THERE WAS ONE THING THEY COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT: FREEDOM. On the rainy afternoon of Friday, July 13, 1956, seven desperate young people boarded a twin engine DC-3 in the People's Republic of Hungary, with the intention of diverting it to West Germany. They had no weapons, no map, and no idea whether the plane carried enough fuel to get them there. They would have to brave the gun of the security officer on board, the wild maneuvers of the pilot, the Russian MiG fighters in hot pursuit and a harrowing flight over the stormy Alps, without navigation. Failure would mean certain death. AND A SPECTACULAR ESCAPE FROM TYRANNY WAS BORN. FRANK ISZAK was a journalist at the apex of the Communist terror in Hungary when his article about the dissolution of a collective farm landed him in a uranium mine for "re-education." He broke out but remained a fugitive with the heavily guarded borders of Hungary. In order to escape he organized a boxing team, and on their way to the regional championship they diverted their domestic flight across the Iron Curtain. Condemned to death (in absentia) he received political asylum in the West and immigrated to the U.S. He worked as a chemist, publisher, public speaker, PI and martial artist. Today, he teaches yoga in San Diego with his wife, Serpil. "...breathing the air of freedom..." TIME Magazine "...it has all the elements of a blockbuster..." San Diego Union Tribune "...I will never forget it, neither will you!" "...an unbelievable account of history and human tenacity, hope and fortitude..." Readers' responses

Compared to the RAFs Fighter and Bomber Commands, the Desert Air Force (DAF) is far less well known, yet its achievements were spectacular. DAF led the way in North Africa and Italy in pioneering new tactics in close Army-Air Force co-operation on the battlefield, DAF and Allied air forces gave Allied armies in North Africa and Italy a decisive cutting edge. While the Axis forces used the many rivers and mountains of Tunisia and Italy to slow the Allies advance, DAF was there to provide that extra mobile firepower the artillery from the sky. They were the first multi-national air force, and the first to introduce air controllers in the front lines of the battlefield. With first-hand accounts by veteran airmen form Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA, this book reveals the decisive victories with which DAF won the war over North Africa, the Mediterranean and Italy in 1942-45.

By the early months of 1944 in the Pacific, the US Navy's burgeoning force of carrier-based F6F-3/5 Hellcats had pretty much wiped the skies clear of Japanese fighters during a series of one-sided aerial engagements. However, starting in October they faced the superb Kawanishi N1K1/2 Shiden/Shiden-Kai, a formidable fighter with improved armament, a powerful engine and excellent manoeuvrability that in contrast to earlier Japanese fighters had the ability to withstand a greater degree of battle damage.

Japanese pilots using this aircraft would claim more than 170 aerial victories over Kyushu and whilst escorting Kamikazes attacking Allied ships off Okinawa. US Navy Hellcat pilots in turn were credited with many of the scores of Shiden-Kais that were downed attempting to defend Japan. This fully illustrated book compares these two fascinating aircraft, using specially commissioned artwork, first-hand accounts and a thorough technical analysis.

Based on the author's own involvement as an engineer at the company through the 1950s and early 1960s and on more recent research of the archives at Brooklands Museum and the PRO, this book explains the successes and failures of leading-edge developments at Vickers, in the early days of guided weapons. John Forbat explains missile and avionics systems and trials, with diagrams and photographs, and tells the story of the company and its individuals. Projects covered in depth include Red Rapier, Blue Boar, Red Dean and Vigilant anti-tank missile, of which the author has first-hand experience as he started working for Vickers as a graduate apprentice assembling airplanes and soon graduated into Special Projects where he was responsible for many of the trials.

A quarter of a century after his death, Douglas Bader remains the most famous fighter pilot that Britain has ever known. He lost both of his legs in a flying accident in 1931, but overcame his disability and returned to the RAF in 1939 to command the Canadian Fighter Squadron during the Battle of Britain. Held as a prisoner of war at several German camps--including the infamous Colditz Castle--he made numerous escape attempts, becoming such an aggravation that his captors were forced to confiscate his tin legs. Such was his fame on his return to England that his autobiography sold 100,000 copies upon publication, and the hugely successful film about his life--"Reach for the Sky"--further popularized his legend. While he had as many flaws as laudable qualities, Bader undeniably achieved great things, both during the Second World War and in his later work for disabled charities. This study makes use of new memoirs, interviews, and documents that have only recently become available to shed further light on various episodes in his life and provide an unbiased portrayal of this fascinating man.

