Originally designed as a cargo and paratroop transport during World War II, the Fairchild C-82 Packet is today mainly remembered for its starring role in the Hollywood film The Flight of the Phoenix (1965). Its ungainly appearance earned it the nickname "the flying boxcar" but the aircraft was the first to achieve practical end-loading and aerial delivery of cargoes. Its outsized capacity served the U.S. military's needs for more than ten years-civilian operators flew it in remote locations like Alaska and South America for a further three decades. This book provides a comprehensive history of the C-82, detailing each of the 224 aircraft built, with technical diagrams, multiple appendices and more than 200 photos.

At 21:00 on 9 May 1940 Codeword Danzig was issued alerting Adolf Hitler's airborne troops that they were about to spearhead an attack on Belgium and the Netherlands. The following day his blitzkrieg rolled forward striking the British Expeditionary Force and the French armies in Belgium and in northern France at Sedan. The desperate attempts of the allied armies to stem the Nazi tide proved futile and, once their reserves had been exhausted and the remaining forces cut off, Paris lay open. By early June, it was all over - trapped British, Belgian and French troops were forced to evacuate Dunkirk, Calais and Boulogne and the defeated French army agreed to an armistice leaving the country divided in two. This dramatic story is shown in a sequence of over 150 historic photographs that Anthony Tucker-Jones he has selected for this memorable book. The images he has chosen cover every aspect of this extraordinary campaign, but his main focus is on the vital role played by the armoured fighting vehicles of both sides. The book is a graphic record of the destruction wrought by the Wehrmacht's lightning offensive through the Low Countries and France.

The Deadly Trade takes readers on an epic and enthralling voyage through submarine warfare, including how U-boats in two world wars tried to achieve victory, first for the Kaiser and then 20 years later for Adolf Hitler. It tells the story of how such tiny craft took on mighty battleships, including U-boats sinking HMS Royal Oak and HMS Barham in WW2, along with the incredible exploits of British submariners in the Dardanelles and Baltic during WW1.The action-packed narrative includes bitterly contested Atlantic convoy fights of WW2 and submarines in the clash of battle fleets at Midway. Iain Ballantyne also reveals how the US Navy submarine service brought the Japanese empire to its knees in 1945, even before the atomic bombs were dropped. The Deadly Trade tells the amazing stories of not only pioneers such as Drebbel, Fulton and Holland, but also of legendary submarine captains, including Max Horton and Otto Weddigen in WW1. During WW2 we sail to war with Otto Kretschmer, Gunther Prien, Fritz-Julius Lemp, Malcolm Wanklyn, Dudley Morton, Richard O'Kane and Sam Dealey. We get involved in the famous fights of Britain's ace submarine-killing escort group leaders Frederic 'Johnny' Walker, Donald Macintyre and Peter Gretton. There is a dive into unconventional submarine warfare, including Japanese midget subs in the notorious Pearl Harbor raid plus British X-craft against the Tirpitz in Arctic waters. Iain Ballantyne plunges readers into famous Enigma machine captures that played a key role in deciding the outcome of WW2. He explains what the Nazis were up to at the end of WW2, pursuing Total Underwater Warfare, partly via the revolutionary Type XXI U-boat. Ballantyne reveals the incredible story of a proposed cruise missile attack on New York and considers the likelihood (or otherwise) of Hitler escaping to South America in a U-boat. The Deadly Trade takes us into the post-WW2 face-off between the Soviets and NATO, the sinking of the Indian frigate INS Khukri by Pakistan's PNS Hangor and attack on the Argentine cruiser ARA Belgrano by HMS Conqueror. The Deadly Trade concludes with today's growing submarine arms race and Putin's 'missile boat diplomacy' along with the use of cruise missiles by the British and Americans to try and decapitate rogue regimes. The Deadly Trade is the perfect companion to Hunter Killers, Iain Ballantyne's real-life Cold War submarine thriller.

