This volume of R A Burt's magnificent bestselling three-volume history of British battleships covers the pre-dreadnought era which has, in recent years, acquired a new and fervent following. The Russian war scare of 1884 and the public's anxiety about the Royal Navy's ability to fight a modern war at sea resulted in the Naval Defence Act of 1889 and a vast programme of warship construction. Over the next twenty years a fleet of 52 battleships was built, construction finally interrupted by the revolutionary _Dreadnought_ design. In this new volume, the author presents full details of design and construction, armament, protection, machinery and performance, all backed up with accurate data tables listing design figures, trials results, and full particulars at different stages in the ships careers. The history of each battleship is chronicled and the reader is reminded of their major contribution in the First World War. They bore the brunt of the action at the Dardenelles, bombarded the Belgium coast, patrolled the North Sea and the Channel, reinforced the Italian Fleet, and served in East Africa, the East Indies and the White Sea. Most were extensively modified during the War and this variety has made them of special interest to the historian, enthusiast and ship modeller. Magnificently illustrated with detailed line drawings and superb photographs from the author's massive collection, this new softcover edition is simply a must-have addition to every naval library, and will enthuse a whole new generation of readers. **'This is a magnificent book well up to Seaforth's very high standard with a wealth of detail and a mass of excellent illustrations and photographs. Most strongly recommended to all interested in the Royal Navy.' **_Scuttlebutt_

In 1859 the French navy was at a high point, having fought alongside the British in the Crimean War and developed a formidable fleet of fast wooden-hulled steam ships of the line. But in that very year the world's navies had to start over again when French naval architect Dupuy de Lome introduced the ironclad battleship. The French navy then went through three tumultuous phases. In the 1860s and 1870s it focused on building a new traditionally-structured fleet in which wooden-hulled battleships gave way to iron and steel ships with massive guns and armour. In the 1880s and 1890s this effort was disrupted by a vigorous contest between battleship sailors and advocates of fast steel cruisers and small torpedo craft, leaving France by the end of the 1890s with few new battleships (none as large as the best foreign ships) but some two hundred torpedo boats. The Fashoda crisis in 1898 revealed the weakness of the French navy and between 1900 and 1914 the French focused on building a strong battle fleet. In 1914 this fleet remained well behind those of Britain and Germany in numbers, but taken individually French warships remained among the best in the world. This book is the first comprehensive listing in English of the over 1400 warships that were added to the official French navy fleet list between 1 January 1859 and World War I. It includes everything from the largest battleships to a small armoured gunboat that looked like a floating egg. The ships are listed in three separate parts to keep contemporary ships together and then by ship type and class. For each class the book provides a design history explaining why the ships were built, substantial technical characteristics for the ships as completed and after major reconstructions, and selected career milestones including the ultimate fate of each ship. Like its predecessors written jointly with Rif Winfield, French Warships in the Age of Sail 1626-1786 and French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786-1861, with which it forms the third in a trilogy, it provides a complete picture of the overall development of French warships over a period of almost three centuries.

During the Second World War, the Soviet Union's Petlyakov Pe-2 Peshka dive-bomber was unique in that it was as fast as most fighter aircraft. This was in a period when it was considered by the RAF that it was impossible for monoplane aircraft to conduct vertical bombing with any degree of success. During the war the Pe-2 was the principal dive- and light-bomber of Russia's air power across the vast Eastern Front and it continued in service until the early 1950s with the air forces of the Warsaw Pact countries and Yugoslavia. Conceived by a team of top aircraft designers whom Stalin had incarcerated in a prison camp on trumped-up political charges, the Pe-2 had originally been designed as a high-altitude twin-engine fighter plane, but, due to the outstanding success of the German Stukas in the Blitzkrieg, its role was quickly changed to that of a fast dive-bomber. The Pe-2 arrived in service around the time of the German attack on its hitherto ally. Although only a handful had reached front line units by the start of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, the Pe-2 soon became the main dive-bomber in both the Soviet VVS and Naval service. Mass production, by factories hastily moved back beyond the front, meant that numbers increased rapidly, and more than 11,000 of the type, including many variants, were built up to 1945. The Peshka became the mainstay of the Soviet counter-offensive that ultimately resulted in the fall of Berlin. Pe-2s also led the way in the brief but annihilating Manchurian campaign against Japan in the closing days of the war in 1945. Using official sources, including the official Pe-2 handbook, and numerous colour and black-and-white photographs made available to the author from both official and private sources and collections, this book is the definitive record of the Pe-2 - the dive-bomber supreme!

