Aviation
Showing 321–360 of 388 results
The Fokker Dr.1 & D VII in World War I
These early fighters used by Germany are considered by many to be the best of World War I.
The Guinness Book of Aircraft: Records Facts and Feats
A good guide to aircraft records of the past century.
The Hamlyn Colour Encyclopedia of Transport
Robin Kerrod Hardcover 256 pages Out of Print. New old stock.
The Hardest Day: Battle of Britain: 18 August 1940
This is the story of one single day in the Battle of Britain. Sunday 18 August 1940 saw the Luftwaffe launch three major air assaults on Britain and the events of that day changed the destiny of the war. Alfred Price gives a compelling minute-by-minute account of that hardest day as experienced by those involved RAF and Luftwaffe aircrew, behind-the-scenes planners and strategists, and members of the public above whose towns and villages the battle was waged. The authors exhaustive research was indeed timely because many of those he interviewed during the 1970s are no longer alive.
The History of Aviation in Thailand
Niels Lumholdt & William Warren Hardcover 100 pages Out of Print. New old stock.
The Illustrated Directory of Fighting Aircraft of WWII
This hefty international directory profiles every aircraft ever to have fought in WWII. This amazing volume contains detailed color illustrations especially useful to modelers and artists. More than 450 historical black and white, plus dozens of color photos, deliver amazing value and detail for every WWII enthusiast.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft Armament
Today's generation of high-performance combat aircraft is among the most potent and awe-inspiring of man's technological creations. The millions of people who flock to airshows, build model kits, and buy aviation books and magazines testify to the enduring fascination. It should not be forgotten, however, that all this glamorous hardware exists to flight--most combat aircraft are weapons platforms, and their mission is to carry and deliver ordnance to a specific target. However simplistic it may sound, it is worth stressing that without aircraft armament, the fighting aircraft would not exist.
This book provides the reader with a fully illustrated directory of all the airborne weapon systems that are currently in service, or being actively developed, worldwide. It falls into 2 distinct sections. The first 50 pages are devoted to examining the evolution of aircraft armament from the earliest days to the present. This historical survey is split into 3 segments: pre-1920, pre-1950, and post-1950. It takes the reader from the dawn of fighting in the air and the initial problems of fitting weapons onto aircraft, through World War II and the proliferation of guns, turrets, rockets, and bombs, to the conflicts in Korea, Israel, Vietnam, and Afghanistan, a period that has witnessed very rapid development of a wide range of guided missiles, torpedoes, "smart" bombs, mines, and so on.
The 2nd and largest part of the book consists of the directory of weapons currently in the military arsenal that can be fitted either to fixed-wing aircraft or helicopters. This again is divided according to weapon type, with separate sections devoted to air-to-air missiles, unguided ordnance; air-to-surface missiles and torpedoes, and guns and installations.
The text provides comprehensive specification and data for each entry, while the narrative text describes the weapon's design history, combat use, and in-service status. Illustrated with color and black and white photos.
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The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Propeller Airliners
This book provides an illustrated look at the history of propeller airliners. From the first dramatic passenger flights in converted World War I planes to the great turboprops of the 1940s and 1950s. Though outnumbered on today's major air routes, the propeller-driven airliner is successfully holding its own and is now challenging jet liners on short routes where fuel economy is important.
The Jolly Rogers: The Story of Tom Blackburn and Navy Fighting Squadron VF-17
In an action-packed war memoir and squadron history, ace fighter pilot Tom Blackburn describes exactly how he shaped a crew of over-eager hotshots into one of the highest scoring fighter squadrons of World War II and U.S. Navy history. In only 76 days of combat, Blackburn's Jolly Rogers downed a record 154 enemy warplanes, and Blackburn himself emerged as one of VF-17's leading aces with eleven aerial combat victories to his credit. A complete history of the squadron from its commissioning in January 1943 to its disbanding in April 1944 -- including a harrowing account of the squadron's intense, winning campaign against the Japanese over the northern Solomon Islands and Fortress Rabaul -- this book offers a fascinating look at Blackburn's approach to organizing, training, and leading his pilots -- thirteen of whom, the author included, became air aces.
The Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain has always been seen as one of the major turning points of the war: the might of the Luftwaffe, devastator of half of Europe, turned towards the beleaguered British Isles to stamp out the RAF and prepare the way for Operation Sea Lion, the first proper invasion of Great Britain since 1066. So much pride and national spirit is tied up in this crucial battle that it has spawned numerous films and its anniversaries are greeted by television and newspaper coverage year after year. Hundreds of books have been written on the subject, its stories retold time and time again and one would think a new approach to the subject well nigh impossible.
