The Tornado F2 had a troubled introduction to service. Unloved by its crews and procured as a political imperative, it was blighted by failures and was developed to counter a threat that disappeared. Modified rapidly before it could be sent to war, the Tornado F3 eventually matured into a capable weapons system, but despite datalinks and new air-to-air weapons, its poor reputation sealed its fate. The author, a former Tornado F3 navigator, tells the story from an insider's perspective from the early days as one of the first instructors on the Operational Conversion Unit, through its development and operational testing, to its demise. David Gledhill reflects on its capabilities and deficiencies and analyses why the aircraft was mostly underestimated by opponents. Although many books have already described the Tornado F3, the author's involvement in its development will provide a unique insight into this complex and misunderstood aircraft programme and dispel some of the myths surrounding it.

The M3 vehicle was a thirteen-person armoured transporter that could be used to transport mechanized infantry or as an artillery tractor, ambulance, communications vehicle, etc. It was also used as a carrier for various types of guns. American factories producing M2 and M3 armoured personnel carriers were overloaded and could hardly meet orders for the army. That's why, in 1942, the International Harvester Company stated that it was capable of producing a combat vehicle similar to the M3, but due to some differences in the plant's machine park, not all components could be made in the same way. Therefore, it required slight changes in the design of the new transporter. Thus the Half-Track Personnel Carrier M5 was born, which was almost identical to the M3 version. The M5 versions were created primarily for the needs of foreign customers. They were used by the British Army, as well as Polish, Czech and "Free French" units. The British used them primarily to tow various types of anti-tank guns. These vehicles also found their way to the USSR under the Lend-Lease agreement. After the Second World War, they were also used by the Israeli army.

On 16 May 1943, nineteen Lancaster aircraft from the RAF's 617 Squadron set off to attack the great dams in the industrial heart of Germany. Flying at a height of 60ft, they dropped a series of bombs which bounced across the water and destroyed two of their targets, thereby creating a legend. The one-off operation combined an audacious method of attack, technically brilliant flying and visually spectacular results. But while the story of Operation Chastise is well known, most of the 133 'Dambusters' who took part in the Dams Raid have until now been just names on a list. They came from all parts of the UK and the Commonwealth and beyond, and each of them was someone's son or brother, someone's husband or father. This is the first book to present their individual stories and celebrate their skill, heroism and, for many, sacrifice.

During the Second World War, the RAF employed Special Duties pilots and aircrew on operations across a wide range of extraordinary and daredevil missions. In many instances, specially selected and trained crews flew specific sorties, seeking out small targets of utmost importance to the war effort. A number of these operations were filmed by cameramen and RAF Special Duties: A Collection of Exclusive Operational Flying Sorties by the Royal Air Force enables their stories to be told for the first time. The various exploits in this exceptionally well-researched and gripping book are supported, in many instances, by 'Flying Logbooks' and other materials stemming directly from the pilots themselves. These men were true originals - undertaking hugely dangerous missions against the odds, and often operating as individual aircraft in completely unknown conditions.Accounts in the book include:Cameramen flying on special raids to film precise low level Mosquito sorties, including on the Gestapo HQ in Copenhagen; A Mosquito pilot flying a single aircraft into Germany to cause disruption by setting off air raid sirens; A Stirling pilot flying with radar-jamming equipment to disguise the D-Day invasion; Mosquito pilots attacking targets identified by British SAS units in France; Experience as a wireless operator flying in Churchill's personal aircraft; Dropping supplies over Burma

Key Selling Points: Have you ever wondered what it was like to fly the Phantom? This is not a potted history of an aeroplane, nor is it Hollywood glamour as captured in Top Gun. This is the story of life on the frontline during the Cold War told in the words of a navigator who flew the iconic jet. Unique pictures, many captured from the cockpit, show the Phantom in its true environment and show why for many years the Phantom was the envy of NATO. It also tells the inside story of some of the problems which plagued the Phantom in its early days, how the aircraft developed, or was neglected, and reveals events which shaped the aircraft's history and contributed to its demise. Anecdotes capture the deep affection felt by the crews who were fortunate enough to cross paths with the Phantom during their flying careers. The nicknames the aircraft earned were not complimentary and included the 'Rhino', 'The Spook', 'Double Ugly', the 'Flying Brick' and the 'Lead Sled'. Whichever way you looked at it, you could love or hate the Phantom, but you could never ignore it for its sheer power and lethal payload.The Phantom in Focus: A Navigator's Eye on Britain's Cold War Warrior is unique in that the author flew in the legendary Phantom in the front line and captured beautiful and amazing unpublished photographs that will appeal to historians, military specialists and modellers alike.

