The Douglas F3D Skyknight was an early but effective attempt at combining new technologies together in a lethal package capable of shipboard operation. Whereas most fighters relied on speed and maneuverability, the portly, straight-winged F3D relied on three radars, four 20mm cannon, and - most importantly - darkness. Having first flown in March 1948, the Skyknight's first taste of war came in September 1952, when Marine Night Fighter Squadron 513 [VMF(N)-513] deployed to Korea. The most important job assigned to VMF(N)-513 was the escorting of USAF B-29 bombers over northern Korea. Whereas Chinese and North Korean MiG-15s relied on ground-controlled intercept radar for steering guidance into firing positions, the F3D, with its own onboard radars, was autonomously lethal - it could detect, track and target MiGs all on its own. Skyknight crews ended the Korean War with six nocturnal kills in exchange for one combat loss. After the war, 35 Skyknights were converted into electronic warfare (EW) aircraft. As US air operations over North Vietnam intensified in early 1965, the need for a tactical EW jet to provide electronic countermeasures (ECM) protection to accompany strike packages north became apparent. For all of its early effectiveness over North Vietnam, the proliferation of radar-guided guns and missiles began to erode the advantage created by EF-10 escort support, which flew its last combat mission in October 1969. This highly illustrated volume explores the F3D Skynights and their deployment during the Korean and Vietnam wars, using first-hand accounts from aircrew, original photographs and 30 profile artworks to explore their key roles as an escort aircraft and electronic warfare aircraft.

The Last Knight of Flanders is the story of the Flemish volunteers of Germany's famed Waffen-SS, told by those who were there. The book centers around Remy Schrijnen, the only Flemish volunteer to win the heralded bravery award, the Knight's Cross to the Iron Cross. The book presents the varying viewpoints of the war as told through the eyes of Schrijnen and those who surrounded him. From enlisted men to officers - those who were there tell it like it was. Since 1830, Belgium has been a country consisting primarily of two peoples: the French-speaking Walloons and the Dutch-speaking Flemings. Despite the fact that they are the minority in regards to total population, the Walloons have dominated and ruled the Belgian government since the very beginning, which has prevented prosperity for the Flemings. The Flemish volunteers sided with the Germans in World War II in hopes that the blessings of the victor would gain them independence within their native country. The Flemish youth rallied behind the calls of their mothers and fathers - many of whom had fought against the Germans in the First World war for a free Flanders. The church called on these young men to put an end to the possibility of a "Red" invasion of Europe. They were heroes in the eyes of many. Under the leadership of the Germans, the Flemings got to know the harsh and brutal realities of combat on the Eastern Front. It was there that many young men perished. The war went on for three long years. After the war, they were vanquished and returned home to their native Flanders as criminals. Some were executed, most were sent to prison. This is their story.

This new book is the third of a multi-volume series covering the complete history of Germany's legendary World War II jet fighter, the Messerschmitt Me 262. Featured here are the Me 262 "A" series types from the A-1a jabo through the A-5 and including bomber, recon, night-fighter and other variants. Forthcoming volumes in the series will cover additional production types and unusual design versions.

This revised, expanded edition chronicles the development and career of the world's predominant military airlifter, from its origins in the depths of the Cold War through the present day. It includes new information and pictures on current variants, along with updated appendices with present day units and active aircraft. Over 190 photographs show the "Herk" in a variety of roles and paint schemes: coverage includes gunships, electronic warfare and reconnaissance models, testbed and special use aircraft, and Navy models. Close-up detail photos of several variants will be of interest to scale modellers.

A detailed study of United States Air Force, Army, Army Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps aircrew survival equipment. Items covered are: survival vests, leggings, and chaps, life preservers, survival (ejection) seat and back pad kits, personal survival kits and first aid kits, etc. Tag and label information is provided for each item.

