Detailed profile artworks and descriptions of 15 different RAF WW2 fighter types.

Detailed profile artworks and descriptions of 14 different RAF jet aircraft types.

Fully illustrated analysis of all World War II aircraft in British military service, including full descriptions and specifications, hundreds of action photos and highly accurate, full-color artwork.

Describes the design and testing of British fighter planes during World War II.

This collection of squadron histories has been prepared by the USAF Historical Division to complement the Division's book, Air Force Combat Units of World War II. The 1,226 units covered by this volume are the combat (tactical) squadrons that were active between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945. Each squadron is traced from its beginning through 5 March 1963, the fiftieth anniversary of the organization of the 1st Aero (later Bombardment) Squadron, the first Army unit to be equipped with aircraft for tactical operations. For each squadron there is a statement of the official lineage and data on the unit's assignments, stations, aircraft and missiles, operations, service streamers, campaign participation, decorations, and emblem.

The Red Air Force had just started to re-equip with modern monoplane fighters when the Germans opened Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. Hundreds of fighters were destroyed in the first few days, but many of these were obsolete biplanes. Soviet Fighters of the Second World War details fighter development from the dark days of Barbarossa to eventual triumph over Berlin. Starting with outdated aircraft such as the Polikarpov Po-2 biplane and monoplane fighters, the Soviets then settled on two main lines of development: the inline-engine LaGG-3 and its radial-engine derivatives, the La-5 and La-7, and the inline-engine Yakovlev fighters, which were produced in greater numbers than any other series of fighters. Not only are these aircraft accurately described, but experimental fighters are also dealt with. In addition, colour profiles illustrate these aircraft in terms of design, camouflage and markings. From the I-15bis biplane of the late 1930s to the superb La-7 and Yak-3 fighters of the last year of the war, all Red Air Force fighters are covered in this comprehensive volume.

9 x 12 256 pgs 400 b&w photos 16 pgs of detailed color drawingsMilitary aircraft decorated with gaudy personalized artwork, usually of the ribald and risqui variety, are generally associated with American bombers and fighters, most of which flew by day. In contrast, those of their allies in the RAF and RCAF, especially the nocturnal bombers, are usually perceived as being sober and dull. That this was far from being the case is revealed in this photographic study that shows that the men who flew aircraft wearing roundels could be just as imaginative in decorating their machines. The results were as varied as the skills of the mostly untrained artists, who used all manner of sources as their inspiration, but especially pinup pictures by Vargas and Petty. The author not only shows the finished nose (and tail) art of many aircraft, but also pays tribute to many of their crews. To do so he has enlisted the aid of a number of the men responsible for painting the aircraft, as well as the assistance of Walt Disney studios--and the model who was the original 'Petty Girl'. This work includes hundreds of close-up pictures of artwork on many different types of aircraft: Lancaster, Halifax, Mosquito, Beaufighter, Spitfire and Hurricane among them--in many cases accompanied by the story of the aircraft and crew as well. Detailed color artwork by the author and Jon Field show many of these emblems and the rest of the aircraft markings.

The second of Britain's four-engined bombers to enter frontline service during World War II (1939-1945), Handley Page's Halifax has forever lived in the shadow of Avro's superb Lancaster. However, it was a Halifax which became the first RAF 'heavy' to drop bombs on Germany when No 35 Sqn raided Hamburg on the night of 12/13 March 1941. Between 1941-45, the Halifax completed some 75,532 sorties [compared with the Lancaster's 156,000] with Bomber Command alone, not to mention its sterling work as both a glider tug and paratroop carrier with the Airborne Forces, maritime patrol mount with Coastal Command and covert intruder with the SOE.