Using rare first-hand accounts from Me 262 pilots, Robert Forsyth examines what it was like to fly the world's most advanced interceptor in the deadly skies over Germany in 1944-45. Right from its operational debut in the summer of 1944, the Me 262 outclassed anything the Allies had in terms of speed and firepower ratio, offering a formidable punch with four 30 mm Mk 108 nose-mounted cannon, and a Jumo 004 jet engine. The problem the Luftwaffe faced, however, was one of numbers. Towards the end of the war, availability of machines and trained pilots was scarce, and it is only thanks to the exploits of a handful of veteran Jagdwaffe aces such as Adolf Galland, Walter Krupinski and Johannes Steinhoff, that the aircraft made a significant impact on the air war and was the source of considerable concern to the Allies. Filled with specially commissioned artwork including action-packed ribbon diagrams, battlescenes, armament views and maps, Robert Forsyth offers the definitive technical and historical guide to the state-of-the-art Me 262, using rare photographs and pilots' first-hand accounts.

This is the story of the world's first attempt at perfecting a true, tail-sitting vertical take off and landing (VTOL) interceptor flying machine - Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau's proposed "Triebflegeljager" or thrust wing fighter project of 1944. The Triebflegeljager was not intended to be an air-superiority dogfighter, but a bomber killer rising straight up from its hiding place in the forest or urban area to meet and attack Allied bombers head on. With its mission completed it would return to its hiding place on the forest floor and wait to arise again. The Triebflegeljager would have been a point-defense interceptor intended for the Luftwaffe home defense squadrons and its most important virtue was that it would not need a runway. Highly unusual, then as well as today, the "Triebflegeljager" was an amazing prototype.

The Ju 52 is presented in its early bomber, and later its famous transport roles. Covered are its use on a variety of war fronts and in detailed, up-close photos and line drawings.

USS Iowa (BB-61) was the lead ship in one of the most famous classes of battleships ever commissioned into the US Navy. Transferred to the Pacific Fleet in 1944, the Iowa first fired her guns in anger in the Marshall Islands campaign, and sunk her first enemy ship, the Katori. The Iowa went on to serve across a number of pivotal Pacific War campaigns, including at the battles of the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf. It ended the war spending several months bombarding the Japanese Home Islands before the surrender in August 1945.

After taking part in the Korea War, the Iowa was decommissioned in 1958, before being briefly reactivated in the 1980s as part of President Reagan's 600-Ship Navy Plan. After being decommissioned a second and final time in 1990, the Iowa is now a museum ship in Los Angeles.

This new addition to the Anatomy of the Ship series is illustrated with contemporary photographs, scaled plans of the ship and superb 3D illustrations which bring this historic battleship to life.

A study of the little-known career of Germany's Panther, perhaps the greatest tank of World War II, in foreign hands both during and after the war. The Panther was arguably the most successful medium tank design of World War II, demonstrated by the number of Germany's enemies that used them after, and even during the war. While some were used by the Western Allies, the Russians used the greatest number of captured Panthers against Nazi Germany, though they did not find much favour thanks to their mechanical unreliability and difficulty in acquiring spare parts. After the war, they were mostly passed on to satellite states such as Bulgaria and Romania. The French army also used them in significant numbers after the war with approximately 50 in service from 1946 to 1950, and they were a significant influence on future French tank design. Using detailed artwork and contemporary photographs, this fascinating book tells the little-known story of the Panther tank in foreign hands in World War II and beyond.

This informative and long overdue account provides an extraordinary amount of insight into the Neptunes lengthy history, beginning with its inception during World War II to the present day survivors. Lockheeds Neptune was the first aircraft designed exclusively as an anti-submarine patrol bomber and was progressively developed throughout its operational career. Versatility became a byword as the Neptunes role as the U.S. Navys premier sub-hunter greatly expanded. A veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars, the venerable Neptune proved highly adaptable to nearly any mission. More than 1,000 examples were built, many of which thrive today as fire bombers and warbirds. Presented here for the first time are the many fascinating details describing Neptune service with non-U.S. air arms, and obscure operations to include gunships, U.S. Army variants, and CIA operations. Clearly evident is the in-depth research that makes this extensive volume accurate, detailed and redable. Complete with serial and bureau numbers lists that correspond to its many assignments, plus many rare photographs, this comprehensive history does justice to the legendary Neptune. Wayne Mutza is also the author of Grumman Albatross: A History of the Legendary Seaplane(available from Schiffer Publishing Ltd.).

