Military History Books

Book SynopsisThe exploits of the 3rd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment have long been overshadowed by those of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion. Yet the actions of the 3rd Battalion during the D-Day landings were every bit as incredible. This is the astounding story of how, after suffering many immediate casualties on landing, the surviving paratroopers fought on towards their objective against horrendous odds. Using fascinating first-hand accounts of the soldiers and the French civilians who witnessed the Normandy campaign, and illustrated with black and white photographs and maps throughout, the authors offer a unique and comprehensive account of the experiences of the 3rd Battalion from training through to D-Day and beyond.Table of ContentsForeword by Ed Shames, 3rd BN, 506th PIR ·Acknowledgments . Introduction · 1. “Hit it - 13 weeks of pain” - Creation of the 506th PIR · 2. “Time, gentlemen, please” - The 506th at Ramsbury, UK · 3. “Here’s to your dog tags” - Preparations for D-Day · 4. “Jump into the fight” - Operation Overlord · 5. “God, let me live til morning” - D-Night Part 1 · 6. “For Christ’s sake, let’s go” - D-Night Part 2 · 7. “A real feeling of victory” - D-Day: June 6, 1944 · 8. “No word from 3rd Battalion, 506th PIR” - D-Day + 1 · 9. “A pitiful sight” - D-Day + 2 · 10. “Don’t shoot, we’re Americans” - Regrouping and consolidation · 11. “Still an American paratrooper” - POWs and counterattacks ·12. “I ain’t dead yet” - The battle of Bloody Gully , June 13 1944 · 13. “Things are pretty calm right now” - Operations on the Main Line of Resistance · 14. “Go on Yank, have a drink” - Return to Ramsbury · Bibliography · Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn 1217 England was facing her darkest hour, with foreign troops pillaging the country and defeat close at hand. But, at the battle of Lincoln, the seventy-year-old William Marshal led his men to a victory that would secure the future of his nation. Earl of Pembroke, right-hand man to three kings and regent for a fourth, Marshal was one of the most celebrated men in Europe, yet is virtually unknown today, his impact and influence largely forgotten. In this vivid account, Richard Brooks blends colourful contemporary source material with new insights to uncover the tale of this unheralded icon. He traces the rise of Marshal from penniless younger son to renowned knight, national hero and defender of the Magna Carta. What emerges is a fascinating story of a man negotiating the brutal realities of medieval warfare and the conflicting demands of chivalric ideals, and who against the odds defeated the joint French and rebel forces in arguably the most important battle in medieval English history – overshadowing even Agincourt.Table of ContentsList of lllustrations/ Preface/ Introduction/ Chronology/ Maps/ I: Angevin Inheritance/ II: Finest Knight/ III: Before the Longbow/ IV: King John and the Dauphin/ V: William’s War/ VI: Lincoln Fair/ VII: The Battle of Sandwich and the Treaty of Kingston/ VIII: Nunc Dimittis/ Glossary/ Select Bibliography/ Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisDespite the great English victories at Crécy, Poitiers and Agincourt, the French eventually triumphed in the Hundred Years War. This book examines the last campaign of the war, covering the great battles at Formigny in 1450 and Castillon in 1453, both of which hold an interesting place in military history. The battle of Fornigny saw French cavalry defeat English archers in a reverse of those earlier English victories, while Castillon became the first great success for gunpowder artillery in fixed positions. Finally, the book explains how the seemingly unmartial King Charles VII of France all but drove the English into the sea, succeeding where so many of his predecessors had failed.Table of ContentsOrigins of the campaign /Chronology /Opposing commanders /Opposing armies /Orders of battle /Opposing plans /The campaign /Aftermath /The battlefield today /Further reading /Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn the years between 31 BC and AD 500 the Romans carved out a mighty empire stretching from Britain to the deserts of North Africa. The men who spearheaded this expansion were the centurions, the tough, professional warriors who led from the front, exerted savage discipline and provided a role model for the legionaries under their command. This book, the second volume of a two-part study, reveals the appearance, weaponry, role and impact of these legendary soldiers during the five centuries that saw the Roman Empire reach its greatest geographical extent under Trajan and Hadrian, only to experience a long decline in the West in the face of sustained pressure from its 'barbarian' neighbours. Featuring spectacular full-colour artwork, written by an authority on the army of the Caesars and informed by a wide range of sculptural, written and pictorial evidence from right across the Roman world, this book overturns established wisdom and sheds new light on Rome's most famous soldiers during the best-known era in its history.Table of ContentsIntroduction /Organization: centurions under the early Principate, in the army of the Julio-Claudian Caesars – the Flavian and Trajanic army – in the Marcomannic Wars – the 2nd and 3rd centuries – the period of military anarchy – the 4th century – the Eastern and Western Empires /Weapons, armour and clothing: offensive weapons, helmets, shields, body armour, rank symbols and insignia, and clothing /Service and discipline /Social status /Bibliography