The early 1950s were a boom time for British aviation. The lessons of six years of war had been learned and much of the research into jet engines, radar and aerodynamics had begun to reach fruition. In Britain, jet engine technology led the world, while wartime developments into swept wing design in Germany and their transonic research programme were used to give western design teams a quantum leap in aircraft technology. The English Electric Lightning emerged at this time. This supersonic fighter aircraft of the Cold War era is perhaps best remembered for its amazing take-off performance, its exceptional rate of climb and its immense speed. Here, Martin Bowman takes us on a photographic journey of the famed Lightning, illustrating the various landmarks of its impressive operational history.

In this first volume of a planned two-volume set, Zamulin takes a close look at the condition of the German and Soviet forces following the winter campaign. Analyzing first the German side, the author demonstrates that the Germans were in a woeful condition, especially with respect to the number of serviceable armored vehicles and the lack of infantry. However, Hitler was determined to regain the initiative in the East, though some German commanders expressed concerns. Zamulin then looks at the German plans for the summer of 1943 and the process of rebuilding its forces. As he shows through data, the Germans struggled to replenish Army Group South and Model's Ninth Army in the north, and the latter was hampered almost right up to the launching of Operation Citadel by the need to conduct a major anti-partisan operation in the woods and thickets in the German rear, using panzer and infantry divisions that had been earmarked for Citadel. Zamulin next examines the Soviet side, and discusses the planning for the summer campaign, including the decision to adopt a pre-meditated defense of the Kursk salient and to create a multi-echeloned system of defense (though incomplete in depth). The author demonstrates that the Red Army was able quickly to replenish its forces and also create a large mobile reserve, the Steppe Front. Thus, the delay in launching Citadel was not the fatal German error, and it would have failed even if launched earlier.

Ju 87 D (Dora) is another version of this popular dive bomber. Despite the weak armor and less sufficient performance, the Stukas were still produced due to the lack of a successor. However, the plane underwent some modifications that allowed it to be used for a variety of tasks. Ju 87 D had a more efficient water and oil cooling system, a more aerodynamic fuselage and modified crew cabin that was more spacious and better thought out. Dora was driven by one of the two Junkers' engines: Jumo 211 J-1 with 1420 hp or Jumo 211 P with 1500 hp. Fuel tanks were increased up to the capacity of 1370 l, which allowed to achieve an average flight length of 2 hours and 15 minutes. In the case of using external drop-tanks, the flight time increased to 4 hours. In relation to the Ju 87 B version D could carry much bigger load of bombs. It was a jump from 500 to about 1200 kg of bombs, and with minimum amount of fuel and for short-distance missions, the aircraft could carry up as much as 1800 kg of bombs. Individual variants - from D-1 to D-4 - differed in the used armor and equipment: D-2 - was planned for tropical operations, D-3 - was planned for night (D-3 N) or tropical missions (D-3/trop), D-4 - torpedo-bomber version.

The four battleships of the Iowa class, the crowning achievement of US battleship construction, had exceptionally long careers and each in their way left a distinctive mark not only on the US Navy but on naval history at large. Built as the ultimate American battleship and designed to engage the major units of the Japanese and German fleets, the class were commissioned in the closing stages of World War II, the beginning of half a century of service during which individual units saw action in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Lebanese Civil War and finally the Gulf War. As such these vessels are symbolic of the primacy of US seapower during the Cold War, and the preservation of all four of these mighty vessels as museum ships is testament not only to their enduring fascination, but also to the immense technical, financial, military and political resources wielded by the United States during the second half of the twentieth century. This superb new book includes a general introduction providing the context and design history of the entire class; detailed and extensively illustrated information on specifications, equipment and modifications; and comprehensive coverage of the construction, career, operations and preservation of each unit. The author covers all the significant events in the life of each ship, including Missouri in Tokyo Bay, New Jersey off Vietnam and Lebanon, Wisconsin's collision with the destroyer Eaton, the Iowa turret explosion and many others. Lavishly illustrated with more than 600 photos (many in colour), 35 spectacular CG artworks and six maps, this beautifully produced work is the ultimate volume on the ultimate battleship class and a fitting souvenir of these four ships, now all preserved for posterity. AUTHOR: Philippe Caresse was born into a naval family in 1964 and joined the French Navy in 1982, serving in the destroyer d'Estrees. He has published an extensive range of ship monographs on the French, German, US, and Japanese navies from the late-nineteenth century to the Second World War, and is co-author with John Jordan of a series of volumes on French warships, including French Battleships of World War One, all published by Seaforth. He is the harbormaster of a marina on the Cote d'Azur. 600 colour and b/w photographs, 35 CG drawings, 6 maps

