...an exceptional book for enthusiasts and modelers of the C-47, Fifth Air Force or Thirteenth Air Force transports, and the South and Southwest Pacific air war. --Aeroscale

The Pacific Profiles series presents the most accurate WWII profiles of aircraft which served in the South Pacific theater.

Volume Seven covers the Douglas C-47, including numerous derivatives such as the C-53, R4D, and DC-3. This was the most universal aircraft type to appear in the South Pacific and was deployed from day one to the cessation of hostilities. It was utilized by every military organization including eighteen Fifth and Thirteenth Air Force USAAF squadrons, and also by the USN, USMC, RAAF, RNZAF, RAF, and Dutch Air Force.

Most profiles are presented for the first time, alongside a full explanation of the markings. Frequent trading of airframes between units resulted in wide-ranging heraldry, unit markings, and nose art. In particular until now there has been a paucity of information about the markings of Thirteenth Air Force C-47s and USMC R4Ds, a gap largely filled by this volume.

This volume illustrates the development of unit markings from the first commandeered DC-3 airliners in Australia through to the RNZAF C-47s used in the last days of the Pacific War in the Solomons. The profiles are accompanied by unit histories and photos. A wide range of reference material has been consulted including photos, color movies, official records, diaries, and information from wreck sites.

The author, Michael Claringbould, is world-renown for his expertise on the Pacific air war. Never before have such meticulous color profiles of the C-47 series been illustrated with such detailed and accurate markings.

...a very nice, single-volume reference work on the Indian Air Force (IAF). -- The Journal of the Air Force Historical Foundation

The Indian Air Force was formed on 8 October 1932. Tested in the Second World War and in subsequent India-Pakistan conflicts, the force enters its 90th year as one of the largest air forces in the world. However, it also faces enhanced challenges in the region as it seeks to replace legacy systems, upgrade its combat and support assets and to also expand its force levels. Despite many problems the IAF is facing the second decade of the twenty-first century with an increasingly rationalized doctrine, an improving air defense network, an array of new ordnance and electronics and a rejuvenated combat fleet.

90 Years of the Indian Air Force examines the Indian Air Force as it exists today and its moves towards modernization. Each element of the IAF, along with the current inventory of aircraft as they relate to its combat squadrons, transport fleet, helicopter forces, training and electronic warfare and surveillance assets are discussed. In addition, the IAF's air defense network and its large SAM inventory are detailed along with the fledgling Defence Space Agency which operates with Air Force assistance. India's existing space assets are discussed as they relate to airspace surveillance and management.

The ongoing modernization of the Indian Air Force is examined in terms of new acquisitions and the upgrading of older but viable platforms. Similarly, the ongoing efforts to improve the Air Defence network, ISTAR systems, AEW platforms and new SAMs are analyzed. Moreover, the focus on indigenous designs in respect of radars, aircraft, ordnance and SAMs are explored in detail. Two separate elements of this effort are discussed; license production of foreign designs and a renewed emphasis on local designs for combat aircraft, trainers, helicopters, weapons and SAMs, this local production being key to the IAF's future modernization.

90 Years of the Indian Air Force is illustrated with full color photography throughout and includes 15 specially commissioned color artworks.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

If you loved the movie, you will love the real story in the book. -- Fox & Friends
On the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Topgun Navy Fighter School, its founder shares the remarkable inside story of how he and eight other risk-takers revolutionized the art of aerial combat.
When American fighter jets were being downed at an unprecedented rate during the Vietnam War, the U.S. Navy turned to a young lieutenant commander, Dan Pedersen, to figure out a way to reverse their dark fortune. On a shoestring budget and with little support, Pedersen picked eight of the finest pilots to help train a new generation to bend jets like the F-4 Phantom to their will and learn how to dogfight all over again.