Read more less

Book SynopsisJ.M.W. Turner's The Fighting Temeraire Tugged to her Last Berth to be Broken Up (1838) was his masterpiece. Sam Willis tells the real-life story behind this remarkable painting. The 98-gun Temeraire warship broke through the French and Spanish line directly astern of Nelson's flagship Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), saving Nelson at a crucial moment in the battle, and, in the words of John Ruskin, fought until her sides ran 'wet with the long runlets of English blood...those pale masts that stayed themselves up against the war-ruin, shaking out their ensigns through the thunder, till sail and ensign dropped.' It is a story that unites the art of war as practised by Nelson with the art of war as depicted by Turner and, as such, it ranges across an extensive period of Britain's cultural and military history in ways that other stories do not. The result is a detailed picture of British maritime power at two of its most significant peaks in the age of sail: the climaxes of both the Seven Years' War (1756-63) and the Napoleonic Wars (1798-1815). It covers every aspect of life in the sailing navy, with particular emphasis on amphibious warfare, disease, victualling, blockade, mutiny and, of course, fleet battle, for it was at Trafalgar that the Temeraire really won her fame. An evocative and magnificent narrative history by a master historian.Trade Review'Cleverly uses the microcosm of the life story of one ship to reflect the wider narrative of the decades-long struggle between Britain and France for mastery of the seas' Sunday Times. * Sunday Times *'*****Brilliant ... Sam Willis has written a magnificent tribute to these superb ships and all who sailed in them' Mail on Sunday. * Mail on Sunday *'Willis offers an engaging biography of the Temeraire and gives a detailed picture of life in the sailing navy ... (His) book is infused with his experience and knowledge of seafaring' Times Literary Supplement. * Times Literary Supplement *'an elegant lament for the vanished warships of the world and an eloquent plea for the preservation of those still afloat' Bernard Cornwell in Wall Street Journal. * Wall Street Journal *Table of ContentsList of illustrations. Maps. Preface. The Escaping Temeraire. The Captured Temeraire. The Amphibious Temeraire. The New Temeraire. The Blockading Temeraire. The Mutinous Temeraire. The Trafalgar Temeraire. The Baltic and Iberian Temeraire. The Retired Temeraire. The Fighting Temeraire. Postscript. Epilogue: On Iconic Warships. Appendix 1: Ship Diagrams. Appendix 2: The crew of HMS Temeraire at the Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805. Appendix 3: Poems and Songs. Glossary. Notes. Bibliography. Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe British codebreakers at Bletchley Park are now believed to have shortened the duration of the Second World War by up to two years. During the dark days of 1941, as Britain stood almost alone against the the Nazis, this remarkable achievement seemed impossible. This extraordinary book, originally published as Action This Day, includes descriptions by some of Britain's foremost historians of the work of Bletchley Park, from the breaking ofEnigma and other wartime codes to the invention of modern computing, and its influence on Cold War codebreaking. Crucially, it features personal reminiscences and very human stories of wartime codebreaking from former Bletchley Park codebreakers themselves. This edition includes new material from one of those who was there, making The Bletchley Park Codebreakers compulsive reading. The best collection of military, espionage, and adventure stories ever told. The Dialogue Espionage Classics series began in 2010 with the purpose of bringing back classic out-of-print spying and espionage tales. From WWI and WWII to the Cold War, D-Day to the SOE, Bletchley Park to the Comet Line this fascinating spy history series brings you the best stories that should never be forgotten.Trade Review'Absolutely the best book ever written about codebreaking at Bletchley Park' Louis Kruh, Editor, Cryptologia '(A) remarkable collection of essays. Leaves one in awe of the complexity of Bletchley Park and its impact on both the world war and our postwar world.' Whitfield Diffie, Times Higher Educational Supplement

