Glory Days is the untold story of an airplane and its brave flyers who valiantly served our nation in time of war. The two EB-66 equipped combat squadrons flying from bases in Thailand against North Vietnam earned the Presidential Unit Citation for valor in combat, numerous Outstanding Unit Awards with V-device, and equivalent U.S. Navy citations. EB-66 flyers earned Silver Stars and Distinguished Flying Crosses for heroism, Air Medals galore, and too many Purple Hearts - attesting to their courage and sacrifice. This then is their gripping story - untold for far too long.

Originally intended as a trainer, the Anglo-French Sepecat jet, equipped with the very latest in weapon-aiming and navigational equipment, eventually became the backbone of the RAFs tactical strike-attack and recce forces for a decade from the mid-1970s. In these pages, the Jaguar Boys pilots, engineer and ground crew tell of the aircrafts drawbacks and joys, their sadness at losses, and their pleasure at its development into a readily-deployable and outstandingly-capable fighter-bomber for the post-Cold War era. Then came the Gulf War which signalled the start of a hectic sequence of operational adventures and upgrades for the Boys and seasoned veterans tell of action over Iraq and in the Balkans. One of the best-loved of RAF types, the Jaguar commanded a fierce loyalty and affection which shines through in these accounts of an aircraft that will live forever in the memory.

At the height of the Cold War, a new Soviet threat triggers a daring heist, and the stakes couldn't be higher'A defining novel of the genre and a lost classic' James SwallowBritish and American intelligence services have just learned of the Soviet Union's latest aircraft: the MiG-31. Codenamed "Firefox", the plane is a marvel of engineering - stealthy, hypersonic, with a thought-guided weapons system - outclassing anything flown by the West. Faced with Soviet air domination, MI6 and the CIA launch a daring mission to steal a Firefox prototype. Veteran US Air Force pilot Mitchell Gant, is sent to the Soviet Union under an assumed identity. He seems the perfect man for the job. But, deep within the icy heart of Soviet power, the stakes are overwhelming: fail this mission, and lose the war... Blending Cold War espionage suspense with high-altitude aerial action, Firefox is the original and greatest techno-thriller, from million-copy bestselling author Craig Thomas. Perfect for fans of Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum. Praise for Firefox 'Firefox is as tense and exciting as they come' TLS 'Writes far better than Ludlum' Washington Post

Air power for warfighting is a story that's been told many times. Air power for peacekeeping and UN enforcement is a story that desperately needs to be told. For the first-time, this volume covers the fascinating range of aerial peace functions. In rich detail it describes: aircraft transporting vital supplies to UN peacekeepers and massive amounts of humanitarian aid to war-affected populations; aircraft serving as the 'eyes in sky' to keep watch for the world organization; and combat aircraft enforcing the peace. Rich poignant case studies illuminate the past and present use of UN air power, pointing the way for the future. This book impressively fills the large gap in the current literature on peace operations, on the United Nations and on air power generally.

The Douglas Devastator was the US Navy's first all-metal combat aircraft, the Navy's first airplane with a fully enclosed cockpit, the first aircraft to have hydraulically folding wings, and the first US Navy torpedo bomber to see combat. Although facing staggering losses in the early stages of the war in the Pacific, the brave men flying the Devastator from the decks of such famed ships as Enterprise, Hornet, Yorktown, and Lexington held the line against the enemy. Through carefully researched photos, many of which have never before been published and which are reproduced in remarkable clarity, the history and details of this iconic aircraft are revealed. This clarity, and the large size of many of the photos, coupled with descriptive and informative captions, puts the reader in the skies with this historic aircraft.

The 'Air Branch' of the Royal Navy that was to carve its name into maritime history as the Fleet Air Arm faced an 'orphan' existence up to 1937 when the Admiralty, having handed over control in 1918 to the RAF, resumed charge of its aviators. The Force was poorly equipped and dangerously short of qualified personnel with which to effectively challenge its Axis adversaries, and suffered accordingly in the initial stages of World War II. The provision of superior carrier aircraft designs (primarily from the U.S. Grumman and Chance-Vought companies), and a similar whole-sale expansion in Fleet and Escort carriers (most of the latter supplied from American shipyards), as well as the personnel with which to operate the warships and aircraft ensured that by 1943 the Fleet Air Arm was an all-round, efficient Force capable of independent combat operations in all the major War Zones right up to VJ-Day.

