Aviation was in its infancy when the task of realizing its naval possibilities fell to the airmen of the Royal Navy. They rose to the challenge, pioneering the use of airpower at sea, strategic bombing, & antisubmarine warfare. The story of the considerable risks these men took to lay the foundation for today's carrier-borne aviation has been pieced together with the help of the Imperial War Museum & its extensive archives.

Royal Naval Air Service 1912-1918

History

King, Brad

Military

Hikoki Publications

On July 15, 1953, the Royal Air Force gathered at Odiham for inspection by Queen Elizabeth II. This special event took place just 13 days after the Queen's coronation. Coronation Wings identifies almost every pilot and plane and that participated in ceremony.

Coronation Wings:The Men & Machines of the RAF Coronation Review at Odiham 15 July 53

Bucklow, Eric

Europe

Aufklarer: Luftwaffe Reconnaissance Aircraft and Units 1935 - 1945

Aufklarer: Luftwaffe Reconnaissance Aircraft and Units 1935-1945

Engineering & Transportation

john-bradley

David Wadman

Engineering

It is perhaps difficult in the 21st century, when every military aeroplane movement, modification and colour scheme is minutely observed and widely reported, to appreciate the completely different attitude prevalent in 1939-45 amongst officials, servicemen and the public alike. Anything seen, heard or connected with work (and almost every activity contributed directly or indirectly to the country's war effort) was not discussed casually, and certainly not publicised.At places working on the latest and most advanced aircraft and weapons, the catchphrase of `Keeping Mum' was very rigidly observed and it was during these wartime conditions from 1939-45 that the work of the Aeroplane & Armament Experimental Establishment Boscombe Down could, indeed be described as `The Secret Years'.It was at Boscombe Down that all land-and carrier-based aeroplanes intended for use by the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force, plus assorted exotic experimental aircraft, were flown and Tim Mason uses over 450 of the Establishment's own photographs to illustrate its unique function and countless achievements.After a flying career of nearly forty years (thirty in test flying), Tim Mason has retired to concentrate on his second love - writing about aeroplanes. He is well qualified to write about A&AEE, having spent six years as a test pilot during his time there between 1966 and 1976.

The Secret Years: Flight Testing at Boscombe Down 1939-1945

Mason, Tim

The I-400 submarine was one of the most monstrous creations to emerge from World War II and, in its time, it was the largest submarine ever built. At more than 400 feet long, weighing 5,223 tons submerged, carrying a crew of nearly 200 and possessing a range of over 30,000 nautical miles, the I-400 featured state of the art Japanese radar and 'stealth' technology and carried three Aichi M6A Seiran attack floatplanes in a water-tight tube-like hangar built onto the deck forward of and under its massive conning tower. In mid-1944 this secret weapon was tasked with attacking American cities and destroying the Panama Canal. The extraordinary story of this submarine is told using first-hand accounts from three of the original air crew assigned to fly the Seirans and former officers and crew of the I-400 as well as American naval personnel who crewed the vessel on its dramatic final voyage. Hundreds of remarkable photographs show external and internal views of the I-4

I-400: Japan's Secret Aircraft-Carrying Strike Submarine: Objective Panama Canal

Takaki, Koji

SAKAIDA, Henry

Nila, Gary

Shrouded in secrecy, output from the Chinese aviation industry was, until recently, largely unknown in the West. In the 1950s, when communist China and the Soviet Union were on friendly terms, the Soviet Union assisted in the establishment of the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) by delivering combat aircraft and training Chinese personnel. Following the 1960s' rift between Moscow and Beijing, the Chinese authorities set up an indigenous aircraft industry, and as they gained experience, versions of Soviet aircraft started appearing together with their own designs. 
Chinese Aircraft provides a full description of all aircraft types including the Shaanxi Y8, the Chengdu JF-17 (FC-1) light fighter, which is now entering service with the Pakistan Air Force, the Shenyang J-10, and the KJ-2000 AWACS aircraft based on the Il'yushin IL-76. It also details the factories and design institutions representing the industry over the years, including Chengdu, Guizhou, Shenyang, Xian, and Chiange and compares early and late designs to show how those organizations developed. 
A special section deals with experimental types and the latest research and development while further sections are devoted to aircraft weapons, unmanned aerial vehicles, and Chinese aircraft exports on a country-by-country basis. Numerous color profiles and three-view drawings are also included, along with the logos of production enterprises and design institutions to form a comprehensive guide to Chinese aircraft and China's aviation industry.