The Douglas Devastator was the US Navy's first all-metal combat aircraft, the Navy's first airplane with a fully enclosed cockpit, the first aircraft to have hydraulically folding wings, and the first US Navy torpedo bomber to see combat. Although facing staggering losses in the early stages of the war in the Pacific, the brave men flying the Devastator from the decks of such famed ships as Enterprise, Hornet, Yorktown, and Lexington held the line against the enemy. Through carefully researched photos, many of which have never before been published and which are reproduced in remarkable clarity, the history and details of this iconic aircraft are revealed. This clarity, and the large size of many of the photos, coupled with descriptive and informative captions, puts the reader in the skies with this historic aircraft.

Ever since its introduction in the late 1950s, the B-52 Stratofortress has been the United States' primary heavy bomber and a powerful symbol of its immense military might. Its powerful electronic countermeasures equipment (ECM) was thought to make the B-52 immune to ground-to-air missile attack, but in Vietnam, and later conflicts such as Operation Desert Storm in 1991, it came up against the Soviet-designed SA-2 SAM which used heavy salvoes of missiles to bring down the bombers.

The losses of several of its most feared, powerful and supposedly invincible bombers per night to a torrent of Soviet missiles during the closing stages of the Vietnam War was sobering to Americans, but the B-52s' crushing attacks virtually eliminated North Vietnam's defences and forced a peace settlement. This fascinating book analyses the roles of the SA-2 operators and the B-52 Electronic Warfare Officers (EWOs) using specially commissioned artwork as well as first-hand accounts, and traces the cat-and-mouse tactics that each side employed.

The German Panther is one of the most famous, and greatest, tanks of World War II. Often considered the most elegant tank design of the war, it embodied a balance of firepower, armour protection, and mobility unmatched by any other tank of the period. This new study by German armour expert Thomas Anderson draws upon original German archival material to tell the story of the birth of the Panther in response to the Soviet tanks encountered in 1941. He then analyzes its success on the battlefield and the many modifications and variants that also came into play. Illustrated throughout with rare photographs and drawings, many of which have never been published in English before, this is a unique history of one of the most famous tanks of World War II.

From their first introduction at the Battle of the Somme in the First World War, tanks proved to be one of the most important military developments in the history of warfare. Such was their influence on the battlefield, both as infantry support and as an armoured spearhead, their presence could determine the outcome of any battle. Another significant development during the 1930s was that of airborne forces, with a number of countries experimenting with air-dropped troops. Such a concept offered the possibility of inserting soldiers behind the front lines to sow fear and confusion in the enemy's rear. However, such troops, parachuting from aircraft, could only be lightly armed, thus limiting their effectiveness. It is understandable, therefore, that much thought was given to the practicalities of air-lifting tanks that could be dropped, or deposited, alongside paratroopers. Tanks, though, are heavy, cumbersome vehicles and before there could be any thought of carrying them by air, much lighter models would have to be produced. Charles Roberts' fascinating book opens with an investigation into the efforts in the 1930s by Britain, the Soviet Union and the USA into the development of, or adaptation of, light tanks for airborne operations. It was, inevitably, the start of the Second World War which accelerated efforts to produce an airborne tank and the means of delivery. The use of conventional powered aircraft to carry the tanks, limited their use to existing airfields which negated their employment with airborne troops landing in the open countryside. Another method of delivery had to be found, and this took the form of the glider, which could be landed in a field behind enemy lines. The combination of light tank and glider made the aim of airborne forces being supported by armour a realistic proposition - and as a result, the 28th Airborne Tank Battalion was born. This detailed and comprehensive study deals with every aspect of design and deployment of American airborne tanks from the earliest concepts to their actual use, by British units, on D-Day and during Operation Varsity, the Rhine crossing.

Development and operations of the German Mistel aircraft were kept under the tightest security, in an era fraught with the chaotic turmoil of a losing war. Aside from the limited space available - which precludes a detailed account of this unusual variant of the air war - it should also be mentioned that the quality of the photographic material often leaves something to be desired. This concession, which should be considered the exception rather than the rule, is necessary in the interest of providing a good general overview.

