EJ Johnson's story of nine young men who overcame unbelievable odds with the 8th Air Force 490th Bomb Group flying missions over Germany during the 1944-1945 era of World War II - and lived to tell about it. After qualifying as a navigator in the Army Air Corps during World War II, E.J. Johnson went on to serve with the 490th Bomb Group of the Mighty Eighth Air Force. His crew led by Pilot Roy Hann, flew some of the most harrowing campaigns of the war including many to Berlin, the heart of the German war machine. Hann's Crew is more than a memoir, however, it is a moving tribute to the men, the missions and legacy of the unit whose courageous exploits proved vital in the conclusion of the war in Europe.

Don Logan's latest book "his tenth with Schiffer Publishing, and the first in a planned multi-volume set on F-4 Phantoms chronicles the service of the McDonnell-Douglas F-4 and RF-4 Phantom II in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard. The book is organized by AFRES and ANG units and illustrates the F-4's service, colors, and markings with over 700 color photographs and 100 unit patches.

This book presents the biographies of 115 Luftwaffe officers who reached the rank of general and who were awarded the Knight's Cross, and higher grades of the award during their career. This study brings together the highest ranking recipients of this special award from the Luftwaffe, the German air force: men like fighter aces Adolf Galland and Werner MAlders; one of the most successful field commanders of the war Albert Kesselring; paratroopers like Kurt Student and Eugen Meindl; Field-Marshals Erhard Milch, Wolfram von Richthofen, Robert Ritter von Greim, Hugo Sperrle, and of course Hermann Gehring the Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe.

During the 1960s - in the midst of its retreat from empire - the British government had to grapple with complex political and military problems in order to find a strategic defence policy that was both credible and affordable. Addressing what was perhaps the most contentious issue within those debates, this book charts the arguments that raged between supporters of a land based air power strategy, and those who favoured aircraft carriers. Drawing upon a wealth of previously classified documents, the book reveals how the Admiralty and Air Ministry became interlocked in a bitter political struggle over which of their military strategies could best meet Britain's future foreign policy challenges. Whilst the broad story of this inter-service rivalry is well known - the Air Force's proposal for a series of island based airfields, and the Navy championing of a small number of expensive but mobile aircraft carriers - the complexity and previous lack of archival sources means that it has, until now, only ever been partially researched and understood. Former studies have largely focused on the cancellation of the CVA-01 carrier programme, and offered little depth as regards the Royal Air Force perspectives. Given that this was a two-Service rivalry, which greatly influenced many aspects of British foreign and defence policy decisions of the period, this book presents an important and balanced overview of the complex issues involved. Through this historical study of the British debate about maritime air power and strategic alternatives in the 1960s, the detailed arguments used for and against both alternatives demonstrate clear relevance to both historical and contemporary conceptual debates on carrier forces and land-based air power. Both from military strategy and inter-service relationship perspectives, contemporary Britain and many other nations with maritime forces may learn much from this historical case.

The B-24 Liberator-equipped organization that evolved from its original 2nd Bomb Wing status to a Divisional level commenced operations out of East Anglia in late 1942. Over the ensuing two-and-a-half years it prosecuted the Daylight Bombing Offensive in company with its 1st and 3rd AD contemporaries. Its crews moreover not only operated over central Europe, but in addition flew detachment operations out of North Africa that included the specific and costly assault on the Ploesti oil complex. The title of this book succinctly sums up the importance of the Division's presence within the 8th Air Force structure and the part it played in hammering the life out of the industrial and military infrastructures sustaining Hitler's Third Reich.

Author William E. Oliver chronicles the lives and exploits of seven citizens who answered the call to military duty. None of the seven could have suspected that the combat record compiled in Korea when added to that compiled in WWII would isolate them as the only seven of many thousand aviators who would qualify for inclusion in the annals of history as The Inner Seven.

The famous Stuka is shown over a variety of fronts throughout its development.

Flying the legendary B-24 Liberator, the 464th Bomb Group was stationed at Pantanella, Italy and flew combat missions against the heart of Hitler's Third Reich. During their service they flew almost daily against targets like Ploesti, Blechammer, and Vienna. This is their history as told by daily records, personal stories and interviews with the men who served with the 464th.