The F-105 Thunderchief was primarily designed for tactical nuclear operations. For this reason, it was on nuclear Victor alert in Europe (Bitburg and Spangdahlem Air Bases in Germany) and the Far East (Kadena on Okinawa and Osan in the Republic of Korea). After President John F. Kennedy took office in January 1961, his Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, shifted the USAF's focus more and more to conventional warfare including, through modifications, the mission of the F-105. When the air war against North Vietnam was initiated in earnest on March 2, 1965, the USAF needed an aircraft with a load-carrying ability, and the only aircraft that could do that job was the Thunderchief. This book not only gives in-depth accounts of various historical F-105 events, with inputs from the pilots involved, but is also lavishly illustrated with over 150 images, many of which have never been published before.

This is a country-by-country guide to 130 landing ships and landing craft, with over 210 wartime and modern photographs. It features a complete guide to landing ships, detailing conventional personnel and cargo carriers, welldeck dock ships and modern multi-function ships accommodating helicopters, landing craft, military personnel, their vehicles and equipment. It also features a country-by-country directory of landing craft, from ramped beaching craft to present-day high-speed air-cushion craft, including amphibious tracked landing vehicles and peripheral activities such as minesweeping and obstacle clearance. Specification boxes provide at-a-glance information about each vessel's country of origin, displacement, dimensions, armament, machinery, power and endurance. It includes a technical glossary explaining naval acronyms, abbreviations and key terminology. Amphibious warfare vessels are ships that travel from shore to shore, and craft moving from ship to shore. This authoritative book consists of two illustrated directories, the first covering landing ships - the ocean-going vessels that transport personnel, cargo or vehicles - and then landing craft, the majority of which are transported aboard specialist ships. From float-on, float-off welldeck ships to high-speed air-cushion landing craft, 130 types from around the world are included. With over 210 photographs from museums, libraries and other historical sources, this instructive volume provides enthusiasts with a lively and engaging guide to a fascinating subject.

Today, the Mustang is a living legend and is remembered as probably the finest long-range single-seat piston-engined fighter ever built. Here, in words and images, the esteemed aviation historian Martin Bowman tells the story of an aircraft that continues to provoke enthusiastic praise. We look at the Mustang's involvement in the Second World War and the Korean War, as well as other conflicts and engagements. This new addition to the _Images of War_ series serves as a tribute to an aircraft with a particularly impressive wartime record, the legacy of which is still felt today.

The 448th Bomb Group from its inception at Gowen Field, Idaho, in 1943 until the cessation of hostilities in Europe in 1945. An in-depth, personal look into the men who carried the war to the heart of the German Reich. Although the 448th Bomb Group never received the notoriety of some of the more famous Groups of the Eighth Air Force, it was one of the many units that successfully completed its mission every day. Among the unsung heroes of World War II were these normal men who completed their missions, day after day.

An absorbing study of the duels fought between the US Navy’s escort warships and Hitler’s U-boats between December 1941 and May 1945. Although the Battle of the Atlantic lasted several years, its most critical phase began once the United States entered World War II. By December 1941, the British had mastered the U-boat threat in the Eastern Atlantic, only to see the front abruptly expand to regions the US Navy would patrol, chiefly the Atlantic Seaboard. Unless the US Navy overcame the U-boat threat, the Allies would struggle to win. The Battle of the Atlantic was made up of thousands of individual duels: aircraft against U-boats, aircraft against aircraft, aircraft against ships—but most crucially, ships against U-boats. The individual clashes between Germany’s U-boats and the Allied warships escorting the vital convoys often comprised one-on-one actions. These stories provide the focus of this detailed work. The technical details of the U-boats, destroyers, and destroyer escorts involved are explored in stunning illustrations, including ship and submarine profiles and weaponry artworks, and key clashes are brought to life in dramatic battlescenes. Among the clashes covered are including USS Kearny vs. U-568, USS Roper (DD-147) vs U-85, USS Eugene E. Elmore (DE-686) vs U-549, and USS Atherton (DE-169) vs U-853.

