Search results for ""Kagero""

Curtiss P-40, known to Americans as Warhawk, and to their allies of the British Commonwealth as Tomahawk and Kittyhawk, fought on nearly all fronts of the Second World War, serving with the American, British, Australian, New Zealand, South African, Canadian, Free French, Chinese, Dutch and Soviet air forces. The book presents color profiles of the most popular versions of the aircraft.

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The result of years of experimentation by the Imperial Japanese Navy, the Mitsubishi A6M Reisen is perhaps the best known Japanese World War II fighter type. 132 archival photographs, 10 colour profiles

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Designed and initially produced by McDonnell Douglas, the Super Hornet first flew in 1995. It is used by the United States Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are twin-engine, carrier-capable variants based on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The F/A-18E single-seat variants are larger and more advanced derivatives of the F/A-18C and D Hornet. The Super Hornet is a new aircraft at about 20% larger and 3,200 kg heavier empty weight than the original Hornet. It carries 33% more internal fuel, increasing mission range by 41% and endurance by 50% over the "Legacy" Hornet. To aid safe flight operations and prevent confusion in radio calls, the Super Hornet is informally referred to as the "Rhino" to distinguish it from earlier Hornets. It is designed to be equipped with an aerial refueling system (ARS) or "buddy store" for the refueling of other aircraft.

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In February 1938, the United States Navy opened a competition for a new fighter. Its maximum speed and operational ceiling were to exceed all the machines that the American aviation had at the time. Among others, the Chance Vought company entered the competition. The Corsair was designed by a team of engineers led by Rex Beisel, the company's chief constructor. The prototype XF4U-1 was flown on May 29, 1940. The Corsair was powered by an eighteen-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp, the largest and the most powerful radial engine ever installed in a single-seat front fighter.

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In 1936 the D-513 fighter designed by Emil Dewoitine made its first flight. It was supposed to be the successor of the slightly outdated D-500 and D-510 models, and built according to modern trends: with a closed cabin and a retractable undercarriage. Unfortunately, the tests turned out to be very disappointing. At the same time, as a result of the nationalization of the aviation industry, Dewoitine's industries were absorbed by the SNCAM. Dewoitine, however, did not give up on the project and, in cooperation with his engineers, developed a new model - the D-520.

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The Lublin R-XIII was the Polish army cooperation plane, designed in the early-1930s in the Plage i Laśkiewicz factory in Lublin. Since 1927, they started working on their own prototypes. Those were designed by J. Rudlicki and his team of more than a dozen people including engineers Marian Bartolewski, Jerzy Dąbrowski, Antoni Uszacki, Janusz Lange, Jerzy Teisseyre, Witold Grabowski, Jaworski and others. The factory’s first own product was a reconnaissance bomber Lublin R-VIII built in 1928. Its airliner variant, the R-IX, was constructed in a short while. In 1930, they produced a pilot series of 5 Lublin R-VIIIs, 3 of which were converted to seaplanes in 1932. At the beginning of 1929, they performed a test flight of a liaison aircraft prototype designated R-X; a pilot series composed of 5 examples was built in 1931. Prototypes of the Lublin R-IX airliner (1929) and Lublin R-XI airliner (1930) as well as its improved variant, the R-XVI, failed to meet the requirements of LOT Polish Airlines so the production was not started. However, 5 examples of an air ambulance variant R-XVI were built in 1933-1934. In 1931, they created the R-XII sport aircraft that was not put to use.

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The Nakajima B5N prototype, designated B5N1 (in Allied reported name: Kate), was flown in January 1937. The first serial aircraft carried the designation Model 98 Model 11. The machines were tested in combat in China. In December 1939, another serial version entered the production marked as B5N2 Model 12. The aircraft was equipped with a Nakajima Sakae engine with a smaller frontal diameter and increased power. This improved plane’s performance. Initially, a hydraulic wing tip folding mechanism was used, but after a short time it was replaced with a manual one, which was more reliable.