The Panavia Tornado was designed as a multi-role combat aircraft to meet the needs of Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. Since the prototype flew in 1974, nearly 1000 Tornados have been produced in a number of variants serving as a fighter-bomber, a fighter and in the reconnaissance and electronic suppression roles. Deployed operationally in numerous theatres throughout the world, the Tornado has proved to be exceptionally capable and flexible. From its early Cold War roles it adapted to the rigours of expeditionary warfare from The Gulf to Kosovo to Afghanistan. The early "dumb" bombs were replaced by laser-guided weapons and cruise missiles and in the air-to-air arena fitted with the AMRAAM and ASRAAM missiles.In this book David Gledhill explores the range of capabilities and, having flown the Tornado F2 and F3 Air Defence Variant, offers an insight into life in the cockpit of the Tornado. Lavishly illustrated, Darren Willmin's superb photographs capture the essence of the machine both from the ground and in the air.This unique collection including some of David Gledhill's own air-to-air pictures of the Tornado F2 and F3 will appeal to everyone with an interest in this iconic aircraft.

This is true story of the second raid on Schweinfurt, Germany by the Eighth Air Force 1st and 3rd Bombardment Divisions on 14 October 1943. On this day, the Eighth Air Force lost air superiority to the German Luftwaffe in a continuous air battle that lasted over three hours. Many refer to it as the greatest one-day air battle of World War II. Wrong Place, Wrong Time is a study of the 1st Bombardment Division and specifically the 305th Bomb Group on that fateful day. Record numbers of German fighters swarmed over the unescorted B-17s and their crews. Compelling new evidence never before published indicates that mistakes and poor leadership by several air commanders within the 1st Division caused unnecessary losses for a number of bombers and their crews. This, together with major new revelations by crew members of the 305th who flew the mission, shed light on why the 1st Division lost 45 out of 60 B-17s that day. Information for this book comes from the National Archives, the US Air Force Historical Research Center, overseas sources, and 53 surviving 305th crew members who flew this mission.\nGeorge C. Kuhl was a pilot in the 305th Bomb Group during World War II. He lives in Augusta, Georgia.

A fully illustrated history of how the US Navy destroyed Truk, the greatest Japanese naval and air base in the Pacific, with Operation Hailstone, and how B-29 units and the carriers of the British Pacific Fleet kept the base suppressed until VJ-Day. In early 1944, the island base of Truk was a Japanese Pearl Harbor; a powerful naval and air base that needed to be neutralized before the Allies could fight their way any further towards Tokyo. But Truk was also the most heavily defended naval base outside the Japanese Home Islands and an Allied invasion would be costly. Long-range bombing against Truk intact would be a massacre so a plan was conceived to neutralize it through a series of massive naval raids led by the growing US carrier fleet. Operation Hailstone was one of the most famous operations ever undertaken by American carriers in the Pacific. This book examines the rise and fall of Truk as a Japanese bastion and explains how in two huge raids, American carrier-based aircraft reduced it to irrelevance. Also covered is the little-known story of how the USAAF used the ravaged base as a live-fire training ground for its new B-29s -- whose bombing raids ensured Truk could not be reactivated by the Japanese. The pressure on Truk was kept up right through 1945 when it was also used as a target for the 509th Composite Squadron to practise dropping atomic bombs and by the British Pacific Fleet to hone its pilots' combat skills prior to the invasion of Japan.

The Lightning Warfare that changed history foreverIf Hitler had failed in his invasion of Western Europe in 1940 he could well have been assassinated by a group of his senior officers. But he decisively defeated the combined efforts of the British, French, Dutch and Belgian armies in a matter of days. The technique employed was known as Blitzkrieg or Lightning War. Nothing would be the same again. Although strands were clearly apparent by 1918, it was perfected through the interwar years before being deployed with terrifying effect by the Nazis at the outbreak of the Second World War. Eventually, other combatants would employ similar methods and the tide would turn. As well as discussing the developing nature of tactics, fighting vehicles and aircraft from 1918 onwards, the author examines the potent workings of Blitzkrieg in-depth, describing not only its obvious triumphs but also its fatal flaws. This is explosive military history from bestseller Bryan Perrett, perfect for readers of Antony Beevor or Damien Lewis.