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe brutality of Japanese soldiers towards both allied prisoners of war and millions of civilians in Asia during the Second World War was one of the greatest horrors of the Twentieth Century. Here Laurence Rees, award-winning historian and author of Auschwitz and The Nazis: a Warning from History, turns his attention to a crucial question: why were these atrocities carried out?In this classic and seminal study, Rees talks openly with perpetrators and victims alike, and asks how seemingly ordinary people were driven to mass murder, rape and suicide. Uncovering startling first-hand testimonies of cruelty and barbarity, Horror in the East looks to individual experiences to understand this dark and violent chapter of human history.'Another stunning slice of history from Laurence Rees'Daily Telegraph review of Horror in the East, BBC TV

Read more less

Book Synopsis'In clear and utterly compelling English, this moving memoir tells the story of the agony, and the ecstasy, of one refugee - and of every refugee. A must read for anyone interested in the triumph of Afghanistan's spirit over its seemingly endless suffering'. Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, British Ambassador to Afghanistan, 2007-2010 Flight From Afghanistan is a harrowing account of what drives a man to flee his home country in fear of his life, the trauma of refugee camps and the dangers he faces even when he reaches the sanctuary of the West. Afghans are the second largest refugee group in the world. When confronted by certain death at the point of a gun, Tella Omeri, an uneducated boy from a peasant family knew he had no alternative but to put his life in the hands of ruthless human traffickers, living on his wits and instincts. His 11-year flight, which began as a six-year- old child, is a story combining brutality with courage, hopelessness with resilience. The author asks for no pity, but in his short story he seeks to explain the motivation behind his decisions and paints a radically different picture of life in a troubled region, challenging world leaders and domestic warring factions to find a solution to the endless conflict. While thousands of refugees flee conflict and danger every day, Flight from Afghanistan shines a powerful light on what it actually means to undertake such a journey, and gives a voice to the often forgotten silent victims of the long running wars in the author's home country. * 'Afghan refugees represent one of the world's largest protracted refugee populations. Over the past four decades, many have been forced from their homes to never see them again. Some were able to return, for a while, but had their lives upended by a fresh eruption of conflict and violence - either to be displaced elsewhere in the country, or to become refugees yet again'. Amnesty International * 'Afghanistan is the world's least peaceful country'. Institute for Peace and Economics, June 2019 Tella Omeri now lives in the UK as a British Citizen with his wife and children.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis illustrated, action-packed book contains a full account of the part played by Suffolk's airfields during the Second World War. The history of each airfield is described, with details of the planes and the pilots who flew them, and the local civilians who worked alongside them. The subject is brought vividly to life with detailed accounts, alongside photos of the airmen themselves and their aircraft. The build-up of the RAF air offensive after 1940, and the arrival of the huge USAAF Eighth Air Force in 1942, meant that by early 1945 in Suffolk alone, there were some 1300 aircraft flying from 32 airfields. This book details the history of these airfields - RAF or USAAF - and highlights the major wartime operations and the many and varied aircraft that comprised the operational squadrons. Numbered among them are the Blenheim, Wellington, Stirling, Lancaster, Liberator, Flying Fortress, Spitfire, Hurricane, Thunderbolt, Mustang and the Sunderland Flying Boat. These, and the young airmen who flew them, made an immense contribution to the final defeat of the Third Reich, as Allied bombers and fighters flew increasingly larger raids across the North Sea and into the dangerous, smoke-filled skies of occupied Europe. This is their incredible story.Table of ContentsCONTENTS Map of the Suffolk Airfields Map of the targets 1. Setting the Scene; Bomber Command; USAAF; The Airfields 2. Beccles 3. Bentwaters 4. Bungay 5. Bury St Edmunds 6. Chedburgh 7. Debach 8. Eye 9. Felixstowe 10. Framlingham 11. Great Ashfield 12. Halesworth 13. Honington 14. Horham 15. Ipswich 16. Knettishall 17. Lakenheath 18. Lavenham 19. Leiston 20. Martlesham Heath 21. Mendlesham 22. Metfield 23. Mildenhall 24. Newmarket Heath 25. Rattlesden 26. Raydon 27. Shepherd's Grove 28. Stradishall 29. Sudbury 30. Tuddenham 31. Wattisham 32. Westley 33. Woodbridge 34. Civilians at War Bibliography Index

