Military Aircraft features 52 of the most important military aircraft, from biplane fighters to tactical bombers, transports, multirole fighters and stealth bombers. Packed with over 200 illustrations, each entry includes a description of the model’s development and history, a profile view, key features and specifications.

Except in a few instances, since World War II no American soldier or sailor has been attacked by enemy air power. Conversely, no enemy soldier orsailor has acted in combat without being attacked or at least threatened by American air power. Aviators have brought the air weapon to bear against enemies while denying them the same prerogative. This is the legacy of the U.S. AirForce, purchased at great cost in both human and material resources.More often than not, aerial pioneers had to fight technological ignorance, bureaucratic opposition, public apathy, and disagreement over purpose.Every step in the evolution of air power led into new and untrodden territory, driven by humanitarian impulses; by the search for higher, faster, and farther flight; or by the conviction that the air way was the best way. Warriors have always coveted the high ground. If technology permitted them to reach it, men, women andan air force held and exploited it-from Thomas Selfridge, first among so many who gave that "last full measure of devotion"; to Women's Airforce Service Pilot Ann Baumgartner, who broke social barriers to become the first Americanwoman to pilot a jet; to Benjamin Davis, who broke racial barriers to become the first African American to command a flying group; to Chuck Yeager, a one-time non-commissioned flight officer who was the first to exceed the speed of sound; to John Levitow, who earned the Medal of Honor by throwing himself over a live flare to save his gunship crew; to John Warden, who began a revolution in air power thought and strategy that was put to spectacular use in the Gulf War.Industrialization has brought total war and air power has brought the means to overfly an enemy's defenses and attack its sources of power directly. Americans have perceived air power from the start as a more efficient means of waging war and as a symbol of the nation's commitment to technology to master challenges, minimize casualties, and defeat adversaries.

Illustrated with hundreds of detailed artworks of aircraft and their markings, Modern Military Aircraft is a comprehensive study of the fighting aircraft of every nationality from the beginning of the Cold War to the present. The book is split into two volumes, the first detailing aircraft in the Cold War era, and the second outlining aircraft from 1990 to the present day. Chapters are divided by theatre, then further subdivided by conflict and nationality. The first volume provides a comprehensive study of the airplanes in service with NATO and the Warsaw Pact from the end of World War II until the reunification of Germany in 1989. Famous aircraft employed in various Cold War conflicts are included, such as the Gloster Meteor, MiG-17, and Republic F-84 Thunderstreak, as well as lesser-known models, such as the Yak 23 and Shenyang F-6. The second volume provides a detailed analysis of aircraft since 1990, including ubiquitous workhorses such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon, Dassault Rafale, and MiG-21, as well as the latest in aviation technology, such as the Eurofighter EF2000, Sukhoi Su-30, and F-22A Raptor. Every type of aircraft is included, from frontline fighters, through transports, attack helicopters, reconnaissance aircraft, long-range bombers, and stealth fighters. Packed with more than 500 color artworks and photographs with exhaustive specifications, Modern Military Aircraft is a key reference for modelers and enthusiasts of modern military aviation.

Practical handbook ideal for ease of identification at air shows and in operation; Describes and illustrates every major military aircraft in service; Types include fighters, fighter/ bombers, helicopters, transports and trainers; Each aircraft illustrated with colour side view and black and white three-view line drawing; Technical information on armament, engines, weight, performance and dimensions; Briefings on the world's air arms and an inventory of aircraft in service; World air force insignias in colour

"This material was originally published as part of the reference set Aircraft of the World"--Title page verso.

British Imperial Air Power examines the air defense of Australia and New Zealand during the interwar period. It also demonstrates the difficulty of applying new military aviation technology to the defense of the global Empire and provides insight into the nature of the political relationship between the Pacific Dominions and Britain. Following World War I, both Dominions sought greater independence in defense and foreign policy. Public aversion to military matters and the economic dislocation resulting from the war and later the Depression left little money that could be provided for their respective air forces. As a result, the Empire’s air services spent the entire interwar period attempting to create a strategy in the face of these handicaps. In order to survive, the British Empire’s military air forces offered themselves as a practical and economical third option in the defense of Britain’s global Empire, intending to replace the Royal Navy and British Army as the traditional pillars of imperial defense.

This is a pictorial history and technical encyclopedia of Hitler's air power in W W 11.

Military Aircraft features 52 of the most important military aircraft of the last hundred years. The book includes all the main types, from biplane fighters and carrier aircraft to tactical bombers, transport aircraft, multirole fighters, strategic strike aircraft, and stealth bombers. Featured aircraft include: the Fokker Dr.1 triplane, the legendary fighter flown by German flying ace Manfred von Richthofen, the "Red Baron," during World War I; the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, Japan's highly maneuverable fighter that dominated air-to-air combat in the early part of the Pacific War; the tank-busting Il-2 Shturmovik, the most produced aircraft in World War II; the Harrier jump jet, a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) fighter that has been in service for more than 40 years; the B-2 Spirit bomber, an American precision strike aircraft used in recent conflicts in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan; and the F-22 Raptor, an air superiority fighter with state-of-the-art stealth technology that makes it almost invisible to radars. Each entry includes a brief description of the model's development and history, a profile view, key features, and specifications. Packed with more than 200 artworks and photographs, Military Aircraft is a colorful guide for the military aviation enthusiast.

In the pantheon of air power spokesmen, Giulio Douhet holds center stage. His writings, more often cited than perhaps actually read, appear as excerpts and aphorisms in the writings of numerous other air power spokesmen, advocates-and critics. Though a highly controversial figure, the very controversy that surrounds him offers to us a testimonial of the value and depth of his work, and the need for airmen today to become familiar with his thought. The progressive development of air power to the point where, today, it is more correct to refer to aerospace power has not outdated the notions of Douhet in the slightest In fact, in many ways, the kinds of technological capabilities that we enjoy as a global air power provider attest to the breadth of his vision. Douhet, together with Hugh “Boom” Trenchard of Great Britain and William “Billy” Mitchell of the United States, is justly recognized as one of the three great spokesmen of the early air power era. This reprint is offered in the spirit of continuing the dialogue that Douhet himself so perceptively began with the first edition of this book, published in 1921. Readers may well find much that they disagree with in this book, but also much that is of enduring value. The vital necessity of Douhet’s central vision-that command of the air is all important in modern warfare-has been proven throughout the history of wars in this century, from the fighting over the Somme to the air war over Kuwait and Iraq.