey of the various types of aircraft used by the United States Army Air Corps, Army Air Forces, and Air Force, and the Navy and Marine Corps to accomplish air attack missions since 1926. The text covers four types of fixed-wing aircraft: designated attack aircraft; light, medium, and tactical bombers; fighter-bombers; and adapted attack aircraft. Reports on individual aircraft types include the aircraft's original military requirements, production history, and operational record, usually accompanied by photographs, illustrations, and technical specifications. Four appendices detail aircraft designations and nomenclature used throughout the military, the organizational structure of various military air units, aircraft designs that never made it into official service, and the evolution of attack aircraft weapons and tactics.

Along with the Bf 109, the Fw 190 was a stalwart of the Luftwaffe and one of the top fighters of WWII.

This is the vivid memoir of a young man who served with both Coastal Command and Bomber Command throughout the Second World War. Having joined the RAFVR before the war, Peter Russell was mobilised in August 1939 and, after training, became operational with Coastal Command's 233 Squadron flying Lockheed Hudsons from Leuchars, Aldergrove and St Eval in Britain's battle for survival in the Atlantic. After fourteen months Peter was rested and tasked with training navigators for the impending enlargement of Bomber Command. In 1944 he joined 625 Squadron flying Lancasters against targets in Germany and Occupied Europe. Russell took command of B' Flight and was promoted to squadron leader. His memories of the many raids, his crew and operational flying during this period until the end of the war are gripping recounted in Flying in Defiance of the Reich. After the German surrender, Peter headed for the Far East, joining Shield Force which was tasked with conducting a strategic night bombing offensive against the Japanese mainland. However, before it could become operational the war was brought to an abrupt conclusion with the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Peter's unit was, therefore, redirected to relieve Hong Kong, in which the RAF undertook a purely land operation. The final chapters give a unique insight into how Japanese military rule was replaced, once again, by British law and order.

The striking power of the Imperial Japanese Navy's carrier- based attack aircraft was established at Pearl Harbor, and the IJN's carrier- based torpedo and dive- bombers showed their prowess again at the Battle of Coral Sea when they sank the US Navy carrier USS Lexington and damaged the carrier USS Yorktown. Even at the disastrous Battle of Midway, the relatively small number of IJNAF attack- and torpedo-bombers that were launched against the US fleet proved that they remained a potent force by heavily damaging Yorktown again, which allowed an IJN submarine to sink the carrier. At Guadalcanal, IJNAF carrier-based aircraft sank the carrier USS Hornet and badly damaged USS Enterprise twice. However, throughout 1942, US Navy ship defences brought down an increasing number of attacking IJNAF aircraft. The final major battle of the year, the Battle of Santa Cruz, exacted crippling losses on the IJN, setting the stage for the eclipse of the IJNAF's highly trained and effective aviation attack forces. Packed with illustrations and contemporary photographs, this engrossing volume details the design, tactics, and operational records of both the US Navy ships and the IJNAF aircraft which attacked them over the year following Pearl Harbor.

Following on from the success of Victor Boys and Vulcan Boys, Tony Blackman, in collaboration with Anthony Wright, brings you Valiant Boys to complete the V Force set. This is a fascinating collection of personal accounts of operating Britains first V bomber by aircrew and ground crew. The book tells the story from the aircrafts birth taking off from Vickers tiny airfield at Brooklands to its premature death from fatigue. There are tales of testing atom bombs in the Australian desert, dropping hydrogen bombs in the middle of the Pacific and, as a complete contrast, attacking airfields with conventional bombs in Egypt during the very brief and abortive Suez campaign. We are reminded of how the Valiant provided the UKs first nuclear deterrent by always having some armed aircraft on stand-by twenty-four hours a day, supported by their air and ground crews, ready to be flown at a moments notice on a one-way trip to launch an atomic war. Some Valiants were given a photographic role providing accurate images from high altitude and were used not only to gather military intelligence but also to survey the UK and countries overseas. Others were developed into flight refuelling tankers breaking point to point records before enabling Britains fighter aircraft to be refuelled and fly anywhere in the world. This book completes Tony Blackmans trilogy of the three V bombers. As Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Michael Beetham makes it clear in his foreword: It is good to have a book written by aircrew and ground crew telling their stories and how they operated the aircraft so that all these things are recorded and not forgotten. Not as well known as the Vulcan and Victor, the Valiant is often overlooked; this book will go a long way to redress the balance.

For most of the 2nd World War the RAF flew small aircraft into Occupied France at night, landing and taking off in total secrecy. Their mission was to transport agents to and from France to support the activities of the French Resistance and SOE. The chronicle of these operations tells an extraordinary adventure story, full of danger for both agent and aviator. Hugh Verity flew many of the missions recounted in We Landed by Moonlight and was probably the most outstanding pick-up pilot of them all.

