Search results for ""Kagero Oficyna Wydawnicza""

The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A, alongside with the Messerschmitt Bf 109, is the best-known German fighter from the Second World War. The Fw 190, however, had a much higher lifting capacity and was better armoured, and therefore it was used not only as a classic day fighter, but also as a fighter-bomber, assault aircraft, and also as a night fighter. The Fw 190 A had good performance at low and medium ceilings, on which the double wasp BMW 801 engine performed excellently. Fw 190 A entered the operational service in August 1941 and quickly turned out to be a superior machine to the British fighters of that time. The Spitfire Mk V, which was then used by the RAF, only surpassed it in terms of the turn radius. For almost a year, the British had to deal with this extremely difficult opponent, until the introduction of the Spitfire Mk IX, which finally equalized these disparities. The Fw 190 A, however, remained a dangerous fighter, and its appearance on the Eastern Front resulted in a rapid increase in the number of Jagdwaffe aces. Due to the rugged and resistant engine, the armour of the cockpit and strong weaponry it was a real terror for the crews of Russian bombers and assault aircrafts. The book presents color profiles of the most popular versions of the aircraft.

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The FACA programme (Future Fighter and Attack Aircraft) was once the largest investment in armaments made in Spain. When choosing the F-18 of McDonnell Douglas (today Boeing), the Air Force has had since 1986 - for the first time in its history - one of the most advanced fighter planes ever designed, with very wide possibilities for adapting new systems throughout its operational life, as evidenced by the Retrofit made in the early 1990s and the current MLU.The FACA program (which ultimately remained in 72 aircraft), followed by the CX programme (for 24 aircraft), was the most important challenge faced by the Spanish Air Force since its creation. The professionalism demonstrated by the commission in charge of flight and technical evaluations won the admiration of the countries involved in the programme.The F-18 Hornet has proven to be the ideal aircraft for air forces in countries with large territorial areas and wide coastlines, or extreme weather conditions.

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The American battleship USS “California” has almost thirty years of extraordinary history. Built in 1921, it was one of the most powerful battleships of the US Navy in the interwar period. It was characterised by an interesting and harmonious silhouette, which changed significantly several times. During the war, despite its age, the ship was still modern and heavily armed. The USS “California”, known among naval enthusiasts and often chosen by modellers, became the subject of another study by Witold Koszela, who in a series of precise drawings recreated the silhouette of this battleship from the Second World War. On 24 A4 pages and 2 folded sheets we can find a historical description, technical data and professional drawings showing the ship in the years 1944–1945, as well as drawings of superstructures, armaments and details, together with sectional views and color charts.

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The PzKpfw III (Panzerkampfwagen III) is a German medium tank designed by Daimler-Benz AG. The first tests of the vehicle took place in 1936. The construction of the PzKpfw III consisted of four main modules: the turret, the front of the hull, the rear of the hull with the engine compartment cover and the lower hull. The first version of PzKpfw III – Ausf. A – was produced in May 1937. Soon after, the Ausf. B and C versions also entered production. Ausf. D version was introduced in January 1938. Early PzKpfw III models were prototype vehicles and were not suitable for mass production on a large scale. They were powered by Maybach HL 108 TR petrol engines with 250 HP. They were armed with 37mm guns and three MG-34 machine guns (two in the turret and one in the hull).

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The German heavy cruiser PRINZ EUGEN was an enlarged version of the Admiral Hipper class ships. The keel was laid on 23 April 1936, she was launched on 22 August 1938, and commissioned on 1 August 1940. She took part in the first mission of the battleship BISMARCK, during which they sank the British battlecruiser HMS HOOD. Having split with BISMARCK, PRINZ EUGEN was supposed to commence hunting the Allied convoys, but due to engine failure she sailed back to France. Once repaired, she participated in Operation “Cerberus” - the passage of German ships from France to Germany through English Channel.

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The signal of need of such kind of vehicles extension occurred when the struggle against the Soviet Union began. Another ones came from North Africa. In both cases few times turned out that hard-to-eliminate foible of the units equipped with towed guns was its mobility when the tanks and short-barreled assault guns, engaged often and often as the anti-tank artillery, revealed insufficient firepower.There were self-propelled guns called _Panzerjäger_, put into service in the turn of 1942 and 1943. Despite the fact of being armed with a valuable 75 mm or 76,2 mm main armament, their crews were not protected effectively – the armor plates’ thickness was merely up to 10 mm.

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Suzutsuki (Japanese large World War II destroyer) Akizuki type, in service from 1943 to the end of the war. "Suzutsuki" was the third ship in a series of large Akizuki-type destroyers specifically designed as anti-aircraft defense ships, whose main armament consisted of 8 universal guns of 100 mm caliber, with excellent ballistic characteristics.

