Michael Napier details the critical role of air power in the skies over Afghanistan, from the ten-year occupation by the USSR in the 1980s through to the US and NATO campaign from 2001 to 2021. US and British forces, strongly supported by air power, invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 in response to the Al Qaida attacks on 9/11. What began as a small-scale operation of 2,500 troops with the limited objective of destroying Al Qaida became ever larger, growing to over 100,000 troops ten years later. This experience matched that of the Soviets after their invasion in late 1979, when they saw a massive increase in resistance by Mujahidin. Afghan Air Wars details how Soviet aircraft including the MiG-21, MiG-23, Su-17 and Su-25, as well as Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters supported Soviet offensives in the Panjshir Valley and other regions. Despite these high-octane operations and overwhelming air superiority, Soviet forces eventually withdrew. Some 20 years later, US and NATO air forces were deployed in similar roles. F-15E, F-16, F/A-18, A-10, Mirage, Harrier and Tornado aircraft all saw action in the skies over Afghanistan as did the CH-47 Chinook and AH-64 Apache helicopters. Mike Napier fully details their series of operations in a hostile environment as well as the advent of high-resolution targeting pods and Precision Guided Munitions (PGM) which enabled aircraft to stand off from threat areas and also to deploy their weapons with deadly accuracy. The conflict also saw the groundbreaking introduction of Remotely Piloted Vehicles (RPV) into routine air operations. Afghan Air Wars is richly illustrated with over 240 images – both official photos and privately taken, in-theatre images which have not been previously published. It also includes first-hand accounts by aircrews involved to create a unique and comprehensive picture of the part played by air power over Afghanistan in the last 40 years.

Number 4 in the Luftwaffe Profile Series describes the design and use of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.

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 aerial clashes between the iconic Corsair and Zero-sen translated into a contest of speed and altitude for the former, versus the latter's outstanding agility and range. Whilst the F4U Corsair eventually proved to be a superior fighter in Pacific operations, its introduction into combat in this theatre initially demonstrated its weaknesses. Indeed, the 'Saint Valentine's Day Massacre' debacle showcased exemplary Zero-sen fighter tactics, and American losses were of sufficient magnitude that further daylight missions toward Bougainville were discontinued until Allied fighter tactics could be improved. As a result, for the next two months the Corsair's combat results were much subdued. Indeed, the F4U only became a superb fighter when both its pilots and their commanders worked out how to deploy the gull-wing design effectively. Optimum circumstances for effective engagement did not always occur, and the Zero-sen remained effective against the Corsair until February 1944 in the South Pacific, after which all IJNAF fighter units vacated Rabaul. This book closely examines these two different fighters in the Solomons/Rabaul theatre, and the unique geographic conditions which shaped their deployment and effectiveness. It contains rare photographs and digital artwork that accurately showcases and aligns combats of both types in-theatre with unprecedented accuracy. Both sides vastly over-claimed. With full access to IJNAF and US Navy/US Marine Corps records, these numbers will be presented accurately.

Soviet bombers were a varied lot during the Second World War, ranging from single-engined biplanes such as the 1920's era Polikarpov U-2 to the excellent and modern twin-engined Tu-2 medium bomber. Although the use of four-engined strategic bombers was mostly limited to use of the huge Pe-8 bomber, the Soviets used many other aircraft for both strategic and tactical bombing. As the bombers of the Red Air Force were mainly tasked with supporting the Red Army, most of the bombers were used for tactical bombing, attacking tanks, troop convoys, trains, and airfields. This book will deal with both strategic bombers and tactical bombers, but will concentrate on the smaller tactical bombers, as this is where the Red Air Force's emphasis lay. Such types as the Il-4, the Su-2, the aforementioned Tu-2, and the most important bomber of all, the Il-2 Shturmovik attack bomber, will be described in great detail, including not only details on the aircraft themselves, but how they were deployed in combat. The one truly strategic bomber, the Pe-8, will not be forgotten, and neither will the comparatively tiny U-2 biplane, which was so effective in its use as a night-time "nuisance" raider that the Germans copied the tactic wholesale. Accurate colour profiles in some number will accompany the text in this comprehensive work on Soviet bombers.