During the 1950s, at the time Elvis Presley was rocking the world with Hound Dog and the USA was aiming to become the world's only superpower, plans were being drawn at North American Aviation in Southern California for an incredible Mach-3 strategic bomber. The concept was born as a result of General Curtis LeMay's desire for a heavy bomber with the weapon load and range of the subsonic B-52 and a top speed in excess of the supersonic medium bomber, the B-58 Hustler. If LeMay's plans came to fruition there would be 250 Valkyries in the air; it would be the pinnacle of his quest for the ultimate strategic bomber operated by America's Strategic Air Command. The design was a leap into the future that pushed the envelope in terms of exotic materials, avionics and power plants. However, in April 1961, Defense Secretary McNamara stopped the production go-ahead for the B-70 on grounds of rapid cost escalation and the USSR's new-found ability of destroying aircraft at extremely high altitude by either missiles or the new Mig-25 fighter. Nevertheless, in1963 plans for the production of three high-speed research aircraft were approved and construction proceeded. In September 1964 the first Valkyrie, now re-coded A/V-1 took to the air for the first time and in October went supersonic. This book is the most detailed description of the design, engineering and research that went into this astounding aircraft. It is full of unpublished details, photographs and first-hand accounts from those closely associated with the project. Although never put into full production, this giant six-engined aircraft became famous for its breakthrough technology, and the spectacular images captured on a fatal air-to-air photo shoot when an observing Starfighter collided with Valkyrie A/V-2 which crashed into the Mojave Desert. The loss of the $750 million aircraft and two lives stopped future development, although there were several attempts to redesign it as an airliner to compete against the European Concorde.

As the nation that conceived the first tank more than a hundred years ago, Britain has a long and fascinating series of tank designs to its credit. Despite a period of apathy from the relevant authorities about the value of tanks, which led to its grateful reliance on American-made models during the Second World War, Britain bounced back to become an important innovator once again - notably with the development of the still-secret Chobham armour for the 1980s. In addition to the outstanding successes of British tank design, there were many unsuccessful designs along the way. The sheer quantity of proposals, prototypes and production models is bewildering to all but the non-specialist, and yet fascinating to those who persevere in their search for information. The Complete Catalogue of British Tanks therefore aims to make the essential information available in readily digestible form, as well as to suggest further sources of information for those who wish to take their interest a stage further. Completed with useful Appendices about the variety of engines used in British tanks, and about the multiple main weapons that have been employed, this book will be a rapid-reference standby for anyone with an interest in the story of these armoured fighting vehicles.

The Douglas Invader has the distinction of being used by the United States in a combat role in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. Originally created as an attack aircraft, with the designation A-26, the Invader was intended to replace the Douglas A-20, North American B-25, and Martin B-26 in the US Army Air Forces. However, production delays prevented the aircraft from reaching the field until June 1944. With up to 14 forward-firing .50-caliber machine guns as well as bombs and rockets, the Invader was well suited for ground strikes when war broke out in Korea in 1951. The Invader returned to combat during that war, carrying the markings of the US Air Force and redesignated B-26. Used first by the French during their war in Indochina, Invaders later returned to the skies over Vietnam in the hands of American as well as South Vietnamese crews. In order to base the type in Thailand, which prohibited the USAF from basing bombers in the country, the Invader was once more classified as an attack aircraft, and the A-26 designation returned. This volume is profusely illustrated with over 250 photos, including vintage color, as well as profile illustrations and line drawings.