This book explores the development of tactical air power in Britain between 1940 and 1943 through a study of the Royal Air Force's Army Co-operation Command. It charts the work done by the Command during its existence, and highlights the arguments between the RAF and Army on this contentious issue in Britain. Much is known about the RAF both in the years preceding and during the Second World War, particularly the exploits of Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands, yet the existence of the RAF's Army Co-operation Command is little-known. Through extensive archival research, Matthew Powell maps the creation and work of the RAF's Army Co-operation Command through an analysis of tactical air power developments during the First World War and inter-war periods, highlighting the debates and arguments that took place between the Air Ministry and the War Office.

Famously pictured in the opening credits of the popular television series M.A.S.H., Bell's Model 47 helicopter was the first helicopter certified for civilian use in March 1946 and went on to serve a wide variety of military and civilian applications. With its signature bubble canopy, the Model 47, and particularly its H-13 Sioux military variant, served in both Korea and Vietnam. It became a stalwart in civilian aviation with a variety of uses: agricultural aerial sprayer, aerial firefighting, police work, aerial oil exploration, medevac, news coverage, and mail service. More than 5,600 Model 47s were built, many under license in Japan, Italy, and the United Kingdom. The type retains its popularity in the civilian market to this day.

Colonel Wells investigates the nature of aerial warfare and the men who took part. The book analyzes aircrew selection, reaction to combat, adaptability to stress, morale, leadership and combat effectiveness. First-hand reflections of combat flyers, published materials, reports and official documents are used to compare the efforts of the US Eighth Air Force and RAF Bomber Command.

In over 270 color photographs, this book is a tour through modern aircraft paint schemes and markings, with its sharks teeth, heavy metal magic, and racy ladies. The reader will journey to: a European Tiger Meet where tiger and jungle cat paint schemes are the rule and not the exception - A-10 Thunderbolts and F-4 Phantom IIs - a stroll into Operation Desert Storm, and a first hand look at the Tornados, Victors, and C-130s which were participants - for perhaps the first time, a close-up look into the weapons bays of the now infamous F-117 Stealth fighter and the hidden humor of weapons bay art - a look at the colorful metaphors painted on the weapons to be delivered to Saddam Hussein - rare F-105 Thunderchief bomb bay door art, and the clever names on the intakes and panels of just about any active duty aircraft of the last twenty years. \nJohn and Donna Campbell are the authors of Talisman - A Collection of Nose Art, from Schiffer Military/ Aviation History.

The Fiat CR 42 designed by Ing. Celestino Rosatelli, has the undoubted characteristic of being the last single-seat fighter biplane to be manufactured during the Second World War. It represents the final evolution of the aircrafts serie since Fiat CR 30 - 32 - 33 - 40 - 41, made during the 1935-1938 years in Turin. The prototype flew the first time on 23 May 1938 and about 1800 Fiat CR 42 were produced, divided into 15 construction SERIE. There were no productive variants but only small changes along the SERIE due to various operational uses. Despite he was technically overtaken and outclassed by the opposing aircrafts, he honored his duties thanks to the skill and sacrifices of the Regia Aeronautica pilots who used it in almost all fronts war. He was also successfully exported and used in Belgium (Aeronautique Militaire Belge), Hungary (Magyar Kiraly Hoved Legiero), Germany (Luftwaffe) and Sweden (Flygvapnet). Surviving aircraft were deployed in the post-war era by the Scuola Caccia Aeronautica Militare Italiana Lecce-Galatina airfield and for secondary services in Milano-Linate airfield during the 1950s, both single-seater and two-seater version.

Volume II covers Japanese prototypes and the later Me 263.

