The final year of World War II witnessed the decline of the piston-engine fighter and the beginning of the jet age. Taking to the skies were tried-and-true fighters, improved versions of old aircraft, and newly developed jets, including prototypes that flew for the first time just before the war ended. * Hundreds of photos chronicle these dynamic aircraft in Europe and the Pacific * Includes American Mustangs, Thunderbolts, and Shooting Stars (first operational U.S. jet); British Tempests, Spitfires, and Gloster Meteors (first operational Allied jet); German Fw 190s, Bf 109Ks, and Messerschmitt Me 262s (first operational jet fighter); Japanese Ki 100s, Raidens, and Tojos; and many more * Ideal reference for military history fans, scholars, and modelers

Robert Lovett grew up in Texas, went to Yale, and earned his wings as a naval air force hero in World War I. He played a key role in the development of the Army Air Force in World War II. His emphasis on strategic bombing was instrumental in defeating Hitler's Germany. During his postwar service in the State Department, he was influential in initiating the Marshall Plan, the formation of NATO and planning the Berlin Airlift. He served as Truman's Secretary of Defense during the Korean War, was a consultant for his friend Dwight Eisenhower and served John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Between tours of duty in Washington, he was an international banker on Wall Street. This first complete biography covers his life and career in detail.

The story of what really led to Germany losing the battle of Stalingrad - the inability of the Luftwaffe to keep Sixth Army supplied throughout the winter of 1942-43 - and why this crucial airlift failed. Luftwaffe chief Hermann Goering's failure to deliver his promise to keep Sixth Army supplied at Stalingrad was one of the most hard-hitting strategic air failures of World War II. 300 tons a day of supplies were required to sustain the Sixth Army, flown in against a Soviet fighter force whose capabilities were rapidly being transformed. The Luftwaffe's failure left Sixth Army trapped, vulnerable and too weak to attempt a breakout. The destruction of Sixth Army was one of the major turning points in World War II but the Luftwaffe's crucial role in this disaster has often been overlooked. Some claim the attempt was doomed from the beginning but, in this intriguing book, author William E. Hiestand explains how the Germans had amassed sufficient aircraft to, at least theoretically, provide the supplies needed. Demands of aircraft maintenance, awful weather and, in particular, the Soviet air blockade crippled the airlift operation. In addition, the employment of increasing numbers of modern aircraft by the Soviet Air Force using more flexible tactics, coupled with Chief Marshal Novikov's superior Air Army organisation proved decisive. The Luftwaffe did eventually recover and mounted focused operations for control of limited areas of the Eastern Front, but overall it had lost its dominance. Packed with strategic diagrams and maps, archive photos and artwork of aerial battles over Stalingrad, and including bird's eye views of Operation Winter Storm and airlift operations and tactics, this title clearly demonstrates how the Luftwaffe lost its strategic initiative in the air.

Through its remarkable service during the war in Southeast Asia, the Skyraider became legendary. It served with distinction in the hands of U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and South Vietnamese Air Force pilots, who took the war to the enemy, often at low altitude and in the face of devastating antiaircraft fire. And it suffered heavy losses. The Skyraiders versatility and the mettle of its pilots were unmatched. This book takes not only a look at an old airplane, but at the warriors who flew and maintained the machine they called the Spad. This volume captures the essence of combat in the Spad, and explains the broad range of Spad operations. The text, which is rich with the narratives of Spad pilots and ground crew, is complemented by over 300 original photographs, seventy emblems, and detailed listings of every Skyraider that flew in the war, and the colorful units to which they were assigned. This fascinating volume is a must for aviation enthusiasts, history buffs, and modelers alike.

Drawn from the files of English, American, New Zealand, Australian and Canadian sources, as well as from veterans, this is the story of Lockheeds Lucky Star-the marvelous Ventura! Fashioned from the Lockheed Model 18 airliner, the Ventura went on to fight on nearly every World War II battlefront as a penetration bomber, anti-submarine patrol aircraft, reconnaissance bomber, and even nightfighter. John Stanaway is also the author Possum, Clover & Hades: The 475th Fighter Group in World War II, and Attack and Conquer: The 8th Fighter Group in World War II(with Larry Hickey). Both titles are available from Schiffer Publishing Ltd.).

