The only book to dramatize from both the Japanese and Allied points of view, the events surrounding this tragic, historic last mission of the biggest battleship ever built in the history of naval warfare. Chosen as a Main Selection of the Military Book Club.

In this second volume of his history of naval power in the 20th century, H. P. Willmott follows the fortunes of the established seafaring nations of Europe along with two upstarts the United States and Japan. Emerging from World War I in command of the seas, Great Britain saw its supremacy weakened through neglect and in the face of more committed rivals. Britain s grand Coronation Review of 1937 marked the apotheosis of a sea power slipping into decline. Meanwhile, Britain s rivals and soon-to-be enemies were embarking on significant naval building programs that would soon change the nature of war at sea in ways that neither they nor their rivals anticipated. By the end of a new world war, the United States had taken command of two oceans, having placed its industrial might behind technologies that further defined the arena of naval power above and below the waves, where stealth and the ability to strike at great distance would soon rewrite the rules of war and of peace. This splendid volume further enhances Willmott s stature as the dean of naval historians."

The Hawker Fury was the first RAF's fighter able to fly at a speed exceeding 200 mph in lever flight. This part one narrates the development and production of the Fury and the career of the Fury Mk.I in the RAF. This part includes also the full story of the Fury in South Africa, which fought against the Italians in East Africa in 1940-1941. The SAAF Furies were eventually withdrawn from use in 1943. New material has become available from South Africa giving today the most complete story on the Furies in the SAAF. This issue is illustrated with over 40 photos and 6 color profiles giving a new reference for the historians and modelers alike.

After the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor the Pacific based squadrons of RNZAF began to receive modern US warplanes. Under the command of Squadron Leader T.J. McLean de Lange, No.25 Squadron was created on 31 July 1943, as the RNZAF's sole SBD Dauntless dive bomber squadron. In March 1944, No.25 began operations on Guadalcanal; objective Rabaul. In eight weeks 530 sorties were flown for the loss of only five aircraft. However, due to the outdated nature of the Dauntless, the Squadron was disbanded at the end of May and surviving pilots transferred to RNZAF Corsair squadrons. Revised edition 2015 which includes a page on the British SBD-5s.

Reborn in 1951, the Myasishchev design bureau made its mark by creating the M-4 strategic bomber. Yet, this subsonic aircraft was soon made obsolescent by supersonic fighter technologyany new strategic bomber would need supersonic performance to avoid being intercepted. Hence in 1952, Myasishchev started work on supersonic bomber projects, which led to the M-50 of 1955. Designed for sustained supersonic cruise, the Mach 1.7 four-turbojet bomber had many innovative features, including automatic flight control and pitch trim systems, and the most powerful jet engine of the day. When the air force rejected the M-50 on the grounds of inadequate range, Myasishchev suggested building it as a technology demonstrator for the much-improved M-52 missile strike aircraft. First flown in October 1959, the M-50 made only 11 flights before the Myasishchev OKB was closed again a year later. Yet, it did have its moment of glory at the Tushino air show on 9 July 1961. This is the only work on these planes in English, featuring about 400 previously unpublished or rarely seen images.

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"From transforming the ways of war to offering godlike views of inaccessible spots, revolutionizing rescues worldwide, and providing some of our most-watched TV moments--including the cloud of newscopters that trailed O. J. Simpson's Bronco--the helicopter is far more capable than early inventors expected. Now James Chiles profiles the many "helicoptrians "who contributed to the development of this amazing machine, and pays tribute to the selfless heroism of pilots and crews. A virtual flying lesson and scientific adventure tale, "The God Machine" is more than the history of an invention; it is a journey into the minds of imaginative thinkers and a fascinating look at the ways they changed our world.
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- A complete history of underwater vessels and the landmarks in their development, from turn-of-the-century pioneer Simon Lake up to the production of the nuclear-powered Dreadnought.
- Concise technical specifications provide clear information about each submarine's country of origin, size, speed, displacement and armory, with a glossary that explains relevant technical and military terms.
- Extensive details about over 70 different kinds of submarine from around the world, including the Holland boats, Aigette, Storm, Skipjack, Torbay and Sea Dragon, as well as dramatic episodes in submarine history such as the sinking of the Lusitania and the capture of the Enigma cipher from U110.