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The Fiat CR 42 designed by Ing. Celestino Rosatelli, has the undoubted characteristic of being the last single-seat fighter biplane to be manufactured during the Second World War. It represents the final evolution of the aircrafts serie since Fiat CR 30 – 32 – 33 – 40 - 41, made during the 1935-1938 years in Turin. The prototype flew the first time on 23 May 1938 and about 1800 Fiat CR 42 were produced, divided into 15 construction SERIE. There were no productive variants but only small changes along the SERIE due to various operational uses. Despite he was technically overtaken and outclassed by the opposing aircrafts, he honored his duties thanks to the skill and sacrifices of the Regia Aeronautica pilots who used it in almost all fronts war. He was also successfully exported and used in Belgium (Aeronautique Militaire Belge), Hungary (Magyar Kiraly Hoved Légiéro), Germany (Luftwaffe) and Sweden (Flygvapnet). Surviving aircraft were deployed in the post-war era by the Scuola Caccia Aeronautica Militare Italiana Lecce-Galatina airfield and for secondary services in Milano-Linate airfield during the 1950s, both single-seater and two-seater version.

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In the late 1890s the Russian Empire sought to strengthen its presence in the Far East, China and Korea. Faced with a growing threat posed by the Imperial Japanese Navy, the Russians saw an urgent build-up of their naval forces in the region as an utmost priority. On February 20, 1898 Emperor Nicholas II approved a supplementary shipbuilding program “for the Far East”, which would see the construction of six 5,000 – 6,000 ton cruisers, in addition to ships already being built under the 1895 program. The task to formulate technical requirement for the new vessels was delegated to the Maritime Technical Committee (Russian: MTK).

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Hitler’s drive to modernize his armed forces gained a new momentum with the arrival on stage of Col. Heinz Guderian – the future spiritus movens of German armored warfare doctrine. Behind the scenes German design teams were busy working on prototypes of vehicles that would soon become the tools of the future war – light Pz.Kpfw. I and II, heavy (in keeping with contemporary classification) Pz.Kpfw. IV and medium Pz.Kpfw. III armed with a 37 mm gun. In the early stages of fighting in France it became clear that the vehicle didn’t carry enough punch and in later marks of the tank the 37 mm main gun was superseded by a 50 mm weapon. The ultimate version of the Pz.Kpfw. III was armed with a short barrel 75 mm gun, the largest that the tank’s turret could accommodate.

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A captivating story of German submarines that fled to Argentina on the eve of the Third Reich’s capitulation, unwilling to surrender to the Allies. The authors of the book discovered numerous unpublished documents in England, Argentina, Germany and the USA. They debunk myths and expose lies concerning the escapes of the German Nazis and the transportation of large amounts of treasure, mainly gold, as well as documentation of the most valuable military projects of the German Reich, which were supposed to turn the tide of the war. The book uses documents from interrogations of the U-Boot commanders who were sent to a special POW camp near Washington for prisoners of exceptional importance.

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The 39.M Csaba - the Hungarian armoured reconnaissance vehicle of WWII - was a modern car for its time. The armament was mounted in a fully armoured turret, and the armour was riveted from 9 mm plates. The car was powered by a Ford engine manufactured in Cologne, Germany, which provided good speed. The vehicle had two steering positions, front and rear. Published by Kagero, this book includes 8 colour profiles, 8 A4 drawing sheets and over 100 archival photos.

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The book presents color profiles of selected tanks fighting on the Eastern Front, both on the Soviet and German sides. The book with a decal sheet.Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a single-seat fighter and fighter-jet aircraft. Produced in 15,683 units, it was the most numerous of the US fighter aircraft.

