When the expansion of the RAF began in 1934, Air Commodore Tedder observed that the established order of school training not only failed to produce operational competence, but left so much to be done by the operational squadrons that they could only attain passable military efficiency after an uphill struggle. He proposed to raise the standards of school instruction so that pilots would leave the facility as operationally competent pilots, although it would mean lengthening the period of instruction as well as revising the syllabus. It was against this somewhat sorry background of training and logistical problems, as well as having the clouds of war firmly visible on the horizon, that the decision was taken to form a new RAF Training Command on 1 May 1936; an organisation derived from the ashes of the former RAF Inland Area. This book will tell the story - in words and pictures - of RAF Training Command from 1 May 1936 until it was separated into Flying Training Command and Technical Training Command on 27 May 1940. Both commands were then transferred into the newly re-established RAF Training Command on 1 June 1968, until it was then absorbed into RAF Support Command on 13 June 1977.

Four years of armoured battle on the Eastern Front in the Second World War littered the battlefields with the wrecks of destroyed and disabled tanks, and Anthony Tucker-JonesOs photographic history is a fascinating guide to them. It provides a graphic record of the various types of tank deployed by the Red Army and the Wehrmacht during the largest and most destructive confrontation between mechanized armies in military history. During the opening stages of the war the German victors regularly photographed and posed with destroyed Soviet armour. Operation Barbarossa left 17,000 smashed Soviet tanks in its wake, and the heavy and medium tanks such as the T-28, T-35, KV-1 and the T-34 proved to be a source of endless interest. Once the tide turned it was the turn of wrecked and burnt-out panzers D the Mk IVs, Tigers and Panthers D to be photographed by the victorious Red Army. As well as tracing the entire course of the war on the Eastern Front through the trail of broken armour, the photographs provide a wide-ranging visual archive of the tank types of the period that will appeal to everyone who is interested in tank warfare and to modellers and wargamers in particular.

Masquerading as a civilian airliner during the mid-1930s, the Heinkel He 111 medium-range bomber saw its first combat in 1936 with Germany's Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War. The initial stages of World War II confirmed the design's prominent role in advancing the German blitzkrieg in Poland and France. However, it was during the 1940-41 air battles over Britain that the type's defensive shortcomings became apparent. Easily recognised with its 'greenhouse' nose, the He 111 was one of the most widely used Luftwaffe aircraft of WWII and saw use as a bomber and transport over nearly every warfront. Later models were successfully used in antishipping and glider tug roles. A post-war model, the CASA 2.111, was flown by Spain's air force until the late 1950s, and as a transport into the 1970s. These Spanish models were also seen in such classic war films at The Battle of Britain and Patton.

HMS Royal Oak was a Revenge-class battleship of the British Royal Navy, infamously torpedoed at anchor by the German submarine U-47 on 14 October 1939. Royal Oak was anchored at Scapa Flow in Orkney, Scotland when she became the first of the five Royal Navy battleships and battle cruisers sunk in the Second World War. The loss of life was heavy: of Royal Oak's complement of 1,234 men and boys, 833 were killed that night or died later of their wounds. The raid made an immediate celebrity and war hero out of the German U-boat commander, Gunther Prien, who became the first submarine officer to be awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. To the British, the raid demonstrated that the Germans were capable of bringing the naval war to their home waters, and the shock resulted in rapidly arranged changes to dockland security. Now lying upside-down in 30 m of water with her hull 5 m beneath the surface, Royal Oak is a designated war grave. Includes 103 Photographs

Rigidly organised and harshly disciplined, the Georgian Royal Navy was an orderly and efficient fighting force which played a major role in Great Britain's wars of the 18th and early 19th centuries.

This concise book explores what it was like to be a sailor in the Georgian Navy - focusing on the period from 1714 to 1820, this book examines the Navy within its wider historical, national, organisational and military context, and reveals exactly what it took to survive a life in its service. It looks at how a seaman could join the Royal Navy, including the notorious 'press gangs'; what was meant by 'learning the ropes'; and the severe punishments that could be levied for even minor misdemeanours as a result of the Articles of War. Military tactics, including manning the guns and tactics for fending off pirates are also revealed, as is the problem of maintaining a healthy diet at sea - and the steps that sailors themselves could take to avoid the dreaded scurvy.

Covering other fascinating topics as wide-ranging as exploration, mutiny, storms, shipwrecks, and women on board ships, this 'Sailor's Guide' explores the lives of the Navy's officers and sailors, using extracts from contemporary documents and writings to reconstruct their experiences in vivid detail.