Convair B-36 Peacemaker, A Photo Chronicle explores the history of the Strategic Air Command's biggest bomber that helped keep the peace during the early years of the Cold War. The six-engined B-36 - later ten engine - was the first intercontinental bomber that could fly across continents, hit its target, and return to base unrefueled - long a dream of air planners. Presented here through the use of historical photographs is the history of this magnificent airplane, from its origin just prior to America's entry into World War II in 1941, to its final days in 1959 when its last missions were flown. This book will give the reader a concise overview of the story of the Peacemaker in the 1940s-1950s. A serial number listing is included, as well as a list of all ten B-36 bomb wings.

Captured Tanks in German Service: Small Tanks and Armored Tractors 1939-45

The I-200 fighter project was a compromise between design office’s capabilities, realities of the Soviet aviation industry, with its available technologies, and military requirements. According to the brief description of the MiG-3 from 1941, it was, in terms of its purpose, an interceptor, but, interestingly, it could also be used as… an attack aircraft, or a light, fast dive bomber. Both the I-200 prototypes and the later MiG-1 and MiG-3 were single-seat, single-engine, mixed-design low-wing aircraft. Front part of the fuselage, together with the centre wing, up to the rear wall of the pilot’s cockpit, was made of metal. Only the tail part of the fuselage and wing consoles were wooden. Vertical stabilizer, which was an integral part of the fuselage, was made of wood, too, but horizontal stabilizer was all-metal. Rudders and ailerons had a metal construction and canvas cover. Undercarriage was made of chromansil steel. In front part of the fuselage there was a pilot’s cabin with a seat, instrument panel and controls, front fuel tank, main offensive armament, water cooler and other componentry. Centre wing was attached to the front part of the fuselage at seven points, the rear part at four points, while the engine mount was supported by two.

A new analysis of the technology and tanks that faced off against each other on opposite sides of the Iron Curtain, during the very height of the Cold War. From the 1960s onwards, there was a generational shift in tank design and warfare with the advent of CBR (chemical, biological, radiological) protection and a move away from HEAT ammunition to APFSDS. This shift confronted the growing threat of guided anti-tank missiles and saw the introduction of composite armor. Soviet heavy tanks and tank destroyer/assault guns became obsolete, giving way to the technological might of the T-62 and T-64, while NATO forces employed the Chieftain, AMX-30, Leopard I, and M60, plus the initial attempt at a common US-German tank, the MBT-70. Using detailed illustrations and contemporary photographs, this companion volume to NVG 301, Tanks at the Iron Curtain 1946-60 focuses on key battle tanks and their technology to give a comprehensive overall picture of how tanks developed during modern times.

Using first-hand accounts and brand-new artwork, this book brings to life the realities of flying the Bf 109 in combat during the very first battles of World War II. The Bf 109 was one of the principal fighter aircraft types in the Luftwaffe's inventory during the opening months of World War II and it was central to many of Germany's early victories, before coming up against the unbeatable RAF during the Battle of Britain. This book presents first-hand experiences of the pilots who flew the Bf 109E, the aircraft which first featured a Daimler-Benz DB 601 powerplant, and which was in the front line in the skies over Poland, the Low Countries and France, and the older Bf 109D, still in use in the Polish campaign. The early variants of the Messerschmitt fighter, the Bf 109E-1, Bf 109E-2 and Bf 109E-3, swept all before them during the opening wartime campaigns, their successes only fading at the Battle of France, when the Bf 109's seasoned pilots encountered modern and well-flown RAF and Armee de l'Air fighters. In a rigorous and engaging new analysis, Luftwaffe aviation expert Malcolm V. Lowe examines and assesses the Bf 109 as a fighting machine from the perspective of the Luftwaffe at the forefront of the German blitzkrieg. Contemporary photographs and specially commissioned artwork, including a dramatic battlescene, armament views, technical diagrams and ribbon diagrams illustrating step-by-step each battle tactic of the main dogfights explored in the book, bring the experiences of the Bf 109 pilots vividly to life.