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In early 2001 we launched the CAMOUFLAGE & DECALS series. Although the first book in the series was an instant hit, we were forced to abandon the series due to technological issues with decals production. Over the years we released a number of books with decals sets, while the CAMOUFLAGE & DECALS series was patiently waiting for its turn.Well, the time has come to revive the series. Encouraged by mail from our Readers and queries from hobby shops all over the world, we decided to revisit the idea from twenty years ago. We are launching no fewer than three new books in the series, filled with artwork commissioned from well-established and respected authors, with whom we have had a pleasure to cooperate over the years. Featured artists include Jacek Pasieczny, Janusz Światłoń, Maciej Noszczak, Sławomir Zajączkowski, Arkadiusz Wróbel and Mariusz J. Dziedzic.Future books in the series will feature vehicles and aircraft in camouflage representative for a particular period and battlefield. Each book will come with a free set of decals corresponding to the main theme of the book.The first five books in the series will feature color plates published over the years in Kagero books and magazines. At the time of writing the work continues on follow-on CAMOUFLAGE & DECALS books which will feature new, previously unpublished material.

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The GAZ-67 and the subsequent GAZ-67B were general purpose four wheel drive Soviet military vehicles built by GAZ starting in 1943. By the end of the war, it was the soviet equivalent of the Willy's Jeep The GAZ-67 was a further development of the earlier GAZ-64. A main improvement was a wider track of 1446 mm. It also had a strengthened chassis frame, enlarged fuel tank and other improvements. It was powered by a slightly more powerful 54 hp (40 kW) version of GAZ M1 4-cylinder 3280 cc gasoline motor, and had a top speed of 90 km/h (56 mph). Production started on 23 September 1943 This is a pictorial album of the GAZ-67 and subsequent GAZ-67B, including 77 black and white photos as well as 103 colour photos and a set of Techmod decals in 1:72 and 1:35 scales. About the Series This is a classic series of highly illustrated books on the best machines of war, with several hundred photographs of each aircraft or vehicle. With close-up views of the key features of each machine, including its variations, markings and modifications, customising and creating a model has never been easier. Includes extra features such as decals and masking foil.

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The Lockheed F-104 was one of the most popular supersonic aircraft in history, although it did not gain recognition in its home country, the United States. Nevertheless, it was used and modernised in fifteen countries around the world. It was the first combat plane to exceed the speed of two Machs, and the first to use the six-barrel M61 Vulcan cannon for combat.The Korean War showed that the US Air Force did not have much advantage in the air over machines from the USSR, especially when it comes to fighter aviation. The Soviet MiG-15 was certainly not inferior to the F-86. In addition, there was mass production in the USSR, where state budget constraints were not taken into account. In this situation, it was necessary to gain a qualitative advantage, and a huge one at that. It was supposed to be given by the F-104 fighter.It was a relatively simple plane with a long fuselage and short and thin wings. The plane was supposed to be as fast as possible to use the combat method: chase, hit, run. The attack was to be carried out with the use of missiles.In 1953, Lockheed received a contract to build prototypes, and three years later face=Calibri>– on April 2, 1956 – pilot Joe Ozier, flying YF-104A (serial No. 55-2955), achieved twice the speed of sound.

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The Mirage F1 emerged from a series of design studies performed by French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation. Having originally sought to develop a larger swept wing derivative of the Mirage III, which became the Mirage F2, to serve as a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) propulsion testbed akin to the Dassault Mirage IIIV, however, it was soon recognised that the emerging design could function as the basis for a competent fighter as well. Both the Mirage F2 and a smaller derivative, referred to the Mirage F3, received substantial attention from both Dassault and the French Air Force, the latter being interested in its adoption as a long-range fighter bomber as a stopgap measure prior to the adoption of the envisioned Anglo-French Variable Geometry (AFVG) strike aircraft. Parallel with the Mirage F3 study, which was intended to serve as an interceptor aircraft, Dassault decided to study a single-seat derivative which featured the all-French SNECMA Atar 9K-50 turbojet engine. The Spanish Air Force was the second Mirage F1 customer, and purchased a total of 91 machines of different variants from 1975, equipping a total of four squadrons, during the period 1998-2000, the survivors were upgraded to Mirage F1M standards, and were phased out of service in June 2013, but about 22 of them were given a new lease of life after beinjg acquired by Draken International to be used as aggressors in the US.

