The Jaguar was an iconic aircraft to come from Anglo-French collaboration and one of the first to be conceived with a predatory attack and low-level strike capability. First planned as a trainer, it emerged as a fighter bomber taking much from the TSR2 concept when a string of cancelled projects identified a gap in strike/attack capability; it soon evolved into a supersonic aircraft ready for reconnaissance and tactical nuclear strike roles. Retired before its time, for France in 2005 and for the RAF in 2007, it is still revered both by those that operated it and those that stared in wonder. The end for the Jaguar in the United Kingdom was sudden and rushed with the big cat going out with a meow rather than a roar. However, it survived on other continents providing a growl and bite in maintaining sovereignty for several decades on. This book is a stunning pictorial tribute to those final days.

Once known as the "Last of the Gunfighters", the Vought F-8 Crusader has since become a legend in the histories of the U.S. and French navies, as well as a scourge in the skies over North Vietnam in the late 1960s!\nCRUSADER! is a vital oral history of one of the most controversial fighter planes in carrier aviation. A key to the authenticity of this story are the author\s personal interviews with sixteen of the seventeen living Crusader pilots who became MiG killers in the Vietnam air war. His analysis of their aerial engagements over North Vietnam from 1965 to 1973 contains some startling surprises, as well as a validation of many of the tactical lessons learned from World War II and Korea. \nCRUSADER! also contains personal accounts by F-8 speed record holders such as U.S. Marine Corps Major (now Senator) John Glenn and Captains Bob Dose and "Duke" Windsor. Other aviation records held by the Crusader, (not so enviable) are told, in anecdotal form, for the first time by the author, an F-8 driver and participant in some of them!\nColorful, and sometimes humorous, accounts of events involving the F-8 and "Crusader Drivers" abound in this chronicle of carrier aviation covering the three decades when this remarkable airplane was an important element of the U.S. Navy\s carrier strike forces.\nRear Admiral Paul T. Gillcrist commanded a fleet Crusader squadron, then a carrier air wing and finally, as a flag officer, became wing commander for all Pacific Fleet fighter squadrons. During his fleet squadron command he completed three carrier deployments to the Tonkin Gulf and flew 167 combat missions in the Crusader for which he was awarded seventeen combat decorations. The author of FEET WET, Reflections of a Carrier Pilot (1990) and TOMCAT, The Grumman F-14 Story (1994), Admiral Gillcrist is well qualified to write the story of the Crusader!

Designed in the early 1930s, it was one of the three main Luftwaffe bomber types used in the first three years of the war. The Do 17 made its combat debut in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War, operating in the Legion Condor in various roles. Along with the Heinkel He 111, it was the main bomber type of the German air arm in 1939-40. The Dornier was used throughout the war, and saw action in significant numbers in every major campaign theatre as a front line aircraft until the end of 1941, when its effectiveness and usage began to be questioned, as its bomb load and range were limited. This book provides a complete modelling guide with numerous profiles, line drawings and photographs. This book is written entirely in German.

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.