The Westland Whirlwind belongs to that category of aircraft which entered production but failed to live up to their designers' expectations. Its unreliable engines can be seen as a major reason for this but it only serves to hide other serious problems. Indeed, even with better engines the results would probably have been the same, as the concept of a twin-engined fighter aircraft capable of meeting single-engined fighters escorting bombers formations on an equal footing was fallacious, as combat in WW2 was soon to prove. The true story of the Whirwind and the pilots who flew it is here told in 52 pages with almost 50 photographs, many being published for the first time.

True tales of life and death as told by those who fought in the briny depths. From the undersea warfare of World War II through the Cold War stand-offs in the deep to the cutting-edge technology of the modern U.S. Navy, submarines have evolved into the front line of our nation's defense at sea. And the men who sail them have become heroes above and below the waves. These are their stories. Compiled from interviews and recollections from submarine veterans and accompanied by detailed photos and illustrations of both man and machine at work, Sub is a gripping chronicle of undersea warfare as told by those who know firsthand what it means to drop through the hull of a boat, to sink into the dark, freezing waters of the deep-and to have death never more than one torpedo away.

The technical details of British warships were recorded in a set of plans produced by the builders on completion of every ship. Known as the as fitted' general arrangements, these drawings represented the exact appearance and fitting of the ship as it entered service. Intended to provide a permanent reference for the Admiralty and the dockyards, these highly detailed plans were drawn with exquisite skill in multi-coloured inks and washes that represent the acme of the draughtsman's art. Today they form part of the incomparable collection of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, which is using the latest scanning technology to make digital copies of the highest quality. This book is one of a series based entirely on these draughts which depict famous warships in an unprecedented degree of detail - complete sets in full colour, with many close-ups and enlargements that make every aspect clear and comprehensible. Extensive captions point the reader to important features to be found in the plans, and an introduction covers the background to the design. The subject of this volume is best known for the disaster of 22 September 1914 in which Cressy and two sister-ships, Aboukir and Hogue, were sunk with great loss of life by a single small submarine in little more than an hour. Having been overtaken by the rapid advance of naval technology in the fifteen years since their construction, the cruisers were regarded as obsolete and employed on a task for which they were never intended. However, in their day they were powerful and innovative ships, with a significant impact on the way the armoured cruiser developed. This becomes clear from the analysis of the plans included in this book, which thus presents an original and more positive view of these ships that will enlighten - and perhaps surprise - many naval historians and enthusiasts.

During the first quarter of the 20th century, the major naval powers of the world built hundreds of Dreadnought-style battleships. Today there is only one. The battleship Texas was for a time the most powerful weapon on earth. When it was commissioned in 1914, the 14-inch guns were the largest in the world. This technological marvel of the time served with the British Grand Fleet in World War I and was the flagship of the entire U.S. Navy between the two World Wars. During the Second World War, an older Texas, past its prime, supported amphibious invasions in North Africa, Normandy, Southern France, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. The ship and her crew were preparing for the invasion of Japan when the war ended and the Texas came home. No longer needed to defend her country, the Texas was saved from the scrap yard to become our nation's first historic ship museum in 1948. Now lying peacefully in her berth at the San Jacinto State Park near Houston, the battleship Texas is still serving her country - teaching instead of fighting. The Texas is the only battleship remaining in the world today that served in World War I and the only ship remaining of any type that served in both World Wars. This is the story of the battleship Texas and the brave men who walked its decks.

Allied success in invading Fortress Europe (the area of Continental Europe occupied by Nazi Germany) depended on getting armor onto the beaches as fast as possible. This book explains how the Allies developed the specialist tanks it needed, their qualities, deployment and numbers, and how they performed on the two crucial days when France was invaded, firstly in Normandy and then in Provence. The focus of this volume will be on the specialized tanks developed for the Operation Neptune amphibious landings including the Duplex Drive amphibious Sherman tanks used on both the US and British/Canadian beaches. It also covers the specialized engineer tanks called "Armoured Funnies" of the British 79th Armoured Division and addresses the popular myth that US Army refusal to employ the Armoured Funnies was a principal cause for the high casualties at Omaha Beach. There is also coverage of Operation Overlord's "Forgotten D-Day", the amphibious landings of Operation Dragoon. This book addresses why there were so few Panzers opposing the landings from the German perspective as well as detailing the extent of German tank/assault gun activity on D-Day.