If you were to ask about the symbolic aircraft of the desperate defence of Polish sky during the tragic September '39, without any doubt the answer should be one - the PZL P.11c. Although older machines (PZL P.7a and P.11a) fought next to it, the mentioned variant was a true backbone of the defence force. Pilots liked P.11c but in all publications it is described by an adjective "obsolete". It was the penultimate stage in the evolution of a long line of fighter planes, no longer having the disadvantages of the "infant period", but also actually constituting a closed alley in the evolution of this type of design. The PZL P.11g modification showed that the already mature construction can only be improved to a small extent. Being an export alternative, faster, equipped with a much more powerful engine and better armed PZL P.24 were actually the end of the possibilities of high wing strut aircraft. This was understood in Poland, where design offices were no longer involved in the further development of such structures (P.11g was just an emergency attempt to obtain not the most modern, but an efficient fighter). Unfortunately, it was not possible to produce or buy a successor abroad on time. That is why Poland entered the conflict equipped with fighter planes, once belonging to the world leaders, but giving way to the latest enemy machines.

Without doubt Boeing Flying Fortress B-17F 41-42285 Memphis Belle and her crew generate an image that is an all-American icon. Indeed, it has been claimed that the Memphis Belle is in the top five of the most famous American aircraft of all time.In September, 1942, a new Flying Fortress was delivered at Bangor, Maine, to a crew of ten eager American lads headed by Robert K. Morgan, a lanky 24-year-old USAAF pilot from Asheville, N. C. The boys climbed aboard, flew their ship to Memphis, Tenn. and christened her Memphis Belle in honour of Morgan's fiancee, Miss Margaret Polk of Memphis, and then headed across the Atlantic to join the US Eighth Air Force in England.Between November 7 1942 and May 171943 they flew the Memphis Belle over Hitler's Europe twenty-five times. They dropped more than 60 tons of bombs on targets in Germany, France and Belgium. They blasted the Focke-Wulf plant at Bremen, locks at St. Nazaire and Brest, docks and shipbuilding installations at Wilhelmshaven, railway yards at Rouen, submarine pens and power houses at Lorient, and airplane works at Antwerp. They shot down eight enemy fighters, probably got five others and damaged at least a dozen.Memphis Belle flew through all the flak that Hitler could send up to them. She slugged it out with Goering's Messerschmitts and Focke-Wulfs. She was riddled by machine gun and cannon fire. Once she returned to base with most of her tail shot away. German guns destroyed a wing and five engines. Her fuselage was shot to pieces but Memphis Belle kept going back.The Memphis Belle crew has been decorated 51 times. Each of the 10 has received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal and three Oak Leaf Clusters. The 51st award was Sergeant Quinlan's Purple Heart.

With speed, violence, and deadly power, heavily armored tanks spearheaded the German blitzkrieg that stormed across Europe in 1939. Tracks rattling and engines roaring, these lethal machines engaged in some of the fiercest fighting of World War II, from the beaches of Normandy and the Ardennes forest to the snow-encrusted eastern front. In this reprint of the hugely popular book, prolific author Franz Kurowski tells the gritty, action-packed stories of six of the most daring and successful officers ever to command Panzers, including Michael Wittmann, Hans Bolter, Hermann Bix, and others. Timelines mark the milestones of each officer's career.

In 1955, the Vulcan B.Mk2 was proposed and a new wing modification was designed to take advantage of the more powerful Olympus engines and a new stand-off missile known as Blue Steel. The new wing was known as the Phase 2C development. Avro were given a contract for an aerodynamic prototype on 10 July 1956, with the first prototype VX777 making its first flight with the new wing on 31 August 1957. This led to a number of significant changes to the B.Mk2 electrical systems, flying controls and structure. The Avro Vulcan was originally designed as a high-altitude medium bomber, but the operating requirement changed when it was required to fly at a low level. Thanks to the Vulcan's inherently low aspect wing and structure, it proved more suitable to this role than the high aspect wings of the Vickers Valliant and Handley Page Victor. This fully illustrated volume looks at the development and history of the Vulcan B Mk2.

In February 1938, the United States Navy opened a competition for a new fighter. Its maximum speed and operational ceiling were to exceed all the machines that the American aviation had at the time. Among others, the Chance Vought company entered the competition. The Corsair was designed by a team of engineers led by Rex Beisel, the company's chief constructor. The prototype XF4U-1 was flown on May 29, 1940. The Corsair was powered by an eighteen-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp, the largest and the most powerful radial engine ever installed in a single-seat front fighter.

