Manfred von Richthofen: The High Price of Glory

Biographies & Memoirs

Hillier-Graves, Tim

Leaders & Notable People

Air World

Manfred von Richthofen: His Life and Times in Pictures

Spitfire Pilot Air Commodore Geoffrey Stephenson: The Biography of the Pilot of Duxford’s Spitfire Mk.I N3200

Shields, John

Historical

The United States and Soviet Union began a race to develop the first and most capable fifth generation stealth fighters in the late 1970s. The Cold War's end, however, was followed by both a near total collapse of Russian efforts and major cuts and delays to American programs. This provided an opening for a rising and fast modernising Chinese defence industry to kick off its own ambitious program to produce a world leading fighter jet with next generation capabilities. Once unveiled, the program came to be seen as a herald of China's rising status as a leading player in high tech and major world power.Development of the Chengdu J-20 began in the 1990s and has since consistently far exceeded expectations in both its performance and its development timeline. The fighter made its first flight in 2011 and began deliveries to the People's Liberation Army Air Force in 2016 - a small fraction of the time its American and Russian rivals would take. Today it is the world's second most numerous stealth fighter, outnumbered only by America's much smaller Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, with the two rivals seeing their first of many likely encounters confirmed in March 2022\. As the J-20's capabilities have rapidly improved and the rate of production has significantly grown, it has very conspicuously played a growing role in patrolling major hotspots in East Asia from Korea and the East China Sea to the Taiwan Strait and disputed South China Sea.The J-20 program's success has been the most potent symbol of China's ascent from a minor player in combat aviation during the Cold War, to the United States' only peer level competitor today. It has also set China on a course of pursuing multiple other fighter development efforts - including a close competition with America to field the first and most capable sixth generation fighter in the 2030s. The J-20 thus marks a major landmark not only in Chinese aviation history, but also more broadly in the evolving balance of power between East and West as the country's technological and economic ascents allow it to successfully pursue highly ambitious weapons programs.This book takes the J-20's story far back to the formation of the People's Liberation Army Air Force and its trial by fire in the Korean War, tracing the rationale for developing a top end air superiority fighter. It also compares its performance with rival fifth generation fighter programs in other countries and looks ahead to what the future may hold in this new arms race.

China's Stealth Fighter: The J-20 'Mighty Dragon' and the Growing Challenge to Western Air Dominance

History

Abrams, Abraham

Military

Battle of Britain Spitfire Ace: The Life and Loss of One of The Few, Flight Lieutenant William Henry Nelson DFC

Usher, Peter J

The Death of Prince George, Duke of Kent, 1942: A New Investigation to Find the Truth

Morgan, M S

Europe

One of Our Pilots is Safe: A Battle of France Airman’s Story of Survival and Road to Recovery

Simpson, William

The Man Who Tested Parachutes: Charles Agate and the Development of Britain’s Airborne Forces for D-Day and Arnhem

Neil, John

Colley, Andrew

Story of the Spitfire: An Operational and Combat History

Delve, Ken

Little has been written about Royal Marines rotary aviation, the small and select unit which operated light helicopters between 1965 and 1995. Officer and senior non-commissioned officer pilots had the unique privilege of being both Commandos and aviators, flying from warships and operating ashore in support of the Royal Marines. Initially called Unit Air Troops, which then coalesced into 3 Commando Brigade Air Squadron Royal Marines, they operated in hostile environments, including the Arctic, mountains, jungles and deserts.Robert Wilsey served in the Royal Marines from 1969 to 2000. Having qualified as a pilot he served through much of the existence of the Royal Marines Air Squadron, from a junior pilot right up to becoming its commanding officer.In this unique book, the author tells of the evolution and technological advances of Royal Marines aviation, flying the Westland Sioux, Scout, Gazelle, and, ultimately, Lynx helicopters. He describes the rigorous training undertaken, including flying from ships at sea, and of operating globally from Malta, Northern Ireland, the jungles of Brunei, the Pyrenees, Arctic Norway and, in 1991, Northern Iraq, protecting the Kurds during Operation Haven.Colonel Wilsey also describes the challenges of the British military's basic and advanced rotary flying training, from both a student's and flying instructor's perspectives. He explains the pressures of leading a flying display team and relates stories of accidents and incidents, many amusing, several chaotic and some tragic, previously unknown to the general public.This is a vivid first-hand account of military rotary wing flying which will appeal to aircrew both civil and military, aviation enthusiasts and military historians.

Flying Light Helicopters with the Royal Marines: Collective Tales From Marine Air 489

Wilsey, Robert

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