This book presents a fresh angle on the Spitfire by examining the contribution to its development and achievements by over 65 people - some famous, others not - ranging from politicians to pilots. Published to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, this book presents a fresh angle on the Spitfire by examining the contribution to its development and achievements by over 65 people, some famous, others not. Without the courage and tenacity of some leading political and military figures and the hard work of lesser-known mortals, there would have been no Spitfire, no Battle of Britain and no ultimate victory in 1945. Many people in positions of power played their part in the ultimate success of the Spitfire, but a few staked their reputations on a radical design that brought together the best in British design, technology and ingenuity. This book tells many significant individual stories.- Political people: Sir Winston Churchill (voice in the wilderness and wartime leader), Air Marshal Sir Wilfred Freeman (senior champion of the Spitfire in the Air Ministry), Lord Beaverbrook (Minister for Aircraft Production); Design and development people: Reginald Mitchell (chief designer 1934a 36), Joe Smith (chief designer 1936a 47), Jeffrey Quill (test pilot), Ernest Hives (Rolls-Royce experimental head and key player in the design of the Merlin engine), Sir Stanley Hooker (mathematician and Merlin engine developer), the ladies of Vickers Supermarine at Trowbridge (factory workers); and Operational people: James 'Johnny' Johnson (highest-scoring Spitfire ace), Henry Cozens (first squadron commander), Geoffrey Wellum (youngest Battle of Britain pilot), Douglas Bader (Spitfire wing leader and inspirational disabled pilot). Experimental people: Tony Martindale (RAE Farnborough test pilot), Eric 'Winkle' Brown (chief naval test pilot and the first man to land a Seafire on an aircraft carrier); Heritage people: Ray Hanna (Old Flying Machine company), Carolyn Grace (the only female owner/pilot in the world), Phill O'Dell (chief test pilot at Rolls-Royce and Spitfire display pilot); and Published to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

The 1944 Allied invasion of France was a combined effort, with land- and sea-based forces supported by a huge aerial task force, which included legendary aircraft such as the Spitfire, Mosquito, Dakota and Mustang. The force comprised the RAF, its commonwealth allies and the USAAF, which resulted in an eclectic mix of gliders, heavy bombers, fighters, ground-attack aircraft and transport aeroplanes. Illustrated with over 170 colour images of modern-day surviving and restored aircraft, this book features many of the aircraft types that were involved in the operations surrounding the Normandy invasion, including the aircraft the flew on D-Day itself. 170 illustrations

The Wellington Bomber was omnipresent during the Second World War, employed in a variety of contexts in the fight against the Axis powers. The pilots who flew this aircraft did so with an immense amount of pride, and there is perhaps no-one better placed to tell the story of this incredible aircraft than these men. Martin Bowman has drawn together a selection of first-hand pilot testimonies in an effort to record authentically the experience of flying the much-mythologised Wellington during one of the most challenging eras of aviation history. The book is supplemented by two plate sections of stirring black and white images.

The basic concept is a series of books each of which will focus on one RAF Command during World War Two. Format for each one will be the same, which in outline will comprise: Introduction - outline of the Command and its predecessors in the period up to 1939. Command history 1939-1945. This will be divided into sections either by role or operation, the exact composition of these sections will of course depend of the Command (for example, Battle of Britain for Fighter Command). This section will include information panels on topics such as: a. Commanders. b. Aircraft. c. Orders of Battle. d. Group overviews. Outline history of the Command post 1945. Appendices, including airfields, squadron histories, reading list, heritage trail (what can you see now).

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.

It's called the Raptor. The F-22 will be the U.S. Air Force's premier fighter for the first decades of the 21st century. Like other expensive military programs, the F-22 endured continuous scrutiny throughout its development - the aircraft that evolved was worth the wait. The F-22 is definitely top gun - it is more agile than current U.S. aircraft, has stealth capability, and is flexible in both air-to-air and air-to-ground attack missions. The Raptor is planned to start operational service with the U.S. Air Force in the year 2004, and when on-line, will provide a capability far beyond that of any other fighter aircraft.