The McDonnell Douglas OH-6A Helicopter: Aero Series 38
While greatly eclipsed in the annals of military aviation by the Huey and Cobra helicopters with which it served in the Vietnam War, the OH-6A earned a reputation of strength and reliability unmatched by its contemporaries. The first modern turbine-powered light observation helicopter, the OH-6A served as the U. S. Army's main scout for search and rescue missions in combat zones.
The Messerschmitt BF110: Over All Fronts 1939-1945
Over 6000 made for a variety of uses including assault and night-fighter.
The Pictorial History of Air Warfare
This is a photographic history of combat aircraft.
Content covers:
Pioneer Days
The Experimental Stage
The Early Peak
Air-to-Air Armament World War I
Air-to-Surface Armament World War I
Air-to-Air Armament Between the Wars and World War II
Air Warfare Between the Wars
Tactical Air Power in Europe and North Africa World War II
Strategic and Tactical Air Power in Europe World War II
Air Tactics
Air-to-Surface Armament World War II
The PAcific Teatre World War II
Korea, Indo-China, Suez
Modern Air Warfare
Surface-to-Air Armament
The Pictorial History of Fighter Aircraft
Fighter aircraft and their pilots are the knights on grand steeds of the aerial battlefield. This was just as true in skies over Europe in 1914 as it is in the skies of the Middle East or other such world trouble spots.
In terms of speed and power, fighters have always been on the leading edge of aviation technology. These planes and their pilots also operate—as always—on the leading edge of danger, in that rarified environment where the heat of battle meets the cool nerves that are essential to survival.
Fighters can be—and frequently have been—adapted to a variety of roles, but their raison d'etre is fighting other airplanes. Like the mounts ridden by the knights of the Middle Ages, and indeed like the knights themselves, fighters are bred to fight, bred to win.
A fighter aircraft must serve its pilot almost as though it were an extension of his hand and mind. It must give the pilot the maximum in clean unobstructed vision. In World War 1, the pilot sat in an open cockpit with a very good view of the entire hemisphere above him. Over the years, the cockpit became more and more enclosed until, by the early 1940s, the pilot's field of view was compromised by a lattice-work grid. By the 1970s, however, advancements in Plexiglas technology caught up, and bubble canopies (including one-piece bubble canopies on American F-I6s) reappeared. To become an extension of the pilot himself, the fighter airplane not only must give him a clear field of view, it must give him a clear field of action. It must respond instantly to his every whim. To do this, it must be very maneuverable; and to be very maneuverable a fighter must be very unstable. Stability is the characteristic most sought for the airliners in which most people travel, but the chariot of the fighter pilot must be just the opposite—unstable to the point of being almost dangerous yet capable of spins, loops and power dives that no airliner would ever undertake.
Like the medieval knight with whom we have compared him, the fighter pilot is a specialized breed. So is his airplane. They fly and fight in a world far removed from the rest of the battlefield. It is a distant yet deadly world where survival depends on a pilot's ability to apply his skills in one-on-one com-bat against someone who aspires to the very same skills. In this world, the pilot's only assets are his own ability to do his job with speed and precision, and the ability of his steed to respond to, and support, him.
This is the story—in pictures and words of the successive generations of airplanes that have been the outposts on the leading edge of aviation technology, the silver birds that have carried successive generations of the twentieth century's most daring aerial warriors.
The Pilot’s Air Traffic Control Handbook
Packed with how-to techniques and tips for private pilot use of Air Traffic Control. Updated to include the latest terms, rules, and regulatory and operating changes.
The Pilot’s Guide to Affordable Classics
Make your dreams of owning an aircraft come true with this expert's guide to finding a classic plane at a price you can afford. The author provides advice on how to get a good deal on a sound aircraft, and helps pilots to compare models.
The Pilot’s Radio Communications Handbook (2nd Edition)
A Volume in McGraw-Hill's Practical Flying Series of skill-building books for pilots, this edition includes the most current information and continuing education instruction needed to become proficient in the area of radio communications. Everything from the fundamentals to the technical how-tos have make this a valued reference for pilots, year after year.