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The Bristol Blenheim was one of the most popular British aircraft at the beginning of World War II. It was a very versatile and modifiable machine, and therefore typical bomber, reconnaissance, and fighter (including night) versions were created.The first mass-produced version was the Mk I, which featured a richly glazed nose part of the fuselage. The most common version in the air force of several countries was the Mk IV, in which the glass nose of the aircraft was extended so that the bombardier could lie freely in a special cradle during targeting. The nose of the fuselage had an asymmetrical “dent” on the left side of the fuselage (in its upper part), providing better visibility for the pilot sitting in a separate cockpit. This version also had more powerful engines and a longer range, but slightly lower speed and ceiling.

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The I-200 fighter project was a compromise between design office’s capabilities, realities of the Soviet aviation industry, with its available technologies, and military requirements.According to the brief description of the MiG-3 from 1941, it was, in terms of its purpose, an interceptor, but, interestingly, it could also be used as… an attack aircraft, or a light, fast dive bomber.Both the I-200 prototypes and the later MiG-1 and MiG-3 were single-seat, single-engine, mixed-design low-wing aircraft. Front part of the fuselage, together with the centre wing, up to the rear wall of the pilot’s cockpit, was made of metal. Only the tail part of the fuselage and wing consoles were wooden. Vertical stabilizer, which was an integral part of the fuselage, was made of wood, too, but horizontal stabilizer was all-metal. Rudders and ailerons had a metal construction and canvas cover. Undercarriage was made of chromansil steel.In front part of the fuselage there was a pilot’s cabin with a seat, instrument panel and controls, front fuel tank, main offensive armament, water cooler and other componentry. Centre wing was attached to the front part of the fuselage at seven points, the rear part at four points, while the engine mount was supported by two.

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Messerschmitt Bf 109 F (Friedrich) is one of the most important versions of this famous fighter. It was powered by the same engine (DB 601E) as the preceding Bf 109 E (Emil), but the airframe design differed significantly compared to its predecessor. First of all, the plane gained a more aerodynamic profile due to the new engine cowling (the engine had its own starter, which resulted in the extension of the unit), a new, more round propeller hub and rounded wing tips. In addition, supports were removed under horizontal stabilizers. The book presents color profiles of the most popular versions of the aircraft.

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The French aircraft carrier "Clemenceau" is one of the largest and most powerful ships that served the Marine Nationale. Her keel was laid in November 1955 at the Brest Arsenal Ch. Atlantique in St. Nazaire, and she was launched two years later - on December 21st, 1957. Together with the twin "Foch", it was built on the basis of a project developed from the beginning of the 1950s, which included almost all of then novelties that were introduced in the construction of this type of ships. Therefore, she received, among others: a sloped flight deck with two lifts, mirror systems facilitating the approach to landing, means of observation enabling early detection of surface units and means of air attack, and modern catapults adapted to work with jet aircrafts with a large take-off mass. The length of the flight deck was 257 meters, the main runway was 165.5 meters long and 29.5 meters wide, with a deviation from the centre of the ship by 8 degrees. The hangar below it was 180 meters long and 22 meters wide. In more than forty years of service, which began on November 22, 1961, the "Clemenceau" performed countless tasks in both European and Pacific waters. She supported the activities of the land forces, incl. in former French colonies and during nuclear tests. Together with "Foch", she formed one of the strongest task force in the Mediterranean region and the waters of Western Europe.

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The IJN battlecruiser Kongo was laid down on January 17, 1911 at Vickers, Sons & Co. at Barrow-in-Furness. The ship's hull was launched on May 18, 1912 and on August 16, 1913 the vessel entered service with the Imperial Japanese Navy.In the years after she had been launched the Kongo had undergone two major reconstructions, each having a deep impact on the ship's characteristics and her overall arrangement.

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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. The emergence of the Yak-3 was a compromise between the need to improve the Yak-1’s characteristics, and the limitations of Soviet aircraft industry with its outdated technologies. The basic design concept took those shortcomings into account, which allowed a rapid launch of mass production of this inexpensive fighter. This in turn provided frontline units with timely deliveries of new equipment to recoup combat losses. The key to Yak-3’s success was not due to the use of a new powerplant (in those days hard to come by in the USSR), but rather the superior performance of the M-105PF engine, which resulted in a five percent increase in power output. In combination with some serious weight shedding, the Yak-3 had a significantly better performance than the Yak-1. At altitudes up to 5,000m (which is where most of the air combat over Eastern Front took place), Yak-3 outperformed both the Bf-109 and Fw-190 in rate of climb and maneuverability. Unlike the Yak-1, the new fighter could also stay with the enemy in a dive.