The two volumes describe Spitfire Vs used by Polish pilots in Britain during 1941-1945. This vol. 1 covers Polish 302-308 Squadrons, while vol. 2 will cover 315-318 Squadrons plus allied units. The books include listings of losses and of officially credited victories. Each volume has about 200 photographs (many of which have not been published before) and 36 color profiles (plus top and bottom views of representative aircraft).

In 1936 the D-513 fighter designed by Emil Dewoitine made its first flight. It was supposed to be the successor of the slightly outdated D-500 and D-510 models, and built according to modern trends: with a closed cabin and a retractable undercarriage. Unfortunately, the tests turned out to be very disappointing. At the same time, as a result of the nationalization of the aviation industry, Dewoitine's industries were absorbed by the SNCAM. Dewoitine, however, did not give up on the project and, in cooperation with his engineers, developed a new model - the D-520.

The thrilling, edge-of-your-seat true story of one soldier's Special Forces operations in the Falklands War 'BRILLIANT. A ROLLERCOASTER OF BLISTERING ACTION, SURVIVAL AND BEHIND-THE-LINES DARING' DAMIEN LEWIS ________ THE BIGGEST SINGLE LOSS OF LIFE FOR THE SAS SINCE WORLD WAR TWO . . . 1982, the British task force sails to liberate the Falkland Islands. Aboard: SAS D Squadron, determined to make their mark. No one more so than Mark 'Splash' Aston. But they have barely seen action when their Sea King helicopter crashes in freezing South Atlantic waters, killing 22 of Mark's comrades. The last out of the sinking wreck, he suffers a broken neck. But defying medical evacuation orders, Mark sneaks off ship, re-joins his SAS comrades to land on a mountain near Port Stanley - to defend it against days of attacks by Argentine special forces . . . SAS Sea King Down is a pulse-pounding account of D-Squadron's tragic loss and subsequent heroic stand in one of the most hostile places on Earth. A story told by a man who barely survived to tell it. ________ 'A gripping untold story of heroism, hardship and sacrifice within the SAS' BEAR GRYLLS 'Gripping, fast moving and completely authentic. A brilliant piece of work. Better than Bravo Two Zero' - Mike Rose, former Commanding Officer of the SAS

Initially developed by Savoia-Marchetti as a transport, the aircraft had evolved into a dedicated medium bomber by the time the S.79-I made its combat debut in the Spanish Civil War in 1936. During World War 2, it became Italy's most successful bomber, and the most produced, with around 1370 built between 1936 and early 1944. Although initially hampered by poor tactics, the S.79 bomber crews nonetheless scored sunk a number of Allied vessels, and provided a constant threat to Allied sailors in the Mediterranean in the early stages of the war. In East Africa and the Red Sea the Sparvieri were the most modern bombers in-theatre, proving a challenge to RAF and SAAF biplane fighters. Using specially commissioned full-colour artwork, first-hand accounts and historic photographs, this volume chronicles the history of the S.79's war in the Mediterranean, North African, Balkan, and East African theatres.

This fascinating story begins with post-World War Two sales of surplus Mustangs to various foreign governments and a few civilian customers. More than a decade later, in 1957 and 1958, the US Air Force auctioned off its remaining inventory of P-51s. These Mustangs became high-speed executive transports in the days before the introduction of the LearJet and other corporate aircraft. Soon after, in the mid-1960s and early 1970s, as the warbird movement was gaining traction, many of the remaining Mustangs came onto the civilian market. Today, these warbirds are the stars of airshows around the world. The effort to restore them to as close to their original wartime condition as possible has reached new levels of authenticity. With over 140 images, accompanied by service histories, this book shows the fighters where they should be seen - in the air.

The Convair B-58 Hustler, with its distinctive delta wing shape, would become the world's first supersonic bomber, and the first aircraft to fly to Mach 2. With development beginning in 1949, the B-58, which could not carry conventional weapons, would become part of the US nuclear arsenal during the height of the Cold War. Although these bombers were initially considered difficult to operate, in time the hand-chosen crews who flew them came to love and respect the aircraft. Throughout the 1960s, crews flying the B-58 set numerous speed and distance records. These planes were tremendously expensive to operate, and it was budget issues that forced the early retirement of the bomber. Today there are only a handful of remaining examples, all of which are on display in the US.

