A limited edition hardcover book along with two DVDs packed with rare archival footage and interviews with 18 survivors It was a crucial moment of World War II. 1940. The Royal Air Force, virtually alone, defended the skies of Britain against massed formations of German bombers. They put up such a ferocious defense that Hitler gave up ideas of invading Britain and turned his attention to an assault on the Soviet Union. Of those pilots who courageously flew their Spitfires and Hurricanes against the Luftwaffe barely a handful remain. The authors have interviewed 18 survivors and it is their memories and anecdotes that make this book unique. Highly illustrated throughout with rarely seen images, this book is packed with great stories of aerial combat and being shot down, of the classic fighters that they flew and fought in and against, of making and losing friends and colleagues, of a strained social life in the midst of battle, and, most of all, of standing steadfast in the face of overwhelming odds. It is coupled with an authoritative and lively narrative.

Voices of the Battle of Britain

History

Vigar, Bruce

Higgs, Colin

Europe

Danann Books

Sourced from archives around the world, a collection of all the most exciting Grand Prix images Formula 1 Grand Prix racing is the ultimate motorsport. The fastest cars, the biggest budgets, the highest rewards and the most glamorous fans all make it compelling viewing. For decades Grand Prix photographers have shot some of the most exciting images the sports world have ever seen and now the very best of them are brought together. Rarely seen collections of photographs tell the fascinating story of Grand Prix racing from its early beginnings in France with the Automobile Club France in 1906 through the golden years of the 1930s right through the glory years of F1 in the 1960s and 1970s to the extraordinary cars and highly paid drivers of the present day. Carefully researched profiles examine the great drivers and the great cars; the technological wizardry of the designers and developers; the great rivalries between drivers and teams that creates champions; the massive commercial business within the sport; the fine balance between danger and safety; the Grand Prix weekend from first practice to the winner's podium; and the great circuits that have hosted some of the most unforgettable races of all time. The publishers have scoured Getty Images and many private collections round the world to create a unique, lavishly Illustrated hardcover book featuring work from some of the most renowned photographers in Formula 1, including Rainer Schlegemilch, and a compelling history.

Grand Prix Unseen: A History Through the Lens

Arts & Photography

Photography & Video

Upfront Entertainment

One moment the sky would be full of aircraft wheeling and positioning for the best shot at the enemy; a sky full of danger and menace. The next instant there would just be a clear blue empty sky with the sun shining down on a calm and beautiful landscape. Such was the phenomenon experienced by pilots who fought in the key battles of France and Britain in the Summer of 1940.These air battles were certainly the most important ever fought in defence of the country and have deserved the millions of words that have been written about them. However, as the number of surviving veterans dwindles to single figures, interviews with some of 'The Few' who actually fought the battle are of increasing importance and rarity.This book tells the story of nineteen men and women who were there. Through a series of filmed interviews their stories were preserved, allowing them to tell the part they played in the nation's defence in their own words. It is the transcriptions of these interviews that form the basis of this unique collection of accounts.The nineteen stories are riveting and insightful, yet full of modesty and humour. The veterans talk about not being very good or just being followers of the aces - but underneath it all is a great pride that day after day they flew sortie after sortie against an enemy who had never been beaten until that moment. They talk of aerial battles perhaps three or four times each day; of the aircraft that carried them into battle without faltering; of the social life in their precious moments of quiet and peace; but most of all they talk about comradeship, friends and colleagues. Some friendships lasted barely a few days while others continued for decades.Three of the interviewees epitomise the men from fifteen other countries who joined the RAF to fight. Others represent the thousands of ground crew, WAAFs, ATA, drivers, plotters, radar operators, airfield defenders, controllers, aircraft builders, cooks and associated personnel without whom the Royal Air Force would have been unable to maintain the fight against Germany.

