In this intrepid study, noted Nigerian historian Onianwa Oluchukwu Ignatus investigates the air war component of the Nigerian-Biafran War, a crucial postcolonial conflict in Africa. It focuses on the Biafra's air operations against oil installations and facilities owned by multinational oil companies in Nigeria. In addition to exploring global airpower historiography, this study explores the tactical aspects of how the renewed air war changed the military equation of the conflict when both sides were at loggerheads in peace settlement and relief arrangements. This episode was important in postcolonial military history of Africa, when modern air weapons were developed at the local level for offensive military capability. While the air operations of the Biafrans were sporadic yet destructive, they caused considerable damage to public utilities in Nigeria. Internally, the air attacks paved the way for internal disturbances in the oil producing areas by damaging oil companies' activities and the reducing foreign investment. Externally, it caused a loss of confidence in Nigeria. The Biafran air offensive proved to be the key strategy in Nigeria's response to the crisis, which focused on neutralizing Biafran airpower.

While the heroic exploits of 'The Few' of Fighter Command are rightly lauded, those of 'The Many' of Bomber Command often remain overlooked. Night after night, the bomber crews ranged across Europe seeking out and attacking targets in an all-out effort to undermine the German war effort against Britain and prevent invasion. The Other Battle of Britain tells the stories of the young men who carried out dangerous missions on a nightly basis, battling against both the enemy and the elements, relying on a mix of nerve, skills and luck to hit their target and make it home. Faced with flak and fighters, exposed to the harsh weather conditions and operating at the edge of their capabilities, for the young men of Bomber Command, this was 'The Other Battle of Britain'.

Completely designed, developed and manufactured in France, the Rafale multirole fighter jet has turned into one of the most successful Dassault products in the market of 4th Generation multirole fighter jets. In addition to the 128 examples currently in service with the French Air and Space Force and Navy Aviation, 225 other Rafales were sold to Croatia, Egypt, Greece, India, UAE and Qatar.

For years, French Navy Aviation and the Air and Space Force have been the two main operators of the multirole combat aircraft. The first had its first Navy variant, the Rafale M, put into operation in 2002 while the latter began operating its first Rafale Bs in 2006. Since that, they both have used these aircraft in combat during various anti-terrorist operations in Afghanistan, Libya, Mali, Chad, Syria and Iraq.

In addition to that, their aircraft were used to bolster defense of NATO’s eastern borders during the recent war in Ukraine.

Des Curtis was one of the founder members of 618 Squadron. Formed within days of the illustrious 617, 618's primary objective was to mount a daylight low-level attack by Mosquitos on the German battleship Tirpitz within hours of the attack on the Ruhr dams. The operation, code named Operation Servant, was given top security classification, to the point where the subject was excluded from the minutes of the meetings of the Chiefs of Staff of the air and naval forces. The author reveals the dilemmas and conflicting priorities existing to the highest levels, setting out in detail the technicalities of developing the 'bouncing bomb'. He also writes first hand about the tactical problems of getting to and from the target; and the tensions and strains endured by the Mosquito crews themselves, as they took the war to the German U-Boats within the sight and safety of their bases.

REVIEWS

"A nicely compiled and presented title that puts the Mosquito into a new perspective and how its crews rose to the missions even when the mission seemed elusive."Cybermodeler.com, 04/2010

In February 2016 the RAF's Search and Rescue Force (SARF) celebrated its 75th anniversary. In June that year the world-renowned and universally admired service was officially disbanded, despite attempts from many, including HRH Prince William, to save it as part of the RAF. This book is an official, fully illustrated, in-depth account of the SARF's rich and glorious history, from its origins in World War II through to its recent withdrawal. The book contains a foreword by HRH Prince William himself, plus action-packed and awe-inspiring photographs from the RAF's archive of photographs and exclusive interviews with former crewmembers, telling their own dramatic stories of derring-do. Officially endorsed by the RAF, The Official Illustrated History of the RAF Search and Rescue is the first, and probably the only, major book of its kind written on this subject. It is an essential purchase for anyone with an interest in military history, British history, the Royal Family and those who love stories of extreme and daring rescue missions.

