Storied pilot Homer Stockert, born in Churubusco, Indiana, won air races in Fort Wayne in the 1920s, earning him legendary fame while only in his twenties. In 1933, he established the Stockert Flying Service at Bendix Field, South Bend, Indiana, an airport built by entrepreneur Vincent Bendix. After serving as a test pilot of the P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft in Evansville, Indiana, during World War II, Stockert returned to Bendix Field to expand his flying service with his business-savvy wife, Dora. Stockert led a successful life of leadership in private aviation until his death in 1971.

World War II saw pilots from around the world battling in the skies over Europe, Asia and Africa, with victory resting upon their nerve, skill and the capabilities of some of history's most iconic aircraft. In the chaos of battle, it was vital that they could quickly identify friend from foe. But do you know your Hurricane from your Bf 109, or what the legendary P-51 Mustang looks like? Do you know the wingspan of the A6M Zero-sen, or how fast it could fly? THE WORLD WAR II FIGHTER PLANES SPOTTER'S GUIDE answers all of these questions and more, providing essential information on over 90 legendary aircraft, from the celebrated Spitfire to the jet-powered Me 262. Featuring full-colour artwork to aid recognition, as well as all the details you need to assess their performance, this is the perfect pocket guide to the Allied and Axis fighters of World War II.

From the bitter temperatures of the Arctic to the sweltering jungles of the South Pacific, Army Air Forces personnel flew countless missions in extreme conditions throughout World War II. Providing suitable clothing to various crewmen aboard many different types of aircraft proved a monumental task. This volume documents the development, testing, manufacture, procurement, and utilization of flying clothing and accessories worn by American airmen during their many hard-fought campaigns around the world between 1941 and 1945. Among the garments explored are various types of flight suits - including heavy winter shearling suits and electrically heated suits - flight jackets, flotation garments, headgear, handwear, footwear, and even underwear. With appendices that include contemporary military brochures detailing the care and maintenance of flight clothing and tips on the preservation of vintage flight apparel and accessories, this study provides a thorough exploration of a rarely examined aspect of the military during World War II.

This book, first published in 1960, is a close examination of the twelve most decisive weeks in British history. It looks at the responsibility of pre-war politicians for the preparedness of the air defence system, the conflicting views on the conduct of the battle on both sides, the attitude of the US, and the part played by such leading figures as Dowding, Park, Beaverbrook, Kesselring and Sperle.

This book explores the implications of drone warfare for the legitimacy of global order. The literature on drone warfare has evolved from studying the proliferation of drones, to measuring their effectiveness, to exploring their legal, moral, and ethical impacts. These "three waves" of scholarship do not, however, address the implications of drone warfare for global order. This book fills the gap by contributing to a "fourth wave" of literature concerned with the trade-offs imposed by drone warfare for global order. The book draws on the "English School" of International Relations Theory, which is premised on the existence of a society of states bounded by common norms, values, and institutions, to argue that drone warfare imposes contradictions on the structural and normative pillars of global order. These consist of the structure of international society and diffusion of military capabilities, as well as the sovereign equality of states and laws of armed conflict. The book presents a typology of contradictions imposed by drone warfare within and across these axes that threaten the legitimacy of global order. This framework also suggests a confounding consequence of drone warfare that scholars have not hitherto explored rigorously: drone warfare can sometimes strengthen global order. The volume concludes by proposing a research agenda to reconcile the complex and often counter-intuitive impacts of drone warfare for global order. This book will be of considerable interest to students of security studies, global governance, and International Relations.

Military Jet Aircraft contains 300 of the most important and influential military jet aircraft that have flown since World War II, including such famous aircraft as the Messerschmitt Me 262, English Electric Lightning, and North American F-86 Sabre. Each of the 300 aircraft featured in Military Jet Aircraft is illustrated with the aid of a superb colour artwork. In addition, the artwork is accompanied by a detailed specifications table giving dimensions, powerplant, armament, performance, and weights, plus accompanying text that summarises the design, development and service history.

This book, first published in 1985, is an in-depth analysis of the Luftwaffe in the Second World War, using previously untapped German archives and newly-released 'Ultra' intelligence records. It looks at the Luftwaffe within the context of the overall political decision-making process within the Third Reich. It is especially valuable for its careful study of industrial production and pilot losses in the conduct of operations.