Empty Sky: RAF Voices from the Fall of France & Battle of Britain

Biographies & Memoirs

Leaders & Notable People

Air World

Today, as we board our flights to Adelaide, Zurich, and all points in between, we give little thought to the jet power that will take us there. But, this is only possible because just over 70 years ago a select band of British test pilots was prepared to risk all in the quest to fly further, faster and higher than ever before. Their quest was fraught with danger; disaster and death were never far away.This book captures eleven of those stories as told by the pilots themselves - their words as to how they took British aviation to the forefront of a new era, the 'Jet Age'. Britain's aircraft industry was booming in the years immediately after the end of the Second World War and the demand for test pilots seemingly limitless as new aircraft types rolled off the drawing boards. Meteors, Vampires, Hunters, Comets, Victors, Vulcans and Harriers were some of the aircraft that became world-beaters. Today, these names and the role played by the test pilots in bringing these projects to fruition are all but forgotten.The stories were filmed over a number of years and it is the edited transcripts of those interviews that form a unique and rare perspective on such a pivotal era in aviation. Most were veterans of the Second World War with illustrious service records. Now they faced new battles as they flew new airframes and engines to the limit and sometimes beyond. First, they had to conquer the 'sound barrier' which to many, scientists and the public alike, had assumed almost mythic status. Having done that, they were soon flying at twice the speed of sound, such was the rate of progress. It took discipline, technical know-how, an above average level of flying skill and according to some, a lack of imagination to make a good test pilot. Their stories are often insightful, always modest and often tinged with humour.

Test Pilots of the Jet Age: Men Who Heralded a New Era in Aviation

Military

It was Tuesday, 15 July 1919 and for the residents of Clifden on Ireland’s west coast this was not to be a normal day. Just before 08.40 hours, descending out of the gloom, came a large, twin-engine aeroplane lining up for final approach. One or two on-lookers recognised the danger straight away for this was an area of soft bog, but their attempts to alert the pilot were in vain. The aircraft began to sink and, with a squelch, came to a sudden stop, the tail rearing up in the air. Dazed and with fuel filling the cockpit the two-man crew scrambled out, grabbing what they could. After a flight lasting 16 hours and 28 minutes, Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten-Brown had won the race to be the first to fly non-stop across the Atlantic. It was a rough ending for a race that began in April 1913 when Lord Rothermere, aviation philanthropist and owner of the Daily Mail, offered a prize of £10,000, roughly equivalent to $1,000,000 in today’s money, to ‘the aviator who shall first cross the Atlantic in an aeroplane in flight from any point in the United States of America, Canada or Newfoundland to any point in Great Britain or Ireland in 72 continuous hours’. Illustrated by many unique photographs this book tells the story of the race, delayed for almost six years by the First World War. Many aircraft would be entered but few would even get off the ground. The teams faced great difficulties in preparing for the challenge of crossing one of the most hostile stretches of ocean on Earth. The authors not only reveal tales of failures and technical difficulties, but of the intense frustration of waiting for the perfect weather-window. And even when finally airborne, Alcock and Brown’s flight almost ended in disaster on several occasions as weather conditions almost conspired to cast them down into the grey, cold waters of the Atlantic and almost certain death.

Race Across the Atlantic: Alcock and Brown's Record-Breaking Non-Stop Flight

Borne of a well-established partnership between the authors Colin Higgs and Bruce Vigar, this evocative and beautifully crafted piece of work is sure to appeal to the aviation fraternity as well as serving as a memorial to the veterans whose exploits characterize this most daring and iconic of raids. As we approach the 70th Anniversary of the 1943 Raid, it seems fitting that we should have such an account to mark the occasion, consolidating the collective experiences of a selection of aircrew who contributed to the proceedings. The authors have set themselves the ambitious task of interviewing as wide a cross-section of veterans as they can, in order to fill out a book of representative recollections. Each chapter is dedicated to a separate veteran, woven together with the author's supplementary historical narrative, setting each account in context. Complete with a selection of black and white photographs, set in plates, the finished work presents itself as a kind of scrapbook – voices, images, snippets of transcribed memoir whose cumulative effect is to create a real sense of the times as hand, with authentic commentary from those who engaged at the forefront of the action. Veterans featured Les Munro George Johnson John Bell John Langston Grant McDonald Murray Valentine Frank Tilley Benny Goodman Ken Lucas Tom Bennett

The Dambuster Squadron (Voices in Flight)

Pen and Sword Aviation

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