The sturdy Fokker C.XIw was designed and built for service in the Royal Netherlands Navy. Development started in early 1934. The biplane scout was the first Dutch aircraft which could be catapult launched. At that time, a new flagship for the Netherlands East Indies Squadron was under construction and would receive a Heinkel K 8 catapult. Fifteen aircraft were ordered and served as long-range reconnaissance for the fleet from 1936 to 1942. It was mainly operated in the Netherlands Indies a...

The CW-21 was designed during the late 1930s. It combined light weight construction with a powerful engine, which resulted in an excellent rate of climb and manoeuvrability, allowing the fighter to quickly reach the height of attacking enemy aircraft, and attack them. The prototype was sent to China as a demonstration copy and an order for three aircraft, plus a further 32 as kits, followed. These would be assembled locally. Only the three production machines arrived in the chaos of war an...

Southern England. Late summer 1940. The nation is fighting for its very survival and the Luftwaffe's aerial offensive is unrelenting. All that lies between invasion and salvation for Britain is the 'thin blue line' of RAF Fighter Command and its pilots.This newly illustrated anniversary edition of Life as a Battle of Britain Pilot reveals what it was like to fly a fighter plane in the Battle of Britain. Who were the Spitfire and Hurricane pilots of 1940? H...

`Shimmering in the morning sun, wave upon wave of bombers, driving for London. Stepped above and behind, the serried ranks of Messerschmitts. Covering mile upon mile of sky, as far as the eye could see. It was at once magnificent and terrible. I broke hard into attack, pulling the Spitfire into a climbing, spiralling turn as I did so…`Read about the development of the Spitfire in Taking to the Skies; heroic anecdotes of the pilots in The Battle of Britain; and amazing aerial combat...

In May 1943 a specially established RAF squadron made its permanent imprint on military aviation history by flying a high-risk, low level, nighttime attack against German hydro-electric dams vital to the Nazi armaments industry in the Ruhr Valley. A comparatively tiny part of Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris' four-month-long “Battle of the Ruhr” this one raid had an impact totally out of proportion to the small number of aircraft involved. It highlights the synergy of science and techno...

This handbook concerns the collection of Air Technical Intelligence, and the test flying of war prizes carried out by two RCAF bomber pilots who were posted to the Royal Aircraft Establishment's Foreign Aircraft Flight, Farnborough, in the United Kingdom in May 1945. Their primary task was to visit former Luftwaffe airfields, and to find and fly back any aircraft they deemed worthy of evaluation.The list of aircraft found here does not include every German combat aircraft of the Se...

The Mustang was born from a British WW2 specification to North American during 1940. The prototype was completed within 117 days but the RAF was not happy with the aircraft's performance and suggested replacing the V-12 Allison with the more powerful RR Merlin. The result was a superbly fast and maneuverable aircraft that had the range to escort Allied bomber forces on raids deep into occupied Europe. A total of 15,469 of the type were built and used in combat until the Korean War.This boo...

A career pilot's memoir of flying fighter jets through two wars and through the evolution of aviation technology.This is Colin Downes's firsthand account of flying with the Royal Air Force in war and peace during a career in military and civil aviation covering a half century. The text is filled with his personal experiences, reminiscences and impressions and is written in four parts. Part One covers the years leading to Downes's graduation and the winning of his R...

A fully-illustrated account of the duels between the carrier-borne interceptor of the US Navy and the agile MiG during the height of the Vietnam air war.The Vietnam War placed unexpected demands upon American military forces and equipment. The principal US naval fighter, the McDonnell F-4 Phantom, had originally been designed to defend the Fleet from air attack at long range. However, its tremendous power and bomb-carrying capacity made it an obvious candidate for ...

The M1 Garand gave the US infantryman a marked edge during World War II. It shot faster and further than enemy infantry rifles and hit harder.No less an authority on killing the enemy than General George S. Patton called the Garand, “The greatest battle implement ever devised.” At a time when opposing forces were armed with bolt-action rifles, US troops had a highly reliable self-loader. The eight-round clips which were used to load the M1 Garand were, however, vie...

In this book, aviation expert Chris Thomas - inspired to research Typhoons by his own father, who flew numerous raids in a Typhoon during World War 2 - extols the great importance of the Typhoon wings in the ultimate Allied victory in Europe.The Typhoon was the RAF's heavyweight fighter-bomber of choice to support the British and Canadian armies during the invasion of northwest Europe. He describes their destruction of German radar in the lead-up to D-Day, the use ...

The Starfighter was once described as a delight to fly, but one mistake and it will kill you. It is one of the worlds fastest fighters with a top speed of Mach 2.2 and a service ceiling of 58,000 feet. First delivered to the USAF in 1958 it was also sold to the German, Greek, Italian, Turkish and Italian Air Forces. It could carry a variety of air to air, and air to surface missiles and was powered by a single General Electric J79 turbojet that developed 17,900lbs of thrust with afterburne...