In the early hours of 26th June 1942, six airmen from 102 Squadron return from Bremen in their Halifax, Q for Queenie, having taken part in the third Thousand Bomber Raid. These airmen formed a truly international crew, each one having an interesting back story that had led to their being together, including Len Starbuck, the Wireless Operator and Air Gunner on his 26th operation who is close to the end of his tour. As operations continue, events on the squadron are recounted such as the inevitable toll of losses. German defences develop from uncoordinated concentrations around major towns and cities into a coherent barrier known as the Kammhuber Line. More new crewmen arrive on the squadron as the year progresses and with the arrival of winter, the ageing Whitley is phased out, replaced by the Halifax. As the squadron became familiar with the Halifax, they exchanged six of their new aircraft for six from 35 Squadron who were about to mount an attack on the Tirpitz in a fjord near Drontheim. These aircraft were equipped with the revolutionary new navigational aid known as GEE, which was of no use to crews flying to Norway, but suddenly gave 102 Squadron an accurate blind-bombing capability they had not previously enjoyed. On 25 May 1942, American air gunner Jack Fernie arrived on the squadron. Five days later he was on his first operation, caught up in the demand for maximum effort to support the first of Arthur Harris' Thousand Bomber Raids to Cologne who believed that Bomber Command could win the war from the air. Two days later, 102 Squadron again provided maximum effort for another massed attack on Essen, followed three weeks later by the third and final Thousand Bomber Raid to Bremen. Beginning the journey home at the tail end of the bomber stream, a night fighter was guided to an intercept position by a ground-based radar station that resulted in a fight to the death. This is an incisive look at the RAF's bombing campaign during 1941-42 through the prism of a multinational crew which faced mounting risks from an increasingly organised and integrated German air defence capability.

This book provides a detailed general overview of the human factors and performance limitations associated with flying fast jets, integrating all the latest available research literature on the demanding operational tasks faced by such pilots and aircrews. As such, it has a strong military focus, dealing with pilots of fighter aircraft, attack aircraft and lead-in fighter trainer aircraft that are traditionally only single or dual pilot operations. The book deals not only with the issue of G force, but discusses ejection and escape/survival, disorientation, high altitude physiology, pilot training and selection, helmet-mounted equipment, situational awareness, data fusion and multi-sensor integration, human machine interface issues and advanced cockpit design. It examines the human performance issues associated with the technological advances made in fast jets, such as increased manoeuvrability, increased use of the pilot's head as a mounting platform for sensor and weapons systems, and the complexities involved in the human-machine interface within these aircraft.

By the beginning of 1941 there was a fully fledged Polish Air Force operating alongside the RAF. With 14 Squadrons it was larger than any other of the Air Force from Nazi-occupied Europe that had joined the Allies. Over 17,000 men and women passed through the ranks of the Polish Air Force while it was stationed in the UK. They shot down 745 enemy aircraft, with a further 175 unconfirmed. They dropped thousands of bombs and laid hundreds of mines, flying 102,486 sorties notching up a total of 290,895 operation flying hours. They achieved this at a cost of 1,973 killed and 1,388 wounded. They won 342 British gallantry awards.

Lockheed's SR-71 Blackbird is one of the most iconic and famous jets ever built. Assembled in secret at Lockheed's Skunkworks, the Blackbird's vital statistics remain phenomenal decades later. It holds the airspeed record for a manned jet aircraft, operated at an altitude other aircraft could barely touch and was a marvel of technical engineering. Drawing on declassified material, leading SR-71 expert Paul Crickmore reveals the history of the most fascinating of aircraft, accompanied by a range of fantastic illustrations, photographs and facts about the world's most secret spy plane.

