Fighter Combat in the Jet Age covers the entire history of jet fighters in action, from the end of World War II to the present. Meticulously detailed, it features 300 photos, line drawings and graphs that reveal how jet fighters and their weapons have developed and improved, utterly changing the face of air combat. It also focuses on the key technological developments of the Cold War, such as the fighters built to intercept nuclear bombers and to dominate European skies in a Third World War. With combat examples from Southeast Asia, the Falklands and the Middle East, Fighter Combat in the Jet Age compares and contrasts the fighter aircraft of different nations and manufacturers. Also included are spreads with sidebars and boxes describing fighter tactics, major air battles, experimental weapons and famous pilots. It's enough to thrill aircraft enthusiasts of all ages.

This behind-the-scenes account of a USAF career is “an absorbing read, written with the classic humor fighter pilots seem to have” (Flight Line Book Review). From Baron von Richthofen to Robin Olds, the mystique of the fighter pilot endures. The skill, cunning, and bravery that characterizes this distinctive band of brothers is well known, but there are other dimensions to those who take to the skies to do battle that have not been given the emphasis they deserve—until now. You don’t have to be an aviation aficionado to enjoy Colonel Steve Ladd’s fascinating personal tale, woven around his twenty-eight-year career as a fighter pilot. This extremely engaging account follows a young man from basic pilot training to senior command through narratives that define a unique ethos. From the United States to Southeast Asia, Europe to the Middle East, the amusing and tongue-in-cheek to the deadly serious and poignant, this is the lifelong journey of a fighter pilot. The anecdotes are absorbing, providing an insight into life as an Air Force pilot, but, in this book, as Colonel Ladd stresses, the focus is not on fireworks or stirring tales of derring-do. Instead, this is an articulate and absorbing account of what life is really like among a rare breed of arrogant, cocky, boisterous, and fun-loving young men who readily transform into steely professionals at the controls of a fighter aircraft. “This book will appeal to a variety of readers with its Vietnam War combat stories and accounts of flying the Warthog in Cold War Europe. Fun, flying, international experiences—you won’t want to put it down.” —Aviation News

Riveting accounts from the pilots who flew such planes as the F-15, B-52, C-130, and many moreDozens of in-the-cockpit photosThis sequel to Flying American Combat Aircraft of World War II spans the Cold War, taking a look at the planes that defined the era and fought in places like Korea and Vietnam. Covering all manner of aircraft-including fighters, bombers, and transports-seasoned pilots tell what it was really like to be in the cockpit of some of the world's classic planes.

Recounted here are nine of the earliest wars involving jet aircraft. From the Korean War and beyond, it comprises a wealth of gripping insight. Many of the jet-to-jet dogfights that spanned these jet-powered wars are enlivened to thrilling effect, including those engaged in during the two Indo-Pak Wars of 1965 and 1971. Operation Musketeer (1956), mounted when RAF and French Air Force bombers and fighter-bombers attacked airfields and other targets in Egypt (after President Nasser had nationalised the Suez Canal), is also covered in this gripping narrative. The Falklands Campaign is also covered, as is the Vietnam War. In another chapter, QRA operations around the British Isles are put under the microscope as RAF Phantoms, Lightnings, Tornadoes and Typhoon Eurofighters on Quick Reaction Alert are described, patrolling international air space and maintaining a constant vigil as Soviet Bears continued to test NATO defences. All in all, this is a compelling, well-researched and highly informative study of a particularly dynamic era in aviation history.

Of the three jet bombers that formed the RAF's V-Force in the early years of the Cold War (1946-1991), the Victor was perhaps the most technologically advanced. First flown on December 24, 1952, the Victor entered service in B 1 configuration in November 1957. Further improvements were introduced with the B 2, which was optimized for high altitude. Most B 2s were equipped to carry the Blue Steel stand-off missile, but eight were modified in the strategic reconnaissance role because the Victor 2 was then the longest-ranging aircraft in the RAF. The Victor ceased to be a low-level bomber after the nuclear mission was taken over by the Royal Navy's Polaris submarine force in the late 1960s. Thereafter, Victor 1s and 2s continued in frontline service as airborne tankers, supporting operations such as the Falklands War and the Gulf War until the last Victor flight took place on November 30, 1993.

This first history of jet combat by an ex-RAF flier will fascinate students of military history as well as all who thrilled to the rugged hero culture of fighter pilots popularized in the film "Top Gun". of photos. Index.

— Historically rich in detail with previously unpublished photographs — A must-have for military enthusiasts, historians, modellers and those interested in the complexities of aircraft design and manoeuvres during the Cold War — A fascinating and eye-opening memoir that will appeal to fliers and non-fliers alike on how to fly the fastest jets in the RAF This is the remarkable and true story of Squadron Leader Derek J. Sharp and his incredible adventures. Nothing perhaps was more astonishing than his survival after striking a mallard duck at 500 mph and his subsequent return to pilot in command. That he survived to the age of thirty was astonishing; that he continued unashamedly on to a ripe old age was nothing short of a miracle. Conceivably, he followed the advice written on a fridge magnet in his kitchen: ‘Never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly’. This fascinating book follows the adventures of Sharp from schoolboy to highly respected aviator. He flew fighters and nuclear bombers, finally seeing action in the first Gulf War flying defenceless transport jets close to the Iraq border. Sharp consequently survived Saddam Hussein’s Scuds and American Patriot missiles – ‘friendly fire’ aimed directly at the author. He flew Her Majesty The Queen and lived in a time long before political correctness, the breathalyser and motorcar safety checks. He achieved all that he set out to do, and more. That would undoubtedly be his epitaph…

This pictorial book looks inside the cockpit of aircraft from 1947 to 1965 from the United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, Canada, France and the Soviet Union. Featured aircraft includes a pilot's perspective on what it was like to fly.

Flying Camelot brings us back to the post-Vietnam era, when the US Air Force launched two new, state-of-the art fighter aircraft: the F-15 Eagle and the F-16 Fighting Falcon. It was an era when debates about aircraft superiority went public—and these were not uncontested discussions. Michael W. Hankins delves deep into the fighter pilot culture that gave rise to both designs, showing how a small but vocal group of pilots, engineers, and analysts in the Department of Defense weaponized their own culture to affect technological development and larger political change. The design and advancement of the F-15 and F-16 reflected this group's nostalgic desire to recapture the best of World War I air combat. Known as the "Fighter Mafia," and later growing into the media savvy political powerhouse "Reform Movement," it believed that American weapons systems were too complicated and expensive, and thus vulnerable. The group's leader was Colonel John Boyd, a contentious former fighter pilot heralded as a messianic figure by many in its ranks. He and his group advocated for a shift in focus from the multi-role interceptors the Air Force had designed in the early Cold War towards specialized air-to-air combat dogfighters. Their influence stretched beyond design and into larger politicized debates about US national security, debates that still resonate today. A biography of fighter pilot culture and the nostalgia that drove decision-making, Flying Camelot deftly engages both popular culture and archives to animate the movement that shook the foundations of the Pentagon and Congress.

Fifteen NATO officers reveal the awesome strength and secret shortcomings of our most advanced aircraft, including the Linz helicopter, the Harrier jet, the F-4 Phantom, and others. Photographs, illustrations.