From best-selling author of Tail-End Charlie and Tornado Down comes this powerful and deeply moving account of Bomber Command's 1944 Nuremberg Raid - the RAF's bloodiest night of the Second World War More men from Royal Air Force Bomber Command died on one single night of the Second World War than the total RAF aircrew losses during the whole of the four-month-long Battle of Britain. This is the story of the air raid intended to be the climax of Sir Arthur 'Bomber' Harris's relentless campaign to defeat Nazi Germany. The target was Nuremberg: 795 aircraft set out, nearly 700 men did not return. In 'The Red Line', we meet the young aircrew who flew on the night of 30 March 1944. John Nichol has interviewed the few surviving veterans, British and German, in the air and on the ground, to record the voices of a diminishing generation. While the airmen of Bomber Command were among the greatest heroes of the conflict, their contribution and sacrifice has been sidelined in the face of post-war criticism of Bomber Command's tactics. John Nichol's dramatic tribute to the men who flew on the RAF's bloodiest raid has provided the surviving veterans with the chance to tell the story of that terrible night - the night they flew to Nuremberg.

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?

When Storms of Controversy was first published in 1992, its answers to these questions sent a shock wave across the country. Using never-before-released documents, the book exploded the myth that design flaws, cost overruns, or obsolescence had triggered the demise of the Arrow.

Now, in this fully revised fourth edition, complete with two new appendices, the bestselling book brings readers up-to-date on the CF-105 Arrow, the most innovative, sophisticated aircraft the world had seen by the end of the 1950s.

Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free is a rare gift detailing the experience of Lt. Col. Alexander Jefferson, who was one of 32 Tuskegee Airmen from the 332nd Fighter Group to be shot down defending a country that considered them to be second-class citizens. In this vividly detailed, deeply personal story, Jefferson writes as a genuine American hero about what it meant to be an African American pilot in enemy hands, fighting to protect the promise of freedom. The book features the sketches, drawings, and other illustrations Jefferson created during his nine months as a POW, and Lewis Carlson's authoritative background to the man, his unit, and the fight Alexander Jefferson fought so well. This revised edition covers the story of Jefferson's continuing outreach and education work, as he brings the story of the Tuskegee Airmen to communities and schools across the country, and the presentation of the Congressional Gold Medal to the Airmen in 2007. Red Tail Captured, Red Tail Free is perhaps the only account of the African American experience in a German prison camp.

It was the first and only combat mission for the B-24 Liberator "Lady Be Good." On April 4, 1943, she left her base on the North African coast of Libya to bomb the port city of Naples, Italy. She never returned to base. It was not until the spring of 1959 that "Lady Be Good" was discovered by a BP oil exploration team almost 500 miles into the Libyan Desert, virtually intact, with no trace of the crew. What happened to the "Lady Be Good" is explored in this book. This includes the search for the crew and the subsequent mission to find the two US Army personnel lost during the initial search. The author interviewed personnel who took part in the recovery effort, and has included many unpublished photos taken at the crash site during the first USAF visit in 1959.

Strategic Survey 2020 The Annual Assessment of Geopolitics The worst pandemic in a century tested governments, strained societies and frayed international ties during the year to mid-2020. But there was much more to this period than COVID-19. Climate change - another severe global challenge - grew more critical. US President Donald Trump was impeached, the United Kingdom left the European Union, and Iranian Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani was killed. Strategic Survey 2020 provides a comprehensive overview of major developments in every region of the world, and in-depth analysis of key geopolitical and geo-economic issues: War The US-Taliban agreement to end the United States' longest war; the persistence of other complex armed con flicts. Power China's growing in fluence, especially in Europe and the South Paci fic; Turkey's force projection in the Middle East and beyond; the EU's quest for strategic autonomy; the new geopolitics of the Red Sea; the implications of Ethiopia's giant dam for relations between Nile states; the increasing use of economic sanctions as a tool of statecraft. Rules The decline of multilateralism; prospects for arms control; key gaps in international law; Central Asia's connectivity; changes in the status of Jammu and Kashmir; dual legitimacy in Venezuela. Strategic Survey 2020 also assesses a diverse range of political leaders: Progress of three ambitious reforming presidents: Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico. Foreign-policy legacies of two veteran leaders: Angela Merkel and Abe Shinzo. Trump's challenges to both the transatlantic relationship and China. Evolution of and prospects for Vladimir Putin's presidency. Strategic Survey 2020 is the indispensable guide to the events, actors and forces that de ned an exceptionally complex year. It highlights the geopolitical issues that will shape the international agenda in 2021.