The southernmost region of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) encompassed the vast Mekong River Delta, and area covering 10,190 square miles. Three major rivers run through the Delta, the Song Hou Giang (aka Bassac) and the Song Mekong, which broke into three large rivers (Song My Tho, Ham Luong, and Go Chien). The Nhon Trach delineated the Delta's eastern edge. In all there were some 1,500 miles of natural navigable waterways and 2,500 miles of man-made canals and channels. The canal system was begun in 800 AD and its expansion continued up to World War II. The nation's capital, Saigon, lies on the Delta's northern edge. Few roads and highways served the region with sampans and other small watercraft via the canals being the main means of transportation.
At least 70,000 Viet Cong (VC) were scattered over the area controlling up to a quarter of the population. Three Army of the Republic Vietnam (ARVN) divisions as well as various paramilitary forces battled the VC in the marshes, forests, and paddies. In 1965 the military situation in the Delta had deteriorated and the decision was taken to shore things up by committing a joint Army and Navy Mobile Riverine Force. This force was unique in its composition, mission, and the special craft in which it operated. The Army component was the 2d Brigade, 9th Infantry Division; the Navy component was River Assault Flotilla One. The various watercraft assigned to the Mobile Riverine Force are the subject of this book. These included much-modified landing craft, purpose-built patrol boats including Swift Boats and Monitors, and a variety of auxiliary and support vessels. Task Force CLEARWATER, a much smaller operation in the extremenorthern portion of South Vietnam, also used these craft.

At its dawn in the early twentieth century, the new technology of aviation posed a crucial question to American and British cavalry: what do we do with the airplane? Lacking the hindsight of historical perspective, cavalry planners based their decisions on incomplete information. Harnessing the Airplane compares how the American and British armies dealt with this unique challenge. A multilayered look at a critical aspect of modern industrial warfare, this book examines the ramifications of technological innovation and its role in the fraught relationship that developed between traditional ground units and emerging air forces. Cavalry officers pondered the potential military uses of airplanes and other new technologies early on, but preferred to test them before embracing and incorporating them in their operations. Cavalrymen cautiously examined airplane capabilities, developed applications and doctrine for joint operations, and in the United States, even tried to develop their own, specially designed craft. Throughout the interwar period, instead of replacing the cavalry, airplanes were used cooperatively with cavalry forces in reconnaissance, security, communication, protection, and pursuit-a collaboration tested in maneuvers and officially blessed in both British and American doctrine. This interdependent relationship changed drastically, however, during the 1930s as aviation priorities and doctrine shifted from tactical support of ground troops toward independent strategic bombardment. Henning shows that the American and British experiences with military aviation differed. The nascent British aviation service made quicker inroads into reconnaissance and scouting, even though the British cavalry was the older institution with more-established traditions. The American cavalry, despite its youth, contested the control of reconnaissance as late as the 1930s, years after similar arguments ended in Britain. Drawing on contemporary government reports, memoirs and journals of service personnel, books, and professional and trade journals and magazines, Harnessing the Airplane is a nuanced account of the cavalry's response to aviation over time and presents a new perspective on a significant chapter of twentieth-century military history.

The Royal Navy's Submarine Command Course, or 'Perisher', is a unique course, training, assessing and qualifying officers for submarine command which is, itself, unique, challenging and demanding; the epitome of mission command, with no succour, referral or support in a continuously threatening environment. It is therefore essential that those 'in command' are proven to be worthy and capable of their appointment. The evolution of 'Perisher' is in recognisable periods: the earliest days, following the submarine's introduction into the Royal Navy, was an autodidactic existence with COs learning from their peers and by experimentation. By 1917 circumstances had conflated to create the Periscope School and the Periscope Course to train and qualify COs whose characteristics were now fully formed. The interwar period was a difficult time, but it produced new submarines and technological innovations just in time for the Second World War and the most intense evolutionary period for 'Perisher'. Post-1945 to 1969 experienced two evolutions: Commander Sandy Woodward's codification of the art of attacking and a shift in emphasis from purely 'periscope eye' attacking toward the development of safety and tactical prowess in students. In the 1970s-1980s, two parallel courses satisfied the demand for COs from an expanding diesel-nuclear submarine fleet using SSKs and then in 1989, an SSN. The final period, 1990-2017 continues today with an all-nuclear Perisher and a curriculum to meet a changing battlespace, new weapons and tactics. Throughout its history, 'Perisher' has shaped the submarine commanding officer and he, in return, has shaped 'Perisher'.