This is a flying adventure book set within the framework of the Cold War and told through the lens of the RAF Pilot's Flying Log Book. Philip Keeble's logbooks cover ten different types of aircraft: from learning to fly in a Chipmunk trainer in 1965, right through to flying the Tornado F3 Fighter in 1994. These true tales are told as anecdotal yarns, ones that put flesh on the bare bones of a logbook in an exciting, amusing and self-deprecating way. The narratives stir up memories of escapades and the events leading up to them. They depict exciting sorties, dangerous emergencies, stupid moments, funny occurrences, and operational practices, but also show the balance and contrast of operating in the Cold War. Keeble got into more than a few scrapes. He flew very high, very low, and very fast with a foolhardiness that at times was culpable. The memories of these events will make you chuckle, break out in a cold sweat, and some may even cause a lump in your throat. The author can vouch for the veracity of every single tale, even the shocking ones. Strap yourselves in securely and hold on tight-for this could be quite a ride.

Air Commodore Pink chose RAF Manston as his final resting place and a number of aces from the First World War such as Squadron Leader Bartlett served there. After the uncertainty of the 1920s, RAF Manston grew rapidly during the 1930s to become one of the busiest airfields in the country. The School of Technical Training was at the forefront of the RAF where thousands of airmen trained each year and it was an integral part of the service's expansion scheme. Empire Air Days and air races became regular events during the 1930s and when Ramsgate Municipal Airport opened, RAF Manston had to compete with it to stage them. 48 Squadron was formed at Manston in 1936 with the Avro Anson and it was the RAF's first monoplane to have a retractable undercarriage. On the outbreak of war, various fighter squadrons operated from Manston and being the airfield closest to France, its squadrons proudly played a leading role in the evacuation of Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain.

William Francis Blackadder was a pilot of No. 607 Squadron, one of only two Auxiliary Air Force squadrons posted across the Channel during the illfated Battle of France. His diary begins at the squadron's annual summer camp at Abbotsinch in August 1939, and finishes at the Belgian Army headquarters in Brussels in May 1940. Blackadder's writings reflect No. 607 pilots' excitement in the last days of peace, frustrations in the ensuing 'Phoney War', and low morale at the harsh French winter of 1939 and long delay before receiving their first Hurricanes. This beautifully illustrated book shows the aerial war over France as it really was, and illuminates some of the factors behind the British defeat: pilots were ill-equipped, outnumbered, reduced to dogfighting, and constantly hampered by the damage the weather caused to planes on the ground. Yet Robert Dixon also garners from Blackadder's diary insights into his more joyful experiences- his initiation to flying, daily routines as an auxiliary pilot, the social fabric and bonds of his squadron, and his enduring relationship with aviation after the war.

Second World War fighter pilot Eric Carter is one of only four surviving members of a secret mission, code-named 'Force Benedict'. Sanctioned by Winston Churchill in 1941 Force Benedict was dispatched to defend Murmansk, the USSR's only port not under Nazi occupation. If Murmansk fell, Soviet resistance against the Nazis would be hard to sustain and Hitler would be able to turn all his forces on Britain...Force Benedict was under the command of New Zealand-born RAF Wing Commander Henry Neville Gynes Ramsbottom-Isherwood, who led two squadrons of Hurricane fighters, pilots and ground crew which were shipped to Russia in total secrecy on the first ever Arctic Convoy. They were told to defend Murmansk against the Germans 'at all costs'. 'We all reckoned the government thought we'd never survive' - but Eric Carter did, and was threatened with Court Martial if he talked about where he'd been or what he'd done. Now he reveals his experiences of seventy years ago in the hell on earth that was Murmansk, the largest city north of the Arctic Circle. It will also include previously unseen photos and documents, as well as exploring - for the first time - other intriguing aspects of Force Benedict.

The Pilots Information File (PIF) was the standard reference for any general information required of USAAF pilots and flight engineers. The PIF covered items of a general nature that a combat flyer must know in order to fight an air war and survive.