What resulted was nothing short of a revolution -- one that took young American pilots from the crucible of combat training in the California desert to the blistering skies of Vietnam, in the process raising America's Navy combat kill ratio from two enemy planes downed for every American plane lost to more than 22 to 1. Topgun emerged not only as an icon of America's military dominance immortalized by Hollywood but as a vital institution that would shape the nation's military strategy for generations to come.

Pedersen takes readers on a colorful and thrilling ride -- from Miramar to Area 51 to the decks of aircraft carriers in war and peace-through a historic moment in air warfare. He helped establish a legacy that was built by him and his Original Eight -- the best of the best -- and carried on for six decades by some of America's greatest leaders. Topgun is a heartfelt and personal testimony to patriotism, sacrifice, and American innovation and daring.

The ultimate SR-71 book which profiles the history, development, manufacture, modification, and active service of all 50 models in the SR-71 program.

At the height of the Cold War in 1964, President Johnson announced a new aircraft dedicated to strategic reconnaissance. The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird spy plane flew more than three-and-a-half times the speed of sound--so fast that no other aircraft could catch it. Above 80,000 feet, its pilots had to wear full-pressure flight suits similar to what was used aboard the space shuttle.

Developed by the renowned Lockheed Skunk Works, the SR-71 was an awesome aircraft in every respect. It was withdrawn from use in 1998, when it was superseded by satellite technology. Twelve of the thirty-two aircraft were destroyed in accidents, but none were ever lost to enemy action.

Throughout its thirty-four-year career, the SR-71 was the world's fastest and highest-flying operational manned aircraft. It set world records for altitude and speed: an absolute altitude record of 85,069 feet and an absolute speed record of 2,193.2 miles per hour.

The Complete Book of the SR-71 Blackbird covers every aspect of the SR-71's development, manufacture, modification, and active service from the insider's perspective of one of its pilots and is lavishly illustrated with more than 400 photos. Former pilot and author Richard Graham also examines each of the fifty planes that came out the SR-71 program (fifteen A-12s; three YF-12s; and thirty-two SR-71s) and tells each plane's history, its unique specifications, and where each currently resides.

This manual applies to Air Force active duty, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard, emergency essential civilians and contract personnel. This manual contains the latest changed approved by the Air Force effective JUNE 24, 2011. It compiles existing war skill tactics, techniques, and procedures from many sources into a pocket-sized, quick reference guide. This manual implements AFPD 10-25, Emergency Management, and incorporates provisions of various International Agreements and Conventions, US Codes, DOD Directives, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Command Instructions, Uniform Code of Military Justice, Air Force Instructions, Manuals, Pamphlets, Visual Aids and Handbooks; AF Occupational Safety and Health Standards, Technical Orders, Guides, and Concepts of Operation. As an expeditionary Airman you must stay ready to deploy anywhere in the world on short notice. This manual doesn't contain everything you must know. It doesn't focus on the integrated joint or multinational nature of combat operations. It doesn't replace regulations or local procedures you'll need to follow. This manual does, however, cover basic warfighting skills and points of knowledge with the intent to help you successfully complete the mission. The tasks outlined in this manual apply at both deployed and home station locations. Keep the Airman's Manual close to you; use it while training and exercising for contingencies and deployments. Refer to it often... you'll need it. Fly, Fight, and Win AFPAM 10-100.

Continues the detailed military history of this ongoing conflict, the largest in Europe since the end of the Second World War in 1945.

On 24 February 2022, the Russian Federation launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine. Despite all predictions to the contrary, Ukraine survived the initial blow and repelled Russia's attempts to seize Kyiv. As the war on the ground expanded from March through to June of 2022, so also it expanded in the air, and Russia's Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno-kosmicheskiye Sily, VKS) fought the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (Povitriyani syly Zbroiynyh syl Ukrayini, PSZSU).