November 1943 May 1945 The U.S. Army Air Forces waged an unprecedentedly dogged and violent campaign against Hitler's vital oil production and industrial plants on the Third Reich's southern flank. Flying from southern Italy, far from the limelight enjoyed by the Eighth Air Force in England, the Fifteenth Air Force engaged in high-risk missions spanning most of the European continent. The story of the Fifteenth Air Force deserves a prideful place in the annals of American gallantry. In his new book, The Forgotten Fifteenth: The Daring Airmen Who Crippled Hitler's War Machine, Tillman brings into focus a seldom-seen multinational cast of characters, including pilots from Axis nations Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria and many more remarkable individuals. They were the first generation of fliers few of them professionals to conduct a strategic bombing campaign against a major industrial nation. They suffered steady attrition and occasionally spectacular losses. In so doing, they contributed to the end of the most destructive war in history. The Forgotten Fifteenth is the first-ever detailed account of the Fifteenth Air Force in World War II and the brave men that history has abandoned. This book is a must-read for military history enthusiasts, veterans, current servicemen and their families. Includes glossy photo signature of historic pictures and documents

A classic in every sense of the word, the re-issuing of this book is sure to provoke an enthusiastic response. First published in 1986 by Airlife, its publishing history has seen a great number of glowing reviews generated, coming from both historians and participants in the proceedings that the author so eloquently relays. The book charts Crosleys service career in the Fleet Air Arm during the entire period of the Second World War. Part of his service saw him in action aboard HMS Eagle, flying Sea Hurricanes on the Harpoon and Pedestal Malta convoys of June and August 1942\. It was during this time that he shot down his first enemy aircraft and survived the dramatic sinking of HMS Eagle. From there he graduated on to Seafires, (the Naval equivalent of the Spitfire), and flew this type in Combat Air Patrols over Norway and ramrod strikes from Operation Torch (the invasion of French North Africa in November 1942), through to D-Day in June 1944 in the European Theatre of Operations, and then in the Pacific abroad HMS Implacable as part of the British Pacific Fleet in 1945 until the end of the Pacific War, by which time he had command of his own combined squadron, 801 and 880. The narrative is well written in a frank and often scathingly critical way of Fleet Air Arm operations during the Second World War and beyond. The book looks set to bring the endeavours of Crosley to a whole new generation of enthusiasts, and it should appeal across the board to fans of aviation, naval history and families and friends of Armed Forces, past and present.

British RAF wireless operator/air gunner Bill `Enoch' Kirkness of Horsforth, Yorkshire, flew thirty-two B-24 Liberator bomber sorties, twenty-eight of which were against Japanese targets in Burma. He was credited with downing the night fighter that killed a crewmate and severely damaged his Liberator in April 1944; his aircraft's crash-landing abruptly ended his first tour of operations. He was awarded a prestigious Distinguished Flying Medal for his heroism. Bill's memoir of Wellington ferry flights, Liberator training, and operations with 159 Squadron typifies aspects of the human spirit-including fear and anxiety, focused determination, numbing boredom, brotherly camaraderie, heart-wrenching anguish, and comic relief-which any young man immersed within such a conflict would have likely experienced. Bill wore his heart, not just his sergeant's stripes, on his sleeve. Bill's story is a compelling, dignified account of an average man's war from 1942 to 1944 in the UK, the Mediterranean, Africa, and onward through his first operational tour based in India. Matt Poole, an expert on 159 Squadron and RAF Liberator activities against the Japanese, seamlessly enhances Bill's narrative with added historical detail. Although Bill passed away in 1994, Matt vowed to help bring the memoir to a wider audience.

With vivid detail and many exclusive photographs, Wayne Mutza chronicles the Convair's F-102 Delta Dagger's unsteady course through history, from its inception to present-day survivors. Presented for the first time are the fascinating details surrounding the F-102 in the air defense role, special projects, its unconventional use during the war in Southeast Asia, service with foreign air arms, the Air National Guard and its extensive involvement with the drone program. Special features include a detailed listing of each aircraft's assignment history and many of the insignia associated with the F-102. Through in-depth research, the author has produced a most informative and interesting volume on a classic aircraft.

An illustrated history of how the Luftwaffe intended 'the Blitz' to knock Britain out of the war, emphasising the German point of view and detailing how Britain's defences and civilians responded. The Blitz - the German 'blitzkrieg' of Britain's industrial and port cities - was one of the most intensive bombing campaigns of World War II. Cities from London to Glasgow, Belfast to Hull, and Liverpool to Cardiff were targeted in an attempt to destroy Britain's military-industrial facilities and force it out of the war. Most histories of the Blitz concentrate on the civilian experience of ‘life under the bombs’ or the fighter pilots of the RAF but, in military terms, the Blitz was also the Luftwaffe's biggest and most ambitious strategic bombing campaign. Focusing on both sides, this book places particular emphasis on the hitherto under-represented Luftwaffe view of the campaign and looks at the new technology and tactics at its heart. From the innovative development of specialist night-fighters to the 'Battle of the Beams' that pitted German electronic navigation systems against British countermeasures, the Blitz demonstrated the effects of developing technology on aerial warfare. Describing and analyzing the strategy, tactics and operations of both the Luftwaffe and the UK’s air defences during the period between September 1940 and May 1941, author Julian Hale demonstrates that, for a variety of reasons, there was little chance of the Luftwaffe achieving any of its aims. Using primary sources, spectacular original artwork, 3D diagrams and maps, this study shines a fresh light on how and why the world’s first true strategic air offensive failed.