Sherwood recounts the story of American Air Force pilots in the Korean War and the development of a lasting fighter-pilot culture The United States Air Force fought as a truly independent service for the first time during the Korean War. Ruling the skies in many celebrated aerial battles, even against the advanced Soviet MiG-15, American fighter pilots reigned supreme. Yet they also destroyed virtually every major town and city in North Korea, demolished its entire crop irrigation system and killed close to one million civilians. The self-confidence and willingness to take risks which defined the lives of these men became a trademark of the fighter pilot culture, what author John Darrell Sherwood here refers to as the flight suit attitude. In Officers in Flight Suits, John Darrell Sherwood takes a closer look at the flight suit officer's life by drawing on memoirs, diaries, letters, novels, unit records, and personal papers as well as interviews with over fifty veterans who served in the Air Force in Korea. Tracing their lives from their training to the flight suit culture they developed, the author demonstrates how their unique lifestyle affected their performance in battle and their attitudes toward others, particularly women, in their off-duty activities.

One of the most dramatic bombers of its day, the Convair B-58 came to epitomise the Cold War power of Strategic Air Command. Introduced only 12 years after the sound barrier was first broken, this iconic plane became the first large long-range supersonic bomber to take to the skies, a feat which had seemed far-fetched only a few years previously. Outstripping its contemporaries in terms of speed, and agile enough to escape most interceptors, the B-58 was a remarkable feat of engineering, setting 19 world speed records and collecting a host of trophies. The first operational bomber capable of Mach 2 at 63,000 feet, it was able to evade hostile fighters and represented a serious threat to targets across the Soviet Bloc. Supported by contemporary first-hand accounts, photography, and full-colour illustrations, this study explores the history of this ground-breaking aircraft from its conception to its little-known testing for use in the Vietnam War.

During the course of aviation history, there have been very few aircraft that have achieved immediate success when entering front-line service. The arrival of the de Havilland Mosquito brought with it a degree of instant success that set it apart from a host of other aircraft. It was not designed to an RAF requirement, but was the result of an initiative of the designers and builders to utilize the skills of woodworkers and the relative abundance of wood in the crisis years of World War II. The result was an aircraft that could be built quickly, was extremely fast and immensely versatile. Pilots loved it and the opportunities opened up to them as a result of the capabilities of this new and exciting aircraft. Here, Graham Simons describes in detail how the de Havilland Mosquito was built, utilizing many rare photographs from the design studio and production lines. It illustrates and explains the many different roles that the aircraft took as the war progressed. Fighter, bomber, reconnaissance, night fighter - there were few tasks that this brilliant design could not adopt.

To Serve My Country, to Serve my Race is the story of the historic 6888th, the first United States Women's Army Corps unit composed of African-American women to serve overseas. While African-American men and white women were invited, if belatedly, to serve their country abroad, African-American women were excluded for overseas duty throughout most of WWII. Under political pressure from legislators like Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., the NAACP, the black press, and even President Roosevelt, the U.S. War Department was forced to deploy African-American women to the European theater in 1945. African-American women, having succeeded, through their own activism and political ties, in their quest to shape their own lives, answered the call from all over the country, from every socioeconomic stratum.Stationed in France and England at the end of World War II, the 6888th brought together women like Mary Daniel Williams, a cook in the 6888th who signed up for the Army to escape the slums of Cleveland and to improve her ninth-grade education, and Margaret Barnes Jones, a public relations officer of the 6888th, who grew up in a comfortable household with a politically active mother who encouraged her to challenge the system. Despite the social, political, and economic restrictions imposed upon these African-American women in their own country, they were eager to serve, not only out of patriotism but out of a desire to uplift their race and dispell bigoted preconceptions about their abilities. Elaine Bennett, a First Sergeant in the 6888th, joined because I wanted to prove to myself and maybe to the world that we would give what we had back to the United States as a confirmation that we were full- fledged citizens. Filled with compelling personal testimony based on extensive interviews, To Serve My Country is the first book to document the lives of these courageous pioneers.It reveals how their Army experience affected them for the rest of their lives and how they, in turn, transformed the U.S. military forever.