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First prototypes of German tank destroyer Sturmgeschütz III (StuG III) were built in 1937 and based on PzKpfw III Ausf. B tank. Vehicles were armed with short-barelled 75mm gun. From spring, 1942, StuG IIIs were equipped with StuK 40 75mm gun. Self propelled guns StuG III served in separated assault artillery units, and later in self propelled guns brigades. They were also used in support units of armoured divisions.

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The British Airship Carrier HMS Furious is one of the most unusual units of the Second World War.The ship was designed during the previous conflict as a „great light cruiser” with 457mm guns, but far-reaching changes were made during construction. Furious entered service in June 1917 as aircraft cruiser with a large aircraft deck in the bow and a single turret with a gun of the mentioned caliber in the stern. Thus, Furious made history as one of the precursors of British on-board aviation, becoming a floating platform for various types of trials and tests with airplanes.It quickly turned out that aircraft deck took up the entire bow part and is insufficient to meet the needs of the day-to-day expanding on-board aviation. Therefore, after carrying out only a few patrols on the waters of the North Sea, the ship was returned to the shipyard in the same year, where it underwent further reconstruction. This time, the aft tower and mast were removed and in their place was built another hangar with an aircraft deck, which was connected to the bow with special platforms running on the sides of the preserved superstructures.Since then, Furious was already a powerful aircraft, unfortunately not very successful considering the superstructure with a chimney that occupies the entire amidships, which apart from obviously taking up space, caused air turbulences induced by the huge dimensions and warm exhaust gases coming from the chimney.However, this did not prevent Furious from becoming the hero of the historical event, which was on-board aviation first strike on land targets, which took place on July 19, 1918. The target of the attack was the German Zeppelin base in Tondern, and it was carried out using Sopwith Camel planes taking off from the deck of Furious.

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In 1902, Japan signed an Alliance Pact with Britain, which was then a leading sea power. It ordered modern ships at British shipyards, and Japanese shipyards were to co-operate. After the new class of battlecruisers had emerged, Japan decided to design them for its navy. They were to be ships with a displacement of 19,000 tons and a main armament of 305 mm calibre guns. However, with the news that the British were working on a new design of the LION class cruiser with 343 mm main armament, work on the Japanese project was discontinued. An agreement was signed with the Vickers shipyard for the design and construction of new ships. The design of the LION cruiser was significantly improved by Vickers in co-operation with the Japanese Navy Technical Department. The new project’s main armament envisaged 356 mm guns not used before and developed by Vickers. Medium gun calibre was increased from 102 mm to 152 mm. The power unit was left as on the LION class. Four ships were ordered. The first, KONGO, was built at Vickers’ shipyard, the others were to be built in Japan. KIRISHIMA was built at the Mitsubishi shipyard in Yokosuka. Keel laying – 17 March 1912, launching – 1 December 1913, commissioned on 19 April 1915.

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The book presents a description of work on a model Ju 88 A-4. The author shows step by step each element of the modelling workshop.

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Sturmpanzer IV Brummbär (SdKfz 166, Sturmgeschütz IV für 15cm StuH 43) was a German self-propelled assault gun. Work on the design began in 1942 with a goal of creating a vehicle well suited for the demands of urban warfare. The gun was based on the PzKpfw IV Ausf. E and F and, later, Ausf. G. Initially, the vehicle carried 15 cm StuH 43 howitzer, which was later replaced by a bespoke 15 cm StuH 23/1 L/12 weapon. Brummbär went into production in 1943.

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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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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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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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La-7 Soviet single-engine, single-seat fighter aircraft of the World War II period. Developed in the design bureau of S. A. Lavochkin as a successor to the Ła-5FN aircraft. The La-7 was a development of the La-5 design. Both the sizes and shapes of the two aircraft models differed slightly.This extensively illustrated volume in the Kagero Monographs series details the history of the Lavochkin La-7, and includes 165 archival photos, 10 colour profiles, and drawings in scale. It is ideal for modellers and aviation and military historians.

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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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The author of this monograph would like to inform his reader right away that he does not claim to cover the following topic as fully as it could possibly be. At the present time, there are many historical documents, schematic drawings that once were placed in secret archives, memories of historical persons, and participants of long past events. So, if the author tried to describe and publish all the materials about the only plane that took an active involvement in the Second World War - it would be a multivolume publication with an appendix consisting of a thick folder with numerous drafts…The purpose of this monograph is the author’s desire to introduce the reader to a remarkable fighter aircraft, that which had a great influence on both the pre-war development of Soviet aircraft, and the military developments that occurred in the first few months of the war between Germany and the USSR. And at the same time about its creator - Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov, who had the unspoken title of "King of fighters" during his lifetime. Those readers, who are interested in the technical matter of the topic, could refer to some earlier publications about the I-16 aircraft. Unfortunately, only one publication was published in English. But you may find Russian-language publications, detailed declassified drawings, and a technical description of the aircraft in the global network.