Soon after entering the war in April 1917 American propaganda promised that she would `Darken the skies over Europe' by sending over `the Greatest Aerial Armada ever seen'. Encouraged by the French Government America promised to build no less than 22,000 aeroplanes within a year and to field, and to maintain, a force of 4,000 machines, all of the latest type, over the Western Front during 1918, not only to provide adequate air support for her own troops, but because she saw this as a way to use her industrial strength to bypass the squalor of the war in the trenches, and so bring an end to the stalemate of attrition into which the war had descended. However, by the time of the Armistice more than 18 months later just a few hundred American built aeroplanes had reached the war fronts and several investigations into the causes of the failure of the project were already in progress.

Many books on the Luftwaffe in World War II have been published over the years, although the Night Fighters branch has been studied less often. In our Guide to German Night Fighters in World War II you will be able to know all the types and subtypes of aircraft used by the Luftwaffe in the night defense of Germany. In addition, in a didactic way we will know the history of the German Night Fighters, the Units, aces, tactics, types of radars, the camouflages, the armament, etc. We will not forget the use of night fighters made in Germany in other countries such as Italy, Romania or Hungary, or even Japanese night fighters. Finally, we will make a ranking of the German night fighters to know which of them was the best. In this guide you will find everything you need to learn about German Night Fighters in an easy but comprehensive way.

The story of Air Marshal Sir Ivor Broom who completed three full tours of operations over enemy territory, including 31 low-level attacks from his operations base in Malta. After the war, he went on to set a new speed record while flying from Canada to the UK, and was one of the early squadron commanders of the Red Arrows display team.

The primary objective of this source edition is to provide readers with original documents, allowing them to form their own impression of the development, manufacture and operation of the Heinkel He 162. By linking this accumulated data with the historical situation of those times, we hope to have facilitated a more objective assessment of the "Volksjager" project. For the purposes of this book, around 200 file documents were selected from a multitude of material on the Heinkel He 162 and reproduced in their original state. Complementing them are some 140 photographs, 50 scale drawings, 30 colour plates and innumerable citations from contemporary documents, teleprints, orders, lectures, reviews and intelligence reports. To make orientation easy, documents and illustrations are arranged in chapters that follow the historic pass off: Project, devlopment of the Heinkel He 162, manufacturing of the"Volksjaeger", in action within the Luftwaffe and allied war booty are the most important topics. For the first time the production and delivery numbers of the Heinkel He 162 have been broken down. Most of the original documents are not translated, but discussed in the text. A German-English glossary helps to understand the content of those original files. Rounding off the publication is a comprehensive annex giving details of propulsion units, camouflage schemes, armament, the cockpit, plus the various versions of the Heinkel He 162. An index of individals, place names and subjects and a list of sources and literature, both covering several pages, completes this supremely detailed retrospective of this famous German aircraft. About the Author The author, Peter Muller, was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Swiss Army and is now a military historian. For the past quarter of a century, he has researched armament from 1914-1945.

Control of the air is the foundation for all conventional military operations against an adversary with an air defence capability. In future warfare, will it be possible for Unmanned Combat Air Systems to undertake the tasks and accept most of the risks that, until now, have been the lot of military aviators?

In 1942 a Catalina crew of 210 Squadron, based at Sullom Voe in the Shetlands, was selected to carry out a series of highly secret operations, including a flight to the North Pole. The sorties were associated with a Norwegian expedition from Britain to Spitsbergen, to deny the use of the territory to the enemy. The flights made by the crew were frequently over twenty-four hours in length and reached the limits of human endurance, in conditions of extreme cold. Later, the squadron was detached to North Russia, to provide cover for the convoys taking vital supplies to the Allies on the Eastern Front. The navigator of the crew, Ernest Schofield, retained logs of most of these sorties. Together with other survivors of the crew, accounts from German sources and research carried out by Roy Conyers Nesbit, he recreated these little-known events, in detailed and accurate narrative that ends in tragedy.