Linda R. Robertson argues that the development of the United States as a global military power arose from the influence of an image of air combat carefully constructed during World War I to mask the sordid realities of modern ground warfare. "The Dream of Civilized Warfare" carries this trajectory to its logical end, tracing the long history of the American desire to exert the nation's will throughout the world without having to risk the lives of ground soldiers--a theme that continues to reverberate in public discussions, media portrayals, and policy decisions today. Histories of American air power usually focus on World War II, when the air force became the foundation for the military strength of the United States. The equally fascinating story of World War I air combat is often relegated to a footnote, but it was the earlier war that first inspired the vision of the United States attaining dominance in world affairs through a massive air force.
"In The Dream of Civilized Warfare," Robertson presents the compelling story of the creation of the first American air force--and how, through the propaganda of the flying ace, a vision of "clean" or civilized combat was sold to politicians and the public. During World War I, air combat came to epitomize American ingenuity, technological superiority, adventure, leadership, and teamwork. Robertson reveals how the romantic and chivalric imagery associated with flying aces was a product of intentional propaganda and popular culture. Examining aviation history, military battles, films, literature, and political events, she looks at how the American public's imagination was shaped--how flying aces offered not only a symbol of warfare in stark contrast to the muddy, brutal world of the trenches, but also a distraction to an American public resistant to both intervention in a European conflict and the new practice of conscription.
Linda R. Robertson is professor and director of the Media and Society program at Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

Using archival photographs sourced directly from Vietnam, specially commissioned diagrams and combat accounts from veterans, István Toperczer reveals how the MiG-21 defended Vietnam between 1966 and 1968. One of the most successful communist jet fighters ever built, the MiG-21 "Fishbed" was involved in a series of deadly duels with American fighters over North Vietnam as the USAF and US Navy ramped up strike missions during Operation Rolling Thunder, culminating in the destruction of over 70 US aircraft for the loss of 35 "Fishbeds." Having honed their skills on the subsonic MiG-17, pilots of the Vietnam People's Air Force received their first examples of the legendary MiG-21 supersonic fighter in 1966. Soon thrown into combat over North Vietnam, the guided-missile-equipped MiG-21 proved a deadly opponent for the American crews striking at targets deep into communist territory. Although the communist pilots initially struggled to come to terms with the fighter’s air search radar and weapons systems, the ceaseless cycle of combat operations quickly honed their skills. The best fighter then available to the VPAF, more than 200 MiG-21s (of various sub-types) were supplied to the North Vietnamese. In this study, leading VPAF authority István Toperczer analyzes the tactics used by the MiG-21 pilots over the bitter fighting in North Vietnam during Rolling Thunder. The highspeed ‘hit and run’ attacks employed by the communist pilots proved to be very successful, with both R-3S air-to-air missiles and heavy-caliber cannon inflicting a rising toll on American jets. Using first-hand accounts from MiG-21 pilots, battlescene artwork, combat ribbon diagrams, and armament views, the author details the important role played by the "Fishbed" in the defense of North Vietnam.

An illustrated history of how the Luftwaffe intended 'the Blitz' to knock Britain out of the war, emphasising the German point of view and detailing how Britain's defences and civilians responded. The Blitz - the German 'blitzkrieg' of Britain's industrial and port cities - was one of the most intensive bombing campaigns of World War II. Cities from London to Glasgow, Belfast to Hull, and Liverpool to Cardiff were targeted in an attempt to destroy Britain's military-industrial facilities and force it out of the war. Most histories of the Blitz concentrate on the civilian experience of ‘life under the bombs’ or the fighter pilots of the RAF but, in military terms, the Blitz was also the Luftwaffe's biggest and most ambitious strategic bombing campaign. Focusing on both sides, this book places particular emphasis on the hitherto under-represented Luftwaffe view of the campaign and looks at the new technology and tactics at its heart. From the innovative development of specialist night-fighters to the 'Battle of the Beams' that pitted German electronic navigation systems against British countermeasures, the Blitz demonstrated the effects of developing technology on aerial warfare. Describing and analyzing the strategy, tactics and operations of both the Luftwaffe and the UK’s air defences during the period between September 1940 and May 1941, author Julian Hale demonstrates that, for a variety of reasons, there was little chance of the Luftwaffe achieving any of its aims. Using primary sources, spectacular original artwork, 3D diagrams and maps, this study shines a fresh light on how and why the world’s first true strategic air offensive failed.