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.

Jimmy Sheddan was one of the many New Zealanders who joined the RNZAF, then left his native land to come to England to fight the enemies of Great Britain and her Empire during World War Two. Through his recollections we can share some of the trials and wartime tribulations they faced. Yet we can read too of the enormous amount of fun these men had despite the dangers and sacrifices of war. It is this quality which endears his book to us as well as the achievements of the airmen with whom he served.

During the war, Jim Sheddan rose from the rank of sergeant pilot to squadron leader with 486 Squadron, a considerable achievement. After starting with Spitfires, then going onto the Typhoon, Jim became an expert exponent of the Hawker Tempest, winning the DFC. In many ways his is a very special account as, amongst other things, he survived 19 hours in a dinghy off the French coast, a crash landing in a Tempest after a battle with a V1 flying bomb, and the advance across northern Europe in the final weeks of the war.

Few Tempest pilots have told their story - but Jim has, and in an honest, self-effacing way that will astound and enthrall. With a foreword by AVM J E 'Johnnie' Johnson, CB, CBE, DSO and 2 bars, DFC and bar; and an appreciation by Group Captain Johnny Iremonger DFC.

With the Third Reich on the brink of defeat Hitler's instructions to his designers were clear. He wanted a Volksjager - a People's Fighter that was quick to produce and used minimal quantities of strategic materials. Heinkel rose to the challenge with the He 162, a fighter constructed of wood and metal that was designed, built and flown in the staggeringly short time of ten weeks. Professional pilots were in short supply, and so the Luftwaffe was ordered to man the He 162 with hastily trained members of the Hitler Youth - a flawed plan that fortunately never came to fruition. Detailed aircraft profiles and never before seen photographs perfectly complement the analysis of the revolutionary Heinkel He 162 as author Robert Forsyth traces its entire history, from the early design and production through to its limited combat experience.

Over the remote Pacific island of Chichi Jima, nine American flyers-Navy and Marine pilots sent to bomb Japanese communications towers there-were shot down. Flyboys, a story of war and horror but also of friendship and honor, tells the story of those men. Over the remote Pacific island of Chichi Jima, nine American flyers-Navy and Marine pilots sent to bomb Japanese communications towers there-were shot down. One of those nine was miraculously rescued by a U.S. Navy submarine. The others were captured by Japanese soldiers on Chichi Jima and held prisoner. Then they disappeared. When the war was over, the American government, along with the Japanese, covered up everything that had happened on Chichi Jima. The records of a top-secret military tribunal were sealed, the lives of the eight Flyboys were erased, and the parents, brothers, sisters, and sweethearts they left behind were left to wonder. Flyboys reveals for the first time ever the extraordinary story of those men. Bradley's quest for the truth took him from dusty attics in American small towns, to untapped government archives containing classified documents, to the heart of Japan, and finally to Chichi Jima itself. What he discovered was a mystery that dated back far before World War II-back 150 years, to America's westward expansion and Japan's first confrontation with the western world. Bradley brings into vivid focus these brave young men who went to war for their country, and through their lives he also tells the larger story of two nations in a hellish war. With no easy moralizing, Bradley presents history in all its savage complexity, including the Japanese warrior mentality that fostered inhuman brutality and the U.S. military strategy that justified attacks on millions of civilians. And, after almost sixty years of mystery, Bradley finally reveals the fate of the eight American Flyboys, all of whom would ultimately face a moment and a decision that few of us can even imagine. Flyboys is a story of war and horror but also of friendship and honor. It is about how we die, and how we live-including the tale of the Flyboy who escaped capture, a young Navy pilot named George H. W. Bush who would one day become president of the United States. A masterpiece of historical narrative, Flyboys will change forever our understanding of the Pacific war and the very things we fight for.