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.

In the late 1960s, the patriarch of Soviet aircraft design, Andrey Tupolev, offered the Soviet air force a supersonic bomber to replace the 1950s-vintage Tu-22 Blinder with a less capable -- but cheaper -- alternative to the Sukhoi design bureau's proposed T-4 strategic bomber. Tupolev did not offer it as an "all-new" aircraft but, instead, passed it off as a "massive upgrade" of the Blinder. Thus was born the Tu-22M, Tupolev's first aircraft with variable swept wings and the ability to carry both bombs and supersonic cruise missiles. In the West the new bomber became known as the Backfire. First flown in 1969, the aircraft entered production in 1972. The most widespread version was the Tu-22M3, which soldiers on today with the Russian air force. The Backfire has had an active career both in Cold War operations and in "hot" wars, from Afghanistan to Syria, where it has participated in the global war on terrorism. This book describes the Tu-22M's development, including the latest upgrades, and its Soviet and post-Soviet operations. Fleet lists are included, as is a detailed design description, and a wealth of colour profiles and line drawings.

Catch a rare glimpse into the training of the nation's defence personnel, as pilot turned flying instructor Mike Brooke shares with us some of his amusing firsthand flying stories. After his success as a Cold War Canberra pilot, Mike was dispatched to become a flying instructor at the Central Flying School in the 1970s. 'Follow him through' - as he would instruct his trainees - as he experiences the quite literal ups and downs of teaching the Glasgow and Strathclyde Air Squadron. Discover how he battled the diminutive de Havilland Chipmunk in order to teach others how to fly the aircraft, before finally moving to instruct on the Canberra in its many marks. Here Mike will take you on a quite often bumpy journey as an instructor of pilots old and new, recounting tales of flying, near accidents and less serious incidents that flying these old but still demanding aircraft bring. Following on from his debut book, A Bucket of Sunshine, Mike continues to use his personal experience to bring aviation to life, proving indispensable for any aviation enthusiast.

Based on diverse interpretations of the Real Ceduls (Royal Proclamations) by the Spanish monarchs of earlier centuries, the almost 200-year-old border dispute between Ecuador and Peru became one of the longest-running international armed conflicts in the Western hemisphere. Numerous attempts at a negotiated definition of the borders failed, and the two countries fought at least three wars in the 20th Century. Drawing upon extensive research in the official archives of the Fuerza Aerea del Peru (FAP), and documentation from multiple private sources in Ecuador and Peru, 'The Air Wars between Ecuador and Peru, Volume 2' reconstructs the history of the air forces of both nations, and the little-known story of their brief, yet bitter clashes of early 1981. Thanks to the availability of precise details from both parties to the conflict, the volume avoids the usual, biased and one-sided coverage of the conflict, while providing intricate details of the military build-up, capabilities and intentions of both air forces involved, their training, planning, and the conduct of combat operations. Illustrated by more than 100 exclusive photographs, half a dozen maps and 15 authentic colour profiles, 'Air Wars between Ecuador and Peru, Volume 2' provides the first authoritative account of the air warfare between Ecuador and Peru in early 1981.

The Battle of Britain was a fight for survival against a seemingly unstoppable foe. With the German army poised to invade, only the fighters of the Royal Air Force stood between Hitler and the conquest of Britain. Losses were high on both sides, but the Spitfires, Hurricanes, Havocs and Defiants of the RAF began to take their toll on the overextended, under-protected Kampfgruppen of Heinkel He 111s, Junkers Ju 87s and 88s, and Dornier Do 17s. Both sides learned and adapted as the campaign went on. As the advantage began to shift from the Luftwaffe to the RAF, the Germans were forced to switch from round-the-clock bombing to only launching night-raids, often hitting civilian targets in the dreaded Blitz. This beautifully illustrated study dissects the tactics and technology of the duels in this new kind of war, bringing the reader into the cockpits of the RAF fighters and Luftwaffe bombers to show precisely where the Battle of Britain was won and lost.