This is a complete A-Z directory of bombers, from the early attacks of 1914 through to the Blitz, the Dambusters and the atomic bomb raids. It includes over 300 identification photographs from some of the world's greatest aviation libraries. It features the Gotha bombers of World War I, the Ju 87 Stuka dive-bomber of the Spanish Civil War, the Heinkel 111 of the Blitz, and the Boeing B-29 Superfortress that dropped the first atomic bomb in 1945. It includes detailed information about country of origin, first flight, power, armament, size, weights and performance. This outstandingly researched and authoritative book begins with a history of bombers, from the early experimental aircraft that dropped bombs by removing a pin or a piece of string, through to the history-making atomic bomb raids that ended World War II. A substantial A-Z guide covers 65 major aircraft, including the British Handley Page 0/400, the North American B-25 Mitchell, and the Japanese Yokosuka D4Y Suisei. With over 300 identification pictures, including many rarely seen wartime photographs, this brilliantly illustrated book provides enthusiasts and historians with key information about the great bombers of the two World Wars.

This new volume straps the reader into the cockpit of the P-51B/C as the Mustang-equipped fighter groups of the 'Mighty Eighth' Air Force attempt to defend massed heavy bomber formations from deadly Luftwaffe fighters charged with defending the Third Reich. Luftwaffe Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering admitted that the appearance of long-range Mustangs over Berlin spelled the end of the Jagdwaffe's ability to defeat American daylight bombing. But the Mustang was far more than an escort - it was a deadly hunter that could out-perform nearly every German fighter when it was introduced into combat. Entering combat in Europe in December 1943, P-51Bs and P-51Cs had advantages over German Bf 109s and Fw 190s in respect to the altitude they could reach, their rate of climb and top speed. Initially tapped for close bomber escort, Mustangs were quickly turned loose to range ahead of the bomber stream in order to challenge German fighters before they could assemble to engage the bombers en masse. Thanks to the Mustang's superior performance, USAAF pilots effectively blunted the Luftwaffe's tried and tested tactic for destroying B-17s and B-24s. Boldness and aggression in aerial combat meant that P-51B/C pilots inflicted a rapidly mounting toll on their German counterparts in the West during the early months of 1944, contributing mightily to Allied air superiority over northern France on D-Day. This volume, packed full of first-hand accounts, expertly recreates the combat conditions and flying realities for Mustang pilots (including headline aces such as Don Blakeslee and Don Gentile, as well as lesser known aviators). It is heavily illustrated with photographs, artwork and innovative and colourful 3D ribbon diagrams, which will provide a realistic overview of the most dynamic dogfights in aviation history.

The Lockheed Martin Skunk Works was founded in the summer of 1943 to develop a jet-powered high-altitude interceptor for the USAAF, and ever since it has been at the forefront of technological development in the world of aviation. From the XP-80 to the U-2, SR-71, F-117, F-22 and now the F-35, the Skunk Works team has designed aircraft that are the pinnacle of innovation and performance. 75 years of the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works takes us through the history of this legendary facility from its foundation at the height of World War II under the talented engineer, Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, through to the present day. Illustrated with over a thousand photographs and drawings, it details the 46 unclassified programmes developed by the Skunk Works, following them through prototype build-up, first flight and, if they reached the frontline, operational service.

An expertly written, illustrated new analysis of the Desert Storm air campaign fought against Saddam Hussein's Iraq, which shattered the world's fourth-largest army and sixth-largest air force in just 39 days, and revolutionized the world's ideas about modern air power. Operation Desert Storm took just over six weeks to destroy Saddam Hussein's war machine: a 39-day air campaign followed by a four-day ground assault. It shattered what had been the world's fourth-largest army and sixth-largest air force, and overturned conventional military assumptions about the effectiveness and value of air power. In this book, Richard P. Hallion, one of the world's foremost experts on air warfare, explains why Desert Storm was a revolutionary victory, a war won with no single climatic battle. Instead, victory came thanks largely to a rigorously planned air campaign. It began with an opening night that smashed Iraq's advanced air defense system, and allowed systematic follow-on strikes to savage its military infrastructure and field capabilities. When the Coalition tanks finally rolled into Iraq, it was less an assault than an occupation. The rapid victory in Desert Storm, which surprised many observers, led to widespread military reform as the world saw the new capabilities of precision air power, and it ushered in today's era of high-tech air warfare.