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Messerschmitt Bf 109T was supposed to operate from German aircraft carrier “Graf Zeppelin”. The plane was equipped with arresting hook and had enlarged wing span up to 11,08 m. It did not have folding wings because “Graf Zeppelin’s” elevators were supposed to be enough big to fit planes with fixed wings. Anyway the wings could be detached for transport. There were versions T-1 and T-2 developed. Fighters served in JG 77 and JG 11 units.

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M3 General Lee – an American medium tank from World War II era, also used by the British army. In the US, known as Lee, in the United Kingdom as Grant. M3 tank was created as a result of the need to replace the obsolete M2 tank, which did not match the WWII battlefield. The serial production began in August 1941. The M3 tank had many components from the M2 light tank, including chassis, Wright R975 EC2 star engine and the shape of the combat compartment.

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Yubari, the smallest of Japanese cruisers built after World War I, was in fact an experimental design. The ship was intended as a test bed for new technologies to be employed in the construction of the future Furutaka class heavy cruisers. The ship’s lead designer Fujimoto Kikuo, working under the supervision of the Imperial Navy’s chief naval architect Hiraga Yuzuru, set out to create a fast and heavily armed cruiser with the lightest displacement possible. What emerged was a vessel capable of the same speed, range and broadside weight as those of 5,500 ton ships, but with a significantly lower displacement. The construction of the cruiser was initially authorized under the 1917 8-4 Fleet Program, but funding wasn’t available until the launch of the 1921 8-6 Fleet Program, where the ship was listed under the name Ayase. The blueprints were formally approved in October 1921 and on December 23, 1921 the ship was renamed Yubari – a reference to the river Yubarigawa in Hokkaido. Sea trials of the cruiser confirmed her expected sea keeping characteristics, but also showed she was overweight – not an uncommon feature for Japanese designs. After she had been completed, Yubari’s normal displacement (with a 25 percent fuel reserve) was 419 tons (14 percent) above the design figures. This had a detrimental effect on the ship’s speed. During a one-mile run carried out on July 5, 1923 Yubari (displacing 3,463 tons) reached the top speed of 34.786 kt with the machinery producing 61,336 hp at 409.87 rpm. With 75 percent of fuel on board, the cruiser’s draft increased by 61 cm, which increased drag and resulted in the drop of speed below the expected 35.5 kt.

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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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If you were to ask about the symbolic aircraft of the desperate defence of Polish sky during the tragic September ’39, without any doubt the answer should be one – the PZL P.11c. Although older machines (PZL P.7a and P.11a) fought next to it, the mentioned variant was a true backbone of the defence force. Pilots liked P.11c but in all publications it is described by an adjective “obsolete”. It was the penultimate stage in the evolution of a long line of fighter planes, no longer having the disadvantages of the “infant period”, but also actually constituting a closed alley in the evolution of this type of design. The PZL P.11g modification showed that the already mature construction can only be improved to a small extent. Being an export alternative, faster, equipped with a much more powerful engine and better armed PZL P.24 were actually the end of the possibilities of high wing strut aircraft. This was understood in Poland, where design offices were no longer involved in the further development of such structures (P.11g was just an emergency attempt to obtain not the most modern, but an efficient fighter). Unfortunately, it was not possible to produce or buy a successor abroad on time. That is why Poland entered the conflict equipped with fighter planes, once belonging to the world leaders, but giving way to the latest enemy machines.

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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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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 Panavia Tornado is a twin-engine fighter jet with variable wing geometry. Three main versions of the Tornado were created: the attack version - Tornado IDS (Interdictor/Strike), the interceptor version - Tornado ADV (Air Defense Variant) and the electronic combat version - Tornado ECR (Electronic Combat/Reconaissance). The machine was produced in cooperation with Italy, Germany and Great Britain.

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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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By the turn of the events, at the very begging of the first Balkan war, entirely unexpectedly an example of R.E.P type F fell into the hands of the Serbian Army. This example was ordered by the Ottoman empire, and when the war started it was crated in a railway wagon within a composition which was at the time located at the railway station in Toponica near Niš. Even though Serbia later had to pay for the confiscated example, “the present” was welcomed by the Serbian Army Command which hurriedly worked to equip and to organize its own air force.This book describes the use of the sole example of R.E.P. airplane which carried the colors of the Kingdom of Serbia. The authors tried to “leave no stone unturned” searching for rare information concerning this almost forgotten airplane. They thoroughly searched domestic and foreign archives, magazines and collections. This book covers largely the construction and all the details related to the tactical and technical characteristics of this extraordinary airplane. The contents are supplemented by numerous 2D, 3D and technical drawings, which for the first time detail even the smallest construction details, assemblies, engine, equipment as well as camouflage and markings schemes of this rare and unique airplane.

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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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