A flying Ace, fighter Ace or Air Ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The concept of the "Ace" emerged in 1915 during World War I, at the same time as aerial dogfighting, and was a term often also used to create heroes for domestic audiences, in what were otherwise wars of attrition. The individual combat actions of Aces were widely reported and disseminated as a chivalrous knight reminiscent to ancient era. For a brief early period, the exceptionally skilled pilot could shape the battle in the skies, and approximately five percent of combat pilots account for the majority of air-to-air victories. French newspapers were the first to describe Adolphe Pegoud as an Ace in World War I, and later Manfred von Richthofen, known as the "Red Baron. There were a large number of Air Aces in World War II, and later in the Korean, Vietnam, Iraq-Iran, and Arab-Israeli wars. This book covers 25 of the greatest Air Aces across wars, nationalities and countries.

The F-117 was probably the most secret aircraft ever developed. The Stealth technology upon which the plane was based made it unique in its appearance. With its stark black appearence and wispy configuration, the plane was a strange departure from the sleek supersonic fighters of the period. This new book covers the technical and operational aspects of the Nighthawk from its initial use over Panama through its shining moment during Operational Desert Storm. Bill Holder and Mike Wallace are also the authors of McDonnell-Douglas F-15 Eagle: A Photo Chronicle. Bill Holder is also co-author, with Steve Markman, of One-of-A-Kind Research Aircraft: A History of In-Flight Simulators, Testbeds & Prototypes(both titles are available from Schiffer Publishing Ltd.).

Willy Messerschmitt's Bf 109 is among the most famous fighter aircraft in the history of military aviation, and it was during the Spanish Civil War that it first saw combat. Using newly discovered records, the author describes the Bf 109's operational career with the Legion Condor, the German military unit that fought in Spain. The text is enhanced by many personal accounts written by the pilots who flew the Bf 109 in Spain, with descriptions of combat and other aspects of life in Spain from 1936 to 1939. All versions of the Bf 109 that served in Spain are described, accompanied by illustrations from the pilots' notes. The book is illustrated with 235 photosmost never before publishedand technical drawings. Appendixes provide detailed descriptions of the fourteen Bf 109 A fighters sent to Spain, biographies of selected pilots who served there, and a copy of J/88's victory list from the estate of a former Legion fighter pilot.

1930-1940 era Junkers aircraft in its civilian and wartime roles.

Zbysek Necas was just 18, and still a high school student, when he escaped from the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia a month before the outbreak of war in 1939. He managed to make his way to Britain where he had a cousin. Necas enlisted in the RAF in 1940, initially being posted as an interpreter at the Czech Depot. Some of his early duties involved the interrogation of captured German aircrew. He was, however, determined to fly. That wish came not as a pilot, but as a radar operator. In time, Necas was posted to 68 Squadron, which throughout the war had a large number of Czech exiles on its strength - one flight was entirely Czech-manned. In this moving memoir, he details just what it was like to serve as part of an RAF night fighter crew during the second half of the Second World War. From the organisation of squadron and operations, to the directing of night fighters in the bomber stream, problems of maintaining contact with the target, the duration of patrols to interception tactics, all, and more, is revealed in this book. Having trained on the Blenheim Mk.IV, Necas' operational patrols began on Bristol Beaufighters, the squadron subsequently converting to de Havilland Mosquitoes. There are of course, the graphic accounts of victory in the air. This includes combat with a Heinkel He 177 Grief over North Sea, or the explosion of a Dornier Do 217 after another successful interception. As well as nighttime intruder operations over Europe, from the summer of 1944, 68 Squadron, Necas included, found itself drawn into the battle against Hitler's V-weapons, particularly the V1. Necas' crew ended the war with three confirmed kills, one probable, and two damaged. After the war, Necas returned to his homeland where he received the tragic news that that none of his immediate family had survived the German occupation. This is Zbysek Necas' story of his part in the defence of Britain's skies and the final victory against the Third Reich.

This new study of the sea-going Phantoms includes contributions from over a hundred aircrew and maintainers who were involved in the Phantom's success from the earliest service development flying to its twilight years in the Reserve units. There are personal accounts of MiG battles from more than a dozen MiG killers, first-hand descriptions of the F-4's introduction into combat with the Marines as a CAS and reconnaissance aircraft, memories of 'Bear' intercepts on Mediterranean cruises, narratives covering the aircraft's service into the 1980s, and much more. These voices are blended with a detailed technical and developmental description of the aircraft, supported by comprehensive appendices and over 450 photos in color and black and white.