Travis Air Force Base, situated in Fairfield, California, is the 'Gateway to the Pacific', handling more cargo and passengers than any other American military air terminal, and is the transportation hub for the West Coast. Flying the KC-10 Extender, C-17 Globemaster III, and the C-5 Galaxy, Travis can handle any airlift mission for the United States Air Force, and its airmen have distinguished themselves in military operations at home and around the world, including the recent humanitarian evacuation from Kabul. The logistical capabilities at Travis help maintain America's military might by supplying people and parts to the right places at the right time. With over 150 images, most of which have never been published before, this book documents the aircraft, the technology, the airmen, and the behind-the-scenes operations at Travis.

The striking P-61 Black Widow was the first purpose-built American night fighter. Designed by Jack Northrop and Vladimir Pavlecka, the P-61's menacing appearance was matched by the plane's advanced technology and fearsome weaponry. Interestingly, the Widow is credited with the final aerial kill of the war. This book tells the story of the Black Widow from the experimental XP-61 on through the final production variant, the F-15A, through black-and-white photos and vintage color photos, augmented by four color profiles and detailed line drawings.

Featuring sloping armor and armed with a powerful 75 mm gun, Germany's Panther tank was developed as a counter to the Soviet T-34. Entering production in 1943, the Panther was intended to become Germany's standard medium tank. Although featuring potent armament and excellent armor, the Panther was hampered by disruptive production and drivetrain maintenance requirements. Produced in three variants, by three firms (MAN, Daimler-Benz, and MNH), the roughly 6,000 Panthers were used on the Eastern Front, in Italy, and from Normandy to Berlin. In this greatly expanded edition of the author's earlier work, almost 250 photos are used to present the Panther from the factory to the battlefield in considerable detail.

Provides a comprehensive critical analysis of a vessel long neglected by naval scholars - Highlights the involvement that FDR, Douglas MacArthur, John F. Kennedy, and others had with the PT Hunters in the Shallows examines the development of the small torpedo boat in U.S. naval history from Lt. William Cushing's heroic Civil War attack on the Confederate ram Albemarle in 1864 in a forerunner of the PT to the type's zenith in World War II. Curtis L. Nelson takes readers inside the scandalous 1939 Elco deal to manufacture PTs, describes Gen. Douglas MacArthur's dramatic escape from Corregidor via PT in 1942, and assesses the sinking of John F. Kennedy's PT-109 off the Solomon Islands in 1943.

Most World War II submarine stories are glorifications of war written by submarine captains about their own boats. The USS Pampanito, however, was not a typical submarine. The sub and its crew caused plenty of destruction, but they found the pinnacle of their honor and fame in a dramatic sea rescue. Gregory F. Michno relates the experiences of the crewmen -- both enlisted men and officers -- who served on the USS Pampanito.

The Pampanito story begins with the boat's construction in 1943, continues through its six combat missions, and concludes with its decommissioning after the war in 1945. The heart of the book is the September 12, 1944, attack on a Japanese convoy carrying English and Australian POWs from the Burma-Siam Railway (of Bridge on the River Kwai fame) to prison camps in Japan. The Pampanito helped sink two of the prison ships, unwittingly killing hundreds of Allied soldiers, but then returned to rescue the victims. The crew picked a record seventy-three men from the sea.