Since the end of World War 2, the tactical air war over Europe has been largely overlooked by historians and authors alike in favour of analysis of the higher profile strategic bombing campaign. Involving just as many aircraft as the daylight heavy bombing campaign, the fighter-bombers (principally of the Ninth Air Force) wreaked considerably more havoc on German ground forces. Indeed, Thunderbolt units undertaking such missions effectively complemented the strategic campaign, ensuring the defeat of Nazi Germany. P-47 pilots paid a high price to achieve this victory, however, as the German flak arm was well equipped (nearly a quarter of all war-related production was devoted to anti-aircraft weaponry) with weapons of various calibres to counter tactical air power's low to medium altitude threat. The USAAF four numbered air forces that saw action over the European continent suffered significant fighter-bomber losses to flak. The principle fighter-bomber from the summer of 1944 through to VE Day was the P-47D, with both dedicated ground attack units and squadrons that had completed their bomber escort tasking seeking out targets of opportunity across occupied Western Europe. While heavy-calibre anti-aircraft fire was intended to both shoot down enemy aircraft and force bombers to drop their ordnance sooner or from higher altitudes, thus reducing bombing accuracy, low-altitude flak batteries put up a virtual 'wall of steel' for enemy fighter-bombers to fly through. Damaging a low-flying fighter-bomber made it easier for other flak gunners to track, engage and destroy it. Innovations like lead-computing gunsights gave gunners a higher probability of intercepting low-altitude fighters. Conversely, the appearance of air-to-ground rockets beneath the wings of P-47s gave pilots better standoff range and a harder-hitting punch when dealing with low and medium altitude flak units. This volume analyses the tactics and techniques used by both P-47 fighter-bomber pilots and German flak gunners, featuring full-colour illustrations to examine the Allied tactical air power in Europe from 1943 and how German defences were overpowered by the air threat.

GROUP CAPTAIN JOHNNY KENT joined the RAF in the 1930s and went on to become a flight commander of one of the most successful fighter squadrons of the Second World War. In this role, he helped the famous 303 Polish Squadron play a decisive part in the Battle of Britain, which earned him the highest Polish military award, the Virtuti Militari, as well as the affectionate nickname 'Kentowski'. Group Captain Kent's fascinating memoirs, originally published in 1971, tell the story of his life in the RAF, from his struggles as a boy on the Canadian Prairies to get into the air, detailing his experiences as a test pilot in Farnborough and his constant efforts to excel at what he did. Alongside the classic tale of derring-do, Kent's daughter provides supplementary material that places his extraordinary story into the broader context of his life as a son, husband and father. Poignant questions are raised about what it meant to be 'One of the Few' - for both the men themselves and those to whom they were closest.

Throughout the first year of the war in the Pacific during World War II the USAAF was relatively ineffective against ships. Indeed, warships in particular proved to be too elusive for conventional medium-level bombing. High-level attacks wasted bombs, and torpedo attacks required extensive training. But as 1942 closed, the Fifth Air Force developed new weapons and new tactics that were not just effective, they were deadly. A maintenance officer assigned to a B-25 unit found a way to fill the bombardier's position with four 0.50-cal machine guns and strap an additional four 0.50s to the sides of the bomber, firing forward. Additionally, skip-bombing was developed. This called for mast-top height approaches flying the length of the target ship. If the bombs missed the target, they exploded in the water close enough to crush the sides. The technique worked perfectly when paired with "strafe" B-25s. Over the first two months of 1943, squadrons perfected these tactics. Then, in early March, Japan tried to reinforce their garrison in Lae, New Guinea, with a 16-ship convoy - eight transports guarded by eight destroyers. The Fifth Air Force pounced on the convoy in the Bismarck Sea. By March 5 all eight transports and four destroyers had been sunk This volume examines the mechanics of skip-bombing combined with a strafing B-25, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the combatants (B-25 versus destroyer), and revealing the results of the attacks and the reasons why these USAAF tactics were so successful.