Although largely outclassed in air-to-air combat by more advanced Russian aircraft and missiles, the PSZSU continued to fight an uneven contest using its manned aircraft and ground-based air defences to deny total control of the air to the VKS. Using aircraft from rough forward operating bases and learning to conduct missile engagements using guerilla tactics to avoid Russian suppression of enemy air defence missions, Ukraine inflicted painful losses on the enemy, but not without suffering many downed aircraft, destroyed missile systems, and personnel casualties in return. On the other hand, the VKS was often just as hampered by its own muddled leadership, flawed doctrine, and lack of a clear Russian airpower strategy that rendered it closely tied to the ground war and unable to exert a decisive influence on the conflict.

In parallel to the air campaign, a war of rockets and missiles was being waged against tactical, operational and strategic targets on both sides that saw extensive use of artillery rocket systems, and ballistic and cruise missiles launched from the ground, at sea and from the air. While many of these missiles would be defeated by air defence systems, or simply miss their targets, others would inflict heavy damage.

Volume 7 of the War in Ukraine strand in the Europe@War series draws on a wide range of sources to provide a detailed examination of the military aspects of the air and missile campaign that developed in the skies above Ukraine between March and June 2022. It includes overviews of the weapons systems employed by both sides, analysis of the tactics, and of the successes and failures of both sides, and a detailed account of the campaign for Snake Island that would see the sinking of Moskva, flagship of the Black Sea Fleet.

War in Ukraine, Volume 7: Air and Missile Warfare, March-June 2022 is extensively illustrated throughout with original colour photographs, maps, diagrams and specially commissioned colour artworks illustrating this military campaign in the air.

Area 51, a top-secret military installation hidden in the desert northwest of Las Vegas, has been shrouded in mystery since 1955. Now, aerospace historian Peter Merlin cuts through the myths and conspiracy folklore to reveal in extraordinary detail the true story of how a ramshackle temporary outpost was ultimately transformed into one of the nation's premier flight test and evaluation facilities for advanced aviation technology and high-tech weapons. Other books focus on the early years of the Groom Lake test site (circa 1955 to 1969); Dreamland covers that period in greater detail and also continues the story well into the modern era. This compelling narrative is based on a treasure trove of declassified documents and interviews and is richly illustrated with more than 700 images, many never published before. Along with collecting declassified government documents, interviews, photos, and other material, the author developed extensive contacts in libraries and archives, submitted numerous Freedom of Information Act requests, conducted oral-history interviews with veterans, and discovered a surprising amount of material that was never classified in the first place. Author Peter Merlin has appeared in more than a dozen film and television documentaries for the History Channel, Discovery, National Geographic, Smithsonian, and others. This manuscript was produced to the same rigorous academic standard as the author's works published by NASA and the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Details the history, design, and operational career of Fiat's iconic WWII fighter aircraft, including the CR.32, CR.42, G.50, and G.55.

This is the second volume in Luigino Caliaro's trilogy on the main Italian fighter types to see service in the Second World War. This book focuses on the fighter designs that emanated from the Turin-based Fiat company. The author describes the long and illustrious history of Fiat and introduces the early biplane designs of the gifted engineer, Celestino Rosatelli, before dealing with four of Fiat's most successful and acclaimed aircraft.

Constructed of fabric-covered light alloy, the CR.32 biplane was one of the most outstanding fighters of the late 1930s. Besides flying with the Regia Aeronautica in the Spanish Civil War, it also saw service with the air forces of China, Austria, Hungary, Paraguay and Venezuela. The CR.42 Falco, Rosatelli's evolution of the CR.32, became the last single-seat biplane fighter to be built by the belligerent nations of the Second World War and it was also exported to several other nations, including Belgium and Sweden, as well as the Luftwaffe. The CR.42 saw service in the Mediterranean and North Africa, the Balkans and Iraq, and there was a nightfighter variant. In terms of monoplane fighters, the radial-engined G.50 Freccia, designed by Giuseppe Gabrielli, became the first Italian all-metal, single-seat fighter with a retractable undercarriage. It saw wide deployment in Spain, the Balkans, the Aegean and North Africa, while machines also went to Finland and Croatia. The G.55 Centauro, powered in its ultimate variant by the RA.1050 R.C.58 Tifone liquid-cooled engine, which was a license-built version of the German DB 605A-1, equipped both the Regia Aeronautica and the Aviazione Nazionale Repubblicana (ANR).

