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.

From ABDUL to ZEKE, this handbook covers all Allied designations for Japanese Navy/Army aircraft of WWII. Each aircraft is presented alphabetically according to its code name, and is also cross-referenced to its official (long) designations and project (short) designations.

The 25 Most Influential Aircraft of All Time conveys the fascinating progression of flying technology from flimsy wood-and-fabric biplanes to thunderous supersonic wonders. Aviation's most historically relevant and arguably most influential aircraft - planes like the elliptical-winged Spitfire, the blisteringly-fast X-15, and the ubiquitous Learjet - are dramatically showcased in individual chapters. Factors like performance, price, operational efficiency, and perceptions in popular culture are examined. People are just as important as hardware in the discussion of the world's greatest aircraft. The larger-than-life characters who designed and built these aeronautical marvels - men like the reclusive Howard Hughes and the demanding Clarence "Kelly" Johnson - are an indispensable part of the story. So, too, are the fearless pilots like Charles Lindbergh and Chuck Yeager who gave life to the shining examples of a new and dynamic industry. The authors have flown or flown in many of the featured aircraft and they knew many of the luminous personalities involved, enabling them to share unique perspectives. The preface is written by William Lloyd Stearman, a former staff member of the National Security Council and the son of famed industry engineer Lloyd Stearman. The introduction is written by Norman R. Augustine, the retired Chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corporation. The foreword is written by Burt Rutan, the renowned aircraft designer and founder of Scaled Composites. Each aircraft is magnificently illustrated in color, mostly with paintings by leading aviation artists.

The epic story of one of the highest scoring fighter units in the southwest Pacific. Aces included McGuire, Loisel, MacDonald, Roberts and Bong.

Between the spring and autumn of 1944, as the Allied forces slowly advanced through Italy, the German Luftwaffe constituted a constant threat to the incursions of the MAAF (Mediterranean Allied Air Forces), and the losses in men and aircraft were very substantial. In the span of a few months, between the autumn of 1944 and the end of hostilities, hundreds of Allied aircraft did not return from their missions on targets in the north of Italy. In most cases, the aviators on board the aircraft were captured or were killed in action. But on many other occasions, the crews managed to evade capture thanks to the collaboration of the civilian population and to the help given by the partisans. Especially in the Tuscan-Emilia-Romagna Apennine Mountains, these groups had setup a very efficient underground organization so that they could even pass through the strong defensive positions of the German Gothic Line and return to liberated territory. This book outlines a variety of lesser known stories and events that had as protagonists American and British aviators and Italian partisans and civilians acting together in various areas of Italy, including Lazio, Tuscany, Emilia Romagna, Lombardy, and Piedmont.

Profoundly moved by the stories of wartime casualties as a child, Dilip Sarkar has since spent a lifetime reconstructing the lives of many of the fallen and is passionate about recording and sharing this very personal hidden history. In Spitfire Down he explores the stories of thirteen pilots who failed to return, all killed, either in action or flying accidents, whilst a fourteenth, Flying Officer Buck Casson, was brought down by a German ace over France and captured. There is, for example, the virtually unknown story of The Baby of the RAF', Sergeant Geoffrey Painting. Posted to fly Spitfires with 118 Squadron at RAF Ibsley in Hampshire, Painting was hit by flak during an attack on enemy shipping off Cherbourg on 30 September 1941. Still listed as missing, at just 17, he is believed to have been the youngest RAF pilot killed during the Second World War. The author has reconstructed Painting's short life with help from his family, and forensically deconstructed that last flight with the help of the now late Wing Commander Peter Howard-Williams DFC, who was flying with the teenage pilot that day. The author also explores the heart-rending story of an American trainee fighter pilot, Pilot Officer Jim Bob' Lee, whose Spitfire collided with a Wellington bomber over Gloucestershire - resulting in the loss of all airmen involved. Two Canadian pilots perished on Pen-y-Fan, the highest peak in South Wales. The multi-national effort that defeated Hitler is further emphasised, in fact, through the stories of both Wing Commander Piotr Laguna and Flying Officer Franek Surma. But perhaps most tragic of all is how lightning struck Joan Welch twice: her first fianc e, Flight Lieutenant Lester Sanders DFC, was killed test-flying Spitfires in 1942, and her second, Pilot Officer Ian Smith, was killed flying in Palestine in 1945. Using correspondence, diaries and other personal papers of the pilots concerned, the author has reconstructed their all-too brief lives and provided a lasting and profusely illustrated record of these sacrifices.

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.

40 color profiles of the famous Mirage III & Mirage 5, a French Cold-War era jet aircraft. French and foreign users are shown in variety of camouflages.

In the summer of 1940, Britain stood alone. For three long months, brave young RAF pilots took off every day, ready to defend British skies against large-scale Luftwaffe raide. 'The Few' were young, but they were trained and they were determined. Eighty years on the last of the pilots to fly in the Battle of Britain are feted, and their part in World War II is widely remembered. This pocket manual covers the training that these young pilots would have had, and the air combat tactics they were taught to use against the German raiders. It also covers the role of the ground crews; control and command systems; anti-aircraft defences; and radar and raid detection.