The IN COMBAT series is aimed for those who would like to quickly learn about fascinating history of specific vehicle, plane or ship. Every tome consist of most important information about history, versions and service of one combat machine. Book has tens of pages in A4 format and consists of dozens of interesting photos, colour illustrations, technical drawings and maps. In every tome there is a free gift in form of masks or decals for modellers. Minimonographs IN COMBAT are the answer to many requests from our readers who asked us to make such series. Yakovlev Yak-3 is considered one of the best World War 2 fighters, invariably praised by those who flew it in combat for its remarkable performance. The Germans also treated it with respect, which is perhaps best illustrated by Generalleutnant Walter Schwabedissen's remark: The Yak-3 was a tough nut to crack for our pilots. It outperformed our machines in speed, maneuverability and rate of climb.

In the bestselling BAND OF BROTHERS, Stephen E. Ambrose portrayed in vivid detail the experiences of soldiers who fought on the bloody battlegrounds of World War II. THE WILD BLUE brings to life another extraordinary band of brothers - the men who volunteered to join the American Air Force and undertook some of the most demanding and dangerous jobs in the war. Focusing on the men of the 741st Bomb Squadron and, in particular, the crew of the DAKOTA QUEEN, these are the boys turned pilots, bombardiers, navigators and gunners of the B24s, who suffered 50 per cent casualties during conflict. With his extraordinary talent for bringing alive the action and tension of combat, Ambrose sweeps us along in the B24s as their crews fought to the death to reach their targets and destroy the German war machine.

This book is a pictorial history of the F-111, the greatest jet fighter-bomber ever built, and includes 740 color photos covering all models from the F-111A through the F-111K. In addition to a "Roll Call" including histories of each individual aircraft, photos of over 90% of the aircraft are included. Nose art of the FB-111A is covered with 48 photos. Book chapters include; Program History, Aircraft System Description, USAF Tactical F-111s, Strategic FB-111s, U.S. Navy F-111Bs, Royal Australian Air Force F- 111s, British Royal Air Force F-111Ks, F-111 Combat Operations, and NASA F-111s. One Hundred and twenty Unit and Campaign patches are included, along with appendices on External Differences, Avionics Systems, F-111 Specifications, a Unit and Tail Code Summary, Attrited Aircraft, and a list of the 113 Aircrew members who died flying the F-111.

In 1938, the Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal, acting under the requirements issued by the Kaigun Koku Hombu for a Navy Experimental 13-Shi Carrier Borne specification for a dive-bomber to replace the venerable 'Val' aboard carriers. The resulting D4Y Suisei ('Comet'), codenamed 'Judy' by the Allies, was initially powered by a licence-built German Daimler-Benz DB 601 inline engine as used in the Bf 109E. Despite making an inauspicious combat debut during the Battle of Midway in June 1942, the 'Judy' eventually proved to be an important asset for the IJNAF during battles in the latter years of the Pacific War. Its great successes resulted in the sinking of the escort carrier USS Princeton in an early kamikaze attack of the Philippines and the near sinking of the fleet carrier USS Franklin in a dive-bombing attack off Japan. While the Judy had an impressive top-speed, like its predecessor, and many other Japanese military aircraft, it possessed design shortcomings including inadequate armour protection for its aircrew and no self-sealing fuel tanks. As a result, when pitted against new, advanced US Navy fighters suffered horrendous losses. During the final months of World War 2 it became apparent that there would be no Japanese victory. Acting out of desperation, the IJNAF employed the 'Judy' in the dreaded kamikaze role, in which it excelled due to its high-speed characteristics. Most notably, the D4Y mounted one of the last combat actions of World War 2 when a flight of 11 Judies, personally led by the instigator of the suicide attacks, Vice Admiral Matome Ugaki, took off on a 'search mission' on August 15, 1945. This volume chronicles the action-packed wartime exploits of Japan's finest dive-bomber of World War 2.