While America sought to remain neutral in the early years of World War II, some Americans did not. This book is the first to provide the operational records and combat reports of the three American "Eagle" Royal Air Force squadrons-units comprised of volunteer American pilots who served with British prior to the U.S. entering the war. The records tell the story of the more than 200 pilots who, against federal law, flew with the British in their fight against Nazi Germany. While some Americans served individually in RAF units, these three squadrons-the 71st, 121st and 133rd-were the only ones organized exclusively for Americans. They were the first of dozens of American fighter squadrons that would soar over Europe.

This book covers United States presidential aircraft including Boeing Clippers, DC-6s, C-54s, Constellations, 707s and 747s, as well as a variety of Air Force and Marine Corps support aircraft.

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.

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.

This classic photo volume on the North African campaign is a gripping study of one of the major campaigns of the Second World War. From the point-of-view of Luftwaffe pilots and crews the reader is shown the campaign from its outset - from the initial victories, to the final battles in Tunisia.\nEach arm of the Luftwaffe is presented - from the Stuka and "Zerstorer" units to the fighter units JG 27 and JG 53 "Pik As." The various Fallschirmjager (Paratrooper) units are also covered, as is the "Hermann Goring" Division which was totally destroyed in the final battles in Tunisia.\nThis volume includes many action and up-close photographs of all of the aircraft used by the Luftwaffe - from the Messerschmitt Bf 109\s and Junkers Ju 87\s, to the Messerschmitt Me 323 "Gigant" transport planes - and also covers the many personalities, includding Hans-Joachim Marseille whose 151 aerial victories over the desert are legendary. \nWerner Held is the author of many books on the Luftwaffe including German Fighter Units Over Russia, The Messerschmitt Bf 110 (with Holger Nauroth), and German Fighters in World War II - The Day Fighters & The Night Fighters (with Holger Nauroth), all from Schiffer Military History. Ernst Obermaier is the author with Karl Ries of Luftwaffe Rudder Markings 1936-1945, available from Schiffer Military History.

This book provides a pictorial overview of the progress of American military airplane design from approximately the end of World War I to the present time. It covers all types including attack, pursuit or fighter, cargo, trainer, and other models via a series of type sections. There are introductions to each section followed by photographic coverage along with extensive photo captioning providing highlights of characteristics and service use. Thus over three quarters of a century of Army and Air Force airplanes are displayed. Primary sections include production airplanes and variants, and a following photo gallery section covers experimental models. A few important export military types are also included. The illustrations and text portray in quite dramatic fashion the advances in U.S. military plane design over the period, including progress from stick and wire craft to the latest sleek turbine powered types.

Wings of Honor is a compilation of all United States pilots, observers, gunners and mechanics who flew against the enemy in World War I. Covered are Americans who flew with the French and British air services, U.S. Navy aviators, the 103rd Pursuit Squardron, the 1st Balloon Group, the 1st Pursuit Group, the 1st Corps Observation Group, American bomber units, the 2nd Pursuit Squardron, the 3rd Pursuit Group, and all other units in which Americans flew.\nJames J. Sloan is a founding member of the American Aviation Historical Society, as well as a charter member of the Society of World War I Aero Historians. He lives in Salinas, CA.

During the Second World War, the German Fallschirmjger (paratroopers) carried out many successful and daring operations, such as the capture of the Belgian fortress at Eben Emael in 1940 and the invasion of Crete in 1941. Hitler's Sky Warriors is a detailed examination of all the battles and campaigns of the Third Reich's airborne forces, illustrated throughout by many previously unpublished photographs. Hitler's Sky Warriors includes detailed accounts of all the ground campaigns of the parachute divisions, especially in Italy, where their epic defence of Monte Cassino entered military legend. As well as being a comprehensive account of Fallschirmjger battles and campaigns, Hitler's Sky Warriors includes information on the specialist weapons and equipment developed for Germany's airborne forces. These include the paratrooper helmet, the FG 42 automatic rifle, the so-called 'gravity knife', the different jump smocks, parachutes and harnesses, transport aircraft and gliders. Hitler's Sky Warriors also contains biographical details on all the main parachute commanders, such as Kurt Student, Bernhard Herman Ramcke and Richard Heidrich, and includes appendices that contain information about divisional orders of battle and Knight's Cross winners. In this way Hitler's Sky Warriors builds into an extensive and exciting account of one of the elite formations of military history.

This record of incredible developments in bomber technology spans over a century of innovation. The book is divided into three sections. The first section deals with the development of bombers and the major conflicts in which bombers have been used, such as the Blitz and Dambusters missions of World War II, and the Libya raids and Gulf Wars of modern times. The second section is a comprehensive A-Z of World War bombers, 1914-45, and the third section focuses on more recent jet bombers and the latest developments in warfare. The use of 'stealth' in bomber technology was also a particularly important development during the Cold War. Each aircraft in the book is listed alphabetically by manufacturer, and is accompanied by a specification box containing information about the country of origin, first flight, powers, armaments, size, weight and performance. This fully updated illustrated reference book, with its easily accessible information, is perfect for enthusiasts in the subject.