Drawing on company documents and reports from military archives, the book explores the design, development and operational career of each type, as well as production, prototypes, technical aspects and much else. The volume is illustrated throughout with hundreds of rare and fascinating photographs.

Feel the Mach 3 power generated by Lockheed's incredibly fast SR-71 Blackbird! Former SR-71 pilot, instructor and wing commander, Richard Graham, presents the most intriguing SR-71 stories ever told.

This once highly classified program is fully revealed through the words of pilots, commanders, mechanics, and instructors involved in the Blackbird's creation and flight-testing. From grueling reconnaissance missions to the Persian Gulf conflict, this insightful book tells stories of bravery and daring determination.

North Atlantic Crossroads chronicles the activities of the Royal Air Force Ferry Command Gander unit from 1940 to its closure in 1946. During the Second World War, Gander was a bustling hub of aviation as thousands of bombers passed through on their way to Britain. In North Atlantic Crossroads, the challenges and hazards of transatlantic ferrying come alive. Tales of search and rescue, aircraft salvage, medevac missions, and VIP visits highlight the activities of the Ferry Command Gander unit, notably the work of its aircraft maintenance department, headed by the incomparable John Joseph Joe Gilmore. Postwar, the boom in commercial air travel transformed Gander, setting the airport on its way to becoming the crossroads of the North Atlantic. Includes a detailed bibliography, index, endnotes, and fifty photographs.

The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II first flew in the 1950s, entered US military service in the 1960s, and remained on duty into the 1990s. The plane gained a reputation for tremendous lethality during the Vietnam War and remains one of the most celebrated American fighter designs of the jet age.

This is a visual guide to the type. Chapters are dedicated to each model designation (C, D, E, etc.), including both US Navy and Air Force variants. There are more than 200 photographs, mostly in color, which show the F-4 both in combat and in the details of its interior and exterior design features, markings, and weaponry.

In 2005 a national spotlight was placed upon a mystery of aviation because of They Flew into Oblivion. Having an early and still-unfinished copy of the manuscript, Larry Landsman, SCI-FI Channel's determined Special Projects Director, pushed for a special documentary to be produced by NBC News Productions and then lobbied Congress through Podesta-Matoon, the nation's third largest and influential lobbyist, for formal recognition of the subject of this book in Congress. This culminated in a Resolution in Congress sponsored by Republican E. Clay Shaw of Florida, which passed overwhelmingly on November 17 at 420-2 votes. This recognition was unique in that it honored 14 US Navy airmen who had vanished 60 years before. They were not war heroes. Nor were they on some crucial mission. The war had been over for months, and the flight was merely on a routine training run off the east coast of Florida. The total disappearance of the Lost Squadron, Lost Patrol or, as it is most frequently called, Flight 19, was a bizarre case if for nothing more than the very number of aircraft that vanished. Paradoxically, however, little is known of the actual incident and the 14 aviators who vanished. Rather than being subjected to serious journalism as in the case of Amelia Earhart or Glenn Miller's disappearance or the destruction of the Hindenberg, Flight 19 became buried in the popular enigma of the Bermuda Triangle. Any recounting of it was but a vignette designed to link it with the many others that had vanished. Author Gian J. Quasar, the man considered the leading expert in the world on the Bermuda Triangle, however, pulls the flight from the Triangle's clutches to reveal it as a military blunder, a tragedy and an irony. Like an absorbing detective read, They Flew into Oblivion leads the reader through the case and its aftermath and then follows the author on his solution of its mystery and his search for its final resting place. The result is to lay bare the incident once and for all. The trail stops at a federal refuge that will allow no examination of its contents for fear it might disturb the alligators . . . and for fear Flight 19 is indeed inside.