Flight Lieutenant Thomas Tommy' Rose, a First World War fighter ace, was a pioneer of private flying. He installed and managed the UK's first fuel pump for private aviation at Brooklands before becoming Sales Manager for Phillips and Powis Aircraft Ltd. The chief flying instructor at several early flying schools, Tommy became the Chief Test Pilot for Miles Aircraft and was the winner of air races and pageants. He was undoubtedly a pilot who could always be relied on to amaze the onlookers with his fast, accurate stunts and low-level flying. Mentioned in Despatches in 1916 and awarded the DFC in 1918, Tommy was attacked in his aircraft several times, yet his astonishing ability at the controls of his aircraft enabled him to land without serious injury. By the time of the Armistice, Tommy had been credited with eleven kills'. He continued to demonstrate these skills after the war and though this true trailblazer was widely known in his glory days during the early part of the twentieth century, little is remembered about him today. Yet Tommy Rose achieved the most incredible feats of aviation and was considered one of the finest pilots of his era, completing over 11,200 flying hours up to 1949. In the 1930s, Tommy took the Imperial Airways route through East Africa, to set up a new world record on the UK to Cape Town passage, beating Amy Mollison (Johnson) who took the shorter course down the west coast. He also won the King's Cup Air Race in 1935. Tommy flew many of the early RAF fighters from Maurice Farman to the Spitfire Mk.IX, and, from late 1939, when he was appointed Chief Test Pilot for Phillip & Powis Aircraft Ltd at Woodley (forerunners of Miles Aircraft Ltd), he test flew all Miles monoplane training and target towing aircraft, leaving in January 1946. His last position was as General Manager of Universal Flying Services Ltd at Fairoaks Aerodrome in Surrey. The result of decades of research by the author, through this book the life and adventures of one of history's most accomplished and daring aviators can finally be told.

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.

The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 was widely regarded as the Luftwaffe's finest fighter. It first saw service in France in August 1941, immediately proving itself at least the equal of the then latest Spitfire variant, the Mk.V. There were a number of characteristics which contributed to the Fw 190's success. The first of these was that it had been designed from the outset to be a weapons platform, rather than an aircraft to which weapons were added, as was the case with previous fighters. This meant that it could carry a wide range of armament in the form of various combinations of bomb racks, cannon pods and, later, unguided rockets. It was also built to withstand heavy punishment, with the extensive use of electrically-powered equipment instead of the hydraulic systems which, used by most aircraft manufacturers of the time, were more susceptible to failure if damaged by gunfire. The relatively small diameters of electrical wires were much less likely to be hit by gunfire than larger hydraulic pipes. Another element in the Fw 190's construction which added to its durability was its wide-tracked, inwards-retracting landing gear, as opposed to the much narrower, outwards-retracting landing gear of the Messerschmitt Bf 109\. This gave the Fw 190 much greater stability on the ground which resulted in far fewer ground accidents than experienced by the Bf 109. The Fw 190's BMW 801 D-2 radial engine also produced 1,677 horse power, giving the early Focke-Wulf 190 A-8 a top speed of more than 400 miles per hour - which was considerably faster than the early variant Spitfires. It was the Spitfires with which the Fw 190 pilots frequently had to contend when in combat over the English Channel, and particularly during the Allied raid on Dieppe in August 1942, when more than 100 Focke-Wulfs (from Jagdgeschwaders JG 2 and JG 26) engaged Spitfires and Hawker Typhoons, claiming sixty-one Allied aircraft 'kills' against just twenty-five losses of their own. The Fw 190's weapons capability also saw it used as a fighter-bomber. The Fw 190 A-3/U3 Jabo was used with considerable effect against Allied shipping in the Channel and against the south-eastern coasts of England in 1942 in tip-and-runs raids. These fast, low-level attacks proved very difficult for the defending RAF squadrons to counter and only one Fw 190 was lost on these operations. In this illuminating study of the early service of the Fw 190, Chris Goss has assembled a unique collection of photographs illustrating the wide use of this highly versatile aircraft.