During WWII, Germany fielded a variety of six- and eight-wheeled armored cars, which were used in numerous ways, including reconnaissance, antitank, infantry support, and other roles. The earliest of these vehicles, the 6-Rad, or six-wheeled vehicles, were based on 6 x 4 truck chassis. Once the limitations of this design became evident, later models utilized specially designed all-wheel-drive power trains, with the final model, the 234 series, incorporating a unibody design. Similarly, armament evolved from 7.92 mm machine gun to 75 mm PaK 40 cannon and 7. 5 cm StuK40 howitzers. Based on the authors earlier work, through over 250 photographs this volume explores 12 major types of these vehicles and delves into the subtle changes made during production.

German submarine technologies count among the leaders in the world. The Germans were not the first to have introduced submarines into their navy, but it wasn't long before the most technically demanding boats were being designed and built in german shipyards - a pursuit which has always involved ground breaking innovations and continues to this day. The compilation ranges from the first diving boats around the turn of the century to the modern HDW class 212A and 214 of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, to tomorrow's submarine technologies as well as the HDW class 210mod and 216--still only existing on paper. The author explains different mission profiles of current submarines and also adds a list of all submarines built in Germany after 1945. The extensive documentation is completed by 130 illustrations--including many impressive pictures of the renowned photographer Peter Neumann.

The single-engine Junkers Ju 52 first flew in 1930. Designed and built by the Junkers Aircraft Company of Dessau, Germany, the Ju 52 was originally intended as a cargo aircraft. An upgraded model, the Ju 52/3m, was powered by three engines, excelling as an 18-seat airliner. By the late 1930s, hundreds of the safe and reliable Ju 52/3m were serving with airlines in more than 20 countries, including the prewar British Airways. It was used as a bomber by the reestablished Luftwaffe, particularly in the Spanish Civil War. During the Second World War, the Ju 52/3m was the mainstay of the Luftwaffe transport squadrons. Affectionately known as Faithful Old Annie and Iron Annie, the Ju 52/3m was used during the invasions of Norway, the Low Countries, Crete as well as the resupply of Stalingrad and Rommel s Africa Corps. In all, more than 5,000 were built. After the war, production continued in France and Spain. Amazingly, captured Ju 52/3ms were rebuilt postwar and briefly operated as airliners on domestic routes in Great Britain! Today, about 50 Ju 52/3ms survive, with less than ten flying. The Junkers Ju 52/3m is one of the most significant transport airplanes in the history of aviation."

Although the Royal Navy did not invent the submarine, Norman Friedman's new book demonstrates how innovative the service was, to an extent which few will recognise. Its submarines performed well in combat in both world wars, and often in unheralded ways. Few will be aware that in 1914 Britain had the largest submarine fleet in the world, and that at the end of World War I it had some of the largest and most unusual of all submarines - whose origins and design are all detailed. During the First World War they virtually closed the Baltic to German iron ore traffic, and they helped block supplies to the Turkish army fighting at Gallipoli. British submarines were a major element in the North Sea battles, and they helped fight the U-boat menace. These roles led on to British submarine operations in World War II. Readers will be aware of the role of US submarines in strangling Japan, but perhaps not how British submarines in the Mediterranean fought a parallel costly but successful battle to strangle the German army in North Africa. Like their US counterparts, interwar British submariners were designed largely with the demands of a possible Pacific War, although that was not the war they fought. And the author shows how the demands of such a war, which would be fought over vast distances, collided with interwar British Government attempts to limit costs by holding down the size (and numbers) of submarines. It says much about the ingenuity of British submarine designers that they managed to meet their requirements despite enormous pressure on submarine size. As in other books in this series, the author demonstrates how a combination of evolving strategic and tactical requirements and evolving technology produced successive types of design. The Royal Navy was always painfully aware of the threat enemy submarines posed, and British submariners contributed heavily to the development of British anti-submarine tactics and technology, beginning with largely unknown efforts before the outbreak of World War I. Between the Wars British submariners exploited the new technology of sonar (Asdic), both to find and attack enemies and to avoid being attacked themselves. As a result, they pioneered submarine silencing, with important advantages to the US Navy as it observed the British. And it was a British submarine that pioneered the vital postwar use of submarines as anti-submarine weapons, sinking a U-boat while both were submerged. This feat was unique. Heavily illustrated with photos and original plans, this new volume from Norman Friedman, incorporating so much original analysis, will be eagerly awaited by naval historians and enthusiasts everywhere.