The Piper Classics
The Piper Company played a significant part in the boom in civil aviation by building airplanes like Cubs, Cruisers, Coupes, Vagabonds, Clippers, and Pacers, with simple designs at a reasonable cost. In this book, the section on each plane includes its standard equipment and product history and is accompanied by pictures, drawings, specifications, and performance data. There are personal accounts from pilots, brief discussions of the fortunes of the company, and a chapter on how to restore the classics with details on airframe, wing, and surface refurbishing and engine maintenance. A useful appendix lists suppliers of parts.
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The RAF: 1918-2018
For a hundred years the Royal Air Force has been at the forefront of the UK's defences. In the 1920s and 1930s, the RAF protected Britain's empire; during the Second World War it played a key role in defeating the Axis; and through the 1950s and 1960s it was a key part of Britain's nuclear deterrent. Julian Hale examines the history of the RAF through its organisation, personnel, aircraft and campaigns, from the biplanes of the First World War, through its 'Finest Hour' in 1940 and the dawn of the jet age to today's hi-tech aircraft and the emerging role of the unmanned aerial vehicle. Enriched with personal accounts and a wealth of photographs, this book provides a concise introduction to the world's first air force.
The Red Baron’s Last Flight: A Mystery Investigated
Much has been written about Manfred von Richthofen's last flight and combat on the morning of April 21st 1918, and much controversy remains to this day. Both authors have travelled to the sight of Richthofen's final crash, studied the landscape and have discovered what many eye-witnesses of the time could see, and more importantly, what they could not have seen. During research for "Under the Guns of the Red Baron", a file of letters written by eye-witnesses to von Richthofen's crash, dated in the 1930s, was discovered. These letters were written many years before later reports became clouded in the mists of time. The final result is a detailed account of von Richthofen's last flight in which he persued a Sopwith Camel across the allied front line, and ended in a mortal wound from a single bullet.
The Rise and Fall of the German Air Force 1933-1945
Written by the men and women who conducted the intelligence campaign against the Germans, it recounts in full the principal campaigns, and traces problems encountered in the field. It is based on reliable sources, including documents seized from the archives of Luftwaffe after the war, and aims to provide an unbiased account.
The Risk Takers: Racing & Record-Setting Aircraft: A Unique Pictorial Record
Illustrates and analyses the pioneering achievements in aviation racing and record-setting aircraft. There are short biographies of the key pilots and designers with pictures of the aircraft described. Focuses upon two distinct but complementary aspects of aviation. Why "The Risk Takers?" There were a staggering 32 aviation fatalities in 1910; CS Rolls (co-founder of Rolls-Royce) was the first to perform a non-stop return crossing of the English Channel; but his Wright Flyer would break up in mid-air a month later. This book illustrates and analyzes all such pioneering achievements in precise technical detail; with short biographies of the key pilots and designers.
The Short Sunderland in World War II
This is a pictoral and photographic history of the Short Sunderland aircraft and its participation in World War II.
Appendices include a list of all RAF Sunderlands and their fates, squadron codes, etc.
The Smithsonian Book of Flight
Walter Boyne, former Director of the National Air and Space Museum, has worked with the Smithsonian Institution to produce this masterfully written and beautifully illustrated single-volume history of flight, a loving tribute to eight decades of aircraft and the men and women who designed, built, and flew them. The book chronicles the rapid evolution of aviation technology, from the Wright Flyer of 1903 to Paul MacCready's Gossamer Condor, from the first balloons and gliders to the Concorde. But most of all it focuses on the meaning of flight for the human spirit—the inventiveness, the craftsmanship, the daring achievements, the adventure.
Using hundreds of historical pictures, as well as specially commissioned photography and art from the National Air and Space Museum, The Smithsonian Book of Flight marries text and imagery to create an overwhelming experience, an authentic evocation of the romance of flight, and of the ingenuity, the camaraderie and pride of the sponsors, builders and pilots who carried through this global revolution in transportation and communication. The book contains the best collection of flight images ever included in a single volume of this scope.
The Spitfire Story
The Spitfire is probably the most famous Second World War fighter aircraft. Alfred Price, international authority on the Spitfire, traces the life of the aircraft that has become a living legend. From the original design concept of Reginald Mitchell to the first flight in 1936, and on through 12 years of continuous development, this extensively illustrated history of the Spitfire has benefited from the help of many people engaged in the design, production and testing of the Spitfire, in particular Jeffrey Quill, the former Chief Test Pilot for Supermarine.