The story of the hardest-fought air war of the jet era, where highly trained Israeli air forces almost met their match against Egypt and Syria's high-tech MiGs and missiles.

The Yom Kippur War, or October War of 1973 was perhaps the most intensive and savage air war in history. It pitted more than 300 Israeli combat aircraft - including modern US-built Phantoms and Skyhawks - against nearly 1,000 advanced Soviet-built jets from Egypt, Iraq, Libya, and Syria. During a war lasting just 19 days, each side flew an average of more than 1,000 sorties per day, and both sides lost around one-third of their aircraft.

Veteran Middle East aviation historian Shlomo Aloni explains how, in contrast to the striking success of the Six-Day War, Israel's prewar plans failed in 1973. Since the Six-Day War, Israel had modernized its air force and planned in detail for this air war. But the IDF underestimated the effectiveness of the latest Soviet air defense technology and doctrine, particularly the new SA-6 missile system.

With archive photos, spectacular combat artwork, 3D diagrams, and maps, this book unravels the complexities of one of the fiercest air wars of modern times, and explains how Israel's eventual victory was achieved against the odds and at a grave cost.

A detailed account of the war-winning role that a handful of Harrier squadrons played in the Falklands War.

On 5 April 1982, the British aircraft carriers Hermes and Invincible sailed for the South Atlantic at the heart of the task force that would retake the Falkland Islands, known to Argentina as the Islas Malvinas. Air power was essential to the operation, and some analysts considered the contest unwinnable. The British had just 42 fighter jets available (28 Sea Harriers and 14 RAF Harrier GR.3s), and were outnumbered three-to-one by the Argentinian Air Force.

Naval expert Angus Konstam offers a focused history of naval aviation in the Falklands War. The superbly manoeuvrable Harriers provided air cover during the ferociously contested landings, and later a Harrier Forward Operating Base on the islands was also made available. He explains how the British forces achieved their impressive Falklands air-to-air record, shooting down 21 Argentinian jets for no losses, while suffering more to anti-aircraft fire. He also looks into the Harriers' ground-attack campaign, and explains the roles played by weapons technology, radar, electronic warfare, aerial reconnaissance, and support helicopters.

Illustrated throughout with spectacular new artwork, 3D diagrams and maps, this book explains how the brutal test of the Falklands War showed the way forward for naval aviation and fleet air defence for decades to come.

An examination of the Apache attack helicopter, featuring extensive maintenance insights and cockpit layout close-ups.

This book features the Apache attack helicopter, seen from every angle and in spectacular action. Included are the early A version, as well as the D and E versions. Helicopters from many countries are identified: USA, UK, the Netherlands, Greece, Japan, Israel, and many others. This book also includes a huge maintenance chapter and close-ups of the different cockpit layouts.

The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar was the leading, and most numerous, military cargo and paratroop transport of the United States Armed Services throughout the 1950s Cold War era. The Korean War saw the Boxcar earn its keep in the vital role of aerial resupply to U.S. forces, and it returned to front line duties during the Vietnam War as an armed aerial gunship.

This reference manual records the full service histories, both military and civil, of all 1,185 C-119 Flying Boxcars built. Cross-referenced production lists and tables are supported by multiple comprehensive appendices recording combat losses, accidents and surviving craft.

A close-up look of the Corsair II, including the A-7A, B, D, E and H.

A close-up look of the Corsair II, including the A-7A, B, D, E and H. Single seat and two-seat versions are included. Every aspect of the jet is shown both externally and internally.

A huge 22 page maintenance chapter shows the hidden details. Aircraft from the US Navy, Air Force, ANG and of the airforces of Portugal and Greece are shown in detail and in action.