An illustrated exploration of the dramatic aerial combats between the US Navy's long-range bomber and Japanese flying boats in the Pacific War. Edward Young explores these rarely written about combats, examining the aggressive and strategic tactics deployed by both US Navy and Imperial Japanese Navy Air Force and analyzing the technical improvements installed throughout the war. The PB4Y-1/2 Liberator/Privateer was the US Navy's first four-engined, land-based bomber, adapted and allocated to fight the U-boat menace in the Atlantic and protect the vast reaches of the Pacific Ocean. The long range, speed, armament and bomb load of the PB4Y-1 enabled the US Navy's Pacific squadrons to adopt more aggressive tactics. The PB4Y-1, and its follow-on PB4Y-2, engaged in dangerous bombing missions against Japanese installations, shipping strikes, and air combat. On the other side, with its doctrine of making the first strike against an enemy fleet, the Imperial Japanese Navy recognized the vital importance of maritime reconnaissance, relying on carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft, ship-borne floatplanes and, for long-range maritime patrol, flying boats. The Japanese would continue to develop their aircraft throughout the war, resulting, among others, in the H6K 'Mavis' and the H8K2 'Emily', which despite never achieving a victory, was regarded by the Allied pilots as the most difficult Japanese aircraft to destroy. Enriched with specially commissioned artwork, including armament and cockpit views, battlescenes and technical diagrams, this title analyses technical specifications in detail. By including first-hand accounts, aviation expert Edward Young provides a detailed account of these one-sided yet dramatic and aggressive combats.

Wings Across the Pacific tells the epic struggle of the generation of pilots who made the dream of crossing the Pacific, a reality. The feats of Lindbergh and others who crossed the Atlantic have been more celebrated. But the Pacific was to flying what Everest was to mountain climbing: the biggest, most implacable, most irresistible challenge on earth. To fly the Pacific meant aiming for tiny islands amid seventy million square miles of ocean, and the slightest mechanical failure - or error of judgment - could mean a watery grave. Amelia Earhart is only one of many who vanished into the Pacific without a trace.

In August 1943, a highly classified US Army Air Force unit, code-named the 'Wright Project', departed Langley Field for Guadalcanal in the South Pacific to join the fight against the Empire of Japan. Operating independently, under sealed orders drafted at the highest levels of Army Air Force, the Wright Project was unique, both in terms of the war-fighting capabilities provided by classified systems the ten B-24 Liberators of this small group of airmen brought to the war, and in the success these 'crash-built' technologies allowed. The Wright airmen would fly only at night, usually as lone hunters of enemy ships. In so doing they would pave the way for the United States to enter and dominate a new dimension of war in the air for generations to come. This is their story, from humble beginnings at MIT's Radiation Lab and hunting U-boats off America's eastern shore, through to the campaigns of the war in the Pacific in their two-year march toward Tokyo. The Wright Project would prove itself to be a combat leader many times over and an outstanding technology innovator, evolving to become the 868th Bomb Squadron. Along the way the unit would be embraced by unique personalities and the dynamic leadership, from Army Air Force General Hap Arnold through combat commanders who flew the missions. In this account, the reader will meet radar warfare pioneers and squadron leaders who were never satisfied that they had pushed the men, the aircraft, and the technologies to the full limit of their possibilities. Comprehensive and highly personal, this story can now be revealed for the very first time, based on official sources, and interviews with the young men who flew into the night.

This facsimile reprint covers the variety of flying clothing and equipment manufactured by Spalding during the 1920s and 1930s, including flying suits, leather jackets, helmets, face masks, oxygen helmets, gloves and gauntlets, womens flying suits, jackets and coats, leather coats, waders, boots, goggles, and parachutes.

The first English-language book to examine the crucial part air power played in the Soviet-Afghan War. The Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan was fought as much in the air as on the ground. From the high-level bombing raids that blasted rebel-held mountain valleys, to the Mi-24 helicopter gunships and Su-25 jets that accompanied every substantial army operation, Soviet control of the air was a crucial battlefield asset. Vital to every aspect of its operations, Mi-8 helicopters ferried supplies to remote mountain-top observation points and took the bodies of fallen soldiers on their last journey home in An12 'Black Tulips'. But this was not a wholly one-sided conflict. Even before the Afghan rebels began to acquire man-portable surface-to-air missiles such as the controversial US 'Stinger,' they aggressively and imaginatively adapted. They learnt new techniques of camouflage and deception, set up ambushes against low-level attacks, and even launched daring raids on airbases to destroy aircraft on the ground. Featuring information previously unknown in the West, such as the Soviets' combat-testing of Yak-38 'Forger' naval jump jets, Soviet-expert Mark Galeotti examines the rebel, Kabul government and the Soviet operation in Afghanistan, drawing deeply on Western and Russian sources, and including after-action analyses from the Soviet military. Using maps, battlescenes and detailed 'Bird's Eye Views', he paints a comprehensive picture of the air war and describes how, arguably, it was Soviet air power that made the difference between defeat for Moscow and the subsequent stalemate that they decided to disengage from.