Korean American Pioneer Aviators: The Willows Airmen is the untold story of the brave Korean men who took to the skies more than twenty years before the Tuskegee Airmen fought in World War II. The tale of the Willows Aviation School connects Korean, American, and Korean American aviation history. The book also correctly identifies the first Korean aviator and ties the origin of the Korean Air Force to the Korean American community who started the Willows Aviation School in 1920.

Cobra! is a comprehensive, meticulously researched and fully documented history of Bell Aircraft Corporation and their piston engine fighters built during the Great Depression and through World War II. While the story centers on techincal aspects of the various fighters, significant attention is also devoted to those key individuals who conceived, built and flew these innovative designs. In addition to aircraft development, Cobra! surveys the combat use of the P-39 and P-63 fighters in the hands of American, French, Italian, and Soviet pilots. The story continues after World War II when a number of Bell surplus fighters were successfully modified for air racing. Birch Matthews is also the author of Wet Wings & Drop Tanks: Recollection of American Transcontinental Air Racing 1928-1970, and Mustang: The Racing Thoroughbred(with Dustin W. Carter). Both books are available from Schiffer Publishing Ltd.).

'Teutonic Titans: Hindenburg, Ludendorff, and the Kaiser's Military Elite' covers the era 1847-1955-heavily illustrated with over 500 images of German Emperor Wilhelm II's First World War marshals and generals, emphasizing their lives, careers, battles, and campaigns. The book covers both Western and Eastern Fronts, as well as the Balkans, Baltics, Middle, and Far East. It is also heavily detailed with maps, cartoons, graphics, and photographs, plus descriptions of strategies, tactics, weapons, statistics on all losses, and results. Period cartoons add to the vast array of photographic sources worldwide: United States National Archives and Library of Congress, Washington and College Park, Maryland; Imperial War Museum London: Bundesarchiv, Bonn, and also His Majesty's own albums at Doorn House, Holland, many of them previously unpublished. German Crown Prince Wilhelm and Bavarian Crown Prince Rupprecht, all German Chiefs of General Staff and War Ministers are detailed as well, plus all top Allied leaders and commanders: Woodrow Wilson, John J. Pershing; David Lloyd George, King George V, Sir Douglas Haig, and Sir John French among them; Tsar Nicholas II, Grand Duke Michael, and more; Frenchmen Henri Petain, Joffre, Foch, and Weygand; as well as those of Serbia, Italy, Greece, Rumania, and Bulgaria.

The B-24 Liberator remains to this day the world's most-produced heavy bomber and multi-engine aircraft, and the most produced military aircraft in US history, with almost 19,000 examples leaving the assembly lines of five plants. Through a broad range of photos gathered from around the world, this book chronicles the design, development, and wartime use of the iconic early models of the B-24-those featuring the so-called "glass nose"-from the assembly line to their use in the famous raid on the refineries at Ploesti, Romania, in 1943. The story of these iconic early WWII aircraft is told through carefully researched photos, many of which have never before been published, which are reproduced in remarkable clarity. Large clear photos, coupled with descriptive and informative captions, unlock the secrets of this aircraft. Part of the Legends of Warfare series.

As Allied air force bombers mercilessly pound Nazi Germany every night in late 1943, the decision is made to send a number of journalists on a mission to Berlin. One of them was a young American journalist Lowell Bennett, who had made his name reporting on the Allied invasion of Tunisia. When their Avro Lancaster is hit by Luftwaffe fighters, everyone is forced to bail out. Bennett was taken prisoner upon landing in Germany. Before delivering him to a prison camp for the duration of the war, Bennett’s captor, a German officer, decides to take him on a tour of various German cities, a submarine base, and the Ruhr in order to let the journalist see for himself the terrible suffering of the civilian population, the prime target of Allied bombing. In this vivid first-hand account of his experiences, Bennett expresses his indignation at this selective bombing and vehemently criticises the Allies' strategic bombing policies. Controversial at the time of its publication in 1945, Bennett's account remains the only first-hand report by an Allied journalist of the RAF and USAAF bombing raids seen from ground level.