This book explores the fascinating feats of RAF’s photographic reconnaissance aircraft. During World War 2, photographic reconnaissance in the RAF started gathering intelligence on the enemy using cameras installed in PR Spitfires. The aircraft that proved this concept was the Supermarine Spitfire, which, stripped of all excess weight, and carrying cameras and additional fuel, penetrated deep into enemy territory to bring back photographs that specialist interpreters could scrutinise to determine the enemy’s activities. This fascinating book examines the evolution of the Photographic Reconnaissance Unit (PRU), from a small clandestine flight of the British Secret Intelligence Service into an operational group fulfilling the photographic requirements of clients including the RAF and the War Office. From various bases in Britain, the uniquely camouflaged blue (and, occasionally, pink) Spitfires of the PRU covered targets in occupied Europe from the Norwegian fjords to the great German industrial centres. Their superior performance made an immediate impact in North Africa and Malta as the PR Spitfires kept watch on German and Italian forces. Further afield, in India, Spitfires flew over the jungles of Burma monitoring Japanese troops. Using specially commissioned aircraft profile artwork, first-hand accounts and original photography, aviation expert Andrew Fletcher explores the fundamental role of the iconic PR Spitfire throughout the war and its various theatres.

The T-33 jet trainer was derived from the Lockheed F-80C Shooting Star, the USAF's first operational jet fighter, in 1948. In the fifty years since its introduction the T-33 has trained more jet pilots than any other training type. In addition to this role, it has served, and continues to serve, as an attack fighter - the AT-33 - and as a reconnaissance aircraft - the RT-33 - in several foreign air forces. It was also a testbed in many development programs including tests on ejection seats and missile guidance systems, and continues yet today in various military and civilian roles.

Messerschmitt Me 262: Arrow to the Future tells the dramatic story of the Me 262\s combat career as a fascinating chain of events in which planning, luck, and even blind stupidity played important roles. Even by today\s engineering standards, magnificent is the only word to describe the effort to bring the plane\s jet engines, which eclipsed the performance of all contemporary aircraft, from the laboratory to production in an amazingly short time.\nArrow to the Futrue also tells the story of the people who flew the Me262 in combat. Their complete accounts bring their missions to life and set the plane in the historical context of the war. The German narratives are complemented by the accounts of Americans who flew against the Me 262 - for instance, the team of crack USAAF pilots known as "Watsons\s Whizzers," who literally stole a fleet of jet aircraft from German airfields at the end of the war.\nAlso described are the postwar efforts to test and preserve the Me 262. Included is a description of the efforts to obtain one of these aircraft for display at the National Air and Space Museum, and the painstaking efforts by the team at the Smithsonian\s Paul E. Garber Facility for Preservation, Restoration, and Storage to restore the Me 262 to its pristine condition.\nThis new reprint edition is lavishly illustrated with more than 100 photographs, including operational photos from World War II, color views of the cockpit, and interior and exterior shots of the restored Me 262. In addition to the striking photographs, there are expert technical drawings, cutaway illustrations, and equipment and conversion tables. \nWalter J. Boyne is the author of many books including The Smithsonian Book of Flight, The Leading Edge, Boeing B-52: A Documentary History and Phantom in Combat, as well as the novels The Wild Blue, Trophy for Eagles and Air Force Eagles.

Germany's V-2 looks at one of the major technological advances of the Second World War, the V-2 ballistic missile. Although dwarfed by today's giant rockets, the V-2 represented a quantum leap beyond anything previously built. During the last six months of the war in Europe, Germany launched thousands of these missiles against the Allies. This book traces the origins and development of the V-2, from groups of individual experimenters in the 1930s to its use as a weapon system. Particular emphasis is paid to such topics as the structure and components of the missile, its ground support equipment, and field procedures. After the war, the V-2 formed the foundation for the space programs of the Soviet Union and United States. Information is included on previously ignored V-2 launches in the United States.