That heritage is preserved here as a diary of daily events -90-year-old tradition and established its great reputation. While so many books on air force history concentrate on the big events, The Royal Air Force Day by Day also examines the conditions that its officers not just of the great air battles, but of all that has built the RAF's, airmen and women, ground trades and aircrew, have experienced in peacetime as well as war. The RAF has had a heavy involvement in peacekeeping and offensive actions worldwide since the end of the First World War. This book covers the principal operational and administrative developments in the RAF's 90-year history. Published in association with the Royal Air Force Museum, whose library has provided much of the illustrative and factual content, The Royal Air Force Day by Day is a compelling mixture of the great and commonplace.

The Lockheed U-2 is probably the best known spy-aircraft ever, famous for the exploits of its pilots over or near hostile territories. Indeed, the bold and provocative operations flown by the CIA-operated Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft over the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics have epitomized the rivalry between the United States of America and the Soviet Union during the early to middle Cold War period. Much has been published about some of the overflights in question - especially the one on 1 May 1960, that ended with the downing of the US pilot Garry Powers. However, exactly how did the Soviets, and then the Chinese armed forces, react to such operations, and what kind of experiences did they go through while not only trying to detect and track, but also intercept and shoot down one of the high-flying spy-aircraft, is the part of this story that remains largely unknown. The Hunt for the U-2 aims to answer the related question through a cross-examination of documentation and participant accounts from all of the involved parties. Richly illustrated with 100 photographs and full colour, authentic colour profiles of the aircraft involved - whether those configured for the glamorous role of strategic reconnaissance or those designed to intercept and destroy them - and maps, and based on extensive cross-examination of documentation and participant accounts from all the involved parties, The Hunt for the U-2 is a succinct operational history of how the confrontations between that reconnaissance aircraft and those trying to catch it played out and, last but not least, what kind of impact these operations had in not so distant history.

Sometimes you do everything right, but it just isn t your day. A part fails and your helicopter comes apart in flight, or, another aircraft runs into you and the pieces of both fall to the ground below, or the enemy gunner pulls the trigger at just the right moment and his rounds find your aircraft in exactly the right spot to take it out of the sky. Whichever way it happens, it wasn t your day. Which is why, after 24 years and over 5,000 flight hours with four armed services, Major Robert Curtis was so surprised at being alive when he passed his retirement physical. Starting with enlisting in the Army to fly helicopters during Vietnam, and continuing on through service with the National Guard, Marine Corps and Royal Navy, he flew eight different helicopters from the wooden-bladed OH-13E, through the Chinook, SeaKnight and SeaKing, in war and peace around the world. During that time over 50 of his friends died in crashes, both in combat and in accidents, but somehow his skill, and not an inconsiderable amount of luck and superstition, saw him through. His flying career began with a misbegotten strategy for beating the draft by enlisting. With the Vietnam War raging full blast in 1968 the draft was inevitable, so he wanted to at least get some small measure of control of his future. Although he had no thought of flying when he walked into the recruiting office, he walked out signed up to be a helicopter pilot. What he did not know was that 43% of all the aircraft sent to Vietnam were destroyed in combat or accidents. Soon he was in the thick of the war, flying Chinooks with the 101st Airborne. After Vietnam he left the Army, but kept flying in the National Guard while going to college. He was accepted at two law schools, but flying is addictive, so he instead enlisted in the USMC to fly some more. Over the next 17 years he would fly around the world off US and British ships from Egypt to Norway and all points in between. His engaging story will be a delight to all aviation enthusiasts.REVIEWS one of those books that you read that gives you the feeling of Deja Vu, and makes the hairs on the back of your neck riseNeall Ellis Robert Curtis gives us a compelling account of his exemplary service in wartime and beyond. The combat missions he flew out of Phu Bai/Camp Eagle in Vietnam did so much for so many, and remain alive and meaningful for all of us today. Gary Matthews, American Ambassador (ret)Former Deputy and Province Senior Adviser, Thua Thien/Hue"