"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.

The true story documenting the short range history of the bomber force. Told in three parts, it demonstrates the versatility of the military pilot and observer and is a credit to the training they receive, coupled with the experience each one of them acquired.

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.

Feb 22, 1944-July 21, 1944

The daring, low-level mission to the oil refineries of Ploesti has long been considered one of the most significant missions of World War II. The Allies were determined to annihilate the very source of the fuel which fed the German war machine.

In Desert Fire: The Untold Story of the Air Mission That Cut Off Hitler's Oil, John Blundell, distinguished veteran of the 98th Bomb Group, provides not only an insider's point of view on the critical mission in Europe and North Africa but also compelling photos of the heroes and hardships faced by America's Force of Freedom,"" the 98th Bomb Group. Alma Joyce Hahn of the Benton Courier describes the book as ""an adventure story you will laugh, you will wipe a tear away; you will be inspired.""""

The history of seven unique American combat "aces" of World War II and Korea.

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.

Written by award-winning Canadian radio-journalist Ray E. Zink, this is the true story of Joe Maloney, a B-24 tail gunner during WWII. After training, Joe was attached to the 15th Air Force, 415th Squadron based in southern Italy. Joe partakes in countless missions until one fateful day in 1944 during a bombing run to Steyr, Autstria. Riddled with flak and bullets, Maggie's Drawers, his B-24, receives a fatal hit. Her crew was forced to bail out over Yugoslavia. The story unfolds as Joe's crewmates are reunited on the ground, and are led by Allied Partisans to the free-zone. This is a gripping story of American boys trapped behind enemy lines, and a heroic group of locals who risked their lives to save them.

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.

The 348th Fighter Group was the most successful P-47 Thunderbolt unit in the Pacific. Medal of Honor recipient Colonel Neel Kearby took an aircraft that was generally despised in the southwest Pacific and made it into the terror of the skies over such formidable targets as Wewak on New Guinea, and Cape Gloucester on New Britain. Besides the redoubtable Kearby, the 348th aces included William "Dinghy" Dunham, Bob Rowland, Bill Banks, John Moore, Sam Blair, and George Davis, the Texas ace who would later receive the Medal of Honor in Korea. Ending the war in P-51 Mustangs, the 348th ranged over the Japanese homeland - completing their impressive record and honor, and the drive begun by the illustrious Kearby. John Stanaway is also the author of Attack and Conquer: The 8th Fighter Group in World War II: Possum, Clover & Hades: The 475th Fighter Group in World War II; The Operational Story of Lockheed\s Lucky Star (all three titles are available from Schiffer Publishing Ltd.).

The ancient Norwich firm of Boulton & Paul were brought into aircraft construction in 1915, and quickly became one of the great innovators. They pioneered metal construction and built the frame of the largest aircraft ever built in Britain, the R.101 airship. The Overstrand, the last of their superlative medium bombers, was the first aircraft in the world to feature a power-operated gun turret, and after their move to Wolverhampton in 1936 and change of name to Boulton Paul Aircraft their gun turrets became a vital component of the war effort, not least in their own Defiant, which fought in the Battle of Britain and was the most successful night fighter in the dark nights of the Blitz. Their post-war Balliol trainer was the World's first single-engine turboprop and their last production aircraft, because the technology of their gun turrets was translated into their world lead as manufacturers of power operated control units, and then fly-by-wire. Becoming part of the Dowty Group and later GE Aviation, their advanced aerospace product line is now invested in the firm of Moog, still in Wolverhampton, still innovating.

This work examines the evolution of the RAF's operational requirements for its home defence air force - for bombers to mount a deterrent counter offensive and for fighters to provide direct defence of Britain. It discusses the management processes, policies and decisions relevant to operational requirements on the basis of a detailed study of Air Ministry papers of the time. By tracing the development of operational requirements, the author exposes the thinking behind the RAF's quest for effective fighter and bomber aircraft. He describes the ideas and concepts of air warfare that were adopted in the 1920s, and shows how these evolved into the Air Staff's requirements for the aircraft which the RAF entered and fought in World War II.

This volume deals with the development of Britain's air defences during the years leading up to the outbreak of World War II, and the development of the system during the early period of the war, leading up to the Battle of Britain. Originally classified as "secret," this report was written during the war as an internal Air Ministry history by Cecil James, a historian working for the Air Historical Branch.
The report describes the development of Fighter Command and the air defence network, often called the "Dowding System," and in doing so makes it clear how much of the groundwork for success was laid down in the 1920s by those working at a time when radar had yet to be developed. It was indeed the integration of technological advances such as radar and reasonably efficient radio telephones that allowed the defences to keep pace with the ever-increasing speed and sophistication of bomber aircraft. The result was the world's first truly integrated air defence network, designed to give its commanders botha picture of the enemy's air attacks as they developed and a sophisticated command system to assign and control the defending forces sent up to meet the enemy in the air.