This book is a concise, illustrated history of the US Navy and Marine Corps most versatile jet strike fighter, the Boeing F/A-18 A-D Legacy Hornet. Presenting a historical perspective of the Legacy Hornet from its origins through todays use in the fleet, this edition explores the aircrafts various model upgrades and variants. The F/A-18 began as a less expensive complement to the Grumman F-14 Tomcat and Grumman A-6 Intruder, and was a replacement for the McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom II and LTV A-7 Corsair II. The Hornet evolved into a capable multi-mission strike fighter, performing fighter, suppression of enemy air defense, and light attack missions. This volume features a number of high-quality images that highlight the aircraft throughout its Navy and Marine Corps career.

Founded in 1925 in Warnemunde, Arado-Flugzeugwerke, from the outset, produced civil aircraft as well as developing prototypes for the clandestine armament programme of the Reichswehr. From 1933 when the licensed production of military aircraft commenced, the factory also built a number of their own designs. Best known are the training aircraft Ar 66 and Ar 96, the catapult float-plane Ar 196 and the record-breaking sporting aircraft Ar 79. With the two- or four-engined Ar 234, the world's first operational jet-bomber was born. At the end of the war Arado initiated the project of the first supersonic experimental aircraft. This book charts the development of all Arado aircraft between 1925 and 1945 as well as the development and capabilities of the factory. It also gives an overview of the licence-productions and other projects. The information is based on original documents and will rectify some of the speculation and fantasy that has been published about the Arado-Flugzeugwerke.

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.

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.

Luftwaffe over Scotland is the first complete history of the air attacks mounted against Scotland by Nazi Germany during World War Two and undertakes a detailed examination of the strategy, tactics and politics involved on both sides, together with a technical critique of the weaponry employed by both attackers and defenders. Extensive figures on Scottish civilian casualties have been included, together with a full list of all Scottish locations that were bombed and details of German aircraft losses. From the relentless hit-and-run attacks up the east coast of Scotland to the calamities of Clydebank and Greenock, Luftwaffe over Scotland not only offers a detailed analysis of exactly what happened, but also provides fresh new evidence and claims regarding many aspects of the war in Scotland - some of them specifically at odds with the more traditional British portrayals of World War Two. Some of the controversial issues raised include Why was there no 'Phoney War' in Scotland? Did the Battle of Britain begin over Orkney in April, 1940? Why were more people killed in Glasgow than at the target of Clydebank? Why were the Greenock raids such a disastrous failure for the Luftwaffe?Why did Hitler personally ensure Aberdeen became Scotland's last raided city? Why was the last air battle in Europe fought off the Aberdeenshire coast? Luftwaffe over Scotland draws on a wide variety of sources, such as official archives, articles, letters and personal testimonies, including information about German Luftwaffe operations, to paint the first full and accurate picture of the dramatic and often brutal air attacks that took place in almost every village, town and city in Scotland during World War Two. From a detailed analysis of the attacking German forces, to an explanation of the strengths and weaknesses of the air defences around Scotland, this is an important and long-overdue contribution to the full understanding of this dramatic period in the history of the modern Scottish nation.

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.

Developed as the answer to the American B-1, the Tupolev Tu-160 was the Soviet Unions most potent strategic bomber. Several project versions were rejected, and a highly controversial contest involving some of the Soviet Unions top-class aircraft design companies took place before the Tu-160 variable-geometry bomber reached the hardware stage. Its design made use of many advanced features not used previously on Soviet bombers. While being a nuclear deterrent for most of its career, the Tu-160 has recently seen actual combat in the war on terrorism. The Tu-160 story is not over yet, since Russia is now resuming production of the type to bolster its strategic potential. The book gives the types complete development, test and service history of the Tu-160, including such intriguing episodes as the types overseas deployment to Venezuela, and the flight of a Tu-160 with Russian President Vladimir Putin aboard. It is richly illustrated with color photos and original factory drawings. A comparison is made of the Tu-160 and its American counterpart, the B-1.