When Japan opened hostilities against the Western Powers in December 1941, she was in no position to sustain a long war or to gain an outright victory over her opponents. Her productive capacity was far smaller than theirs. She had never been rich in raw materials. Her oil reserves, after reaching a peak at the end of the 1930s, had begun to fall off as a result of increased consumption and restrictions imposed by her suppliers. Her merchant fleet barely sulliced for peacetime needs. Her army was well trained and well equipped, hut forty of its fifty-one divisions were committed to a wearisome...

Features 300 of the world's most important biplanes, triplanes and seaplanes, each one illustrated with a detail colour drawing, plus full specification and details of armaments, and a full development and operational history. A great history of these very special aircraft, from the AEG C. IV to the Zeppelin-Staaken R.
Each aircraft is illustrated by full colour art work, with accompanying text and a detailed specifications table. Types used in the major wars of the 20th century are listed, including the Sopwith Camel and the Red inter-war civil aircraft.

X stands for the unknown in mathematics and physics. An 'X-Plane' is an experimental or research aircraft designed to explore the boundaries of aeronautical science, and the term has become shorthand for any development model, research aircraft or technology demonstrator. Fuelled by the desire to conquer the unknown, the aviation industry has created some of the most remarkable and spectacular aircraft ever to fly, including rocket-powered spacecraft, vertical take-off aeroplanes, giant transporters, and experimental rotorcraft. X-planes are by no means exclusively military. In just over a c...

Douglas A-26 and B-26 Invader has often been overshadowed by other aircraft and circumstances. It saw service too late in World War II to lay claim to a distinctive heritage. By Korea, it was seen as a workhorse and just an old "propeller job". But there can be no doubt that the Invader was a fine aircraft - highly effective and popular with its crews. This volume presents the complete story of the Douglas Invader, from its design and early history through wartime service and peacetime uses. A selection of rare photographs are used to illustrate this history of the oft-forgotten but nonethel...

The Wooden Wonder - the nickname of one of the finest and most elegant airplanes to have been developed during Word War II. Apart from being very fast and versatile, the Mosquito had the added bonus of wooden construction; this was of great significance during the early wartime years when Britain's defense industry was running short of raw materials and skills to manufacture in steel and alloy. Working with wood utilized a large body of hitherto under-employed skilled carpenters and wood was more readily available than metal. The first Mosquito to join the Royal Air Force was a photoreconnais...

The Russian-built Mil Mi-24 is one of the best known and most prolific combat helicopter in the world. This volume includes an introductory explanation of the concept and a detailed development history of the helicopter. Descriptions of existing versions include test beds.

This story of the Royal Hungarian Air Force charts its clandestine origins after World War I, phoenixlike rise just before WWII, and ultimate destruction by the Allies. Based entirely on Hungarian archival material, this collection lists aircraft and their national markings, includes rare black-and-white photographs, and shows every squadron badge in full color.

The story of aerial photo reconnaissance over Europe and the Mediterranean from bases in the United Kingdom is well known. But perhaps even more important in terms of strategy (and mostly unrecorded) was the job of the photographic squadrons in the Far East; to discover Japanese movements and intentions within a vast area, 2,000 miles across, within which virtually no other intelligence could otherwise be obtained. Flying through appalling weather conditions over some of the most inhospitable terrain in the world, against an implacable enemy, often in aircraft unsuited to the task and frequent...

During World War II, the Allies dismissed the Italian Air Force as hopelessly ineffective when it was not in retreat. Dunning uses original documents and firsthand accounts to argue that the Italian force's shortcomings were not the fault of its airmen, who were no less skilled or determined than their opponents, but the result of such fundamental problems as under-powered aircraft, a poor logistics system, and incompetent leadership.

The Spanish Civil War was not just a tragedy for Spain; acting as a focus for all the different political philosophies which had simmered throughout the Thirties, it served as the proving ground for Italian, Soviet and German military theorists. It was here that the first clash between the dictators, Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin, took place, albeit by proxy. It was here that the concept of Blitzkrieg was first tried out by the German volunteers of the Legion Condor, which formed a major air component of the Spanish rebel forces. This was a revolutionary all-arms formation, self-contained and a...