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 study explains how Westland dominated British helicopter production and why government funding and support failed to generate competitive "all-British" alternatives. In doing so, the book evaluates broader historiographic assumptions about the purported "failure" of british aircraft procurement during the early post-war period and considers the scope and limitations of licensed production as a government-mandated procurement strategy.

This study considers the complex interplay of factors that shaped and formed the selection, retention, abandonment, and development of the system of flying fields and air bases for the U.S. Army Air Corps and its predecessor organizations over the three decades preceding WWII--a period that has been only cursorily examined from the point of view of ground facilities. No previous works have focused on the question of why air bases are located where they are. Author Jerold E. Brown has consulted an abundance of source materials to create the comprehensive eight-chapter volume: printed hearings, documents, and reports generated by Congress; maps, blueprints, staff studies, the correspondence of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer, and several hundred volumes of the Constructing Quartermaster Completion Reports in the National Archives; and unit histories and typescript field histories. Hundreds of articles on the construction and operation of airfields, many written by serving officers, as well as technical manuals, and correspondence of the Office of the Chief of Air Service and Chief of the Air Corps were only part of the data surveyed in preparing the fact-filled text. Eight period photos of airfields from Alaska to Texas, six maps, seven figures, and eight tables complement such chapters as Plans, Parade Grounds, and Politics and Air Bases, Plans, and Preparations. This history of the development of early airfields should help to correct previously held views and assumptions on the subject based on a lack of in-depth research in this area and will be a real treasure trove of information for scholars of Military History.

The legendary World War II Luftwaffe fighter unit Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" is the subject of this new, large-format, illustrated volume. Tracing their history back to World War I fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen (the legendary "Red Baron"), JG 2 was at the forefront of aerial combat. Flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters during World War II, JG 2 produced many famous aces - among them Wilhelm Balthasar, Walter Oesau, Egon Mayer, Hans Hahn, Erich Rudorfer, and Helmut Wick. Using a day-to-day chronology, the book covers JG 2's combat history during the early campaigns in Poland and France, through the Battle of Britain, North Africa, and in the later defense of the Reich battles. A short chapter also covers their post-World War II transformation to JG 71 "Richtohofen" under the command of Erich Hartmann, when they flew the F-86, F-104 and F-4 Phantom.

Human Resource Management in the British Armed Forces continues to grow in importance. A great deal of emphasis has now been placed on people issues and these will grow in importance, particularly for the services, as the full effects of the Human Rights Act 1998 and implications of the Macpherson Report begin to hit home.

Though the C-135 was originally designed over forty years ago as an aerial refueling tanker, (749 of the 820 were built as tankers), more than 600 of all types of C-135s are still flying. Boeing's C-135 series has been the most successful military jet ever built. This book, Don Logan's sixth, tells the story of the Boeing C-135 series including: tankers, reconnaissance, airborne command post, weather, test, and special purpose models. All C-135 aircraft types, along with their operating units are covered. Tables and serial number lists are included listing all C-135 configurations by serial number. Re-engine programs and facts including serial numbers of the C-135s and the identity of the donor aircraft in the airline re-engine program (E-model types). Also included: a listing of all C-135 losses, including date and reason for loss; three views of C-135 major configurations; selected aircraft nose art; and all USAF, ARFES, and Air National Guard unit markings. Don Logan is also the author of Rockwell B-1B: SAC's Last Bomber, The 388th Tactical Fighter Wing; At Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base 1972, Northrop's T-38 Talon, Northrop's YF-17 Cobra, and Republic's A-10 Thunderbolt II. (all available from Schiffer Publishing Ltd.)

This is the second volume of the classified history of air defence in Great Britain. Written while World War II was still being fought, the account has an analysis of the defensive tactics of Fighter Command, and attempts a day-by-day analysis of the action as it took place.

The Russian Military Air Fleet in World War I two volume set is a prodigious scholarly endeavor, offering for the first time in the English language a close up view of Air Fleet operations and personnel. Vol.1 is a chronology of the development of aeronautics and aviation in Russia beginning in the earliest days and the eventual emergence of the Air Fleet, which is carried through to its dissolution by the Bolsheviks and the beginning of the Red Air Fleet in March 1918. There are also chapters on manufacturers, airmen badges, aviation uniforms, flight helmets, markings, flags and pennants, organizational charts, maps of the Russian and Romanian Fronts, and bibliography.

This book gives descriptions and a photographic account of the ground radar systems of the Luftwaffe used during WWII.