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The air force of Tito's Yugoslavia has had many different peculiarities - from a unique Cold War position of having operated a mix of US, Soviet, and indigenous aircraft and equipment, to the changeable strategies in case of war. One such feature was an entire underground air base constructed inside a hill near the town of Bihac, in western Bosnia. 'The Object' was the core, the heart, of this air base: it housed four MiG-21 squadrons for nearly 25 years, until the civil war tore Yugoslavia apart. 'The Object' was built as the outcome of Yugoslav military efforts to build up its independent defence capabilities, especially the air force which was regarded as the strategic tool in keeping Tito's Yugoslavia's independence from both Cold War blocks. There were a few other underground shelters built at Yugoslavia's air bases, but Bihac underground air base remained the only underground facility which was permanently used. Bihac Air Base was constructed directly on the border between two former federal states of Yugoslavia, now two independent countries: The Republic of Croatia, and The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Indeed, their post-independence border runs between the former taxiways and underground entrances. Nowadays, its ruins are a place of pilgrimage by many aviation and military enthusiasts, and is known as 'Zeljava', after a nearby village on the Croatian side. In its five chapters this book provides an in-depth account of the design and construction of the air base and its 'underground object', and a detailed account of the activities of its MiG-21 squadrons and everyday operations in the period between 1968 and 1991. The book concludes with an exhaustive description of combat operations during the final year of the existence of the Bihac Air Base in 1991-1992, under the conditions of the civil war. Drawing upon exclusive archival sources - many of them classified until very recently - the authors have expanded the emerging story through interviews with dozens of officers and other ranks that served at this 'underground aircraft carrier', thus managing to fill the gaps in usage not covered by the documentation. Tito's Underground Air Base is lavishly illustrated with a huge collection of exclusive photographs collected from numerous archives, museums, and private collections, and a set of authentic colour profiles and diagrams. It is a unique source of reference about one of most fascinating projects related to underground military facilities constructed during the Cold War.
On 24 March 1999, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) launched Operation Allied Force against Serbia. Lasting 78 days, this was an unusual conflict fought at several levels. The campaign was fought at the negotiation tables, in the media, and via cyber warfare. In the air, NATO sought to destroy or at least minimise the capability of the Serbian forces, while on the ground the Serbian forces fought the Kosovo-Albanian insurgency. It had an unusual outcome, too: without NATO losing a single soldier in direct action, they still forced the Serbian authorities and armed forces to withdraw from Kosovo, which in 2008 then proclaimed its independence. In turn, the war inflicted serious human and material losses upon the Serbian's and the air force was particularly devastated by air strikes on its facilities. Nevertheless, many within NATO subsequently concluded that the skies over Serbia were as dangerous on the last night of this conflict as they were on its first. Largely based on cooperation with the joint commission of the Serbian Air Force and the U.S. Air Force in Europe (USAFE), Operation Allied Force provides a detailed account of NATO's aerial campaign, including reconstructions of operations by 'stealth' aircraft such as the F-117A and B-2A. Operation Allied Force also offers a detailed reconstruction of the planning and conduct of combat operations by the Serbian Air Force, with special emphasis on the attempts of its sole MiG-29 squadron to challenge enemy strike packages. The volume is illustrated by a rich collection of exclusive photography collected from both sides, and along with custom-drawn artworks provides a set of entirely new and unique insights into what was the last war fought in Europe during the 20th century.
Pursuing a policy of social revolution, national liberation, and non-alignment, Yugoslavia under Josip Broz Tito became involved in the Middle East in the mid-1950s. Combined with some initial interest in economic and military assistance, this involvement found a positive reception among several Arab states, foremost Egypt under Gamal Abdel Nasser. Close personal ties between Tito and Nasser significantly contributed to the deployment of a contingent from the Yugoslav Popular Army (JNA) within the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) in Egypt, following the Suez War of 1956. Established in a hurry and deployed to Egypt in late November 1956, the JNA's part of the UNEF consisted of a reinforced reconnaissance battalion. The unit was manned by conscript soldiers and equipped with vehicles provided by the USA within the frame of the Mutual Defence Assistance Program (MDAP). The story of the unit's difficult task of entering the Sinai Peninsula right on the heels of withdrawing Israeli forces is the centrepiece of this book. While warmly welcomed by the local inhabitants, through late 1956 and all of 1957, the JNA contingent had the difficult task of reaching the demarcation lines, establishing observation posts, and making sure the cease-fire would be respected by all of the belligerents. For a force that understood itself to have a national-liberation and revolutionary role, rather than being an expeditionary military, the Yugoslav Popular Army thus went through a particularly unusual experience. The mission of the JNA's contingent with the UNEF on the Sinai came to a sudden end during the crisis leading to the June 1967 Arab-Israeli War: squeezed between the advancing Israeli forces, it had to be quickly evacuated, leaving all its heavy equipment and vehicles behind. Prepared with help of the original documentation from a host of archival sources of the former JNA, the book Yugoslav UNEF Contingent focuses foremost on the deployment immediately after the Suez Crisis of 1956. Providing detailed coverage of the much underreported closing chapter of that conflict, it is illustrated by more than 150 original photographs, most of which have never been published before.
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