Global air mobility is an American invention. During the twentieth century, other nations developed capabilities to transport supplies and personnel by air to support deployed military forces. But only the United States mustered the resources and will to create a global transport force and aerial refuelling aircraft capable of moving air and ground combat forces of all types to anywhere in the world and supporting them in continuous combat operations. Whether contemplating a bomber campaign or halting another surprise attack, American war planners have depended on transport and tanker aircraft to launch, reinforce, and sustain operations. Air mobility has also changed the way the United States relates to the world. American leaders use air mobility to signal friends and enemies of their intent and ability to intervene, attack, or defend on short notice and powerfully. Stateside air wings and armoured brigades on Sunday can be patrolling the air of any continent on Wednesday and taking up defensive positions on a friend's borders by Friday. This capability affects the diplomacy and the calculations of America and its friends and enemies alike. Moreover, such global mobility has made America the world's philanthropist. From their earliest days, American airlift forces have performed thousands of humanitarian missions, dropping hay to snow-bound cattle, taking stranded pilgrims to Mecca, and delivering food and medicine to tsunami-stricken towns. Air Mobility examines how air power elevated the American military's penchant for speed and ability to maneuver to an art unequalled by any other nation.

In November 2011, Geoff Dyer fulfilled a childhood dream of spending time on an aircraft carrier. Dyer's stay on the USS George Bush, on active service in the Arabian Gulf, proved even more intense, memorable, and frequently hilarious, than he could ever have hoped. In Dyer's hands, the warship becomes a microcosm for a stocktaking of modern Western life: religion, drugs, chauvinism, farting, gyms, steaks, prayer, parental death, relationships and how to have a beach party with 5000 people on a giant floating hunk of steel. Piercingly perceptive and gloriously funny, this is a unique book about work, war and entering other worlds.

In World War Two, allied armies were issued with identification guides to the enemy armour they might encounter on the battlefield. These black & white printed books were a vital aide for soldiers dealing with the confusion of fighting and the difficulty of identification at distance or in all weathers. The German tanks were often lethal to become entangled with and known to be formidable pieces of military engineering. The German army deployed a wide variety of tanks in many different variants and forms of camouflage. The likes of the Tiger have become famous and continue to be fascinating examples of World War Two firepower. This book features a unique collection of colour illustrations, showing in detail the vehicles' development and differences in design. The artwork is accompanied by descriptions and technical information about each tank, written by respected expect Craig Moore, making this an essential handbook for anyone interested in the German armed forces and World War Two armour.

At the beginning of 1916, as the world entered the second full year of global conflict, the cities, towns and villages of Britain continued to lay vulnerable to aerial bombardment. Throughout that period German Zeppelin airships and seaplanes had come and gone at will, their most testing opposition provided by the British weather as the country's embryonic defences struggled to come to terms with this first ever assault from the air. Britain's civilians were now standing on the frontline the Home Front like the soldiers who had marched off to war. But early in 1916 responsibility for Britain's aerial defence passed from the Admiralty to the War Office and, as German air attacks intensified, new ideas and plans made dramatic improvements to Britain's aerial defence capability. While this new system could give early warning of approaching raiders, there was a lack of effective weaponry with which to engage them when they arrived. Behind the scenes, however, three individuals, each working independently, were striving for a solution. The results of their work were spectacular; it lifted the mood of the nation and dramatically changed the way this campaign was fought over Britain. The German air campaign against Britain in the First World War was the first sustained strategic aerial bombing campaign in history. Despite this, it has become forgotten against the enormity of the Blitz of the Second World War, although for those caught up in the tragedy of these raids, the impact was every bit as devastating. In Zeppelin Inferno Ian Castle tells the full story of the 1916 raids in unprecedented detail in what is the second book in a trilogy that will reveal the complete story of Britain's Forgotten Blitz'.

Designed with little more than a passing nod to the international naval treaties of the inter-war period, the Imperial Japanese Navy's heavy cruisers were fast and heavily armed. Like the other vessels of the Japanese Navy, the heavy cruisers were technologically superior to and far more innovative than their Allied rivals, whom they met in many of the major Pacific Theatre battles, including Midway and Leyte Gulf. Mark Stille continues his study of the IJN of WWII with this fascinating topic, addressing the design and development of all 18 ships in the six heavy cruiser classes, from pre-war construction and mid-war alterations, to their operational histories and eventual fates.