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book provides a detailed history of the wartime airfields of the North West of England, including Cark, Crosby-on-Eden, Great Orton and Millom. It is presented in an illustrated format.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis volume is the first of its type to be devoted exclusively to the Zerstörer day fighter aces, spanning the war years from Poland to the defence of the Reich. Although Messerschmitt's single-engined Bf 109 has received most of the plaudits for achieving virtual air superiority over Europe in 1939-40, the exploits of the manufacturer's twin-engined Bf 110, the Ju 88 and the Me 410 Zerstörer in the first year of the war also make for very impressive reading. Indeed, on the eve of World War 2 a posting to a Bf 110 unit was considered to be the best career move available in the Luftwaffe.Table of ContentsOrganization and uniforms; cavalry; line infantry; light infantry; specialists and auxiliary forces; weapons.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis eighth volume in the highly respected series covers the HCUs, Lancaster Finishing Schools, Flights, Ferry Training Units, Station Flights and other miscellaneous units, identifying units, aircraft, crews and the circumstances behind each loss, day-by-day.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe eight previous volumes in this series, many of which have been reprinted over the years, provide a comprehensive listing of all Bomber Command aircraft losses between 1939 and 1947 in the European theatre of operations, along with information about the fate of the aircrew on board each individual aircraft. This final volume is in part an addendum to all the previous volumes, but its main constituent is a master index of about 55,000 entries - the Roll of Honour - bringing together all aircrew mentioned in the previous volumes. The Roll of Honour provides for each airman; their surname, rank, Christian name, service number, date killed, squadron, the serial number of the aircraft involved and the page and volume number where the loss is recorded.

Read more less

Book SynopsisHastings: Wartime Memories and Photographs weaves the personal stories of 75 people who endured life in Hastings during the Home Front war years with more than 140 photographs, the majority of which have never been published before. It describes the dramatic and turbulent way in which a peaceful seaside resort quickly became a town in grave danger of enemy attack, whose residents had to adapt very rapidly in order to cope with the numerous problems that now faced them. The book delves into the lives of ordinary men, women and children, as well as the soldiers and evacuees who made Hastings their home at the time and so lived with the constant fear of invasion, and provides a detailed and colourful account of life on the front line. The personal stories and photographs are complemented by documentary evidence from various sources, including local newspapers, local and national government records and two very informative private diaries that were meticulously kept in Hastings during the Second World War by John Turner and Charles Chalk. The focus of this book is once again Hastings and St Leonards, but inevitably the surrounding towns and villages are also included.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this book, a follow-up to the same author's well-received study of British web equipment, Martin Brayley gives a detailed illustrated overview of the webbing straps, holsters, carriers and haversacks used by American combat troops from before World War One to the Vietnam War. Hundreds of different items are photographed, and the often small differences between suppliers and periods are pointed in the learned and informative text. This book offers collectors and students of militaria a detailed and authoritative review of the development of the US Army's web equipment. It tells the story from the first M1910 set taken to France by the 'Doughboys' of World War One to the M1956 and its M1967 replacement worn by the 'grunts' in Vietnam. Superbly illustrated with more than 100 full-colour photographs. Martin Brayley is a prolific collector of military equipment and is a photographer by profession.