Yorkshireman Dennis Gosling joined the RAF on May 24 1940\. Having completed his training he was posted to 219 Squadron flying the night-fighter version of the Beaufighter from Tangmere in 1941\. As a navigator, he became part of a two-man team that would endure throughout his first operational tour. In those infant day of radar interception he honed his skills in the night skies above southern England and the English Channel but without a firm kill. On 12 February 1942, he and his pilot were instructed to pick up a brand new aircraft and deliver it to North Africa, flying via Gibraltar, a hazardous flight at extreme range. In March the crew were posted to 1435 Flight of 89 Squadron with the task of defending the besieged island of Malta. The four Beaufighters of the flight flew into an horrific scenario of almost constant bombing raids by the Luftwaffe and Italian Air Force. Because of these raids the damage to aircraft on the ground was devastating and the Flight was often reduced to a single serviceable aircraft. His first success came in April 1942 with a confirmed kill, and then shortly after his 21st birthday on 13 May a triumphant night on the 17th brought 3 certain kills and one damaged enemy aircraft. From being the virgins of the squadron they shot into the record books, his pilot being awarded the DFC. To his disgust, Flight Sergeant Gosling received no award. At this stage he became somewhat embittered by the class system he felt was operated by the RAF. Having endured the torment of constant bombardment, serious stomach complaints (even flying with a bucket in the aircraft) and near starvation he completed his tour and was repatriated to the UK via Brazil and Canada in the Queen Mary. After a spell instructing new night navigators, he joined 604 Squadron and in December 1943 he was promoted to Warrant Officer. February 1944 saw the squadron reequipped with the Mosquito and assignment to 2 Tactical Air Force in preparation for D-Day. Now once again he was flying initially over southern England and the Channel. The squadron became mobile after the landings and were based in various captured airfields in France, but the conditions were so inadequate for operations that the squadron returned to English bases, from where they operated over and beyond the advancing Allied troops. Eventually, after having been awarded a much deserved DFC, he accepted the King's Commission. This autobiography is written as stated by the author "I want my readers to relive my experiences as they happened to me - to take their hands and have them walk beside me. I want them to feel the joy and the pain, share the laughs and the heartache, take pleasure in the triumphs, agonise with me when things went wrong and understand why my Service years influenced so much of my life." He has succeeded magnificently

Many documentaries, articles, museum exhibits, books, and movies have now treated the subject of the Tuskegee Airmen, the only black American military pilots in World War II. Most of these works have focused on their training and their subsequent accomplishments during combat. This publication goes further, using captioned photographs to trace the Airmen through the various stages of training, deployment, and combat in North Africa, Italy, and over occupied Europe. Included for the first time are depictions of the critical support roles of non-flyers: doctors, nurses, mechanics, navigators, weathermen, parachute riggers, and others, all of whom contributed to the Airmen’s success. In words and pictures, this volume makes vivid the story of the Tuskegee Airmen and the environments in which they lived, worked, played, fought, and sometimes died.

September 1940: In the midst of the Second World War, The Luftwaffe unleashed a series of devastating raids on Southampton, all but destroying its Spitfire factories. But production didn't stop. Instead, manufacturing of this iconic fighter moved underground, to secret locations staffed by women, children and non-combatant men. With little engineering experience between them, they built a fleet of one of the greatest war planes that has ever existed. This is their story.

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.

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.

The year was 1941, and the flames of world war were threatening America's shores. President Franklin D. Roosevelt called for an "Arsenal of Democracy" and demanded fabrication of 50,000 warplanes per year. But first, sprawling new airplane factories were needed. Located in the heart of Columbus, Ohio, proved to be an ideal choice. The Columbus plant was home to a broad spectrum of fascinating aircraft. Curtiss-Wright moved in, and soon, thousands of SB2C Helldivers rolled out. The Korean War found North American Aviation (NAA) of Los Angeles as the new occupant. Advanced airplanes, many of them jets, were soon in high-rate production. Some, like the T-28 Trojan and T-2, were docile trainers. The Navy FJ Fury series augmented the dogfighting F-86 Sabre jets during the 1950s. The OV-10 Bronco was built rugged for close-in jungle combat during the Vietnam War. The supersonic Vigilante was a masterpiece of homegrown advanced technology. Production at Columbus ended in 1988 with major subassemblies for the Rockwell B-1B Lancer, a strategic bomber. This is the history of the Columbus plant from pouring concrete footings in 1941 until the plant was vacated in 1988.

Among the iconic aircraft of World War II, the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt not only was physically the biggest single-engine fighter, it also had an enormous impact on history. In terms of its combat effectiveness, P-47 fliers destroyed 7,067 hostile aircraft, with about half of those "kills" recorded during aerial combat. Thunderbolt pilots reported destroying 6,000 enemy tanks, 68,000 trucks, 86,000 railway cars, and 9,000 locomotives. For a single-engine fighter, such a tally is definitely one for the history books. The history of this iconic aircraft is presented through carefully researched archival photos, as well as photographs of preserved examples, thereby illustrating not only the combat use of the Thunderbolt, but also the details of its design and construction. Large, clear photos, coupled with descriptive and informative captions, put the reader on the airfield and in the sky with this historic aircraft. Part of the Legends of Warfare series.