By 1944 the German army was on the defensive on all fronts and Allied bombing was putting increasing pressure on the nation's industrial output. Since the earliest days of the war the Germans had experimented with mounting anti-tank weapons on obsolete chassis and one of the most successful of these would prove to be the Jagdpanzer 38, more often referred to today as the Hetzer. Small and unimposing the Hetzer's appearance belied its effectiveness. Armed with the powerful 7.5cm L/48 gun, the same weapon fitted to the Jadgpanzer IV, the Hetzer featured armour sloped armour plates of up to 60mm thickness and was capable of a top speed of 42 kilometres per hour. Almost 3,000 examples were assembled and its low cost and ease of production meant that it was Germany's most important tank killer of the late war period. In his latest book in the TankCraft series Dennis Oliver uses archive photos and extensively researched colour illustrations to examine the Hetzer tank destroyers and the units of the German Army and Waffen-SS that operated them during the last months of the Second World war. 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.

Americas Hundred Thousand covers in detail the eleven U.S. fighter aircraft types produced just before and during World War II - with a combined production total of just over 100,000 aircraft. Covered are the Army Lockheed P-38 Lightning, P-39 Airacobra, Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk/Kittyhawk/Warhawk, P-47 Thunderbolt, North American P-51 Mustang, Northrop P-61 Black Widow, and the Navy F2A - Buffalo, F4F - Wildcat, F4U - Corsair, and F6F - Hellcat fighters. The text is supplemented by more than 650 photographs, and 200 tables and graphs. Fighter production figures are also included. After an introduction of each type, a heavily illustrated overview of earlier inter-war production from 1920-on, along with a discussion and illustration of wartime experimental types, is provided. A lengthy section considering several technical factors affecting fighter performance follows. These include engine models, supercharger types, propellers, aerodynamic thrust, lift and drag, aircraft weight, balance, stability and control, and armament. Americas Hundred Thousand also provides details of each U.S. World War II production fighter in terms of models and changes, numbers produced, and major engine and aircraft performance aspects - in tabular and graphical form - details of weights, discussion of handling qualities and general comments, along with detailed descriptions containing many illustrations of aircraft structures and systems showing the technology of that time. In addition a comprehensive week-to-week and month-to-month chronology of development and wartime combat operational life for each fighter is provided, including many photos. This study concludes with comparisons of the eleven types in terms of program milestones, aircraft drag, power available at various altitudes, speed, climb, rolling and turning, acceleration, and diving performance, as well as general evaluations by World War II pilots.

"Azuma" was one of the six armored cruisers built under the programme. Four of them were built by the British Armstrong shipyard, but "Azuma" was ordered in France, and its sister vessel, the "Yakumo", in Germany. Both cruisers were to carry British guns, making them compatible with units built in hazy Albion. The contract for the construction of "Azuma" was signed on 12th of October, 1897, with Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire. On 1st of February, 1898, the keel was laid at the concern's shipyard in St. Nazaire. The launch took place on 24th of June, 1899. The construction was completed on 28th of July, 1900. The next day, the cruiser left St. Nazaire and went to Japan, reaching Yokosuka on 29th of October 29 of that year.

The P-40E Warhawk is often viewed as one of the less successful American fighter designs of World War II, but in 1942 the aircraft was all that was available to the USAAC in-theatre. Units equipped with the aircraft were duly forced into combat against the deadly A6M2 Zero-sen, which had already earned itself a near-mythical reputation following its exploits over China and Pearl Harbor. During an eight-month period in 1942, an extended air campaign was fought out between the two fighters for air superiority over the Javanese and then northern Australian skies. During this time, the P-40Es and the Zero-sens regularly clashed without interference from other fighter types. In respect to losses, the Japanese 'won' these engagements, for many more P-40Es were shot down than Zero-sens. However, the American Warhawks provided a potent deterrent that forced the IJNAF to attack from high altitudes, where crews' bombing efficiency was much poorer. Fully illustrated throughout, and supported by rare and previously unpublished photographs, this book draws on both American and Japanese sources to tell the full story of the clashes between these iconic two fighters in Darwin and the East Indies.