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 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 amazing aeroplane first flew in 1949, and as at 2005, is still in front-line service with the RAF. It has served in a variety of roles including those of medium conventional bomber, tactical nuclear bomber, photo-reconnaissance, night intruder, navigational trainer, maritime strike, electronic countermeasures, atomic cloud sampling and target-towing. It was manufactured in the USA under license as the Martin B-57, and in Australia under liscence as the Canberra B-20. It has been exported to Argentina, Chile, France, Germany, India, Peru, Sweden, Venezuela, South Africa and other Commonwealth countries. This book looks at the development of the aircraft during the early days of jet power and especially at its Rolls-Royce Avon power-plant. It was Britain's first jet bomber. Each of the many marks and variants are described and illustrated by many remarkable and rare photographs. The type's record of service with RAF squadrons throughout its service life is given together with descriptions of the many experimental models that were used in the development of a variety of weapons and avionic systems.

Yahagi, the second Japanese warship of that name, was the third of the four Agano-class vessels (the other three being Agano, Noshiro and Sakawa). Construction of the Agano-class cruisers was approved by the Japanese parliament (Diet) in March 1939 under the Fourth Naval Armaments Enhancement Program (Dai-Yon-Ji Kaigun Gunbi Jujitsu Keikaku), also known as "Four-in-Circle" Program (Maru Yon Keikaku), or simply Maru 4. Under the terms of the program, the four light cruisers (kei jun'yokan), also referred to as type B cruisers (otsu-gata jun'yokan, or simply otsu jun) and officially classed as second-class cruisers (ni-to jun'yokan), were to fulfill the role of destroyer squadron flagships. At that time destroyer squadrons (DesRon), called literarily torpedo squadrons (suirai sentai), consisted of four four-ship destroyer divisions (DesDiv, or kuchiku-tai).

Having been classified by the Air Ministry as a 'Master Diversion' airfield, RAF Manston was for many years open twenty-four hours a day and available to both civil and military aircraft 365 days a year. It was also later equipped with the Pyrene foam system, which both civil and military aircraft could use when they had problems with their undercarriage: there is no doubt that the foam carpet saved many lives. The most spectacular occasion that it was used was on 20 April 1967 when a British Eagle Britannia made a complete wheels-up landing. It is claimed that Manston was the only station to serve in every command of the RAF and until its closure in 1999; it probably dealt with more diverse types of aircraft than any other station. During its eighty-three years as a Royal Naval/ RAF airfield, it played host to the Sopwith Camel, Spitfire, Bf 109, He 111, B-29, B-47, Tu-104, F-84 and Concorde, plus many other types that are too numerous to mention.

Unlike the United States, which has preserved a number of battleships as museums or memorials, not a single British dreadnought survives in the country that invented them. This book is an ambitious attempt to achieve the next best thing - a level of documentation in plans, photographs and words that portrays every aspect of the ship, albeit in two dimensions. Although the ship was chosen primarily because of the wealth of source material, _Duke of York_ enjoyed a distinguished wartime career that included sinking the German battleship _Scharnhorst_ in 1943 and serving as the flagship of the British Pacific Fleet in 1945, so is a fitting subject for such in-depth treatment. The core of the book is the reproduction in full colour of a complete set of as-fitted plans of the ship, including many details and close-ups. These are complemented by an unusually thorough set drawn after the ship's major refit in March 1945, showing all the modifications undertaken to prepare the ship for service alongside the US Navy in the Pacific. Photographic coverage begins with the stunning views taken by the builder's professional cameraman during every stage of construction, and concludes with an illustrated chronology of the breaking up. This last is included not just for completeness but because photos of the ship at various stages of demolition demonstrate many aspects of the interior structure, compartments and their fittings that are otherwise invisible. While the emphasis may be primarily visual, the accompanying narrative and captions display the expertise and in-depth knowledge of the authors, making the text as enlightening as the illustration. The result is a uniquely comprehensive portrait of a great ship in all its complexity, and a book that no warship enthusiast will want to miss.

For the first time, a book exposes an obscure theatre of the First World War in great detail and comprehensively, not just in terms of geography but also from the perspectives of both Allied and Axis participants. 'U-Boats off Bermuda' provides details of specific U-Boat patrols and their commanders, as well as a general overview of the situation in the theatre of war around Bermuda. It is a detailed analysis of individual casualties, broken down by a) background of ship, b) background of U-boat, c) attack method (surface and/or submersed), d) details of survivors and their plight at sea and e) their rescue, recuperation and repatriation.Detailed maps and illustrations provide a human face to what were often tragic attacks with fatal consequences. Did you know that half a dozen German submarines came close enough to the Naval Operating Base in Bermuda to see Gibbs Hill? Or that hardy Canadians from a sunken trading schooner rowed and sailed their way to the remote island-on their own? Allied pilots based in Bermuda sank two German U-Boats, rescued dozens in daring water landings, and several crashed.