Air raid sirens wail, searchlight beams flash across the sky, and the night is aflame with tracer fire and aerial explosions, as Allied bombers and German anti-aircraft units duel in the thundering darkness. Such "cinematic" scenes, played out with increasing frequency as World War II ground to a close, were more than mere stock material for movie melodramas. As Edward Westermann reveals, they point to a key but largely unappreciated aspect of the German war effort that has yet to get its full due.

Long the neglected stepchild in studies of World War II air campaigns, German flak or anti-aircraft units have been frequently dismissed by American, British, and German historians (and by veterans of the European air war) as ineffective weapons that wasted valuable matriel and personnel resources desperately needed elsewhere by the Third Reich. Westermann emphatically disagrees with that view and makes a convincing case for the significant contributions made by the entire range of German anti-aircraft defenses.

During the Allied air campaigns against the Third Reich, well over a million tons of bombs were dropped upon the German homeland, killing nearly 300,000 civilians, wounding another 780,000, and destroying more than 3,500,000 industrial and residential structures. Not surprisingly, that aerial Armageddon has inspired countless studies of both the victorious Allied bombing offensive and the ultimately doomed Luftwaffe defense of its own skies. By contrast, flak units have virtually been ignored, despite the fact that they employed more than a million men and women, were responsible for more than half of all Allied aircraft losses, forced Allied bombers to fly far above high-accuracy altitudes, and thus allowed Germany to hold out far longer than it might have otherwise.

Westermann's definitive study sheds new light on every facet of the development and organization of this vital defense arm, including its artillery, radar, searchlight, barrage balloon, decoy sites, and command components. Highlighting the convergence of technology, strategy, doctrine, politics, and economics, Flak also provides revealing insights into German strategic thought, Hitler's obsession with micromanaging the war, and the lives of the members of the flak units themselves, including the large number of women, factory workers, and even POWs who participated.

The next book in the popular Polish Wings series is on the famous Russian WW2 bombers and trainers in Polish Air Forces. Covers duty of these aircraft during WW2 and postwar period. More than 120 photos, mostly unpublished, and many color profiles. Book covers: Tu-2, UTB-2 and Shche-2 aircraft

The Second World War airfields peppered around Britain are among the most visible and widespread reminders of this devastating conflict. Some are now almost forgotten or built over; others have become museums, industrial estates or parkland; and some have been adapted and remain in operation today. In this beautifully illustrated history, aviation historian Stuart Hadaway explains the crucial part airfields played between 1939 and 1945, detailing their construction and expansion; their facilities and equipment; the many functions they housed from command and control to maintenance and bomb-loading; how the airfields were used both for defence and offence; and how they changed during the war. He also explores what life was like on the airfields, as well as listing some of the remaining sites and what can be seen today.

This book tells the story of an incredibly capable naval aircraft, based primarily on the words of those who flew and maintained it. Beginning with the Lynx's entry into service in 1976, it goes on to discuss its remarkable performance in the Falklands War. Here it was used in both its primary roles of anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, as well as several others for which it had never been designed, such as Airborne Early Warning and anti-Exocet missile counter measures. The Lynx has been continuously employed in the Gulf from 1980 until the present day. What is not generally known is the fact that these aircraft were responsible for effectively destroying the Iraqi navy, sinking over fifteen warships in a matter of a weeks. All related operational details are included here. Also included are accounts of operations conducted around the world, including anti-drug interdiction, Arctic deployments, Search and Rescue, hurricane relief, as well as a few notable mishaps. Also described is the development of the aircraft from the Mark 2 to the current Mark 8 (SRU), bringing the narrative fully up to date.Although only a snapshot, the stories narrated here offer the reader a real understanding of the capabilities of an aircraft with a truly remarkable history of service.

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.