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The rocket missile ORP Gen. T. Kosciuszko is currently one of the more valuable Polish Navy ships.Belonging to the American type Oliver Hazard Perry, together with the twin ship ORP Gen. K. Pulaski, he went under the white-and-red flag under an agreement between the governments of the United States and the Republic of Poland. The ship was built as USS Wadsworth with a tactical number FFG 9 at the Todd Pacific Shipyards in San Pedro, California.

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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 Jūjitsu 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’yōkan), also referred to as type B cruisers (otsu-gata jun’yōkan, or simply otsu jun) and officially classed as second-class cruisers (ni-tō jun’yōkan), 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).

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The sixth title in the series is devoted to the history of JG 26 "Schlageter". The 28 page book with English text contains a chronological overview of the unit’s activities, which is supplemented with 41 photos and colour profiles of 4 aircraft. The book also includes a decal sheet printed by Cartograf, which contains 1:72, 1:48 and 1:32 individual markings of the following planes: - Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-1; W.Nr. 3413, 'Black 5', flown by Lt. Hans Krug of 5./JG 26, Chievres airfield, France, early June 1940, - Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-2; W.Nr. 0125 304, flown by Hptm. Johannes Seifert, Kommandeur of I./JG 26, St. Omer-Arques airfield, France, late May 1942, - Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6; flown by Hptm. Klaus Mietusch, Kommandeur of III./JG 26, Nordholz airfield, Germany, late July 1943, - Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-8; W.Nr. 170 661, 'Brown 13', flown by Lt. Gerhard Vogt, Kapitän of 7./JG 26, France, June 1944.

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The fourth title in the 'Units' series tells the story of JG 51 Moelders. The 32 page book with English text contains a chronological overview of the unit's history supplemented with 40 photos; tables of unit commanders and planes used as well as colour profiles of 4 aircraft painted by Janusz Swiatlon and Arkadiusz Wrobel.

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Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54) Grünherz (Green Hearts) was a Luftwaffe fighter wing during the Second World War. It was known as the Green Hearts Wing, and it was the second highest scoring wing of all time, JG 52 being the highest. JG 54 flew on the Eastern Front, racking up over 9,600 kills, with aces such as Walter Nowotny, Otto Kittel, Freiherr Peter Grunhertz, Hans "Phips" Philipp, Gunther Lutzow, Emil "Bully" Lang (Lang holds the record for most kills in a day,18), Max-Hellmuth Ostermann, Dietrich Hrabak, Werner Schroer and Hannes Trautloft being the most famous Experten.

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The M16 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage (M16 MGMC) also known as M16 half-track, was a US self-propelled antiaircraft gun built during World War Two. The chassis of the half-rack armored personnel carrier was used to build various variants of self-propelled guns. They were tested on training grounds. Some of them were accepted for military service, series production and then they would see combat. These mainly included self-propelled antiaircraft guns armed with large-caliber 12.7 mm machine guns. In the Autumn of 1941, the first vehicles of this type were tested. The basic requirement of their design was to combine the half-track transporter chassis with a self-propelled revolving turret, the very same as the ones mounted on the bomber aircraft.

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Nakajima K-43 Hayabusa, code-named Oscar by the Allies, was the Imperial Japanese Army’s equivalent of the Zero fighter in service with the Imperial Navy. In combat units the machine replaced the aging Ki-27. Manufactured in large numbers, the fighter remained in frontline service until the end of the war. By the time its final version entered production, the development of its successor – the Ki-84 – had already started. The Ki-43 was a very maneuverable machine, but in many areas it was inferior to its adversaries. Despite its fragile design, poor armament and almost no armored protection, the Ki-43 was well-liked by the Japanese pilots and it became a symbol of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service. Hayabusa was the pinnacle of the Japanese fighter design development until the lessons learned in the Pacific laid the ground for new approaches to the construction of tactical aircraft.