THE "NEW YORK TIMES" AND INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
December, 1943: A badly damaged American bomber struggles to fly over wartime Germany. At the controls is twenty-one-year-old Second Lieutenant Charlie Brown. Half his crew lay wounded or dead on this, their first mission. Suddenly, a Messerschmitt fighter pulls up on the bomber's tail. The pilot is German ace Franz Stigler--and he can destroy the young American crew with the squeeze of a trigger...
What happened next would defy imagination and later be called "the most incredible encounter between enemies in World War II."
The U.S. 8th Air Force would later classify what happened between them as "top secret." It was an act that Franz could never mention for fear of facing a firing squad. It was the encounter that would haunt both Charlie and Franz for forty years until, as old men, they would search the world for each other, a last mission that could change their lives forever.
INCLUDES PHOTOS

For five years during the Second World War, the Allies launched a trial and error bombing campaign against Germany's historical city landscape. Peaking in the war's final three months, it was the first air attack of its kind. Civilian dwellings were struck by-in today's terms-"weapons of mass destruction," with a total of 600,000 casualties, including 70,000 children.

In "The Fire," historian Jorg Friedrich explores this crucial chapter in military and world history. Combining meticulous research with striking illustrations, Friedrich presents a vivid account of the saturation bombing, rendering in acute detail the annihilation of cities such as Dresden, the jewel of Germany's rich art and architectural heritage. He incorporates the personal stories and firsthand testimony of German civilians into his narrative, creating a macabre portrait of unimaginable suffering, horror, and grief, and he draws on official military documents to unravel the reasoning behind the strikes.

Evolving military technologies made the extermination of whole cities possible, but owing, perhaps, to the Allied victory and what W. G. Sebald noted as "a pre-conscious self-censorship, a way of obscuring a world that could no longer be presented in comprehensible terms," the wisdom of this strategy has never been questioned. "The Fire" is a rare account of the air raids as they were experienced by the civilians who were their targets.

The bombing of Guernica has become a symbol of Nazi involvement in the Spanish Civil War, but the extent of the German commitment is often underestimated. The Luftwaffe sent 20,000 officers and men to Spain from 1936 to 1939, and the Condor Legion carried out many missions in support of the Spanish Nationalist forces and played a lead role in many key campaigns of the war. Aircraft that would play a significant role in the combat operations of World War II (the Heinkel 11 bomber, the Me 109 fighter, and others) saw their first action in Spain, fighting against the modern Soviet fighters and bombers that equipped the Republican Air Force. Condor Legion bombers attacked Republican logistics and transport behind the lines as well as bombing strategic targets, German bombers and fighters provided highly effective close air support for the front-line troops, and German fighters and anti-aircraft units ensured Nationalist control of the air. The experience garnered in Spain was very important to the development of the Luftwaffe. The war allowed them to hone and develop their tactics, train their officers, and to become the most practised air force in the world at conducting close support of ground troops. In effect, the Spanish Civil War proved to be the training ground for the Blitzkrieg which would be unleashed across Europe in the years that followed. In this rigorous new analysis, Legion Condor expert James Corum explores both the history and impact of the Luftwaffe's engagement during the Spanish Civil War and the role that engagement played in the development of the Luftwaffe strategy which would be used to such devastating effect in the years that followed.

The Hawker Hurricane was a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the RAF. Although overshadowed by the Spitfire, during the Battle of Britain the Hurricane accounted for 60% of the RAF's air victories in the battle, and served in all the major theatres of the Second World War. The 1930s design evolved through several versions and adaptations, resulting in a series of aircraft that acted as interceptor-fighters, fighter-bombers (also called 'Hurribombers'), and ground support aircraft. Further versions known as the Sea Hurricane had modifications that enabled operation from ships. Some were converted as catapult-launched convoy escorts, known as 'Hurricats'. More than 14,583 Hurricanes were built by the end of 1944 (including at least 800 converted to Sea Hurricanes and some 1,400 built in Canada.