This is a personal account written by a man reflecting on his time as a young pilot with the Royal Flying Corps in France during the First World War, who eventually became an ace. It is a story of survival against the odds at a time when the conduct of air operations depended so much on individual skills, innovation, courage - and luck. Hugh White flew F.E.2D Scout aircraft with 20 Squadron as a reconnaissance patrol pilot aged just eighteen. By his nineteenth birthday he was a flight commander and the most experienced pilot on the squadron. He then became a flight commander on 29 Squadron flying the S.E.5a which was Britain's best fighter aircraft at the time. During the two years of flying, he experienced and survived a series of escapades including a dramatic mid-air collision with the enemy. Told by Hugh in his own words, he gives a unique insight into war in the air. With the break-up of his squadron and being reduced to a substantive rank - simply because of his young age - Hugh's writing ends in 1919. From this point, the story is continued by his younger son Chris. He describes Hugh's life and RAF career from flying Bristol Fighters in India during the 1920s, undertaking engineer training at Henlow, to commanding 501 Squadron in the mid-1930s and becoming a full-time technical officer until his retirement as an air vice-marshal in 1955. This book includes a foreword by Air Marshal Sir Frederick Sowrey (Hugh's nephew) which puts Hugh White's early wartime service into context. It is a timely reminder, following the centenary of the end of the First World War, of the difficulties that young pilots faced at the time. A must-read for those interested in wartime exploits.

On March 6, 1944, and the Eighth Air Force would launch a full scale assault on the German capital of Berlin. "High Noon over Haseluenne" is a microcosm look at one bomb group that flew the mission and the catastrophic results that ensued. The book deals with the 100th Bomb Group, "The Bloody Hundredth" and the mission that solidified that moniker. The concentrated attacks by the Luftwaffe would destroy sixty-nine American bombers that day, the single highest loss for any mission by the 8th Air Force, and fifteen of those losses would come from the 100th Bomb Group. We take you inside the men and machines that had to brave one of the deadliest air battles of World War II and let them tell the story. "High Noon over Haseluenne" is filled with firsthand accounts, personal diaries, letters home, news clippings, and illustrated with over 200 photos.

American volunteers Don Gentile and John Godfrey flew together as leader and wingman respectively, with the USAAF 4th Fighter Group based at Debden near Cambridge. At the end of their missions with the 4th the two of them had accounted for over 58 enemy aircraft destroyed. Major Gentile had scored 22 air and 6 ground kills before he was returned to the USA to help raise money for the war effort. Major Godfrey was credited with 18 air and 12 ground kills before he was shot down and taken prisoner of war. This is the story of their amazing adventures and wartime partnership from their basic training in Canada and then onto England where they first flew the Supermarine Spitfire. It continues with their transfer to the USAAF 4th Fighter Group when the US entered the war. These two ace pilots loved life as much as flying - and as well as being hell-bent on destroying the enemy in the skies of Europe they also lived life to the full in their off-duty time in England.

Aviation has revolutionised warfare over the last 100 years, and this new pocket guide gives the reader the essential details of 70 iconic aircraft, including the Sopwith Camel, the Spitfire, the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the P-51 Mustang and the F-4 Phantom. Drawing on Osprey's comprehensive aviation archive, the Plane Spotter's Guide uses detailed profile artwork to illustrate and aid recognition, as well as specification boxes to provide all the technical details.

Nimrod Boys is a complementary book to Nimrod Rise and Fall from acclaimed author Tony Blackman. It is a collection of over twenty first-hand accounts of operating the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod - an aircraft which served at the forefront of the Cold War. As the first jet-powered maritime aircraft, it could reach critical points for rescues or for operational requirements in rapid time. Its outstanding navigation and electronics systems also allowed the Nimrod to be a first-class machine in anti-submarine warfare. The book focuses on the Nimrod's UK-based and worldwide operations. With detailed accounts of the Nimrod's role during the Falklands Campaign and in later conflicts such as the First Gulf War to modern-day anti-drug smuggling operations in the Caribbean. There are also descriptions of the Nimrod's achievements in the International Fincastle Competition - where RAF squadrons competed against counterparts from Australia, Canada and New Zealand. With a variety of perspectives on Nimrod crew life, including from a female air electronic operator, readers will find dramatic, engaging and occasionally humorous stories. One flight test observer also reflects on the cancelled Nimrod MR4 project. Nimrod Boys written by Tony Blackman with Joe Kennedy and with a foreword by AVM Andrew Roberts is more than worthy addition to the celebrated Boys series.

The Ju 52 is presented in its early bomber, and later its famous transport roles. Covered are its use on a variety of war fronts and in detailed, up-close photos and line drawings.

This new book is the war diary of a Flying Tiger American Volunteer Group crew chief from the 3rd Pursuit Squadron. Much of the Flying Tiger history is written from the pilots viewpoint. These brave pilots deserve much praise, but those who fixed the aircraft and kept them flying also have a story to tell. Though their story is perhaps not as flashy, it is quite interesting and very much in tune with the everyday spirit of that intense period before America entered the World War II. This book contains Losonskys war diary, which is supplemented with interviews and dialogue, and includes over 200 unpublished photographs. This format provides the reader with a multi-dimensional view of the period. Flying Tiger will give aviation historians new insights into the days shortly before the Flying Tiger successes in late 1941.