This book focuses on the KC-135 tanker built by Boeing. It will look at every model of the KC-135 built and its introduction into service. There are several other specialised types that performed a non-aerial refuelling task, such as Airborne Command Post, but which retained the KC-135A designation for some years. The ground trainers will also be covered in this book. With over 170 images, this book is the first of two volumes dealing with Seattle's veteran Stratotankers.

A uniquely detailed study of a Japanese aircraft carrier that took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor, before being sunk at Midway. Hiryu was an aircraft carrier built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during the 1930s. Her aircraft supported the Japanese invasion of French Indochina in mid-1940 and during the first month of the Pacific War, she took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Wake Island. She supported the conquest of the Dutch East Indies in January 1942 and her aircraft bombed Darwin, Australia, and continued to assist in the Dutch East Indies campaign. In April, Hiryu's aircraft helped sink two British heavy cruisers and several merchant ships during the Indian Ocean raid. After a brief refit, Hiryu and three other fleet carriers of the First Air Fleet participated in the Battle of Midway in June 1942. After bombarding American forces on the atoll, the carriers were attacked by aircraft from Midway and the carriers USS Enterprise, Hornet, and Yorktown. Dive bombers from Yorktown and Enterprise crippled Hiryu and set her afire. She was scuttled the following day after it became clear that she could not be salvaged. The loss of Hiryu and three other IJN carriers at Midway was a crucial strategic defeat for Japan and contributed significantly to the Allies' ultimate victory in the Pacific. Drawing on new research and technology, this edition is the most comprehensive examination of Hiryu ever published. It includes a complete set of detailed line drawings with fully descriptive keys and full-color 3D artwork, supported by technical details, photographs, and text on the building of the ship and a record of the ship's service history.

The German Army conducted offensive military operations more effectively than any other in the twentieth century. Its unparalleled tactical and operational virtuosity is obscured by the politically conditioned circumstance of its defeat in the century's two great wars. Writers on the Second World War compound the obscuration by thin treatment of the early German victories and exaggerated emphasis on the ponderous Allied trek to victory later in the war. The acknowledged superiority of the German Army in battle fighting, however, is exemplified by the offensives of 1939-1942, and German Panzers on the Offensive combines description and interpretation of the advances of nine German panzer divisions to reveal extraordinary details of the great victories. The author has based the study almost entirely on the division war diaries and is able to take the reader aboard the command and combat vehicles, escort him through the fighting, and extract reasons for German success in offensive maneuver war. Based as it is on primary source material, the book presents an authoritative and original interpretation of German success and not the familiar synthesis of secondary sources. The interpretation is constructed in enough detail to be a realistic basis for improvement of present-day military operations by the professional and to fascinate and inform the general reader.

This new volume covers development from the VK 45.02(P), VK 45.03(H) to the modifications under design for the Tiger II at the end of the war. All of this illustrated with scale drawings by Hilary L. Doyle combined with drawings, sketches, and photographs depicting external modifications is well as internal views. Over twenty years of intensive research went into finding the original documents needed to create this new history on the development, characteristics, and tactical capabilities of the Tiger series. Tom Jentz has conducted an exhaustive search for suviving records of the design/assembly firms (including Henschel, Krupp, Nibelungenwerk, Porsche, and Wegmann), the Heeres-Waffenamt, the D656 series of manuals on the Tiger, and the war diaries and operations reports from the German units. The written records were supplemented by examining thousands of photos. On-sight research into almost all the surviving Tigers provided details that could only be obtained from actual specimens. New information was found on the evolution of the heavy tank series, the key decisons on the design of the Tigers, the significant modifications made during the production runs, production statistics, the Tigers characteristics and tactical capabilities, an exact accounting of the issue of the Tigers to the combat units, and combat account written directly after the actions. Tom Jentz is also the author of Germany's Tiger Tanks: Tiger I & II - Combat Tactics; Germany's Panther Tank: The Quest for Combat Supremacy; Panzertruppen 1933-1942; and Panzertruppen 1943-1945 (all four titles are available from Schiffer Publishing Ltd.).