The North American B-45 Tornado was America's first jet bomber and was used in a number of vital missions for nearly a decade. Drawing from declassified secret documents, this history explains the bomber's use in strategic reconnaissance and atomic-weapon strike missions from its 1944 development to its role in the Cold War. The book includes numerous photographs and more than 100 interviews with pilots, navigators, and ground personnel.

Seven minutes past midnight on 9 March 1945, nearly 300 American B-29s thundered into the skies over Tokyo. Their payloads of incendiaries ignited a more than 1,800-degree firestorm that liquefied asphalt and vaporised thousands; sixteen square miles of the city were flattened and more than 100,000 men, women and children were killed. Black Snow is the story of this devastating operation, orchestrated by Major General Curtis LeMay, who famously remarked: "If we lose, we'll be tried as war criminals". James M. Scott reconstructs in granular detail that horrific night, and describes the development of the B-29, the capture of the Marianas for use as airfields and the change in strategy from high-altitude daylight "precision" bombing to low-altitude nighttime incendiary bombing. Most importantly, the raid represented a significant moral shift for America, marking the first time commanders deliberately targeted civilians-which helped pave the way for the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki five months later.

Nearly every World War II fighter squadron that flew in Europe has had its history chronicled. Other than "Pappy" Boyington's famous VMF-214 "Black Sheep", little has been written about Marine Corps squadrons in World War II. The contribution of VMF-223, the "Death Rattlers", over Okinawa in the Spring of 1945 is virtually unknown. In two months there, the squadron became the top-scoring unit of any service with 124 1/2 victories and produced 12 aces, the most for one tour of any Marine squadron. The squadron downed 24 3/4 Japanese aircraft twice in its tour, the most for a single Marine squadron in any single action. The squadron's story is not only one of its pilots, combat, and valor, but also of the enlisted men, "the ground-crunchers," who made it function against the Japanese kamikaze menace. Along with the traditional historical perspective, it is an inside look at the personal side of training and war. It is the story of a group of untried young men who trained long and hard and became "family."

With Germany being pushed back across Europe the Allied forces looked to press their advantage with Operation Market-Garden, a massive airborne assault that, if successful, could have shortened the war in the west considerably. The ground advance consisted of an armoured thrust by the British XXX Corps, while the US 82nd and 101st US Airborne Divisions secured the bridges at Eindhoven and Nijmegen and the British 1st Airborne Division and Polish 1st Airborne Brigade were tasked with seizing the final bridge at Arnhem to secure the route. What they did not realise was that the 9. SS and 10. SS-Panzer Divisions were nearby, ready to reinforce the local garrison and fend off the Allied assault. Focusing on the role played by these British and Polish troops, Ken Ford examines Operation Market-Garden in its entirety, from the early planning through to the early setbacks and eventual catastrophic conclusion.

From the time of its appearance in 1939 the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 was one of the best fighter aircraft of the Second World War - a masterpiece produced by chief designer Kurt Tank. In 1943 he developed a new fighter aircraft based on this successful concept. The project soon deviated far from the original Fw 190 concept and as an honor to the designer it was designated the Ta 152. The great performance potential of this fighter was obvious from the very first prototypes of the Ta 152A and Ta 152C. Unfortunately, however, production was limited to a few examples. But at the same time Focke-Wulf was developing the Ta 152H high-altitude fighter which, powered by the Jumo 213E and equipped with a pressurized cockpit, was capable of reaching altitudes on the order of 35,000 feet and speeds in excess of 430 mph. A few Ta 152Hs saw action at the beginning of 1945 and they made an excellent impression on their pilots. Compared to the older fighters they exhibited significantly better flight characteristics and performance at high altitude. The Ta 152 could also stand up to the best Allied fighter aircraft, such as the American P-51 Mustang. On account of its unfamiliar shape the pilots of Bf 109s sometimes mistook it for an enemy aircraft and attacked. The heavy Allied bombing at the end of the war prevented production from beginning as planned, and as a result only a very few Ta 152Hs could be delivered. With the aid of a large number of photographs - some previously unpublished - and drawings, this book details the development history of the Ta 152, one of the most advanced fighter aircraft of its day. But it also illustrates the hopelessness of Germany's efforts late in the war to deploy advanced aircraft in large numbers.