Read more less

Book SynopsisSixty years ago over 100 aerodromes in east and north-eastern England were occupied by the men and machines of RAF Bomber Command. The tenure of the majority of the bases was brief - some six years - but during that time more than 55,000 men lost their lives while flying from them to attack targets on the Continent. Split into seven operational groups, the airfields of Bomber Command formed the cornerstone of Britain's efforts to carry on the war against Germany in the years before the landings in Normandy. Thereafter they played their part in the battle against the V-weapons with one of the last raids of the war being carried out against Hitler's personal mountain retreat. Each airfield has been explored and photographed in the "then and now" style of Roger Freeman's previous books for After the Battle on the US Eighth and Ninth Air Forces. The physical development, construction and operational history of every airfield is described in detail and all are illustrated with wartime and present-day aerial photographs.

Read more less

Book SynopsisNOW UPDATED AND IN COLOUR. From the Belgian coast, across the fields of Flanders, over the valley of the Somme and down the line to the Argonne: all the major battlefields of the First World War -- Ypres, Arras, Cambrai, Amiens, St Quentin, Mons, Le Cateau, Reims, Verdun and St Mihiel -- are criss-crossed in this book over more than thirty different routes, each clearly shown on a Michelin map. Every significant feature is described in detail. Indispensable for anyone contemplating a tour of the battlefields in Belgium and France, this book combines the years of knowledge, travel and research of its author, Rose Coombs, who worked at the Imperial War Museum in London for nearly forty years. Since her death in 1991, After the Battle's Editor, Karel Margry, has travelled every route, checking and revising the text where necessary, as well as re-photographing every -memorial. Many new ones are included, yet we have striven to keep true to the flavour of Rose's original concept ...before endeavours fade.Table of ContentsIntroduction by the Author; About this book; The Commonwealth War Graves Commission; Demarcation Stones; The Poppy Legend; Battlefield Debris; CALAIS-YPRES Route I via Bergues; CALAIS-YPRES Route II via Cassel; CALAIS-YPRES Route III via St Omer; ZEEBRUGGE-YPRES The Yser Battlefield - Battles of the Ypres Salient 1914-1918. Summary; YPRES; YPRES YPRES SALIENT BATTLEFIELD TOUR; Route I The Northern Sector; Route II The North-eastern Sector; Route III The Eastern Sector; Route IV The South-eastern Sector; Route V The Rear Areas; THE ROAD SOUTH; ARRAS THE BATTLES OF THE SOMME ARRAS-CAMBRAI; Route I via Monchy-le-Preux ARRAS-CAMBRAI; Route II via Bullecourt; FIVE ROUTES TO MONS; MONS; MONS MONS BATTLEFIELD TOUR; MONS TO LE CATEAU; LE CATEAU LE CATEAU TO AMIENS; AMIENS TO CALAIS; Route I via Abbeville; AMIENS TO CALAIS; Route II via St Pol-sur-Ternoise; ST QUENTIN TO REIMS; The Chemin des Dames and the Champagne Battlefields; REIMS TO VERDUN; The Argonne Battlefield; VERDUN; VERDUN BATTLEFIELD TOUR; THE ST MIHIEL SALIENT; REIMS TO COMPIEGNE; THE BATTLE OF FROMELLES; INDEX.

Read more less

Book SynopsisRAF Fighter Command was established in July 1936 to provide the airborne element in the defence of Britain against air attack. The aerodromes under the Command described in this book came under the control of several Groups: No. 9 in the west, No. 10 covering the south-west, No. 11 in the south-east, No. 12 on the eastern side of the country, and Nos. 13 and 14 protecting the extreme north. In this volume the activities of over 90 airfields are described and illustrated in our 'then and now' theme, both on the ground and from above. Many, having served their purpose, have returned to farmland leaving only odd vestiges to recall their former role as front-line fighter stations. Others have succumbed to the encroachment of housing or industry or even been totally expunged from the map through mining activities. On the other hand, a number have continued to be used as airfields, either for sport or business flying, and some continue as major airports with modern facilities. Sadly the post-war years have witnessed the slow decline of the RAF presence at so many of their former bases, two having closed during our research for this book. And some have found a new lease of life with the Army . . . or even the Ministry of Justice! All came into their own during the six years of war and the scars from that battle are still evident if one cares to look. Mouldering buildings from the former era remain as poignant reminders of the airmen and women who once habited them . . . now standing almost as memorials to the thousands who never came through. This is their story. 800 illustrations

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisShowcasing IWM's extensive collection, this book includes works from the major artists of the time such as John and Paul Nash, Orpen, Spencer and Singer Sargent as well as other artists who are less familiar to us today. With an introductory essay by the late Roger Tolson, former Head of Art at Imperial War Museums, this book offers an insight into the huge range and power of wartime art during the First World War.