Packed with illustrations, this is a study of the Polish warships such as the Grom-class destroyers that were developed and built in the interwar years. Newly independent Poland's naval force was created in 1920, initially with six ex-German torpedo boats. However, after German-Soviet exercises off the Polish coast in 1924, funding for warships was hastily allocated. Two destroyers and three submarines were built in France but, disappointed with their quality, Poland ordered new ships, mostly from British and Dutch shipyards. By summer 1939, the Polish Navy comprised four destroyers, five submarines, one minelayer, six minesweepers and a handful of lesser ships. Although the Grom-class destroyers were two of the fastest and best-armed destroyers of the war, the tiny Polish fleet would stand little chance against the Kriegsmarine, and on 30 August three destroyers were dispatched to Britain, followed by two submarines that escaped internment. The remaining Polish surface fleet was sunk by 3 September. In exile, the Polish Navy operated not only their own ships, but also Royal Navy warships, including a cruiser, destroyers, submarines and motor torpedo boats which fought alongside the Allies in the Battle of the Atlantic, the Arctic Convoys, and at the Normandy landings. This detailed account not only describes the Polish Navy's contribution to the Allied war effort but also the episode of the Polish destroyer Piorun which took on the Bismarck in a lone gun duel leading to the sinking of the great German battleship.

X PLANES OF THE THIRD REICH SERIES An Illustrated Series on Germany's Experimental Aircraft of World War II Over 200 images, including three-view drawings, comprise this one of a kind photo album on the He 162. Included are 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 on 8 May 1945. Subsequent test flights of He 162s in post-war England, USSR, South Wales, Australia, and the United States are also covered. No other aviation publication has ever assembled this large a quantity of images of the He 162 in a single volume.

Covered are the radio and wire controlled vehicles as used by the Wehrmacht in 1943-1945. These vehicles were used for mine clearance, explosive charge carriers, and other uses.

'A useful contribution to an overcrowded field of history by giving deserved attention to the ordinary men and unsung machines that aren't usually included in the dramatic narrative.' - The Times 'A great read and a real eye-opener to anyone who thinks the Battle of Britain is only about Brits and Germans and Messerschmitts and Spitfires. The value in this account is also the way the back stories of many previously unheralded pilots come to life.' - General Sir David Richards, former Chief of the Defence Staff *** In Battle of Britain: The pilots and planes that made history, Ed Gorman and Simon Pearson paint a vivid picture of the men and their machines as the battle for air superiority over Britain is played out across the skies of Europe, from the west of Ireland to the German capital. We experience the battle chronologically through the remarkable stories of eighteen airmen from across the world. Some will be new to many readers: the New Zealander who "borrowed" a seaplane from the Royal Navy to set up a freelance air-sea rescue service that saved the lives of dozens of British and German pilots; the Swiss baron who claimed to have destroyed six British fighters in a day; the vainglorious commander whose RAF squadron was wiped out trying to disrupt Nazi invasion plans; and the German bomber pilot who fought the first battle involving foreign troops on British soil since Culloden - before repairing to a pub for a pint with soldiers who had taken him prisoner. Illustrated with contemporary photographs of the pilots and their aircraft, this is an enthralling and original account from both sides of a conflict that shaped the modern world, full of courage, endeavour and, above all, humanity.

From the lessons of the First World War, the RAF developed a fleet of modern monoplane aircraft in time for hostilities in 1939; a force that consisted of Hampdens, Whitleys, Wellingtons, Blenheims, and Battles. These aircraft and their crews were pitted against the German war machine from day one-flying into storms of flak shells and swarms of Messerschmitt fighters in their flimsy, and often poorly armed, bombers. From theatres as far apart as Norway and Syria, Java and France, the crews and their aircraft were at the front of every military operation without adequate fighter escorts and with poor equipment against stiff opposition. They were the few who bravely went on 'one way ticket' missions, that saw operational life expectancy as only a matter of hours, without hesitation or complaint.