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In 1937, Dornier obtained a patent for a plane with two engines in the fuselage, driving the pull and push propellers. The design was marked P.59, and its concepts were refined in 1939 in the P.59-05 variant, after which the design was put in a drawer. This type of plane was not needed at the time. Nevertheless, limited experimental work was carried out, the result of which was a small Goppingen Go-9 plane, with an aerodynamic system obtained from P.59, as well as three-support landing gear with a front wheel and an engine driving a push propeller through a long shaft.The results of these experiments were used when designing the P.231 aircraft in several variants - also combining piston and jet propulsion. When in 1942 the RLM announced the requirements for a high-speed multipurpose aircraft, the equivalent of the British Mosquito, Dornier proposed the P.231 as a rather unusual answer. Despite the risks posed by the different P.231 concept, Dornier was commissioned to build several prototypes.

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In this book, I would like to introduce to our readers the first major campaign of the Royal Hungarian Army fought against the Red Army in Ukraine from July until November of 1941. The Barbarossa campaign started 80 years ago, on 22 June 1941, pitting the forces of the Soviet Union against those of the Third Reich and its allies. Hungary was among the less willing allies who participated on the side of the Germans. On strategically level the Hungarian involvement during the first phase of the war against the Soviet Union was minimal. On the other hand, the Hungarian committed their most modern, partially motorized units; the Mobile Corps and the elite mountain jagers and border guard troops of the VIII Corps and the selected units of the Royal Hungarian Air Force. Through this lavishly illustrated book I wanted to show you what war meant for ordinary soldiers, civilians from the Hungarian perspective in 1941.

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His book "Soviet Heavy Fighters 1926 - 1949" was written mainly to showcase some of the lesser known, often forgotten, aircraft types, as well as a group of young and prolific aircraft designers who never had a chance to flourish under difficult wartime conditions and limitations inherent to the Soviet aviation industry of the time. Many of the aircraft designs discussed in the book never went into full-scale productions, others didn't progress beyond the prototype stage and some were complete failures. Nonetheless, quite a few of them featured interesting and innovative design solutions. Hopefully, this comprehensive book will serve the purpose of shedding light on some of the lesser known episodes in the history of Soviet aviation and save them from falling into obscurity.

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The Focke-Wulf Ta 154 Moskito was a fast twin-engined German night fighter aircraft. The German Ta 154 night fighter which supposed to be an answer to the British Mosquito.

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Panzerkampfwagen IV (PzKpfw IV) - German medium tank from World War II. Until the fall of 1942, it was the heaviest tank in the army of the Third Reich. Initially, it was armed with a 75 mm short-barreled cannon, but as a result of the experience gained it was rearmed with long-barreled guns.

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The birth of the Ninth Squadron (Novena Escuadrilla) of the Spanish Navy Fleet Air Arm (Flotilla de Aeronaves in short FLOAN) took place in 1987 with the receipt of the first three AV-8B aircraft from McDonnell Douglas factory in St. Louis on October 6 of that year. Deliveries continued for a total of 12 AV-8B Harrier IIs (numbered 01- 901 to 01-912) commonly known as “Day Attack” to differentiate them from later models Night Attack and AV-8B+ or “Radar” Aircraft. On January 29, 1996 the first AV-8B Plus 01-914 joined the squadron. Then continued deliveries up to 01-921, which makes a total of eight AV-8B+ that greatly enhanced the operational capabilities of the squadron. On 1 October 2000 the unit received TAV-8B 01-922, which is the only two-seater with the squadron and together with the simulator allows it to be totally autonomous in the adaptation to training new pilots just graduated from the U.S Naval Aviator pipeline. On July 30, 2003 were received from the now Boeing factory in Saint Louis the first two AV-8B to be remanufactured as AV-8B+ numbered 01-923 and 01-924. On 21 November the same year the last three planes in the remanufacturing programme, 01-925, 01-926 and 01-927 were ferried to Rota Naval Sation flown by Novena Escuadrilla pilots.