Examines the recent rise in the United States' use of preventive force More so than in the past, the US is now embracing the logic of preventive force: using military force to counter potential threats around the globe before they have fully materialized. While popular with individuals who seek to avoid too many "boots on the ground," preventive force is controversial because of its potential for unnecessary collateral damage. Who decides what threats are 'imminent'? Is there an international legal basis to kill or harm individuals who have a connection to that threat? Do the benefits of preventive force justify the costs? And, perhaps most importantly, is the US setting a dangerous international precedent? In Preventive Force, editors Kerstin Fisk and Jennifer Ramos bring together legal scholars, political scientists, international relations scholars, and prominent defense specialists to examine these questions, whether in the context of full-scale preventive war or preventive drone strikes. In particular, the volume highlights preventive drones strikes, as they mark a complete transformation of how the US understands international norms regarding the use of force, and could potentially lead to a 'slippery slope' for the US and other nations in terms of engaging in preventive warfare as a matter of course. A comprehensive resource that speaks to the contours of preventive force as a security strategy as well as to the practical, legal, and ethical considerations of its implementation, Preventive Force is a useful guide for political scientists, international relations scholars, and policymakers who seek a thorough and current overview of this essential topic.

The international bestselling author returns with an exploration of one of the grandest obsessions of the twentieth century

'The Bomber Mafia is a case study in how dreams go awry. When some shiny new idea drops from the heavens, it does not land softly in our laps. It lands hard, on the ground, and shatters.'

In the years before the Second World War, in a sleepy air force base in central Alabama, a small group of renegade pilots put forth a radical idea. What if we made bombing so accurate that wars could be fought entirely from the air? What if we could make the brutal clashes between armies on the ground a thing of the past?

This book tells the story of what happened when that dream was put to the test. The Bomber Mafia follows the stories of a reclusive Dutch genius and his homemade computer, Winston Churchill's forbidding best friend, a team of pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard, a brilliant pilot who sang vaudeville tunes to his crew, and the bomber commander, Curtis Emerson LeMay, who would order the bloodiest attack of the Second World War.

In this tale of innovation and obsession, Gladwell asks: what happens when technology and best intentions collide in the heat of war? And what is the price of progress?

In Fifteenth Air Force against the Axis: Combat Missions over Europe during World War II, Kevin A. Mahoney provides a detailed combat history of the crucial role played by this air force from November 1943 through May 1945. Presented by month in chronological order, Mahoney describes all the major bombing and fighter missions carried out by this air force within a strategic context. Each chapter includes an introduction describing developments in the evolution of the strategic air campaign against the Germans, highlights the purpose and importance of the month's operations, and reviews the Luftwaffe's resistance and changes in tactics and important developments in the Fifteenth Air Force's organization. Each monthly narrative further explores most missions, detailing the number of aircraft lost during these missions. Losses are based on an exhaustively researched database compiled by Mahoney that contains details of almost 3,000 aircraft. Target damage is mentioned, while enemy opposition is also described for each mission. Appendices include four short essays on bombing operations (planning and flying of missions, tactics and techniques, bomb types, and bombing accuracy), tactics employed by fighter escort in aerial combat and strafing, combat crews and their aircraft (including a comparison of American fighters and bombers, the training of the crews, and their combat tours), and the Fifteenth Air Force command structure (including the use of intelligence, photo and weather reconnaissance, and the considerable effect of weather on Fifteenth Air Force operations). This work of military history is ideal for students and scholars of the air war in Europe.

The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) revolutionized warfare at sea, on land, and in the air. This little-known naval aviation organization introduced and operationalized aircraft carrier strike, aerial anti-submarine warfare, strategic bombing, and the air defence of the British Isles more than 20 years before the outbreak of the Second World War. Traditionally marginalized in a literature dominated by the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force, the RNAS and its innovative practitioners, nevertheless, shaped the fundamentals of air power and contributed significantly to the Allied victory in the First World War. The Development of British Naval Aviation utilizes archival documents and newly published research to resurrect the legacy of the RNAS and demonstrate its central role in Britain's war effort.

Air power has been one of the key elements in modern warfare. This book, first published in 1986, analyses the likely changes to this key role as military technology and strategic thinking evolve. It begins with the history and present status of air power and assesses technical developments, and then discusses the character of future warfare, and its implications for planes and helicopters in land and sea campaigns. It also analyses issues like tactical air mobility, the vulnerability of airfields, aerial mass destruction, electronic warfare, and developments in NATO and Warsaw Pact. It concludes with an overview of the likely role of airpower in future warfare.

Based on extensive research in China, the United States, and Great Britain, this book is the first comprehensive survey of the aviation aspect of Sino-American relations during the Chinese republican period. Xu reveals new information about the important U.S. role in assisting the birth and development of both military and civil aviation in China. Analyzing the significance of air power in both its military and political contexts, Xu argues that the Nationalist Air Force considerably strengthened the Nationalist government's political and military positions without changing its existent power structure and temperament.