The F/A-18 Hornet is a single- and two-seat, twin engine, multi-mission fighter/attack aircraft that can operate from either aircraft carriers or land bases. The F/A-18 fills a variety of roles: air superiority, fighter escort, suppression of enemy air defenses, reconnaissance, forward air control, close and deep air support, and day and night strike missions. The F/A-18 Hornet replaced the F-4 Phantom II fighter and A-7 Corsair II light attack jet, and also replaced the A-6 Intruder as these aircraft were retired during the 1990s.

Developed to meet a Soviet Ministry of Defense requirement for a fast bomber that would counter the threat posed by NATO, the Tu-16 was a ground-breaking project. It was the first Soviet medium bomber to feature swept wings, and it was built around a pair of turbojets that were the world's most powerful jet engines at the time. First flown in 1952, the Tu-16 filled such roles as nuclear bomb delivery, missile strike, reconnaissance, and Electronic Counter Measures. It also served as the basis for the first Soviet jet airliner, the Tu-104. Nearly 1,500 were built for the Soviet Air Force and the Soviet Navy, and the Tu-16 showed remarkable longevity, the final examples being retired in 1993. The type saw quite a bit of combat-from the Six-Days War of 1967 to the Afghan War. The Tu-16 was also produced in China and remains in Chinese service to this day. All known versions are described, as is the Tu-16's operational career. The book features many hitherto unpublished photos.

Virgil Richardson blazed his own unique trail through the twentieth century: a co-founder of Harlem's American Negro Theater, 1930s radio personality, World War II pilot, and expatriate for most of his life. In Flight, this remarkable man tells his story in his own vivid words. Educated in Texas, Richardson set out for New York City in 1938 to build a career on the stage. Just when he was on the brink of success as an actor, World War II broke out and he was drafted into the army. After overcoming numerous obstacles, Richardson became a Tuskegee cadet in 1943, and later saw action flying over the battlefields of Europe. Upon returning to the racially divided U.S., he decided to move to Mexico, where he encountered a society quite different from the one he had left behind. Compellingly told and historically fascinating, this is the story of a determined individual unwilling to accept the limited options of Jim Crow America.

This volume focuses on the influence of America's Second World War aviation development and experience, subsequent aviation technological advances, and world events, in shaping American choices in military aircraft and associated weapons' development during the few years following the war. It shows how air warfare weapons from the last conflict were carried forward and altered, how new systems evolved from these, and how the choices fared in the next war-Korea. The period was one of remarkable progress in a short span of time via a great many aircraft and weapons programs, and associated technological progress. These systems were of immense importance influencing and growing the engineering, production, and operational capabilities to be exploited for the next generation of weapons that soon followed. Emphasized is the innovative features or new technology and how these contributed to advancing American military aviation, influencing the evolution of follow-on models or types. Included are military prototype, experimental, and research aircraft that are equally important in understanding the history of American aircraft development. Combat employment, progress, and equipment adaptation during the Korean Conflict is then highlighted. Tabulated characteristics are provided of those aircraft that entered production or represented significant technological advances influencing others that follow.

With vivid detail and many exclusive photographs, Wayne Mutza chronicles the Convair's F-102 Delta Dagger's unsteady course through history, from its inception to present-day survivors. Presented for the first time are the fascinating details surrounding the F-102 in the air defense role, special projects, its unconventional use during the war in Southeast Asia, service with foreign air arms, the Air National Guard and its extensive involvement with the drone program. Special features include a detailed listing of each aircraft's assignment history and many of the insignia associated with the F-102. Through in-depth research, the author has produced a most informative and interesting volume on a classic aircraft.