The first B-29 flew over Tokyo on 1 November 1944. It was a photographic reconnaissance aircraft ironically named 'Tokyo Rose'. The Ki.44 fighters of the 47th Sentai took off to intercept it but as it turned out the Superfortress flew at such an altitude and speed that they could not reach it. The Ki-44-II-Otsu had been specifically designed for this type of interception and could reach the astonishing rate of climb of 5,000 m in four minutes; however it was not good enough. During the following ten months, a devastating bombing campaign of thousands of Superfortress destroyed 67 Japanese cities and half of Tokyo. The cultural shock and the political consequences were huge, when it was realised that the Japanese industry was not able to produce the specially heat and stress-resistant metallic alloys that were required to manufacture the turbo superchargers needed by the fighters in charge of defending the Japanese mainland. They lacked the essential chromium and molybdenum metals to harden the steel. This fact thwarted the manufacturing of numerous advanced projects of both conventional fighters and those derived from the transfer of German technology fitted with turbojets and rocket engines. They are thoroughly described in this book.

This is the history of how the mighty Gothic Line was defeated by American air power, in one of the most pivotal but least-known air campaigns of World War II. By late 1944, the Italian Campaign was secondary to the campaigns in France, and Allied forces were not strong enough to break the Germans' mighty Gothic Line. These fortifications were supplied by rail through the Alps, with trains arriving hourly and delivering 600,000 tons of supplies a month, enough to keep the German Army going forever. But in the bitter winter of 1944-45, the mighty Gothic Line would be defeated by American air power in one of the most pivotal but least-known air campaigns of World War II. It would not be a direct assault; instead Operation Bingo would ruthlessly cut the Germans' supply lines and leave them starved. However, it would not be easy. The rail routes were defended by a formidable array of heavy flak, and every raid was expected. Conditions were freezing, and even in electric flying suits, men suffered both hypoxia and frostbite. By the end of February, the previous eight-hour rail journey took the Germans 3-4 days on the wrecked railroad, and soon supplies were barely enough to keep the army alive. On April 12, the Allied ground attack began, and within ten days the German command in Northern Italy sued for surrender, the first German force in Europe to do so. Packed with first-hand accounts and rare photos from the 57th Bomb Wing Archives, this book is a fascinating history of the most successful US battlefield interdiction campaign in history, immortalized in the writing of bombardier Joseph Heller, in his novel Catch 22.

A fully illustrated study of the extraordinarily successful early-generation jet, the F2H Banshee, a frontline aircraft that served with 27 US Navy and US Marine Corps squadrons and three Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) squadrons. The F2H Banshee was an extraordinarily successful early-generation jet that outlasted both contemporary and more modern fighter types on the decks of the US Navy's aircraft carriers in the 1950s. It served in a variety of roles and was a frontline aircraft for more than a decade in an era when jet fighters came and went with relatively short service careers. This book examines the entire service life of the F2H in the service of the US Navy, US Marine Corps and the RCN. Initially created as a replacement aircraft for McDonnell's pioneering FH1 Phantom, the F2H served in the Korean War as a strike fighter, close air support aircraft, B29 escort, and photoreconnaissance aircraft, including the latter's forays over the Soviet Union and China. Post service in Korea, the Banshee served as a carrier based nuclear strike aircraft, followed by its service as a defensive fighter for antisubmarine aircraft carriers. Filled with first-hand accounts and rare colour photographs, this is the engrossing story of the F2H Banshee, exploring its variety of roles in service and detailing the technology development that improved the aircraft's capabilities over time.

Volume II on the Me 262 with emphasis on the units that flew it.

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.

The supersonic fighter in the Polish Air Force of the MiG-21MF is described in unparalleled detail. Includes many unpublished photos from the private collections. Color schemes and markings are described and illustrated in a series of specially commissioned color profiles.

Volume II covers Japanese prototypes and the later Me 263.

This volume examines the history and development of the Ju 188 twin-engined aircraft, the Luftwaffe's attempt to enhance and improve its peerless Ju 88. The Junkers Ju 188 was the epitome of mid-war German twin-engined aircraft design, representing the enhancement of an earlier type and incorporating increased performance and technological sophistication. As part of the 1939 'Bomber B' programme, it was intended as a replacement for the Ju 88 and He 111 medium bombers, taking advantage of uprated Jumo and BMW engines and incorporating a radically redesigned cockpit area with all-round visibility for high-speed bombing, torpedo-bomber carrying, FuG 200 radar, and camera-equipped reconnaissance operations. What emerged, from the autumn of 1943, was a sophisticated bomber and reconnaissance aircraft-and intended nightfighter. After operational trials, the Ju 188 equipped three bomber Geschwader and several long-range reconnaissance Staffeln in the East and Italy, conducting operations over Britain and the Western Front as well as Russia and the Mediterranean. This comprehensive study charts the design, development, and deployment of an advanced aircraft which was ultimately overshadowed by improvements to the aeroplane it was designed to replace. Supported by specially commissioned illustrations and contemporary photography, this is the essential guide to the Junkers Ju 188.