Read more less

Book SynopsisOn a dark winter's night in December 1980 two US airmen who were security guards at a USAF base in Suffolk, England, encountered a mysterious unidentified craft with flashing lights that had landed in the forest outside the perimeter. When the story got out, despite a cover-up and official denials, there were many who saw it as clear evidence our planet was being visited by UFOs from outer space. Skeptics who felt sure that must be a false explanation rushed to offer more earthly suggestions, or to insist the story was quite untrue and the airmen were lying. But they weren't! Years after this strange incident, the actual identity of the "UFO" has become plain and also the purpose for which this weapon was devised. It was needed as a result of an international crisis. Now, author George Wingfield examines the background of these events and also other similar unexplained sightings and encounters with UFOs during that era.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is a compendium edition of the highly regarded and long out of print Nachtjäger volumes in the acclaimed Classic Colours series on the aircraft, camouflage and markings of the Luftwaffe between 1939-1945. The book focuses on the operations and the aircraft of the Nachtjagd from its origins in the inter-war years, to its formation as an embryonic and innovative force in 1939 and through its desperate and climactic battles against the massed raids of RAF Bomber Command from 1939 onwards. The force evolved from using single-seat Bf 109s to twin-engined Bf 110s and Ju 88s, fitted with technically advanced radar equipment and weapons systems, supported by a sophisticated ground reporting network.It produced many leading night fighter aces such as Wolfgang Falck, Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer, Helmut Lent and Hans-Joachim Jabs. As the war progressed and the strategic situation began to tilt away from Germany''s favour so, ironically, the pace of development quickened with the Luftwaffe introducing uprated versions of the Ju 88 as well as new types such as the Do 217 and He 219. In the last, desperate months of the war, even the Me 262 was introduced as a night fighter in limited numbers. Nachtjäger is an important resource for modellers and students of Luftwaffe history, providing a detailed narrative augmented by many photographs and specially commissioned colour profiles.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFirst published in 1956, but still relevant and thought-provoking today, this book is an absolute revelation on test flying with the British aircraft organisations and manufacturers in the 1950s. Written from the pilots viewpoint, with refreshing candour and honesty which allegedly cost him his job at the Daily Express this account details what really went on behind the scenes in the defence world. Waterton pulls no punches in recounting the non co-operation of civil servants and designers in improving/altering recognised faults (often minor) when developing aircraft to the cost of lives lost. Mainly centring on his work with the mighty Gloster Meteor and the Javelin interceptors, this is an astonishing insight into the workings of the aircraft industry. Uncomfortable reading for many, it was seen by his supporters as a wake-up call at a time when British ingenuity and prowess were being overtaken by the Americans and Russians.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Tiger Moth is one of the major aviation success stories in the history of British aviation. Developed by Geoffrey de Havilland and flown for the first time on October 26 1931, the biplane became the most important elementary trainer used by Commonwealth forces. More than 1,000 Tiger Moths were delivered before WWII, and subsequently around 4,000 were built in the UK with an extra 2,000 being manufactured in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.Following the end of WWII, pilots could buy and modify a Tiger Moth for recreational use or agricultural crop spraying and use it relatively cheaply. This, combined with its popularity within the aero club movement, provided employment for the Tiger Moths until the late fifties when the more modern closed cockpit aircraft began to force them into retirement.This new paperback edition provides a comprehensive account of the aircraft origins and its development as a trainer of Commonwealth pilots in times of peace and war. It also looks at some of the other roles which this versatile little aeroplane performed such as a crop duster, glider tug, aerial advertiser, bomber, coastal patrol plane and aerial ambulance. Technical narrative and drawings, handling ability and performance as seen through the eyes of the pilots to make The Tiger Moth Story the most comprehensive book of the aircraft.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn 1963, Eugen Sänger, became head of the Eurospace organisation which promoted the ''AeroSpace Transporter''. In response to a Eurospace call, aircraft makers in France, Germany and UK designed recoverable, winged spacecraft. From 1964 to 1970 the French government led studies to evaluate the feasibility of the concept.Those studies, under the leadership of the French Centre National d''Etudes Spatiales (CNES), coalesced into the Hermes spaceplane which was then adopted by the European Space Agency. In parallel, Germany and UK proposed fully recoverable designs while other countries, including Japan, India and Russia came to CNES to share ideas about spaceplane design. Unfortunately Hermes was never launched and by 1994 was abandoned after many alternative propositions were discussed.This book relates the story of these remarkable concepts, crossovers between aircraft and spacecraft beginning with the ''antipodal bomber'' of 1944 and continuing to Aerospatiale STS-2000 project through the Transporteur Aero-Spatial, VERAS, AW Pyramid, Bumerang, Sänger II, HOTOL, Hermes, and Taranis. Non-European projects like Dyna-Soar, Hyperplane, HOPE, and MAKS are also be covered. It provides a fascinating and detailed account of these projects which, being half-way between aircraft and spacecraft, have hitherto often been therefore often neglected by aviation writers and historians