The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A, alongside with the Messerschmitt Bf 109, is the best-known German fighter from the Second World War. The Fw 190, however, had a much higher lifting capacity and was better armoured, and therefore it was used not only as a classic day fighter, but also as a fighter-bomber, assault aircraft, and also as a night fighter. The Fw 190 A had good performance at low and medium ceilings, on which the double wasp BMW 801 engine performed excellently. Fw 190 A entered the operational service in August 1941 and quickly turned out to be a superior machine to the British fighters of that time. The Spitfire Mk V, which was then used by the RAF, only surpassed it in terms of the turn radius. For almost a year, the British had to deal with this extremely difficult opponent, until the introduction of the Spitfire Mk IX, which finally equalized these disparities. The Fw 190 A, however, remained a dangerous fighter, and its appearance on the Eastern Front resulted in a rapid increase in the number of Jagdwaffe aces. Due to the rugged and resistant engine, the armour of the cockpit and strong weaponry it was a real terror for the crews of Russian bombers and assault aircrafts. The book presents color profiles of the most popular versions of the aircraft.

A fascinating study of the specialized vehicles, kit and techniques of the Long-Range Desert Group who pioneered long-range desert warfare in World War II and worked closely with the embryonic SAS. The Long Range Desert Group was one of the most famous special units of World War II, operating heavily modified vehicles deep behind enemy lines to gather intelligence and support the raids of David Stirling's new Special Air Service. When war broke out, a pre-war explorer and army officer, Ralph Bagnold, convinced Middle East Command of the need for a reconnaissance force to penetrate into Italian-held desert. Bagnold tested four types of vehicles over rocks and through soft sand to find the best one for his new unit. He selected the Chevrolet WB (30 CWT) as the signature vehicle of the Long Range Desert Group because it is 'fast, simple and easy to handle'. With left-hand steering, horizontal grill and round fenders on the rear wheels, these trucks proved themselves popular and effective. The durability of the Chevrolets was demonstrated in January 1941 with an audacious raid on the Italian fort/air strip at Murzuk, hundreds of miles behind enemy lines. This book explains the detail of all the vehicles of the LRDG, as well as their modifications, driving techniques and special kit for surviving behind enemy lines in one of the most hostile environments on earth.

At the A-7 Corsair II's peak in the mid-1980s, some 30 US Navy squadrons flew various versions of the aircraft, including six Naval Air Reserve units, and these many of these units saw action across the Middle East. By the time the jet saw combat in Operation Desert Storm (1991), there remained only two fleet squadrons - many fleet squadrons having either disestablished or transitioned to the F/A 18 Hornet - but both of these units (VA-46 and VA-72) played a major role in the campaign to free Kuwait. The book details the technological development and improvements that were introduced to the airframe post-Vietnam (the FLIR targeting pod from 1979 and AGM-88 HARM missile from 1983 being the most important), and how they shaped operational employment of the aircraft. The jet's combat experiences in conflicts during the 1970s (Cambodia), 1980s (Lebanon, Grenada, Libya and Iran), and 1990s (Iraq) are explained in detail, and Peter Mersky's expert analysis is supported by numerous first-hand accounts from naval aviators that saw action with the A-7 during these campaigns.

The Gothaer Waggonfabrik (GWF), originally a German rail vehicle manufacturer, entered the aircraft industry in 1913. The driving force behind this major change in production in this small Thuringian duchy in central Germany was a member of the British royal family. Gotha aircraft managed to make a name for themselves internationally. As with 'Fokker' regarding fighter aircraft, the name 'Gotha' is synonymous with German bomber aircraft of the Great War. Even successful seaplanes and the world's first asymmetric aircraft were a part of GWF's production at this time, and lasted until the post-war Treaty of Versailles forced the abandonment of aircraft production. Aircraft could not be built in Gotha again until 1933. GWF did get development contracts for the Luftwaffe, but they were essentially incidental side issues and not of the lucrative mass construction variety. In 1939 a world altitude record on the sports aircraft Gotha Go 150, provided GWF with a small though internationally significant highlight. During the war the GWF developed cargo gliders and, under licence, built the Messerschmitt Bf 110. In 1945 Gotha was supposed to undertake batch production of the flying wing jet fighter, Horten Ho 229, and even designed its more radical successor. In 1954 the aircraft construction finally ended and once again, the production consisted of gliders and one last proprietary design was created.