In the second volume of Harrier Boys, as with the first, the history of this remarkable aircraft in service with UK armed forces is illustrated through personal reminiscences of the people who worked with it. The book begins with explanations of the mature concept of operations with the Harrier GR3 in the Cold War. It then progresses through the evolution of Harrier II, starting with the GR5, and updates to the Sea Harrier, while the potential battles to be fought necessitated ever-changing tactics and technology. The new Harriers used digital developments for airframe, engine and weapons control. Conflicts in Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan saw ground-attack missions move towards the delivery of smart weapons from medium level, rather than the dumb bombs and low level of the Cold War era meaning that the Harrier had once more to demonstrate its legendary versatility. The introduction of the Sea Harrier FA2, with its beyond visual range air-to-air missiles and improved radar, gave much improved air defence. The UK Harrier story ends with the closer integration of the RN and RAF forces, before the aircraft's all-too-early retirement in 2010, possibly decades before other countries forsake this unique capability.

Only one Luftwaffe aircraft landed in this area, a Heinkel 111 which struck barrage balloon cables at Newport, with only the pilot, Oblt. Harry Wappler surviving. He later escaped from prison camp and stole a RAF aircraft. His remarkable story is told by historian Hugh Trivett. Elsewhere, a Dornier 217 was shot down by RAF fighters off Port Eynon during the last major raid on Swansea in February 1943. Years later historian and diver, Steve Jones, found pieces of the wreckage on the beach at low water and followed the trail into deep water where he located the main site. He traced relatives of the pilot and visited them in Germany. These and many other fascinating stories are told in the book and many interesting crash sites are visited. The book incorporates appendices which include a full list of the high ground military losses and memorials to those who perished, as well as a bibliography.

The mid-1930s saw the ever increasing numbers of fast monoplane fighters entering service with many of the world's air forces. This was not the case in naval aviation, where biplane designs still reigned supreme. One exception to the rule was the French Navy with its aircraft carrier Bearn and embarked Dewoitine D.371T1 fighters in parasol configuration, hardly a promising design for carrier-based aircraft. Prevalence of biplanes among naval fighters of the time was due to very strict limitations on landing speeds imposed by small flight decks of contemporary aircraft carriers. It was in the middle of that decade, in 1935, that the Mitsubishi A5M entered the stage - a low-wing, monoplane carrier-based fighter, which set new standards for aircraft of its class. Having said that, the Claude wasn't the first fighter in this configuration designed for the Imperial Japanese Navy .

Since the end of the Cold War the United States and other major powers have wielded their air forces against much weaker state and non-state actors. In this age of primacy, air wars have been contests between unequals and characterized by asymmetries of power, interest, and technology. This volume examines ten contemporary wars where air power played a major and at times decisive role. Its chapters explore the evolving use of unmanned aircraft against global terrorist organizations as well as more conventional air conflicts in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Yemen, Syria, and against ISIS. Air superiority could be assumed in this unique and brief period where the international system was largely absent great power competition. However, the reliable and unchallenged employment of a spectrum of manned and unmanned technologies permitted in the age of primacy may not prove effective in future conflicts.

This highly illustrated volume looks at the French Air Force as it sees the withdrawal of the Transall Gabriel and the Dassault Mirage 2000C in 2022.

The often unseen and unrecognised element in aerial warfare, is that of training the pilots and crews, yet it its value is beyond calculation. In this fundamental role, a wide variety of aircraft were used by the Luftwaffe, with trainee pilots progressing from simpler, older machines, such as the Klemm 35, the Focke-Wulf Fw 44 and the Bucker 131, to the more sophisticated Arado Ar 66, the Gotha Go 145 and the Arado Ar 76, as well as heavier aircraft like the Junkers W33 and W44. Gradually they would be introduced to newer and faster models that enabled them to experience, to some degree, the type of aircraft they would be flying in combat. Recruits would initially spend six months at a Fliegerersatzabteilung or training depot, where the main emphasis was on drill and physical training, with introductory lectures on the principles of wireless operation and map reading. This would be followed by two months studying general aeronautical subjects, before being sent to elementary flying school. The various kinds of aircraft used for training depended upon the role each individual trainee would eventually undertake, from single-seat fighters to multiple-crew bombers or transports. For example, those men ear-marked to become bomber pilots trained on early versions of He 111, the Ju 52, Ju 86 and the Do 17. In this, the Luftwaffe was also able to make use of captured enemy aircraft. It also established training units through the Occupied territories to enable its trainees to familiarise themselves with different conditions and terrain. In the less-pressurised environment of the training schools away from the front line, more care could be taken over photography, resulting in the author of this extensive study of the wide range of aircraft used for training by the Luftwaffe, being able to assemble such a fine collection of excellent images.