The Story of the Boeing Company (Revised & Updated Edition)
In the early years of the twentieth century, William Edward Boeing summed up his new companys mission: "To let no new improvement in flying and flying equipment pass us by." And sure enough, in the century since, nothing and no one has outflown Boeing. The Story of the Boeing Company, the tale of the plane-maker to the world, unfolds on a fittingly grand scale in this book that is at once the history of one company and the story of an industry. Lavishly illustrated, this book showcases historic aircraft that made the companys namethe B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-29 Stratofortress of World War II, and the B-52 Superfortress that still soldiers on over 50 years after its debut to the 707 jetliner that revolutionized commercial flight and the mammoth 747. Fully updated, it includes the 787 Dreamliner, Airborne Laser Testbed (ALTB), and EA-18G Airborne Electronic Attack Aircraft.
The Tiger Moth Story
The Tiger Moth is one of the major aviation success stories. Developed by Geoffrey de Havilland during the early 1930s and flown for the first time on October 26th, 1931, the biplane became the most important elementary trainer used by Commonwealth forces. More than 1,000 Tiger Moths were delivered before WWII, and subsequently around 4,000 were built in the UK with an extra 2,000 being manufactured in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Following the end of WWII, pilots could buy and modify a Tiger Moth for recreational use or agricultural crop spraying and use it relatively cheaply. This, combined with its popularity within the aero club movement, provided employment for the Tiger Moths until the late fifties when the more modern closed cockpit aircraft forced them into retirement. The Tiger Moth Story provides a comprehensive account of the aircraft origins and development as a trainer of Commonwealth pilots in times of peace and war, as a crop duster, glider tug, aerial advertiser, bomber, coastal patrol plane and aerial ambulance as well as in frontline service. Technical narrative and drawings, handling ability and performance as seen through the eyes of the pilots including a fully updated world survey of existing aircraft combine to make The Tiger Moth Story the most comprehensive book of the aircraft. A bestseller since 1964, this edition is fully revised, updated, indexed and includes many new black and white photographs, plus a new color section.
The Vital Guide to Fighting Aircraft of World War II
This superbly produced pocket-sized reference is filled with 12 of the most important combat aircraft of WWII. Each page is devoted to a single type and displays a detailed color technical drawing, a 3-view drawing, an action photograph, and descriptive text. Every nation is represented.
The Wild Blue: The Novel of the U.S. Air Force
Follows the lives of six very different airmen at work, at war, and at home, capturing all the joys and agonies from basic training, to Korea and Vietnam, and beyond.
The Wing and the Arrow
It's the beginning of the Cold War - a new and threatening power is emerging in the Soviet Union which escalates the pace in the race for the skies. This contest will pit East against West, friend against friend, and the US Wing against the Canadian Arrow.
The World’s First Jet Bombers: Arado AR 234, Junkers JU 287
This is a wonderful pictoral and photographic account of the Arado AR 234 and Junkers JU 287, the world's first jet bombers.
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The World’s Greatest Interceptor Aircraft
A superbly detailed examination of the 20 most important interceptor aircraft in the world today including the Sea Harrier, Mirage F1, MiG-29, JA 37 Viggen, and F-14 Tomcat. Each entry is accompanied by gatefold artwork, plus the operational history of the particular model showing how it was developed and how it has performed during service life.
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The Wright Brothers
Two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize David McCullough tells the dramatic story-behind-the-story about the courageous brothers who taught the world how to fly: Wilbur and Orville Wright.
On a winter day in 1903, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, two unknown brothers from Ohio changed history. But it would take the world some time to believe what had happened: the age of flight had begun, with the first heavier-than-air, powered machine carrying a pilot.
Who were these men and how was it that they achieved what they did?
David McCullough, two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, tells the surprising, profoundly American story of Wilbur and Orville Wright.
Far more than a couple of unschooled Dayton bicycle mechanics who happened to hit on success, they were men of exceptional courage and determination, and of far-ranging intellectual interests and ceaseless curiosity, much of which they attributed to their upbringing. The house they lived in had no electricity or indoor plumbing, but there were books aplenty, supplied mainly by their preacher father, and they never stopped reading.
When they worked together, no problem seemed to be insurmountable. Wilbur was unquestionably a genius. Orville had such mechanical ingenuity as few had ever seen. That they had no more than a public high school education, little money and no contacts in high places, never stopped them in their “mission” to take to the air. Nothing did, not even the self-evident reality that every time they took off in one of their contrivances, they risked being killed.