The North American P-51 Mustang was one of the most successful and effective fighter aircraft of all time. It was initially produced in response to a 1940 RAF requirement for a fast, heavily-armed fighter able to operate effectively at altitudes in excess of 20,000ft. North America built the prototype in 117 days, and the aircraft, designated NA-73X, flew on 26 October 1940. The first of 320 production Mustang Is for the RAF flew on 1 May 1941, powered by a 1,100hp Allison V-1710-39 engine. RAF test pilots soon found that with this powerplant the aircraft did not perform well at high altitude, but that its low-level performance was excellent. It was when the Mustang airframe was married to a Packard-built Rolls-Royce Merlin engine that the aircraft's true excellence became apparent. Possessing a greater combat radius than any other Allied single-engine fighter, it became synonymous with the Allied victory in the air. During the last eighteen months of the war in Europe, escorting bomber formations, it hounded the Luftwaffe to destruction in the very heart of Germany. In the Pacific, operating from advance bases, it ranged over the Japanese Home Islands, joining carrier-borne fighters such as the Grumman Hellcat to bring the Allies massive air superiority. Yet the Mustang came about almost by accident, a product of the Royal Air Force's urgent need for new combat aircraft in the dark days of 1940, when Britain, fighting for survival, turned to the United States for help in the island nation's darkest hour.

The British designed and built the Harrier, the most successful vertical take-off-and-landing aircraft ever made. Combining state-of-the-art fighter plane technology with a helicopter's ability to land vertically the Harrier has played an indispensable role for the RAF and Royal Navy in a number of conflicts, most famously the Falklands War. Jonathan Glancey's biography is a vividly enjoyable account of the invention of this remarkable aeroplane and a fitting tribute to the inspiration and determination of the men and women who created it, and the bravery of the men who flew it, often in the most dangerous conditions.

Those with any interest in the First World War will have have heard of the planes most associated with that conflict - the legendary Sopwith Camel and Royal Aircraft Factory's S.E.5a, which are often called the "Spitfire" and "Hurricane" of the Great War. Aviation enthusiasts might even know of the Camel's predecessors, the Sopwith Pup or the Triplane. But what of the many other planes that saw active service in the war? This is the story of those armed aeroplanes whose names few people can recall, the 'Forgotten Fighters' of the First World War, including the pusher 'gunbuses' of the early war years, the strange 'pulpit' design of the B.E.9, the desperate conversions of reconnaissance machines that were never intended to be armed, and those which were thought too tricky for the average pilot to handle. It is also the story of the brave men who flew these machines, fighting, and too often dying, for a cause they believed in. Some of these aeroplanes only served in small numbers and others in areas away from the main battle on the Western Front, but all made a vital contribution to the winning of the war. And these lost but iconic fighter aircraft, and the brave young men who flew them, deserve to be remembered just as much as the more famous aces in their legendary machines. This is their story.

'Brilliantly researched and sympathetically told, 44 DAYS is more than just a fitting tribute to brave but overlooked heroes. It's also a top read.' DAILY TELEGRAPH The epic World War II story of the heroes of Australia's 75 Squadron - and the 44 days when these brave and barely trained pilots fought alone against the Japanese. In March and April 1942, RAAF 75 Squadron bravely defended Port Moresby for 44 days when Australia truly stood alone against the Japanese. This group of raw young recruits scrambled ceaselessly in their Kittyhawk fighters to an extraordinary and heroic battle, the story of which has been left largely untold. The recruits had almost nothing going for them against the Japanese war machine, except for one extraordinary leader named John Jackson, a balding, tubby Queenslander - at 35 possibly the oldest fighter pilot in the world - who said little, led from the front, and who had absolutely no sense of physical fear. Time and time again this brave group were hurled into battle, against all odds and logic, and succeeded in mauling a far superior enemy - whilst also fighting against the air force hierarchy. After relentless attack, the squadron was almost wiped out by the time relief came, having succeeded in their mission - but also paying a terrible price. Michael Veitch, actor, presenter and critically acclaimed author, brings to life the incredible exploits and tragic sacrifices of this courageous squadron of Australian heroes.