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

This book examines the evolution of airpower and specifically the growth and proliferation of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPAs). While most existing literature examines either the law or ethics of RPAs, and some newer scholarship looks to the battlefield effectiveness (the gains from strikes versus the potential for 'blowback, etc.), this work investigates it from a broader military perspective. It examines the strategy for employment of RPAs across the spectrum of warfare, the potential deterrent value of RPAs in some circumstances, and the resulting ability of RPAs to fundamentally shift the character of when and how wars are fought. The central aim of this book is to evaluate the role of 'drones' in warfare to date, and make basic projections on how states will adopt RPAs and UCAVs in the future. At the core is the goal of answering a broad, underlying research question: How will the RPA innovation impact military strategy and international security? This book will be of much interest to students of airpower, drone warfare, military and strategic studies, security studies and IR.

Why do seemingly successful wars never seem to end? The problem centers on drones, now accumulated in the thousands, the front end of a spying and killing machine that is disconnected from either security or safety. Drones, however, are only part of the problem. William Arkin shows that security is actually undermined by an impulse to gather as much data as possible, the appetite and the theory both skewed towards the notion that no amount is too much. And yet the very endeavor of putting fewer humans in potential danger in fact places everyone in greater danger. Wars officially end, but the Data Machine lives on forever.

The Soviet Navy that faced the German onslaught in 1941 boasted a mixture of modern warships, often built with foreign technical assistance, and antiquated warships from the Tsarist era that were modernised for the conflict. Some Soviet naval vessels saw limited involvement in the war against Finland in 1939-1940, but the main action occurred after the German invasion, when these destroyers escorted convoys, fought battles against other destroyers and the deadly threat posed by attacking aircraft, and provided fire support for Soviet troops. From the Gnevny class of the pre-war period to the specialist destroyer leaders of the Leningrad class and the unique Tashkent, Soviet Destroyers of World War II is a detailed guide to the often forgotten destroyers of the Soviet Navy .

The Vickers Wellington was one of very few aircraft types to have been in production and frontline service throughout World War II, and more than 10,000 Wellingtons were built in the period. They took part in the first RAF bombing mission of the conflict when, on 4 September 1939, 14 examples from Nos 9 and 149 Sqns undertook a daring daylight attack on the Kiel Canal. However, after suffering high losses on follow-up raids, Wellingtons were withdrawn from daytime missions and began to operate at night from May 1940. They subsequently took part in raids against the Italian port city of Genoa in July 1940, and against Berlin the following month, followed by key missions in the 'Battle of the Barges' in September and October, as the RAF targeted the Germany's invasion fleet being assembled in French Channel ports. When RAF's strike force expanded the next year following the introduction of the improved Wellington II, the 21 squadrons equipped with the Vickers aircraft, which included Polish-, Canadian- and Australian-manned units, formed the backbone of the Bomber Command night bombing force. Over the next two years Wellingtons participated in all the major operations by Bomber Command, including the daylight raid against German battleships in Brest harbour in July 1942 and the first three 'Thousand Bomber' raids in the summer of 1942. This illustrated study explores the design, development, and deployment of the Vickers-Wellington type, charting its role in World War II from its earliest missions to its use in training after its withdrawal from frontline bomber missions in 1943. The text is supported by stunning full-colour artwork.

Developed to meet a Soviet Ministry of Defense requirement for a fast bomber that would counter the threat posed by NATO, the Tu-16 was a ground-breaking project. It was the first Soviet medium bomber to feature swept wings, and it was built around a pair of turbojets that were the world's most powerful jet engines at the time. First flown in 1952, the Tu-16 filled such roles as nuclear bomb delivery, missile strike, reconnaissance, and Electronic Counter Measures. It also served as the basis for the first Soviet jet airliner, the Tu-104. Nearly 1,500 were built for the Soviet Air Force and the Soviet Navy, and the Tu-16 showed remarkable longevity, the final examples being retired in 1993. The type saw quite a bit of combat-from the Six-Days War of 1967 to the Afghan War. The Tu-16 was also produced in China and remains in Chinese service to this day. All known versions are described, as is the Tu-16's operational career. The book features many hitherto unpublished photos.