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M4 Sherman was the most popular American tank of World War II. Between February, 1942, and June, 1945, a total of 49.000 units of all versions were produced. Dozens of variants of M4 tanks were created. They differed in the method of hull production (welded, riveted, casted) as well as turret, main armament and additional equipment. Several special versions were also made (especially for the needs of the Normandy landing in 1944): the floating Sherman DD (Duplex Drive), Sherman Crab (with anti-mine trawl), Sherman Dozer (with bulldozer at the front – for demining and engineering tasks), Sherman Zippo (Sherman with a flamethrower mounted instead of the main gun).

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The British battleship HMS “Vanguard” was built in the years 1941–1946 at the John Brown & Company shipyard in Clydebank. It was quite an unusual ship due to the fact that it was built as the largest and also the last of the British battleships, and armed with artillery towers stored since 1925, taken from the cruisers HMS “Courageous” and HMS “Glorious”.It is widely regarded as Britain's best designed battleship, well-armed but also least needed. Design work began before World War II and was completed a year after its end, making it one of the longest-built ships in history. Her service, however, was quite short and lacking of interesting events.The unit was launched in 1944, and it entered service only two years later, so it did not have the opportunity to take part in World War II. The first major event in the history of the ship was the three-month journey to the British dominion of the Union of South Africa with George VI, Queen Mary and both daughters, Princess Elizabeth and Anne, on board between February and May 1947.

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Junkers Ju 188 - German bomber during World War II, successor of the Ju 88) was flown in January 1943. In February 1943, production lines launched three Ju 188E-0 planes powered by BMW 801ML engines. The first seven serial Ju 188E-1s received the BMW 801C-2 engines. Airplanes powered by Junkers Jumo in-line engines were to be marked A, B, C and D, while those powered by BMW, F, G and H radial engines. The identification variant of the E-1 version was the Ju 188F-1, equipped with two cameras.

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"Azuma" was one of the six armored cruisers built under the programme. Four of them were built by the British Armstrong shipyard, but "Azuma" was ordered in France, and its sister vessel, the "Yakumo", in Germany. Both cruisers were to carry British guns, making them compatible with units built in hazy Albion. The contract for the construction of "Azuma" was signed on 12th of October, 1897, with Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire. On 1st of February, 1898, the keel was laid at the concern's shipyard in St. Nazaire. The launch took place on 24th of June, 1899. The construction was completed on 28th of July, 1900. The next day, the cruiser left St. Nazaire and went to Japan, reaching Yokosuka on 29th of October 29 of that year.

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HMS Invincible was the lead ship of a class of British light aircraft carriers built between 1973 and 1985, originally designed as "through-deck cruisers" (TDC). This set them apart from conventional helicopter-carrying ships of the time, which typically featured a flight deck in the aft section of the vessel. Invincible-class carriers were the world’s largest warships powered by gas turbines and featured a modular design which allowed replacement and upgrades of various elements of propulsion system and equipment without the need for any structural modifications of the hull. A characteristic feature of the Invincible class was a "ski-jump" ramp at the end of the flight deck designed for VSTOL Sea Harriers, which at that time were state-of-the-art combat platforms. As designed, the ship was to carry five Sea Harriers and nine Sea King helicopters (six ASW variants and three transports).