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom the young airmen who took their frail machines high above the trenches of World War I and fought their foes in single combat there emerged a renowned company of brilliant aces - among them Ball, Bishop, McCudden, Collishaw and Mannock - whose legendary feats have echoed down half a century. But behind the elite there were, in the Royal Flying Corps, many hundreds of other airmen who flew their hazardous daily sorties in outdated planes without ever achieving fame. Here is the story of one of these unknown flyers - a story based on letters written on the day, hot on the event, which tells of a young pilot's progress from fledgling to seasoned fighter. His descriptions of air fighting, sometimes against the Richtofen Circus, of breathless dog-fights between Sopwith Pup and Albatros, are among the most vivid and immediate to come out of World War I. Gould Lee brilliantly conveys the immediacy of air war, the thrills and the terror, in this honest and timeless acount. Rising to the rank of air vice-marshal, Gould Lee never forgot the RFC's needless sacrifices - and in a trio of trenchant appendices he examines, with the mature judgement of a senior officer of the RAF and a graduate of the Staff and Imperial Defence Colleges, the failure of the Army High Command to provide both efficient aeroplanes until mid-1917 and parachutes throughout the war, and General Trenchard's persistence in a costly and largely ineffective conception of the air offensive.Trade Review`Gould Lee brilliantly conveys the immediacy of air war, the thrills and the terror, in this honest and timeless account.' Britain at War; `Make no mistake; what we have here is a classic which gives a genuinely warm and detailed look at the life of a pilot on a typical fighter squadron during the violent days following Bloody April and into the last year of the war.' War History Online; `His wartime exploits still resonate in the stirring, first-hand narratives contained in this nicely illustrated book.' Over the Front; `An excellent work. 10/10.' The Great War; `This new edition deserves a special place in the bookcase of any self-respecting WWI aviation enthusiast.' WINDSOCK Worldwide; `Fascinating insight to the life of a fighter pilot. This is one of the classic pieces of aviation literature.' Cross & Cockade International

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn Harrier Boys, Volume One: Cold War Through the Falklands, 1969-1990, Bob Marston, who flew Harriers for many years, draws together accounts from others who worked with this unique jet through its history. The excitement, camaraderie and pride of Harrier operators shine through in the personal stories of those whose lives were changed by their experience of this iconic aircraft, both on land and at sea. In this first volume, events of the Cold War years are brought to life by contributors including Graham Williams, who flew the Transatlantic Air Race, Peter Dodworth, a member of the original Harrier Conversion Team, Peter Harris, a participant in the early defence of Belize, Sir Peter Squire, OC 1 (F) Squadron during the Falklands conflict, and Australian Dave Baddams, who commanded the Royal Navy Sea Harriers of 800 Squadron.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less