A new history of the large, fast, and long-ranged armored cruisers of the US Navy, and the roles that these warships played in the fleet as America developed into a great naval power. At the dawn of the "Steel Navy" era, the rapidly expanding US Navy's fleet of capital ships consisted not only of battleships but also armored cruisers, the forerunner of the battlecruiser. Armored cruisers sacrificed the battleship's superlative firepower and protection for superior speed and range but, as this study shows, their role was not always easy to define. Controversial because they were as large and expensive as battleships but not able to withstand a battleship in battle, contemporary strategists pointed out that, "naval wars are not won by running away from stronger ships." Despite being produced at great expense, tactically they never really had a legitimate mission-traditional deployments were commerce raiding and protection, but despite this, author Brian Lane Herder illustrates how successful the use of armored cruisers was for the US Navy. After 1906, some replaced US battleships in the Pacific, functioning as oversized gunboats, most notably, the modified armored cruiser Pennsylvania which witnessed the first landing of an airplane on a ship. On November 5, 1915, North Carolina became the first cruiser to launch an aircraft from a catapult while underway. After the war, surviving US armored cruisers represented the US Navy on their Asiatic station until the final cruiser was scuttled in 1946. Using detailed, color artwork and photos, this fascinating book describes the development and deployment of these controversial but intriguing ships, providing examples of the key service they played in the US Navy in a variety of defensive and escorting roles.

Packed with never-before-seen photos, plans and meticulous new digital artwork, this is the first history of the USAAF's futuristic World War II prototype interceptor, the XP-67 "Moonbat". The series of X-planes that sprang from the US Army's Request for Data R40C, focused on high-altitude, high-speed, long-range bomber interceptors. Among these aircraft was the McDonnell Aircraft Company's first ever clean sheet design, the XP67. Its futuristic lines promised performance that it was ultimately unable to deliver, but development was still underway when disaster struck. Just before Army performance demonstration flights were scheduled to begin, an engine fire destroyed the only XP-67 prototype, leaving a host of unanswered questions about what might have been, and leading to decades of continuing fascination with the XP-67 among aviation buffs and aircraft modelers. The authors of this book have uncovered new sources of information and a wealth of photographs and line drawings that document not just the XP-67 but also its immediate precursors within the McDonnell Aircraft design community, as well as alternative configurations for unbuilt variants aimed at different missions. Packed with unpublished photos of all stages of construction including key airframe changes made after initial flight tests, showing in detail how the final configuration was evolved, this volume finally provides clear focus on a story that has long been shrouded in mystery.

X PLANES OF THE THIRD REICH SERIES An Illustrated Series on Germany's Experimental Aircraft of World War II The Focke-Wulf Ta 183 "geheim projekt" came from the mind of aircraft design genius Hans Multhopp. With its single HeS 011A turbojet engine and signature "Multhopp T-tail" it had been selected for immediate series production by the RLM in March, 1945, and Focke-Wulf officials believed that the 183's maiden flight might occur as quickly as June, 1945. Post-war the Ta 183 became the "mother" of the Soviet MiG-15 and the Argentine IAe 33 "Pulqui II" which Kurt Tank built for PresidentA (c) Juan PerA(3)n. This photographic history of the 183 by David Myhra features 129 mostly previously unpublished photos, three-view line drawings, and stunning state-of-the-art digital color images.

Using only original official period documents from the Second World War this book tries to provide the reader with the same information on the Panzer V Panther tank that was available to British and Commonwealth senior officers and tank crews during the war. As soon as intelligence reports confirmed the existence of the Panther tank the hunt was on to find reliable information on how to knock out this new German tank. Most people believe that the only way to stop a Panther was to penetrate its armour with an armour piercing A.P. round. Luckily the British 17 pdr anti-tank gun could do that but the British were also looking how to knock them out by using other weapons. They tested using high explosive artillery rounds and 20 mm air attack aircraft canon rounds to penetrate and damage the tank's rear engine deck and puncture the vehicle's radiators. Loss of water would cause the engine to overheat and stop working. Tank radiators were large and spares were not carried on the tank. If the Panther could not be recovered back to a maintenance depot the crew would have to abandon the tank and disable it by setting off internal explosive charges.