German armoured vehicles continue to generate great interest among historians and military vehicle enthusiasts alike. Many of these lightly armoured vehicles were used for transporting soldiers and in the provision of medical care. Alexander Ludeke has devoted himself to the Radpanzertechnik in particular in this Fact File volume, providing a concise technical history of these German Military Vehicles.

The PBY Catalina, designed and produced by Consolidated Aircraft, whose production was supplemented by that of Boeing Canada, Canadian Vickers, and the Naval Aircraft Factory, was the most widely used flying boat of all time. Developed in the 1930s, the famed patrol bomber was used around the world by the United States and its alliesthe Soviets even produced hundreds of duplicates. The versatile aircraft sank U-boats, located the dreaded Bismarck, and rescued scores of downed airmen and crews of sunken ships. This volume explores the development and use of the aircraft, as well as details of its construction. This volume is profusely illustrated with almost 300 photos, many of which are in vintage color, augmented by line drawings.

The Battle of Tsushima, the epic battle between the Japanese and Russian navies on May 27-28 1905, is examined in far greater detail than ever before. Making extensive use of official records, personal accounts and a wealth of untouched information on the Russian Navy's activities, this battle, little known about by a general readership, is brought vividly to life. Also the immense coaling operation, with the names of all the colliers, is described in very informative and sometimes amusing detail. The later stages of the battle, its details often described as lost in the 'fog of battle', are clearly portrayed, as is the chaotic, high-speed night action when numerous Japanese destroyer and torpedo-boat flotillas terrorised the Russian seamen. Exhaustive examination of Japanese flotilla records has made it possible to reproduce an exciting and very informative account, placing the reader on board the attacking vessels, suffering collisions and gunfire as they career in and around the Russian battle line, while the human side of both participants brings into sharp focus the horrors of war. Tsushima was not only the culmination and climax of the pre-Dreadnought era; it was the most decisive naval battle ever fought. Other battles are more well known, but they did not achieve such a result, neither in their decisiveness nor in bringing the war in which they were fought to a conclusion.

In the hundreds of books written about battleships, the authors tend to draw down the curtain on the careers of these great vessels in September 1945, with the surrender of Japan. Yet, on that day some ninety-eight battleships or ex-battleships might be spotted around the world, and eleven of them were in or around Tokyo Bay for the surrender itself. What happened to all those ships? This new book takes a fresh look at the slow demise of the battleship. It examines the decisions made by the major world powers after 1945, and their aspirations to retain battleships in their navies, despite financial stringency. It places the history and role of battleships after 1945 in their geo-political context, centred around the Cold War and the need for the West to face down an aggressive Soviet Union. It also examines the impact on battleships of operational analysis of the Second World War and new technological developments, notably the atom bomb and the guided missile. The book uses the wealth of information from ship's books, ship's logs and gun logs to document in considerable detail what the ships actually did after the Second World War, with a particular focus on those of the Royal Navy. It covers United States battleship operations in Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf War, as well as the deterrent role played by battleships for NATO from the 1950s to the 1990s. Finally, it brings the story up to date by documenting the preservation as museum ships of the eight dreadnoughts which still exist today in the United States. Extensively illustrated with photographs of the huge range of activities of battleships after 1945, from their use as Fleet flagships to Royal or Presidential yachts and more poignantly as target ships, this new book will appeal equally to the historic ship enthusiast and naval specialist, and provide a novel perspective through a battleship-shaped lens on late twentieth-century history for the more general reader.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'An inspirational read celebrating the incredible young people who gave so much for this iconic British aircraft'. John Nichol, bestselling author of Spitfire: A Very British Love Story Despite the many films and television programmes over the decades since the end of the Second World War that portrays our allied heroes as grown-up men and women, the Battle of Britain was in the main actually fought and won by teenagers. The average age of an RAF fighter pilot was just twenty years old. Many of the men and women who designed and built their planes were even younger. Based on the hit BBC World Service podcast Spitfire: The People's Story, we use contemporary diaries and memoirs, many of them previously unpublished, to tell the story of the Spitfire through the voices of the teenagers who risked everything to design, build and fly her. This isn't a story of stiff-upper lips, stoical moustaches and aerial heroics; it's a story of love and loss, a story of young people tested to the very limits of their endurance. Young people who won a battle that turned a war.

