This book covers the history of aircraft armament from the early days of World War I when aviators fired hand-held weapons at each other, through the airborne gun advancements during World War II, and finally up to the modern Gatling Guns of today. During the 1960s, aircraft guns would become a part of the helicopter mission, and these choppers would play an important role in Vietnam. Also during this period there would be three special "Gun Ships," where an airborne ground-attack system was designed around side-firing guns. The famous A-10 was designed around its forward-firing Gatling Gun. With the advent of new air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, there were those who thought that the day of the aircraft gun was over. In fact, the F-4 Phantom's early versions carried no guns. Experience showed, though, that they were still needed, and later aircraft types saw them returned. The current aircraft of the USAF and U.S. Navy - the F-15, F-16, F/A-18, and F-22 - all carry a rapid-fire Gatling Gun in addition to their missile loads.

During the American Civil War, General Nathan Bedford Forrest stated that in order to win a battle, "you had to get there the firstest with the mostest". Today in military parlance the "C" designation means only one thing-getting there first with the most! Cargo aircraft are the backbone of today\s military operations. From Operation Vittles to Operation Desert Storm, without the "C" planes the battles would have been lost. This new book is the definitive history of every cargo aircraft that displayed the American flag, from the commercial Douglas C-1 built in 1925, to the newest C-33 designation given to a potential commercial, off-the-shelf transport aircraft to supplement the C-17. The authors have attempted to trace the roots of each of the "C" aircraft. Bill Holder is also the auhtor of McDonnell-Douglas F-15 Eagle: A Photo Chronicle(with Mike Wallace), and One-of-a-Kind Research Aircraft: A History of In-Flight Simulators, Testbeds & Prototypes(with Steve Markman)-both titles are available from Schiffer Publishing Ltd. Scott Vadnais is an Air Force public affairs officer currently assigned to the 325th Fighter Wing. He spent four years at Wright-Patterson AFB working with aircraft acquistions and testing programs including the C-17.