In almost 200 archive photographs Leo Marriott traces the course of the development of British and American jet fighters during the first pioneering decade of their production. In many ways the period from 1944 to 1954 was one of the most exciting and innovative in the history of military aviation. Rare images show the first jet fighters flown by the RAF towards the end of the Second World War and takes the story forward to the most advanced designs that played a key role in the war in Korea. The range of experimental and operational warplanes that were conceived and built during this short time was remarkable. The initial straight-wing jets began with the Gloster Meteor and Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star which were later superseded by the first operational swept-wing fighters such as the Hawker Hunter, North American F-86 Sabre and Grumman F9F-6 Cougar. Development of all these benefited greatly from German Second World War advances in aerodynamics that were exploited by the British and Americans when the war ended. Progress was so swift that, by the mid-1950s, the prototypes of the next generation of truly supersonic fighters were starting to appear, and these are featured in Leo Marriott's fascinating selection of images. He even includes a variety of prototypes which for various reasons did not result in production orders, as well as several unusual concepts such as flying boat fighters and mixed-power designs. Early Jet Fighters: British and American 1944-1954 is a graphic and informative introduction to an extraordinary stage in the evolution of the modern warplane.

'DESERVES TO JOIN REACH FOR THE SKY AND THE LAST ENEMY AS ONE OF THE GREAT RAF BOOKS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR' - ANDREW ROBERTS As I write, I can clearly recall the stinging heat of aburning Blenheim, smells, tastes, expressions, sounds of voices and, most ofall, fear gripping deep in me. Flying Officer Alastair Panton was just twenty-three when his squadron deployed across the Channel in the defence of France. They were desparate days. Pushed back to the beaches as the German blitzkrieg rolled through the Low Countries and into France, by June 4th 1940 the evacuation ofthe Allies from Dunkirk was complete. A little over two weeks later France surrendered. Flying vital, dangerous, low-level missions throughout the campaign in support of the troops on the ground, Panton's beloved but unarmed Bristol Blenheim was easy meat for the marauding Messerschmitts. At the height of fighting he was losing two of his small squadron's crews to the enemy every day. Discovered in a box by his grandchildren after his death in 2002, Alastair Panton's Six Weeks of Blenheim Summer is a lostclassic. One of the most moving, vivid and powerful accounts of war inthe air ever written. And an unforgettable testament to the courage, stoicism, camaraderie and humanity of Britain's greatest generation. 'ONE CAN'T HELP FEELING AWE AND REVERENCE. THERE ARE ENOUGH ADVENTURES HERE FOR A LIFETIME' LOUIS DE BERNIERES 'SIMPLY WONDERFUL. ONE OF THE BEST ACCOUNTS OF WWII I HAVE EVER READ' JOHN NICHOL

In this companion volume to his photographic history of Soviet tanks and armoured vehicles, Anthony Tucker-Jones provides a visual guide to the vast array of aircraft, warships and missiles the Soviet armed forces deployed at the height of the Cold War. Although the superpowers never came to blows, the so-called 'Cold War' was far from cold, with numerous 'hot' proxy wars being fought in Africa and the Middle East. All these conflicts employed Soviet weaponry which has been captured in action in the colour and black-and-white photographs selected for this book. Between the 1950s and 1980s Soviet and Warsaw Pact countries churned out thousands of weapons ready for the Third World War. They also embarked on a technological arms race with NATO in an attempt to counter each new piece of equipment as it appeared. The MiG fighters, the Badger and Backfire bombers, the nuclear submarines have achieved almost iconic status, but, as Anthony Tucker-Jones's book shows, there was much more to the Soviet armoury than these famous weapons. Much of it, despite its age, remains in service with armies, guerrilla forces and terrorist organizations around the world today.

'The most honest attempt yet to tell how the Battle of Britain really was' Andrew Wilson, Observer History is swamped by patriotic myths about the aerial combat fought between the RAF and the Luftwaffe over the summer of 1940. In his gripping history of the Battle of Britain, Len Deighton drew on a decade of research and his own wartime experiences to puncture these myths and point towards a more objective, and even more inspiring, truth. 'Revolutionised thinking about the Battle of Britain in a way that has not been seriously challenged since' The Times