Trained in the use of the Eureka radar, holophan lights, and colored ground panels, the pathfinders dropped thirty minutes before the main airborne landing to provide ground guidance for successive airborne jumps. The concept of the pathfinders proved successful and they were used during the remainder of World War II. The story of the airborne pathfinders and the vital part they played in airborne operations during the Second World War has rarely been told. In this new book, Jeff Moran tells the story of the operations they led, the equipment used - much of it unique to the pathfinders - and has memorialized them by noting, in many cases, the individual teams of pathfinders.

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.

This book covers the complete development history of those variants of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 powered by inline engines. The first Fw 190 equipped with a Daimler Benz liquid-cooled engine took to the air in early 1942, followed six months later by another powered by a Jumo 213. Production of the Fw 190 C, Fw 190 D and Ta 153 was delayed by the German air ministry. Not until 1944, by which time Germany had lost control of the air, did the Fw 190 D-9, an interim fighter powered by the Jumo 213 A, enter production. The Fw 190 D-9 proved an immediate success, largely due to an excellent prototype test program under Dipl.Ing. Hans Sander. The type quickly entered service with the Luftwaffe and more than 1,700 examples were completed by the end of the war. The Fw 190 D-9 gave rise to a number of improved variants with the more powerful Jumo 213 F engine and a heavier armament, however only a handful of the D-11 and D-13 versions were completed. With a maximum speed of 750 km/h, the Fw 190 D-12 powered by the new Jumo 213 EB would have represented the apex of Fw 190 development. The proposed Fw 190 D-14 and D-15, both powered by improved versions of the dive-bombers 603, came too late to see service with the Luftwaffe.

The famed Skyraider in Korea and Vietnam, emphasizing its great ground assault capabilities.

Over 200 images, including three-view drawings, photos of the He 162 in wartime service with JG 1, and the later surrender of at least thirty-one flight ready He 162s to British ground forces at Lech. Subsequent test flights of He 162s in post-war England, USSR, South Wales, Australia, and the United States are also covered. No other publication has this large a quantity of images of the He 162 in a single volume.

On June 6, 1944, paratroopers of the legendary 101st Airborne Division jumped into Normandy with the mission of seizing exits of beaches at night before the amphibious invasion of France. They were the elite of the U.S. Army and were primed and ready to take on the Germans. This new large-format book contains over 300 photographs and a selection of full-color photographs of World War II era airborne uniforms and equipment. 101st Airborne in Normandy is written by a historian who has been interviewing many paratroopers veterans and collecting photographs for years. Dominque Francois is one of the leading experts on U.S. Airborne units during World War II. He has written eight books on the subject including his recent 82nd Airborne in Normandy, published by Schiffer Publishing Ltd.

The conflict in the skies above the combat zones of World War II bred a new legion of heroes. Boys became men in weeks, and many became commanders and leaders before the age of 25. These young pilots were flying for their lives on every dangerous sortie and in every type of aircraft. Over 100 of these young men are included in this compact reference to the history and record of Allied and enemy aces of World War II.

The study of the U.S. Navy's air group and air wing commanders is a study of carrier aviation itself. This detailed volume presents a history of the establishment of the carrier air group commander billet and the attendant formal air groups. The book is divided into four sections: Section One A Historical Overview, presents an overview of naval aviation history from 1898 to 1922, when the U.S. Navy commissioned its first aircraft carrier USS Langley (CV-1), with its wood-and-fabric biplanes. The pages next describe carrier aviation from Langley to the 90,000-ton supercarriers of today with their supersonic jets. This section also contains air group organization charts showing their development over the years. Section Two Evolving the System, discusses the genesis and evolution of the air group/wing commander billet, as well as the development of the organizations they commanded. It contains biographical sketches of the first CAGs and their wing commander predecessors. Section Three The Men, profiles more than forty of the Navy's more notable CAGs by use of their personal reminiscences and anecdotes. Their stories give the reader a feel for the responsibilities, joys and sorrows that accompany the assumption of the title: CAG. Additionally, the profiles give an insider's view of the U.S. Navy's combat operation tactics from World War II to Desert Storm. The book's final section The Machines, contains a chronological selection of photographs and some profile drawings of the aircraft flown by wing commanders from 1931 to the present. Heavy emphasis has been given to provide as many high-quality color photographs as were possible to locate. This section should have great appeal to both historian and enthusiast in its coverage as it not only graphically presents the aircraft flown, but also covers the evolution of carrier aviation itself. An appendix listing every known CAG and dates of his command concludes the book. lation of this data to exist. Carrier Air Group Commanders: The Men and Their Machines is an important historical document that will serve both as a reference work and enjoyable reading for many years.