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The IN COMBAT series is aimed for those who would like to quickly learn about fascinating history of specific vehicle, plane or ship. Every tome consist of most important information about history, versions and service of one combat machine. Book has tens of pages in A4 format and consists of dozens of interesting photos, colour illustrations, technical drawings and maps. In every tome there is a free gift in form of masks or decals for modellers. Minimonographs IN COMBAT are the answer to many requests from our readers who asked us to make such series. Yakovlev Yak-3 is considered one of the best World War 2 fighters, invariably praised by those who flew it in combat for its remarkable performance. The Germans also treated it with respect, which is perhaps best illustrated by Generalleutnant Walter Schwabedissen’s remark: The Yak-3 was a tough nut to crack for our pilots. It outperformed our machines in speed, maneuverability and rate of climb.

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The monograph on the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D and Ta 152 discusses their origins and development, technical details of subsequent variants and sub-variants, and camouflage and markings. The book also describes the operational history of both aircraft during the last months of WW2 and compares them to their RAF and USAAF opponents. It contains the production list of Fw 190 D with serial numbers; technical data and lists of the most successful pilots of Fw 190 D and pilots who scored while flying Ta 152s. English & Polish text, 112 pages, 115 photos, 22 sheets of 1:48 scale drawings, which include specification of external changes on production-run versions of the aircraft, 11 pages of colour charts with 24 examples of camouflage schemes.

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The book contains color profiles of the MiG-15, MiG-17, MiG-19 and MiG-21 aircraft belonging to the Warsaw Pact country. The first volume includes machines from the USSR and Poland.

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The 38M Toldi light tank, contrary to its designation, went into service in 1940. At the time it was the state of art armoured weaponry of the Hungarian Army. Before that time the Army had its WW1 style armoured trains, armoured cars and the tiny Italian FIAT Ansaldo tankettes. The 38M Toldi light tank and its Swedish origin the L-60 were the same class as the German Pz. II, the Polish 7TP, the Soviet T-40 and T-60 light tanks, designated for reconnaissance and liaison role. However, at the beginning of the war it was the only tracked armoured vehicles of the Hungarians to fight the Red Army in 1941. The 38M Toldi light tank was also the first armoured vehicle produced by the Hungarian War Industry during the war.

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Ju 87 D (Dora) is another version of this popular dive bomber. Despite the weak armor and less sufficient performance, the Stukas were still produced due to the lack of a successor. However, the plane underwent some modifications that allowed it to be used for a variety of tasks. Ju 87 D had a more efficient water and oil cooling system, a more aerodynamic fuselage and modified crew cabin that was more spacious and better thought out. Dora was driven by one of the two Junkers’ engines: Jumo 211 J-1 with 1420 hp or Jumo 211 P with 1500 hp. Fuel tanks were increased up to the capacity of 1370 l, which allowed to achieve an average flight length of 2 hours and 15 minutes. In the case of using external drop-tanks, the flight time increased to 4 hours. In relation to the Ju 87 B version D could carry much bigger load of bombs. It was a jump from 500 to about 1200 kg of bombs, and with minimum amount of fuel and for short-distance missions, the aircraft could carry up as much as 1800 kg of bombs. Individual variants – from D-1 to D-4 – differed in the used armor and equipment: D-2 – was planned for tropical operations, D-3 – was planned for night (D-3 N) or tropical missions (D-3/trop), D-4 – torpedo-bomber version.

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The decision to start the production of the Curtiss P-40 fighter was made primarily due to the relatively low airframe price and the possibility of launching it almost immediately (based on Curtiss P-36s ready fuselages). The P-40 did not have a turbocharger, but despite this the requirements were constantly increasing, especially when it comes to the maximum speed. It was requested to raise it by over 100 km/h (up to 580 km/h). It required a number of construction changes e.g. new exhaust pipes, new shape and size of the air intake to the carburetor at the top of the engine cover, moving forward the coolers under the nose. After the tests in the NACA wind tunnel it turned out that these changes were not enough. The plane underwent further aerodynamic refinements, using, among others, smooth riveting and retractable tail ring. In the end, the speed was 589 km/h at 4570 m, which gave the green light for serial production.