In forming the Royal Air Force on 1 April 1918, Britain created the world's first independent air service. Britain entered the First World War with less than 200 ill-assorted flying machines divided between the army and the navy, but by the end of the war the RAF mustered almost 300,000 personnel and 22, 000 aircraft. Originally published in 1986, more than 65 years after the event, the decision to form the RAF remained poorly understood and Malcolm Cooper presented the first detailed modern analysis of its creation, shedding new light on the process by which Britain entered the air age. Set against the background of the build-up of air power during the First World War, the book explains how deepening political concern at failures in home air defence, public demands for retaliatory air action against Germany, problems of mobilization and expansion in the aircraft industry, and disagreements between the existing army and navy air services combined to create the conditions for an independent air force. The author argues that the pressures of war were insufficient to give real substance to the RAF's independence and that its failure to escape from its wartime role as an ancillary service was also of crucial significance in the evolution of British air strategy in later years. Based on an extensive study of official documents and private papers and amply illustrated with contemporary photographs, this title will prove invaluable in understanding both strategic thinking in the Great War and the early development of a form of warfare which dominated military and naval operations in the twentieth century.

This historical text is the personal diary of Colonel Samuel R. Harris, detailing his life as a Commander of one of the first B-29 Heavy Bombardment Groups to reach the Marianas Islands in 1944. Focused intensely on his life in the Group and his relationship with the 73rd Bomb Wing's operations, the first section of the book is an intimate portrait of war. In order to provide a contextual portrait of the B-29 war against Japan, the second half of the text details all aspects of how the 73rd Bomb Wing was engaged in the war against Japan. Together, they provide a well-rounded portrait of America--and one American--at war.]

Horten brothers biographer David Myhra continues his efforts for a full accounting of the events surrounding the design, construction, and flight testing of the twin turbojet powered all-wing prototype Horten Ho 9 fighter/interceptor and its serial production prototype the Horten Ho 229V3.

Written by an expert with more than 30 years of experience, Guidance of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles contains new analytical results, taken from the author's research, which can be used for analysis and design of unmanned aerial vehicles guidance and control systems. This book progresses from a clear elucidation of guidance laws and unmanned aerial vehicle dynamics to the modeling of their guidance and control systems. Special attention is paid to guidance of autonomous UAVs, which differs from traditional missile guidance. The author explains UAV applications, contrasting them to a missile's limited ability (or inability) to control axial acceleration. The discussion of guidance laws for UAVs presents a generalization of missile guidance laws developed by the author. The computational algorithms behind these laws are tested in three applications-for the surveillance problem, the refueling problem, and for the motion control of a swarm of UAVs. The procedure of choosing and testing the guidance laws is also considered in an example of future generation of airborne interceptors launched from UAVs. The author provides an innovative presentation of the theoretical aspects of unmanned aerial vehicles' guidance that cannot be found in any other book. It presents new ideas that, once crystallized, can be implemented in the new generation of unmanned aerial systems.

A gripping history of the brave men and women who aided downed Americans to safety. A valued source of information on the European underground resistance groups of WWII. Rare photographs, maps, and war documents complete this legacy.

Silent Heroes is an amazing tribute to the bravery of American servicemen during the early years of World War II. The author has compiled his extensive research on many of the American pilots and crews that went down over occupied Czechoslovakia during February through July of 1944 and produced a touching book worthy of the soldiers it describes. Silent Heroes, Volume I is not about just one unit, but rather it is about the 8th - 9th & 15th Air Force aircrafts lost over occupied Czechoslovakia in 1944.

"Winged History: The Life and Times of Kenneth L. Chastain, Aviator, Updated Edition" is a must read for anyone interested in 20th century American aviation history. The visually documented chronicle, written by Chastain's only son, Ken Jr., traces the life of an American pilot over a period of 37 years and aircraft from early wood and fabric, small horsepower biplanes to the advanced Boeing 707 jetliner. In addition, Ken Jr. adds his intimate perspective on being the son of a professional pilot. Like most pilots of his era, Ken Sr flew military aircraft during World War II. "Winged History" details major milestones in American political and technological history, interwoven with Chastain's historical aviation adventures, and now updated to include even more interesting and insightful information.

On June 18, 1965, thirty B-52s took part in the first Strategic Air Command B-52 bombing mission in Vietnam, a mission that, if carried out successfully, might have halted the war in its tracks. Before two of the aircraft could deliver their payload, they collided midair, killing eight men as both planes exploded over the South China Sea. In Collision Over Vietnam, Lieutenant Don Harten, a pilot in the combat mission, recounts the harrowing yet miraculous true story of how he survived the B-52 collision and how he lived through the crash of his rescue plane to fly almost 200 more missions in the war. A remarkable account of comradery, courage, and loss, Collision Over Vietnam is sure to make its name in history as did the brave men who fought in Vietnam.