A groundbreaking book when first published in Russia in 2005, now Valeriy Zamulin's study of the crucible of combat during the titanic clash at Kursk - the fighting at Prokhorovka - is available in English. A former staff member of the Prokhorovka Battlefield State Museum, Zamulin has dedicated years of his life to the study of the battle of Kursk, and especially the fighting on its southern flank involving the famous attack of the II SS Panzer Corps into the teeth of deeply-echeloned Red Army defenses. A product of five years of intense research into the once-secret Central Archives of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Zamulin lays out in enormous detail the plans and tactics of both sides, culminating in the famous and controversial clash at Prokhorovka on 12 July 1943. Zamulin skillfully weaves reminiscences of Red Army and Wehrmacht soldiers and officers into the narrative of the fighting, using in part files belonging to the Prokhorovka Battlefield State Museum. Zamulin has the advantage of living in Prokhorovka, so he has walked the ground of the battlefield many times and has an intimate knowledge of the terrain. Examining the battle from primarily the Soviet side, Zamulin reveals the real costs and real achievements of the Red Army at Kursk, and especially Prokhorovka. He examines mistaken deployments and faulty decisions that hampered the Voronezh Front's efforts to contain the Fourth Panzer Army's assault, and the valiant, self-sacrificial fighting of the Red Army's soldiers and junior officers as they sought to slow the German advance, and then crush the II SS Panzer Corps with a heavy counterattack at Prokhorovka on 12 July. The combat on this day receives particular scrutiny, as Zamulin works to clarify the relative size of the contending forces, the actual area of this battle, and the costs suffered by both sides. The costs to General P. A. Rotmistrov's 5th Guards Tank Army and General A. S. Zhadov's 5th Guards Army as they slammed into 1st SS Panzer Grenadier Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, 3rd SS Panzer Grenadier Division Totenkopf and a portion of 2nd SS Panzer Grenadier Division Das Reich were particularly devastating, and Zamulin examines the nuts and bolts of the counteroffensive to see why this was so. Zamulin does not exclude the oft-overlooked efforts of Army Group Kempf's III Panzer Corps on the right-wing of the Fourth Panzer Army, as it sought to keep pace with the II SS Panzer Corps advance, and then breach the line of the Northern Donets River in order to link up with its left-hand neighbor in the region of Prokhorovka. Zamulin describes how the Soviet High Command and the Voronezh Front had to quickly cobble together a defense of this line with already battered units, but needed to reinforce it with fresh formations at the expense of the counterstroke at Prokhorovka. Printed on heavy stock gloss paper, illustrated with many photographs (including a colour section showing present-day views of the battlefield), specially-commissioned colour maps and supplemented with extensive tables of data, Zamulin's book is an outstanding contribution to the growing literature on the battle of Kursk, and further demolishes many of the myths and legends that grew up around this battle.

Could a subarctic wilderness airway traversing northwestern North America and the breadth of Russia be used to deliver thousands of warplanes? The needs of the beleaguered WW II ally demanded the attempt, despite the brutal climate, primitive facilities and wild terrain. This book describes the delivery of 8,000 aircraft to Russia over a little-known airway that extended from the US through northwestern Canada to Nome, Alaska. The airway was cruel on man and machine as the twisted wrecks of fallen warplanes littering forest and muskeg bear testament. Warplanes to Alaska is a tribute to the hundreds of men and women who toiled in the harshest of climates to help decide the outcome of World War II. The author interviewed scores of Canadian, Russians and American veterans and acquired hundreds of photos in an effort to fully recount this amazing part of history. Details of the Russian portion of the airway and their military operations, long hidden by an impenetrable veil of official secrecy, are revealed here for the first time. Warplanes to Alaska will engage anyone interested in WWII, aviation or northern history.

The launch in 1906 of HMS _Dreadnought_, the worlds first all-big-gun battleship, rendered all existing battle fleets obsolete, but at the same time it wiped out the Royal Navy's numerical advantage, so expensively maintained for decades. Already locked in an arms race with Germany, Britain urgently needed to build an entirely new battle fleet of these larger, more complex and more costly vessels. In this she succeeded spectacularly: in little over a decade fifty such ships were completed, almost exactly double what Germany achieved. It was only made possible by the country's vast industrial nexus of shipbuilders, engine manufacturers, armament firms and specialist armour producers, whose contribution to the creation of the Grand Fleet is too often ignored. This heroic achievement, and how it was done, is the central theme of this book. It charts the rise of the large industrial conglomerates that were key to this success, looks at their reaction to fast-moving technical changes, and analyses the politics of funding this vast national effort, both before and during the Great War. It also attempts to assess the true cost and value of the Grand Fleet in terms of the resources consumed. And finally, it describes the effects of the post-war recession, industrial contraction, and the very different conditions that influenced the last generation of British battleships built before and during the Second World War.