The book collates a variety of pamphlets and manuals on the plane that were produced throughout the war for the benefit of pilots and others associated with the aircraft.

There is no bitter snarl nor self-pity in this classic novel about the air war of 1914-1918, based very largely on the author's experiences. Combat, loneliness, fatigue, fear, comradeship, women, excitement - all are built into a vigorous and authentic structure by one of the most valiant pilots of the then Royal Flying Corps.World War 1REVIEWS 'Beautifully written with a poet's eye as well as a pilot's eye.' Southern Evening Echo'The only book about flying that isn't flannel.' Anonymous Fighter Pilot'Not only one of the best war books but as a transcription of reality, faithful and sustained in its author's purpose of re-creating the past life he knew, it is unique.' Henry Williamson, author of Tarka the Otter."

Formed in 1916, 41 Squadron is one of the oldest Royal Air Force squadrons in existence. The unit saw service in the First World War, on Policing Duties in the Aden Protectorate during the 1930s, throughout the Second World War, and more recently in the First Gulf War and Yugoslavia. Until now, however, its History has not been written. Following the success of Blood, Sweat and Valour, focusing on the period August 1942 to May 1945, Blood, Sweat and Courage now completes the narrative of 41 Squadron's Second World War activity, concentrating on its operations between September 1939 and July 1942. Author Steve Brew recounts the unit's role within battles, operations, and larger strategies, and details experiences made by the pilots and ground crew participating in them. The Squadron's actions are often revealed for the first time, through records that have previously not been available. Brew evokes the feeling of the period, portraying not only a factual account but also one that captures the colour of life on a Second World War fighter squadron, with a balance between material of a documentary nature and narrative action, intertwining fact with personal recollections, serious events with humour, and sobering statistics with poignant afterthought.

September 1940: In the midst of the Second World War, The Luftwaffe unleashed a series of devastating raids on Southampton, all but destroying its Spitfire factories. But production didn't stop. Instead, manufacturing of this iconic fighter moved underground, to secret locations staffed by women, children and non-combatant men. With little engineering experience between them, they built a fleet of one of the greatest war planes that has ever existed. This is their story.

Marking the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, this commemorative book recalls the momentous events that culminated in a ferocious and unique air battle over south-east England in the summer of 1940. The amazing resilience of the RAF pilots and their aircraft in the face of the apparently overwhelming strength of the German Luftwaffe is legendary. From the earliest threat of invasion to 'their finest hour', as Adolf Hitler calls off his invasion plan, Hurricane and Spitfire pilots guided by RAF leadership, tactics and organisation fought against the odds to secure Britain's safety. The Battle of Britain Yearbook also includes a colourful look at some of the former RAF and Luftwaffe aircraft that can be seen flying at airshows in the UK or on display in the Battle of Britain Hall at the RAF Museum, Hendon. It also charts the history of the ever popular RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight from its tentative beginning as the Historic Aircraft Flight in 1957 through to the present day.

Among the world's various military air arms, United States Marine Corps Aviation occupies a historically unique niche. As the aviation component of a combined-arms expeditionary force, it exists primarily to support Marine combat forces on the ground in the accomplishment of their amphibious assault mission. From the "Banana Wars" of the 1920s up to the present day "War on Terror," Marine aviation has undergone a lengthy fine-tuning process not only in terms of the warfare doctrines and tactics applied to its mission, but also in the types of aircraft needed to accomplish the mission. This work is designed to provide the reader with a comprehensive historical survey, including technical specifications, drawings, and photographs, of every type of fixed and rotary-wing aircraft used by Marine aviation from its humble origins prior to World War I all the way up to its current operations in the second decade of the 21st Century.