This volume carries on where FIRST OF THE FEW finished, in the same style and format. 10 July-the official first day of the Battle of Britain-witnessed increased aerial activity over the Channel and along the eastern and southern seaboards of the British coastline. The main assaults by ever-increasing formations of Luftwaffe bombers, escorted by Bf109s and Bf110s, were initially aimed at British merchant shipping convoys plying their trade of coal and other materials from the north of England to the southern ports. These attacks by the Germans often met with increasing success although RAF Spitfires and Hurricanes endeavoured to repel the Heinkels, Dorniers and Ju88s, frequently with ill-afforded loss in pilots and aircraft. Within a month the Channel was effectively closed to British shipping. Only a change in the Luftwaffe's tactics in mid-August, when the main attack changed to the attempted destruction of the RAF's southern airfields, allowed small convoys to resume sneaking through without too greater hindrance.

The book follows exactly the tried and tested format of the earlier "RAF Bomber Command Losses" series both in content and the way the book is organized and presented.
Each entry is set out in the same way with a sequence of entries for a single day. Losses are recorded by unit and then within each unit by the serial number of the aircraft involved. The entries are accompanied by commentaries, which are provided at appropriate points. The number of losses recorded in this volume will be somewhere in the region of 1,700. These will include aircraft from the RAF, the South African Air Force, the free French Air Force, and the U.S. Army Air Force, during the periods when these air arms were operating under direct RAF control.
This book is the first of two projected volumes covering the Bomber Commands losses in the Middle East and Mediterranean during the war. A further volume covering 1943-1945 is projected to follow this one.The distinction relating to the units included in these volumes is particularly important in relation to the USAAF, as its period under RAF was brief. This series will sell well to aviation historians, especially those interested in Bomber Command.

This is an illustrated guide shown in over 100 images. It is an engaging history of the Mustang and Flying Fortress, from their beginnings and early exploits through to the final battles and campaigns of World War II. It includes complete technical specifications detailing dimensions, weights, power, performance and armament. It features over 100 photographs of Mustangs and Flying Fortresses in action, as well as cutaway diagrams showing the interior constructions of these historic combat aircraft. The North American P-51 Mustang and the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress were among many outstanding combat planes of World War II. The first Mustang was designed using an American airframe linked to the first-rate Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, while the most famous B-17 was the Memphis Belle, the first aircraft to complete a full tour of 25 operational missions. This handbook details the design and development of these classic planes, together with personal accounts from the pilots who flew them. Wartime photographs and cutaway diagrams accompany the expertly written text, making this an essential volume for every aircraft enthusiast.

In the early 1950s the United States wished to concentrate its defence resources on the development of a 4,000 mile range intercontinental ballistic missile. As a stop-gap measure, US defence chiefs hoped to assist Britain with the development of its own intermediate range missile. Despite US concerns that British resources were limited the Air Ministry nonetheless proceeded with the missile, called Blue Streak, to fulfil the operational requirement which would give Britain an independent deterrent which should remain invulnerable until the early 1970s. `Blue Streak: Britain's Medium Range Ballistic Missile' traces the path from the political decision to issue the contracts through the early development and testing both in the UK and in Australia. The reasons for the project's cancellation are considered and Blue Streak's subsequent role as the first stage of the ELDO civilian satellite launcher is noted. A requirement of the project was the need to base the missiles in underground launchers to protect them from attack. This aspect of the project is fully covered using recently available information and specially drawn plans.

A Detailed History of RAF Manston 1916-1930: The Men Who Made Manston covers the development of aviation in Thanet up to and including the period of the First World War. Manston had its origins in the Royal Naval Seaplane Station at Westgate that was later expanded for landplane operations. The fact that the landing ground at Westgate was both dangerous and unsuitable lead to the development at Manston. Lieutenant Spenser Grey was the first airman to land in Thanet and he began a popular trend with various aviators being attracted to the area. In August 1913, The Daily Mail organised the Round Britain Aeroplane Race that both began and ended at Ramsgate giving a great boost to the town. The first unit to be based at Manston was 3 Wing RNAS that moved from Detling in April 1916 and the first CO was appointed in May. During the war, aeroplanes based at Manston and particularly its 'War Flight' played an important role in defending the Thames and Medway estuaries. Together with RNAS Eastchurch, Manston's War Flight of Triplanes, Camels and Pups patrolled the coast and amongst its most famous moments was when on 22 August 1917, a German Gotha bomber was shot down near Vincent's Farm. The authors give a detailed history of the units that were based at Manston during this period, their operations and the commanding officers. Manston was unique in many ways, but particularly as it was the only airfield to have built an underground hangar for the protection of its aeroplanes. After the First World War, Manston expanded and it took on the role of a training station. This first book in a three-book series will finish approximately at the end of the war period and continue with the growth of the station during the inter-war years.