In this thrilling book, master historian David McCullough draws on the immense riches of the Wright Papers, including private diaries, notebooks, scrapbooks, and more than a thousand letters from private family correspondence to tell the human side of the Wright Brothers’ story, including the little-known contributions of their sister, Katharine, without whom things might well have gone differently for them.
Through Footless Halls of Air: The Stories of a Few of the Many Who Failed to Return
Exciting stories of six Atlantic Canada airmen who failed to return from aerial operations during the Second World War, with a foreword by Air Vice-Marshall J.E. "Johnnie" Johnson.
Tomcats Forever
The F-14, in production for two decades, was one of the best air-to-air combat machines. Other volumes may address the political, economic and corporate issues. We are here not to speak of politics but to show the Tomcat to our audience through the medium of photos. Photos aboard the carrier, photos returning from combat off the Libyan coast, and still more photos. None of the color plates has ever been published before. So enjoy the colour portraits that follow, a new way of looking at the Tomcat.
Tornado (Warbirds Illustrated No. 42)
The Tornado is remarkable in many ways. It is a true multi-role combat aircraft, and was known as MRCA for several years before being christened Tornado in March 1976. It was born out of a vital need for rationalization of equipment within NATO and is, indeed, international. The manufacturers, Panavia GmbH, are a consortium of British Aerospace (BAe), Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) and Aeritalia (AIT), while the engines are built by Turbo-Union, formed by Rolls-Royce, Motoren and Turbinen Union (MTU) and Fiat. Apart from the final assembly lines for complete aircraft, there is no duplication of manufacture within the programme.
Tornado has proved that collaboration can work to produce a combat aircraft to satisfy the needs of four air arms. To do this, two basic designs were evolved, the interdictor-strike (IDS) aircraft and the air defence variant (ADV). In addition to the nine prototypes and six pre-series aircraft, 805 production aircraft were initially required. Four of the pre-series aircraft are to be refurbished and bought up to full production standard, and the resulting 809 aircraft are being distributed as follows: 96 IDS for the German Marineflieger and 228 IDS for the Luftwaffe; 100 IDS for the Aeronautica Militare Italiana; and 220 IDS (GR.1) and 165 ADV (18 F.2/2A plus 147 F.3) for the RAF.
Despite several attempts to sell Tornado to Canada, Australia, Spain and Greece, the first export order (for the RAF's ADV) came from Oman in August 1985, with a modest eight and an option on another eight. A month later in September, Saudi Arabia signed a
Memorandum of Understanding with the UK to supply a 'package deal' of aircraft consisting of 48 Tornado IDS, 24 ADVs, 30 Hawk, trainers and 30 PC-9 trainers. As we close for press, it is quite probable that Jordan will sign for a mix of both types, having had a request for US equipment rejected. Panavia is also leading a bid for 40 aircraft for Turkey, while Japan is looking at Tornado as well. It has also been announced that Germany is beginning the development of a third major type, the Electronic Combat/Reconnaissance (ECR) variant, for which there is now an order for 35 aircraft. Air arms are at last becoming aware that Tornado is an aircraft worth having.
Indeed, the most recent testimonials to the Tornado are the results achieved by the RAF in the 1984 and 1985 USAF Strategic Air Command annual bombing competitions. In the three events for which the aircraft was eligible, the RAF on both occasions came first in two and second in the other. As might be expected, many of Tornado's critics came from the United States, and this successful performance has proved that the Tornado cannot be dismissed out of hand.
I have been fortunate to have followed the Tornado's progress since 1973, having witnessed certain 'milestones' in person and spoken with many people involved in the programme over that time. This book presents a photographic record of the aircraft's development and service record to date. I wish to acknowledge, with grateful thanks, the assistance of the following, either specifically for this book or generally since 1973: Folkhard Oelwein of Panavia; Wolfram Wolf of MBB; Alfredo Mingione of Aeritalia; Alex Johnston (now retired), Geoffrey Hill and David Kamiya of British Aerospace; Barry Ellson of RAF Germany; HQ, RAF Strike Command; Richard L Ward of Modeldecal; and Pete Cooper and David Mason of BARG.
Once upon a time I heard MRCA being spelt out as 'Mother Riley's Cardboard Aeroplane'. No longer is the Tornado so scorned. It has proved itself in service, and long may it remain in service.