The Spitfire turns 80 on 5 March 2016, and the passion for the RAF's best-loved fighter is running at an all-time high. There are more than 50 Spitfires flying in the world today, and John Dibbs has shot virtually all of them 'on the wing' in his breathtaking style. This eye-catching book combines a unique collection of stunning photos with poignant first-hand accounts of flying the aeroplane in combat, from some of the most famous aces to ever pilot the Spitfire, and from some of the pilots forgotten by history. Chronicling the history of the most iconic of British aircraft this is a 'must have' purchase for aviation enthusiasts.

The F4F and FM Wildcat aircraft was the US Navy's front-line fighter in the early days of WWII. This iconic aircraft was designed and produced by Grumman, as well as the newly-formed Eastern Aircraft Division of General Motors. As larger and more powerful fighters joined the fleet in the later stages of the war, the Wildcat remained in the fray, flying from the decks of escort carriers, which were too small to permit the operation of the later aircraft. The Wildcat was remarkable not only because it served through the duration of the war, but also because it was the mount of some of the nation's most distinguished aces, including Butch O'Hare and Joe Foss.

At the time of its introduction into service, the F-111 was a revolutionary aircraft and was, without doubt, extremely popular. Capable of delivering a wide variety of ordnance, with a high degree of survivability, it was arguably one of the best tactical aircraft of its time. Illustrated with 180 color photographs, this book covers the operational period of the F-111 Aardvark and EF-111 Raven including details of all versions produced, including color schemes and special markings, and the units that flew the aircraft operationally from the first in the 1960s through to eventual retirement by the test community in the 1990s. 180 illustrations

This illustrated study explores, in detail, the climactic events of the Battle of the Atlantic, and how air power proved to be the Allies' most important submarine-killer in one of the most bitterly fought naval campaigns of World War II. As 1942 opened, both Nazi Germany and the Allies were ready for the climactic battles of the Atlantic to begin. Germany had 91 operational U-boats, and over 150 in training or trials. Production for 1942-44 was planned to exceed 200 boats annually. Karl Doenitz, running the Kriegsmarine's U-boat arm, would finally have the numbers needed to run the tonnage war he wanted against the Allies. Meanwhile, the British had, at last, assembled the solution to the U-boat peril. Its weapons and detection systems had improved to the stage that maritime patrol aircraft could launch deadly attacks on U-boats day and night. Airborne radar, Leigh lights, Magnetic Anomaly Detection (MAD) and the Fido homing torpedo all turned the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft into a submarine-killer, while shore and ship-based technologies such as high-frequency direction finding and signals intelligence could now help aircraft find enemy U-boats. Following its entry into the war in 1941, the United States had also thrown its industrial muscle behind the campaign, supplying VLR Liberator bombers to the RAF and escort carriers to the Royal Navy. The US Navy also operated anti-submarine patrol blimps and VLR aircraft in the southern and western Atlantic, and sent its own escort carriers to guard convoys. This book, the second of two volumes, explores the climactic events of the Battle of the Atlantic, and reveals how air power - both maritime patrol aircraft and carrier aircraft - ultimately proved to be the Allies' most important weapon in one of the most bitterly fought naval campaigns of World War II.

At the beginning of the Second World War, RAF Acklington was the most important fighter station in north-east England. It started life in 1938 as a training base for RAF aircrew, but after the outbreak of hostilities it was given the role of protecting the skies over Newcastle and its important industrial hinterland. Acklinton's Spitfires and Hurricanes were soon in action against German bombers, as many of the earliest air raids of the war took place over this part of Britain. Due to the importance of this region, with its major ports and industries, it continued to attract the attention of enemy bombers long after the Battle of Britain had been won. By late 1940, most of the attacks took place after dark and RAF Acklington became the host for night fighter squadrons. Unlike many military airfields, it did not close when hostilities ceased, reverting first to its training role, and then becoming the base for fighter aircraft, before closing in the early 1970s.