When Winston Churchill delivered his famous 'Iron Curtain' speech in 1946, he mentioned two words now engrained in Anglo-American terminology - 'special relationship'. Nowhere is the 'special relationship' more evident than in the scores of airfields used by the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War. Today, just a handful remain in active service. Yet they continue to bind the United Kingdom and United States together. US Air Force Bases in the UK examines the history and continuing use of modern-day British airfields by the US Air Force. It also chronicles the many others that survived the Second World War, but not the passage of time. While most have been reclaimed by agriculture, one thing that still endures is the 'special relationship'. This book retraces its concrete paths.

From acclaimed aviation historian Michael Napier, this is a highly illustrated survey of the air war over Korea. The Korean War holds a unique place in aviation history. It saw the first large-scale jet-versus-jet combat and it was the first military action of the Cold War, fought by both the newly independent United States Air Force and the recently formed Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force. In a meticulously researched volume, former RAF Tornado pilot Michael Napier unravels the complex narrative of events, describing the course of operations in the air and the major campaigns of the land war. He examines in detail the air power of the major combatants, which included North and South Korea, the UK, Australia, Canada and South Africa as well as China, the USA and the USSR. Packed with stunning contemporary images and including first-hand combat reports, Korean Air War is a groundbreaking exploration of a much forgotten conflict, which nevertheless provided lessons about the organization and prosecution of modern aerial warfare that remain relevant through to the present day.

More than thirty years after their first publication, William T. Larkinss illustrated surveys of Navy and Marine Corps aircraft remain two of the most valuable books about these airplanes ever written. First published in 1959 and 1961, these two volumes have become classics eagerly sought in the rare-book market by aviation buffs worldwide. They have become the criteria against which serious aviation research is measured. With over 1,000 photographs combined, they remain the definitive record of the formative years for Navy and Marine Corps aviation. Larkinss emphasis throughout is on squadron use, experimental and one-of-a-kind types, insignia, colors and marking schemes, technical innovations, and the service duty and tactical deployment of the various aircraft.

Unlike land and maritime military warfare, which has evolved over thousands of years, the history of war in the air is as short as it has been spectacular: only 100 years have passed since the first flight in a powered aircraft. Despite its brief history, however, military air power is not an insignificant part of the modern military machine: on the contrary, it has played a strikingly prominent role in recent conflicts and humanitarian relief operations, and is likely to take the leading position in many future ones. In the decades since World War II the skies, and increasingly space, have acquired ever more importance as the ultimate "high ground."
In "Sky Wars," David Gates examines the history of military aerospace power, discussing technical developments between both World Wars and the use of air power in specific wars in the latter part of the 20th century, including the recent conflict with Iraq. At the same time he analyses the military and civil applications of airpower in the contemporary world, some of which have led to scientific and technical advances of great benefit to humanity. As well as looking at the ways in which developments in air power, military prowess and space exploration have had a major impact on our daily lives, he highlights more contentious issues, for example the so-called "CNN factor," whereby the increasing capacity for journalistic intrusion into ongoing military operations compels armed forces to be much more sensitive to public opinion.

This book covers the use and development of one the Luftwaffe's largest planes, the Messerschmitt Me 321/323.

The legendary Convair B-58 Hustler, one of the most interesting bombers to reach operational status, and had an appearance - even though designed in the 1940s - that would not look out of date in the 21st century. The first USAF delta-wing bomber was the Mach 2 Hustler that had the performance of a fighter aircraft. However, its tenure was short due to technical problems and excessive costs. The majority of Hustlers met their demise in the late 1960s, but a few remain at museums across the country.

After the Gulf War of 1990, No Fly Zones (NFZ) were established over northern and southern Iraq and the Tornado GR 1 force stepped up to operations over the southern NFZ. The Tornado GR 4 took responsibility for RAF combat air operations in Afghanistan from the Harrier force in 2009, and in 2011 was involved in missions against the Gaddafi regime in Libya. The unique multirole capabilities of the aircraft enabled it to support ground operations with the Raptor reconnaissance pod, Brimstone missiles and Paveway IV laser-guided bombs until withdrawal in 2014. The Tornado GR 4 was also used for operations over Iraq and Syria against the ISIL terrorist organisation. Intensive air operations were flown between 2014 and 2019, when the Tornado GR 4 was finally withdrawn from RAF Service. This volume, written by former RAF pilot Michael Napier, provides detailed first-hand accounts of the missions undertaken by the Tornado crews during the most recent conflicts over the Middle East and the Balkans.