Chinese Aircraft: China's Aviation Industry since 1951

Komissarov, Dmitriy

Gordon, Yefim

Asia

Until now, the day-to-day working and opinions of the Vietnamese People's Air Force (VPAF) has remained relatively unknown. For the first time, this book focuses on the pilots and, using rare first-hand accounts and many new photographs, analyzes their fighter operations over North Vietnam between 1965 and 1975. Frank opinions are voiced on how the North Vietnamese viewed the gradual escalation of the aerial conflict over their country, including details on key operations and VPAF tactics against USAF F-4s, F-105s, F-8s, and B-52s. 
Details of the Black Friday Massacre, America's heaviest aerial defeat, are related in the words of Nguyen Van Coc (the highest-scoring pilot of the Vietnam conflict) who tells of his first kill, and Dong Van De, who recalls how he achieved the first-ever double kill over American-flown aircraft, events which have never, until now, been released into the public domain. 
Leading VPAF pilots, including Major General Pham Ngoc Lan, discuss their aerial engagements and tactics, and Nguyen Tiem Sam recollects his kills of F-4 Phantoms using only ATOLL air-to-air missiles. Following exhaustive research, the author reveals much new data, which challenges previous reports. Three kills claimed by Lt. 'Duke' Cunningham, later a U.S. Senator, and the success of Operation Bolo, America's response to the Black Friday Massacre, are discussed. Also for the first time outside Vietnam, details of the Christmas bombings are released, including the controversial first night-fighter kill of a B-52 by Vu Xuan Thieu - a fact which the U.S. military has never accepted. 
Comprehensive appendices reveal the first complete loss list of all VPAF personnel and a victory table with a breakdown of all known kills and shared kills and types. The book includes 24 intricate profiles of extremely rare aircraft, including the VPAF Soviet-supplied MiG 15, MiG 17F, and Chinese MiG 19 (Shenyang F-6); combined with the text they offer a unique insight into the aerial war from the Vietnamese viewpoint.

MiGs Over North Vietnam: The Vietnamese People's Air Force in Combat 1965-1975

Boniface, Roger

Americas

Born in the 1930s, the Soviet Air Force's long-range bomber arm (known initially as the ADD and later as the DA) proved itself during World War II and continued to develop in the immediate post-war years, when the former allies turned Cold War opponents. When the strategic bomber Tu-4 was found to be too 'short-legged' to deliver strikes against the main potential adversary - the USA, both Tupolev and Myasishchev OKBs began the task by creating turbine-engined strategic bombers. By the Khrushchev era in the mid/late 1950's the Soviet defense industry and aircraft design bureau set about adapting the bombers to take air-launched missiles for use against land and sea targets. In 1962 the DA fielded its first supersonic aircraft - the Tu-22 Blinder twinjet, which came in pure bomber and missile strike versions. The Brezhnev years saw a resurgence of strategic aviation with the Tu-22M Backfire 'swing-wing' supersonic medium bomber entering service in the mid-1970s followed in 1984 by the Tu-95MS Bear-H and Tu-160 Blackjack which were capable of carrying six and 12 air-launched cruise missiles respectively. Soviet Strategic Aviation in the Cold War shows how the DA's order of battle changed in the period from 1945 to 1991. Major operations including the air arm's involvement in the Afghan War, the Cold War exercises over international waters in the vicinity of the 'potential adversary', and the shadowing of NATO warships are covered together with details of Air Armies, bomber divisions and bomber regiments, including their aircraft on a type-by-type basis. More than 500 photos, most of which are previously unpublished in the West, are supplemented by 61 color profiles, color badges, and line drawings of the aircraft and their weapons, making this an essential reference source for the historian and modeler alike.

Soviet Strategic Aviation in the Cold War

Courage Alone: The Italian Airforce 1940-1943

Dunning, Chris

In 1982 the second largest country in South America went to war with one of the major NATO powers, over a sparsely populated group of islands in a remote corner of the South Atlantic. Known as the 'Falklands' in Great Britain (even if few Britons knew of their existence before 1982), and as the 'Malvinas' in Argentina (which laid claim to the islands), the skies above and beyond this apparently insignificant territory became the backdrop to a major sea, air, and land war that neither side could afford to lose.
For the first time, Wings of the Malvinas provides a comprehensive and exhaustively researched history of the battle from the Argentinean side, from the first landings at Stanley airport to the near-suicidal bombing attacks on the Royal Navy landing force in the San Carlos strait. Far more than just a history of units and operations, Wings of the Malvinas uncovers the personal stories from both sides of the conflict: "The earth seemed to come to life; missiles, tracers, explosions, and they all seemed to be coming towards my plane. I knew I mustn't lose concentration! ...Again I pulled the trigger, watching the rockets heading for the target, when suddenly I heard bangs shaking my plane again and again. A light, an explosion and sparks began to jump everywhere to the right of my instrument panel...the canopy disintegrated and I felt the freezing air from outside. I was flying just 30 feet from the ground and I was out of control! My hands flew to the ejection handle. There was nothing more to do, I was very low, out of control and I felt that death was very close, but I wasn't scared, I was quiet."
Illustrated throughout with maps, diagrams and more than 450 photographs - the vast majority of them previously unseen, Wings of the Malvinas is the definitive account of the Argentinean air war over the Falkland Islands and the hostile waters of the South Atlantic.

Wings of the Malvinas: The Argentine Air War over the Falklands

Rivas, Santiago

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