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The destroyer Spravedlivyy was constructed in the Severniy Sudostroitelniy Zavod imeni A.A. Zhdanova (Shipyard No. 190) in 1954–1956 as one of 27 Project 56 destroyers, also known as the Spokoinyy class (designated Kotlin by NATO). They were destroyers in the old fashion, created in the early 1950s by designers of the 53rd Central Design Bureau (CKB-53) led by head designer A.L. Fisher, who was also the author of Project 30bis (NATO: Skoryy-class).

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This book is soft bound of 76 pages in English. It comes with a hand-held pair of cardboard glasses that have one red lends and one blue one, to use to see pictures in the book in 3D. The book contains 42 black and white wartime photos. Including the front and back covers. There are 18 color photos of a Hetzer of the“Hemmann von Salza” regiment on the outskirts of Berlin, April 1945 and 72 color illustrations . These illustrations are done in 3D.

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This monograph of the most famous dive bomber of World War II focuses on the design and combat operations of the late marks of the Stuka: the Ju 87D dive bomber and strike aircraft and the Ju 87G tank buster. In addition to the detailed description of the design, the book covers combat operations of the Luftwaffe units equipped with the D and G models, as well as the biographies of the most prominent aircrews who flew those aircraft in combat. The text is supplemented by original photographs and 3D drawings showing details of the design.

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Israel Aircraft Industries manufactured 51 single and ten two-seater Mirage 5s, the IDFAF named them Nesher; after an outstanding performance in the Yom Kippur War, most were sold to Argentina late 70s. By the beginning of the decade, the Argentina Air Force was in the process of modernizing its fleet of combat aircraft. While that stage had begun some years earlier with the introduction of the first batch of Douglas A-4P Skyhawk, it began with the incorporation of the BAC Canberra (intended to replace veteran Avro Lincoln and Lancaster killed in 1967) bombers and the signing of the contract for the first supersonic jet FAA: the Mirage III.

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The Fiat G.55 Centauro fighter was designed by Giuseppe Gabrielli at the Fiat factory in 1942 and flown in the spring of the same year (April 30). The plane was to be a response to the demand for an interceptor capable of operating at high altitudes, which was dictated by the increasing intensity of Allied air raids on Italian cities and military infrastructure. A total of 130 copies of this machine were produced.Most Fiats G.55 were stationed in bases in northern Italy, from which they defended industrial plants located in these regions. The G.55 fighters were very highly rated by the pilots who considered them superior to the German Bf 109s G and K versions, and the Focke-Wulf Fw 190A. Unfortunately, due to the bombing of Fiat factories and problems with the supply of a sufficient number of Daimler Benz 603 engines, the production of the aircraft was stopped.Published in Kagero’s renowned Top Drawings series for modellers and military historians, this volume detailssize=2 color="#333333"> the history of the Fiat G.55 Centauro fighter and includes size=2>10 quality colour profiles and drawings in scale.color="#333333">

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The German heavy tank destroyer Panzerjäger Tiger (P) (Sd.Kfz. 184) Ferdinand was based on the chassis of the Tiger (P) tank designed by Ferdinand Porsche. The vehicle was not accepted by army, but because 90 chassis have already been produced at the Nibelungenwerke plant, it was decided that they could be usefully developed. This is how the tank destroyer based on the Tiger (P) chassis was born.

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Aleksander Siewierski, originally from Georgia, was in the United States in 1917 and was there when the revolution in Russia broke out. As Alexander Seversky, he founded the Seversky Aero Corporation. Alexander Kartvelli (also a Georgian) became his main designer. Unfortunately, financial problems led to firing Seversky, and his company changed its name to Republic Aviation Corporation. The projects started and developed by Seversky, which resulted in the P-35 fighter, were continued, though.As a result of its further development, a design for the XP-41 high-altitude fighter equipped with a turbocharger was prepared. Only a prototype was built, while many of its solutions went to a more advanced aircraft, designated AP-4, and finally P-43.

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