The study also examines the role air power played in the violent partisan and patriotic power struggles within China, which illustrates how deeply China's military modernization became intertwined with competing foreign interests. Xu's discussion of the arms trading policies of various foreign powers prior to the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War of the 1930s is particularly insightful and revealing. Although America's contribution to the establishment of Chinese aviation was at times undertaken with hesitation, U.S. assistance would ultimately change the balance of power in East Asia.

Developed in 1938 from a Schneider trophy-winning design by the aeronautical engineer and designer R.J Mitchell, the Supermarine Spitfire went on to become the definitive Allied fighter of the Second World War, and ranks amongst the most famous aircraft of all time. This pocket manual presents an accessible collection of fascinating historical documents to help readers explore the technical and tactical developments relating to the design and use of this famous aircraft. Sources include the Air Ministry's original specification for a single-seater day and night fighter, handling trials of the Spitfire prototype K-5054, squadron fighting tactics, pilot's log books and pilot's notes for the Mark V, air group reports and tactical papers. Collectively these give a unique insight into the Spitfire, illustrating its durability and adaptability in performing many war-winning roles. With illustrations and an introduction by historian Martin Robson, The Spitfire Pocket Manual is an essential volume for any Spitfire enthusiast.

Siberia - infamous for its brutal winters, and larger than the entire United States - is not the only wilderness within the former Soviet Union. Harsh southern deserts, arctic islands, disputed border regions, and minority populations beligerent towards the their present government are spread all across the gigantic nation. Flying over Russia presents risks few other aircrews in time of peace must face. And while Russian combat aircraft are world renowned for their reliable performance, what happens when something does go wrong? Given their exceptional egress systems - odds are the pilot will eject safely, but how does he survive and advance under such potentially dire circumstances? MiG Pilot Survival: Russian Aircrew Survival Equipment and Instruction explores the components and details of Russian survival science with color photographs, in depth descriptions, and a full translation of the exact manual - with original illustrations intact - as used by Russian aircrews in time of crisis, Alan R. Wise is a consultant, writer, and photographer who has done work for the Department of Defense, Department of State, U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Air Force Museum, and the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center. He has served as a military advisor and has written numerous articles for magazines such as National Defense, Journal of Defense and Diplomacy, Armor, and Behind the Lines: The Journal of Special Operations. He is also the coauthor with Michael S. Breuninger of Jet Age Flight Helmets (see page 5 of this catalog). He resides in Middletown, Ohio and is an experienced collector specializing in flight gear, survival and special operations equipment, and military vehicles.

The standard reference now revised and expanded. Dr. Robinson has opened up his vast photo archives to enhance this new edition of his classic work. Much of the new photographic material is published here for the first time.

This book provides an overview of the victory markings painted on the fins and rudders of the planes of the German day fighter and night fighter aircraft between 1939 and 1945, and demonstrates how these were applied in reality through the profiles of nineteen pilots, including some of the most emblematic pilots of the Luftwaffe: Hans Troitzsch, Johannes Gentzen, Frank Liesendahl, Wilhelm Balthasar, Otto Bertram, Joachim Muncheberg, Karl-Heinz Koch, Kurt "Kuddel" Ubben, Felix-Maria Brandis, "Fiffi" Stahlschmidt, Franz-Josef Beerenbrock, Heinrich Setz, Walter "Gulle" Oesau, Max-Hellmuth Ostermann, Heinrich Bartels, "Fritz" Dinger, Martin Drewes, Egmont zur Lippe-Weissenfeld and Ludwig Meister.

This book investigates how drone warfare is deeply gendered and how this can be explored through the methodological framework of 'Haunting'. Utilising original interview data from British Reaper drone crews, the book analyses the way killing by drones complicates traditional understandings of masculinity and femininity in warfare. As their role does not include physical risk, drone crews have been critiqued for failing to meet the masculine requirements necessary to be considered 'warriors' and have been derided for feminising war. However, this book argues that drone warfare, and the experiences of the crews, exceeds the traditional masculine/feminine binary and suggests a new approach to explore this issue. The framework of Haunting presented here draws on the insights of Jacques Derrida, Avery Gordon, and others to highlight four key themes - complex personhood, in/(hyper)visibility, disturbed temporality and power - as frames through which the intersection of gender and drone warfare can be examined. This book argues that Haunting provides a framework for both revealing and destabilising gendered binaries of use for feminist security studies and International Relations scholars, as well as shedding light on British drone warfare. This book will be of interest to students of gender studies, sociology, war studies, and critical security studies.