Travis Air Force Base, situated in Fairfield, California, is the 'Gateway to the Pacific', handling more cargo and passengers than any other American military air terminal, and is the transportation hub for the West Coast. Flying the KC-10 Extender, C-17 Globemaster III, and the C-5 Galaxy, Travis can handle any airlift mission for the United States Air Force, and its airmen have distinguished themselves in military operations at home and around the world, including the recent humanitarian evacuation from Kabul. The logistical capabilities at Travis help maintain America's military might by supplying people and parts to the right places at the right time. With over 150 images, most of which have never been published before, this book documents the aircraft, the technology, the airmen, and the behind-the-scenes operations at Travis.

Designed and initially produced by McDonnell Douglas, the Super Hornet first flew in 1995. It is used by the United States Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are twin-engine, carrier-capable variants based on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The F/A-18E single-seat variants are larger and more advanced derivatives of the F/A-18C and D Hornet. The Super Hornet is a new aircraft at about 20% larger and 3,200 kg heavier empty weight than the original Hornet. It carries 33% more internal fuel, increasing mission range by 41% and endurance by 50% over the "Legacy" Hornet. To aid safe flight operations and prevent confusion in radio calls, the Super Hornet is informally referred to as the "Rhino" to distinguish it from earlier Hornets. It is designed to be equipped with an aerial refueling system (ARS) or "buddy store" for the refueling of other aircraft.

This book examines the reality behind the myths of the legendary RAF fighter aces during the Battle of Britain. It explains why only a small minority of pilots those in whom the desire for combat overrode everything accounted for so large a proportion of the victories. It surveys the skills that a successful fighter pilot must have a natural aptitude for flying, marksmanship, keen eyesight and the way in which fighter tactics have developed. The book examines the history of the classic fighter aircraft that were flown, such as the Spitfire and Hurricane, and examines each types characteristics, advantages and disadvantages in combat. The accounts of the experiences of fighter pilots are based on archival research, diaries, letters, published and unpublished memoirs and personal interviews with veterans. The pilots included are Robert Stanford Tuck, Adolph Sailor Malan, Geoffrey Page, Al Deere, Peter Townsend and Brian Kingcome.

Here at last is the exciting, detailed story of the U.S. Eighth Air Force's only Radar Countermeasure squadron that flew from England duing World War II. This book tells of the men of the elite 36th Bomb Squadron and the special operations they flew in modified B-24s to jam the German radar which controlled the fighter and flak batteries. Here too is the story of the men behind the scenes who sought to develop an extension of modern air warfare into the electronic arena and keep ahead of German scientists in the "War in the Ether." This chronological account gathered from secret records, personal diaries, and interviews with the "Old Crows" describes the night missions with the Royal Air Force and the daylight missions with the Eighth. The first jamming mission on the morning of D-Day "contributed materially to the success of the landings on the beachhead." Later missions during the Battle of the Bulge involved trickery, ingenious deception, spoofs, and tank communications jamming. This squadron flew on bad weather days, when the rest of the Eighth Air Force stood down, and paid its price in blood. Before the war in Europe ended the 36th Bomb Squadron screened Eighth Air Force radio transmissions to stop the enemy from learning important mission details. Here now is the story of how this secret squadron saved many Allied lives during World War II. Included are over 330 rare photographs and illustrations never before published.