Space Race 2.0 has started, and the winner-America or Communist China-will define the future of humanity.

The space race was a critical determining factor in the Cold War. After its Sputnik miracle, the Soviets' loss of the race to the Moon undermined the international mystique of Communism and crushed the USSR's dreams of world domination. America's wildly successful Apollo program, by sharp contrast, brought America global glory and prestige-along with a plethora of miracle technologies that accelerated economic growth and strengthened US national security for half a century.

We are now embroiled with a brutal and autocratic Communist China in a new cold war and second, far more consequential, race to the Moon-whichever country seizes the commanding heights of the moon will have preferential access to vast lunar resources that will determine the quality of life on Earth and the political and moral character of the human diaspora as it advances into the solar system.

America should win Space Race 2.0 and is leading an international and commercial coalition to do so. Yet, Communist China is giving no ground even as its rockets soar above us. The clear risk: Timid and visionless policy makers in the White House and Congress may well surrender the ultimate high ground to the butchers of Beijing.

Greg Autry and Peter Navarro have been warning of this competition for more than a decade. Both were influential in the construction of America's triumphant space agenda during the Trump administration. In this book, they take you through the technology, economics, and history of this important topic and provide policy recommendations that will win the Space Race for America.

Space superiority is one of the most important goals for long-term American survival. Greg Autry and Peter Navarro clearly describe the challenges we face in outer space-and the devastating consequences if America cedes space leadership to other nations. The dangers we face are real. If we don't confront them, the future could be catastrophic for America and the world. -Newt Gingrich, 50th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

This superbly researched book is equivalent to the warnings by Winston Churchill in the 1930s regarding the catastrophic failure of leadership by the West to counter Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan before the onset of WWII.... If we prevail in this space race-which makes the one with the Soviets in the 1960s look like child's play by comparison-the political, social, and economic benefits to the world will be beyond measure. -Courtney Stadd, Former Director, Commercial Space Policy at the White House National Space Council; Former NASA Chief of Staff; and currently Executive Vice President, Beyond Earth Institute

This book needs to be on the desk of every official in the Pentagon, Congress, the White House, and the Western World, not to mention everyone who wants to understand the Space Race 2.0 now fully engaged between the USA and China in the context of a world that is increasingly hostile to the values of our American republic and Western civilization in general. -Homer Hickam, NASA Engineer and Author of Rocket Boys (aka October Sky)

Compared to Casablanca by the Washington Post, The Freedom Line is a page-turning story of a group of resistance workers who secreted downed Allied fighter pilots through France and into safety in Spain during World War II--perfect for fans of Apple TV's Masters of the Air.

As war raged against Hitler's Germany, an increasing number of Allied fliers were shot down on missions against Nazi targets in occupied Europe. Many fliers parachuted safely behind enemy lines only to find themselves stranded and hunted down by the Gestapo. The Freedom Line traces the thrilling and true story of Robert Grimes, a 20-year-old American B-17 pilot whose plane was shot down over Belgium on Oct. 20, 1943. Wounded, disoriented, and scared, he was rescued by operatives of the Comet Line, a group of tenacious young women and men from Belgium, France, and Spain who joined forces to rescue the Allied aircrews and take them to safety. And on Christmas Eve 1943, he and a group of fellow Americans faced unexpected sudden danger and tragedy on the border between France and Spain.

The road to safety was a treacherous journey by train, by bicycle, and on foot that stretched hundreds of miles across occupied France to the Pyrenees Mountains at the Spanish border. Armed with guile and spirit, the selfless civilian fighters of the Comet Line had risked their lives to create this underground railroad, and by this time in the war, they had saved hundreds of Americans, British, Australians, and other Allied airmen.

Based on interviews with the survivors and in-depth archival research, The Freedom Line is the story of a group of friends who chose to act on their own out of a deep respect for liberty and human dignity. Theirs was a courage that presumed to take on a fearfully powerful foe with few defences.