An illustrated history of how the Luftwaffe intended 'the Blitz' to knock Britain out of the war, emphasising the German point of view and detailing how Britain's defences and civilians responded. The Blitz - the German 'blitzkrieg' of Britain's industrial and port cities - was one of the most intensive bombing campaigns of World War II. Cities from London to Glasgow, Belfast to Hull, and Liverpool to Cardiff were targeted in an attempt to destroy Britain's military-industrial facilities and force it out of the war. Most histories of the Blitz concentrate on the civilian experience of ‘life under the bombs’ or the fighter pilots of the RAF but, in military terms, the Blitz was also the Luftwaffe's biggest and most ambitious strategic bombing campaign. Focusing on both sides, this book places particular emphasis on the hitherto under-represented Luftwaffe view of the campaign and looks at the new technology and tactics at its heart. From the innovative development of specialist night-fighters to the 'Battle of the Beams' that pitted German electronic navigation systems against British countermeasures, the Blitz demonstrated the effects of developing technology on aerial warfare. Describing and analyzing the strategy, tactics and operations of both the Luftwaffe and the UK’s air defences during the period between September 1940 and May 1941, author Julian Hale demonstrates that, for a variety of reasons, there was little chance of the Luftwaffe achieving any of its aims. Using primary sources, spectacular original artwork, 3D diagrams and maps, this study shines a fresh light on how and why the world’s first true strategic air offensive failed.

This title explores the scope of women's activities in aviation, from the time of the Wright Brothers to the present day. After highlighting the earliest female aviators, as well as the trailblazers of the inter-war period such as Amy Johnson and Amelia Earhart, the book goes on to examine the experience of women in aviation during the Second World War, including those flying with the Air Transport Auxiliary and the American Women Airforce Service Pilots. The post-war years are also covered and the title emphasises the growth in women's participation in civil and military spheres of aviation - by the last decades of the twentieth century, women had progressed even further, undertaking many of the jobs previously reserved for men, including space flight and combat flying. From the earliest women to obtain pilot's licenses to the female astronauts of the modern day, this is a concise introduction to the development of British and American women's roles in aviation.

The French Riviera conjures up images of yachts on an azure blue sea; the dark green of pines and swaying palms; sports cars on the Corniche roads; the Monte Carlo casino and the Cannes film festival. But as Julian Hale reveals in this fascinating volume, there is another Riviera. Above Monaco towers a ruined reminder of Roman power, the Emperor Augustus' Trophy of the Alps. Monuments to Napoleon and Maginot Line forts testify to turbulent times, while statues and gravestones recall the belle Epoque. Churches and chapels along the coast and in the inland villages contain pictorial and architectural treasures from the Brea family during the Renaissance to Picasso and Matisse in the twentieth century. If the Riviera has had its critics--Somerset Maugham famously called it "a sunny place for shady people"--it remains the epitome of glamour. Julian Hale reveals how a piece of rugged inaccessible coastline was transformed into a byword for luxury and hedonism--but always with a special beauty of its own.

For a hundred years the Royal Air Force has been at the forefront of the UK's defences, protecting its allies, attacking its enemies and, in the 1950s and 1960s providing a key part of Britain's Nuclear Deterrent. This book examines the history of the RAF from the biplanes of the First World War, through its `Finest Hour' in 1940, the dawn of the jet age and up to today's hi-tech aircraft, including the emerging role of the unmanned aerial vehicle. Enriched with personal accounts and a wealth of photographs, this book provides a concise introduction to the world's first independent air force.