Developed from the A-5 nuclear bomber and used in a reconnaissance role, the RA-5C Vigilante was the largest and fastest aeroplane ever to operate from the deck of an aircraft carrier. During the Vietnam War (1955-1975) it sustained the highest loss ratio of any American aircraft in that conflict. This volume includes compelling accounts of combat missions over key communist targets, where crews dodged Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs) and anti-aircraft fire to secure all-important mission photographs. Written by a Vigilante combat veteran this book is crammed full of action-packed first-hand...
Developed from the A-5 nuclear bomber and used in a reconnaissance role, the RA-5C Vigilante was the largest and fastest aeroplane ever to operate fro...
The Boeing (McDonnell Douglas, formerly Hughes) AH-64A Apache is the US Army's primary attack helicopter, and the most advanced helicopter gunship flying today. The most expensive rotary-winged aircraft ever built when it was introduced in the early 1980s, it has since proved its worth on battlefields all over the world, seeing action in the Gulf War, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo and the recent conflict in Iraq. This book examines the design, development and deployment of a quick-reacting, airborne weapons system that can fight close and deep to destroy, disrupt, or delay enemy forces.
The Boeing (McDonnell Douglas, formerly Hughes) AH-64A Apache is the US Army's primary attack helicopter, and the most advanced helicopter gunship fly...
The Yak-1 entered Soviet service in 1941, one of three modern types of aircraft accepted for production just prior to the German invasion of the USSR. Despite initial shortcomings, it soon proved to be the thoroughbred of the Soviet Airforce. Indeed, it remained in production until the end of the war, modernized but fundamentally recognizable. By VE-day about 33,100 Yakovlev fighters had been built. Virtually all Soviet fighter regiments flew at least one variety of Yak for a time, including those which gained their fame identified with other aircraft, and consequently many pilots known as...
The Yak-1 entered Soviet service in 1941, one of three modern types of aircraft accepted for production just prior to the German invasion of the USSR....
The successor to the Vietnam-veteran Bell UH-1 "Huey," the Sikorsky UH-60 first flew in 1974 and was christened the Black Hawk. It has become one of the most versatile and successful utility helicopters ever in service and has been used widely, from the invasion of Grenada to the conflict in Somalia and the ongoing Operation Iraqi Freedom.
An attack helicopter configured with missiles, rockets, machine guns and cannon the Black Hawk is also capable of undertaking a wide range of missions on the battlefield, including troop transport, command and control and aeromedical...
The successor to the Vietnam-veteran Bell UH-1 "Huey," the Sikorsky UH-60 first flew in 1974 and was christened the Black Hawk. It has become one o...
Although designed in the mid-1930s and in squadron service several years prior to the Pearl Harbor attack, the PBY Catalina proved its soundness in combat throughout the four years that World War II raged across the Pacific. Deadly in its primary role as a submarine hunter, the PBY was the scourge of the Imperial Japanese Navy's submarine force. Its amphibious traits also made the aircraft well suited to air-sea rescue, and thousands of Allied airmen were saved from a watery grave by PBY crews.
Using personal interviews, war diaries and combat reports combined with original Japanese...
Although designed in the mid-1930s and in squadron service several years prior to the Pearl Harbor attack, the PBY Catalina proved its soundness in...
The Scud missile was developed as the centerpiece of Soviet plans to fight nuclear war in the heart of Europe. However, it was never used in its intended role and has instead become a symbol of the changing nature of warfare in the aftermath of the Cold War. Saddam Hussein's Iraqi armed forces were almost helpless in the face of the Coalition forces in the 1991 Gulf War; the only weapon that Iraq could use to injure the Coalition forces was its arsenal of Scud missiles. This book explores the development and variants of the missile and its launch systems, its proliferation outside of the...
The Scud missile was developed as the centerpiece of Soviet plans to fight nuclear war in the heart of Europe. However, it was never used in its inten...
The Bell Huey Cobra was the very first purpose-designed helicopter gunship to become operational and to see combat. Designed in the mid-1960s as an "interim solution" for an armed escort and close-support weapon to support the US Army in the Vietnam War, it is still being manufactured and improved in the 21st century, making it a success far beyond the wildest dreams of its creators. In this title Chris Bishop discusses the origins of the Huey Cobra, the innovations to its design throughout the years and its major combat uses in numerous theatres, including Vietnam, the Iran-Iraq War in the...
The Bell Huey Cobra was the very first purpose-designed helicopter gunship to become operational and to see combat. Designed in the mid-1960s as an "i...
By the end of 1941 the Soviet Union was near collapse and its air force almost annihilated, leaving large numbers of surviving pilots with no aircraft to fly. At this juncture the United Kingdom put aside its prewar animosities toward the Communists and despatched several hundred Hurricane fighters despite the fact that at this time the British were still struggling to supply the RAF with modern fighters in North Africa and the Far East. A total of 4300 Hurricanes and Spitfires, as well as several hundred Tomahawks, Kittyhawks and Airacobras, obtained from the USA under Lend-lease, were...
By the end of 1941 the Soviet Union was near collapse and its air force almost annihilated, leaving large numbers of surviving pilots with no aircr...
The pilots called themselves the 'Tokyo Club'. It was a simple task to become a member. All you had to do was strap yourself into a heavily loaded P-51 Mustang, take off from Iwo Jima (a postage-stamp sized volcanic island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean), fly 650 miles north over the sea - often through monsoon storms - in your single-engined aircraft to Japan, attack a heavily defended target in the vicinity of the enemy's capital city and then turn around and fly home while fretting over your shrinking fuel supply and perhaps battle damage as well. If your gas held out and you were...
The pilots called themselves the 'Tokyo Club'. It was a simple task to become a member. All you had to do was strap yourself into a heavily loaded ...
The SA-2, nicknamed Red SAM, is the most widely used air defense missile in history, most famous for nearly sparking a nuclear exchange between the USSR and America when one brought down a U-2 spy plane in 1960. Deployed widely against American aircraft in Vietnam the SA-2 has seen service in North Korea, Egypt, and various world conflicts including the 2003 Gulf War and remains in service today despite its aging 50-year-old technology.
Using rare interviews and accounts from the Russian designers of the weapon, and supported by photographs and color artwork, Steven J Zaloga examines...
The SA-2, nicknamed Red SAM, is the most widely used air defense missile in history, most famous for nearly sparking a nuclear exchange between the...