History has recorded that the first ever powered flight took place at Kitty Hawk in America, on 17 December 1903 and was carried out by the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, who were aircraft designers and manufacturers. By the time of the outbreak of the First World War, aviation was only eleven years old. The daddy of battlefield warfare until that point in time had been the cavalry, a position it maintained even as war was declared on the Western Front. Aircraft were not initially seen as an offensive weapon and were instead used by both sides as observation platforms, or to take aerial photographs from. Even when they were eventually used in an offensive capacity, they did not have machine guns attached to them; if the crew wanted to open fire then they had to use a pistol or rifle. As the war progressed so the use of aircraft changed from being an observational tool, to that of a fighter and bomber aircraft - something that had never been foreseen at the outbreak of the war. The book then looks at the fighter aces from all sides. These were pilots who had been credited with shooting or forcing down a minimum of five enemy aircraft, of which their were hundreds. While some of these aces survived, many of them were killed. The most famous fighter ace of all is without doubt the German pilot known as the Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen.

This volume conveys detailed stories of aerial warfare in the South Pacific, chosen because both Japanese and Allied records can be matched for an accurate accounting. Often the actual outcomes are very different to the exaggerated claims made by both sides upon which many traditional histories have relied to date. Further, for each of the chosen stories photographic or other evidence enables an accurate depiction of the aircraft involved. Through these chosen snapshots Pacific Adversaries portrays the South Pacific conflict as accurately as possible. This first volume describes confrontations between the Japanese Army Air Force (JAAF) and the Allies in New Guinea and the Solomons. JAAF units first arrived in the South Pacific in December 1942 and effectively ceased operations in mainland New Guinea in April 1944. Theirs is a rich and colourful history about which many myths persist. Perhaps the biggest is that their Allied counterparts thought they were mainly fighting "Zeros", a falsehood still published and accepted to this day. In New Guinea the Allies ratcheted up a grueling, coordinated and unrelenting campaign, destroying most JAAF air power on the ground, not in the air. Their assault against Wewak's key bases involved an interwoven and complex strategy which eventually overpowered the Japanese. Never before have detailed accounts matched up adversaries so closely and in doing so shine light on key events in Pacific skies so many years ago.

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.

Warfare in the first half of the 20th century was fundamentally and irrovocably altered by the birth and subsequent development of air power. This work assesses the role of air power in changing the face of battle on land and sea. Utilizing late-1990s research, the author demonstrates that the phenomenon of air power was both a cause and a crucial accelerating factor contributing to the theory and practice of total war. For instance, the expansion of warfare to the homefront was a direct result of bombing and indirectly due to the extent of national economic mobilization required to support first rate air power status. In addition, the move away from the principle of total war with the onset of the Cold War and the replacement of air power by ICBMs is thoroughly examined. This work should provide students of international history, war studies, defence and strategic studies with an insight into 20th-century warfare.

RAF Tempsford, a remote Second World War airfield between Cambridge and Bedford, was designed by an illusionist to give over-flying enemy pilots the impression it was a disused airfield. Home to the RAF's Special Duties Squadrons, it was only used on the clear nights on either side of the full moon. Flying low and without lights, brave pilots and aircrews carried many hundreds of tons of arms and supplies to resistance groups north of the Arctic Circle, east to Czechoslovakia and Poland, southeast to the Balkans and south as far as the Pyrenees and Italy. 'The Tempsford Academy' tells the story of William Stephenson, the man sent by Roosevelt to assess Britain's potential to resist German invasion in 1940, his meeting the men running Britain's secret service and being shown round SOE's training facilities, weapons, R&D sites etc. He persuaded the President to send William Donovan, subsequent head of OSS (what became the CIA), to see how the Americans could establish an intelligence network in London. Offices were set up in London and establishments for the training and deployment of US secret agents into occupied Europe as well as assisting the SOE in supplying the resistance. Until an airfield was built for their clandestine operations, agents were flown out from RAF Tempsford: Churchill's Most Secret Airfield.