Half a century before the 'flying wing' B-2 stealth bomber entered service, John K. 'Jack' Northrop was already developing prototypes of a large 'flying wing' strategic bomber, which would have been the most radical bombers of their age.

World War II brought a need for very long-range bombers and Northrop received a contract for a 172-ft span bomber, the B-35. Several of these were built, gradually evolving into the definitive XB-35 configuration. Testing revealed that the aircraft was invisible to radar, but engineers struggled to overcome the design challenges and several pilots were lost in crashes. While the program was cancelled in the 1950s, the concept extended into other highly innovative areas, such as the XP-56 and MX-324 Rocket Wing prototype fighters. But the greatest legacy was the first operational flying wing - the Northrop Grumman B-2 stealth bomber, which used much of the hard-won experience from the pioneering programs of half a century before.

From the evacuation of France in 1940 to the final dash to Hamburg in 1945, the 5th Royal Tank Regiment were on the front line throughout the Second World War. Theirs was a war that saw them serve in Africa as part of the Desert Rats, before returning to Europe for the Normandy landings. Wherever they went, the notoriety of the 'Filthy Fifth' grew - they revelled in their reputation for fighting by their own rules. The Tank War explains how Britain, having lost its advantage in tank warfare by 1939, regained ground through shifts in tactics and leadership methods, as well as the daring and bravery of the crews themselves. Overturning the received wisdom of much Second World War history, Mark Urban shows how the tank regiments' advances were the equal of the feats of the German Panzer divisions. Drawing on a wealth of new material, from interviews with surviving soldiers to rarely seen archive material, this is an unflinchingly honest, unsentimental and often brutal account of the 5th RTR's wartime experiences. Capturing the characters in the crews and exploring the strategy behind their success, The Tank War is not just the story of an battle hardened unit, but something more extraordinary: the triumph of ordinary men, against long odds, in the darkest of times.

If ever there was a real pilot's aeroplane it was the Hunter; an outstanding multi-purpose aircraft which excelled in the roles of interceptor fighter, ground attack, reconnaissance, research vehicle and two-seater trainer, not forgetting its dramatic formation aerobatic performances. The Hunter is one of the world's greatest aircraft. For three decades, pilots have enthused about it, extolling the virtues of its smooth, aerodynamic lines, 4 x 30mm cannon, the Rolls-Royce Avon engine, and its outstandingly honest handling characteristics combined with a lively performance. It saw operational deployment in Europe with Fighter Command and 2nd TAF, in Cyprus, the Middle East and the Far East, operating in the ground-attack role against rebels in Aden and Malaysia respectively. The Hunter was a classic thoroughbred of its time, from the stables of one of the finest fighter manufacturers in the world and, for fifty years, its adaptability was rarely challenged. Although the last example was retired in July 2001, the Hunter legend undoubtedly lives on, with 114 potentially airworthy airframes located in fourteen countries around the world. Here, the legendary tale of the Hunter is told in words and images.

Powered by twin General Motors diesel engines, the M4A2 Sherman was the standard tank of the US Marine Corps during WWII. In such service, having a common fuel with many of the landing craft simplified logistics. The M4A2 was also supplied in large numbers to Russia as well as the British. The M4A2 was used in some of the most severe tank combat of the war, both on Pacific islands and on the Eastern Front. This book chronicles the development and use of these vehicles from concept to combat. Through dozens of archival photos, many never before published, as well as detailed photographs of some of the finest existent examples of surviving vehicles, these iconic armored fighting vehicles are explored, and their history is explained.

The M4 Sherman tank was the mainstay of the Western allies between 1942 and 1945. Fast and modern it was a big success and was transported as far afield as Russia and North Africa. The American Chief of Staff claimed in November 1943 it was 'hailed widely as the best tank on the battlefield today...'. However, by the Normandy invasion of June 1944 this was not the case: the new German heavy tanks such as the Panther and Tiger were completely outclassing the Sherman. This title covers the M4 version armed with the 76 mm gun, examining developments such as the HVSS suspension, using much new archive material.