Drones have become the controversial new weapon of choice for the US military abroad. Unmanned details the causes and deadly consequences of this terrifying new development in warfare, and explores the implications for international law and global peace. Ann Rogers and John Hill argue that drones represent the first truly globalised technology of war. The book shows how unmanned systems are changing not simply how wars are fought, but the meaning of conflict itself. Providing an unparalleled account of new forms of 21st century imperial warfare, Unmanned shows how drone systems dissolve the conventional obstacles of time and space that have traditionally shaped conflict in the international system. It considers the possibility that these weapons will become normalised in global conflict, raising the spectre of new, unpredictable and unaccountable forms of warfare.

The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 was widely regarded as the Luftwaffe's finest fighter. It first saw service in France in August 1941, immediately proving itself at least the equal of the then latest Spitfire variant, the Mk.V. There were a number of characteristics which contributed to the Fw 190's success. The first of these was that it had been designed from the outset to be a weapons platform, rather than an aircraft to which weapons were added, as was the case with previous fighters. This meant that it could carry a wide range of armament in the form of various combinations of bomb racks, cannon pods and, later, unguided rockets. It was also built to withstand heavy punishment, with the extensive use of electrically-powered equipment instead of the hydraulic systems which, used by most aircraft manufacturers of the time, were more susceptible to failure if damaged by gunfire. The relatively small diameters of electrical wires were much less likely to be hit by gunfire than larger hydraulic pipes. Another element in the Fw 190's construction which added to its durability was its wide-tracked, inwards-retracting landing gear, as opposed to the much narrower, outwards-retracting landing gear of the Messerschmitt Bf 109\. This gave the Fw 190 much greater stability on the ground which resulted in far fewer ground accidents than experienced by the Bf 109. The Fw 190's BMW 801 D-2 radial engine also produced 1,677 horse power, giving the early Focke-Wulf 190 A-8 a top speed of more than 400 miles per hour - which was considerably faster than the early variant Spitfires. It was the Spitfires with which the Fw 190 pilots frequently had to contend when in combat over the English Channel, and particularly during the Allied raid on Dieppe in August 1942, when more than 100 Focke-Wulfs (from Jagdgeschwaders JG 2 and JG 26) engaged Spitfires and Hawker Typhoons, claiming sixty-one Allied aircraft 'kills' against just twenty-five losses of their own. The Fw 190's weapons capability also saw it used as a fighter-bomber. The Fw 190 A-3/U3 Jabo was used with considerable effect against Allied shipping in the Channel and against the south-eastern coasts of England in 1942 in tip-and-runs raids. These fast, low-level attacks proved very difficult for the defending RAF squadrons to counter and only one Fw 190 was lost on these operations. In this illuminating study of the early service of the Fw 190, Chris Goss has assembled a unique collection of photographs illustrating the wide use of this highly versatile aircraft.

The General Dynamics F-111 was one of aviation history's most promising planes when it came out in the early 1960s. Despite a rocky service career, political changes in how the military acquired its weaponry, and the addition of too much new technology, the plane provided a credible frontline deterrent in the Cold War era and was used to great effect in the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm. Many of the challenges faced by putting the F-111-with all of its new systems-into service are now accepted as a normal outfit in modern fighter aircraft. Although the Navy did not accept the F-111B model, the Grumman F-14 Tomcat development program was significantly assisted by prior radar and missile system testing on the F-111B airframe. The F-111 was a hugely powerful aircraft and carried devastating weaponry, but was phased out by the USAF in the mid-90s, largely due to crippling maintenance costs. The aircraft remained in Australian service until 2010.

In July 1944, with the Eastern Front crumbling and the first cracks appearing in the Normandy defences, Hitler ordered the creation of a new type of unit based on the ad-hoc Kampfgruppen which the Germans used so successfully throughout the war. Hastily assembled and short-lived these independent Panzer brigades nevertheless served on both fronts in some of the fiercest fighting of the conflict. The real striking power of the initial units would a battalion equipped with the Pzkpfw V Panther, perhaps the most effective armoured vehicle produced by Germany during the Second World War. In Dennis Oliver's latest volume in the TankCraft series he uses archive photos and extensively researched colour illustrations to examine the Panther battalions of the Panzer brigades that fought to hold back the Allied advance during the last months of 1944\. A key section of his book displays available model kits and aftermarket products, complemented by a gallery of beautifully constructed and painted models in various scales. Technical details as well as modifications introduced during production and in the field are also examined providing everything the modeller needs to recreate an accurate representation of these historic tanks.