Air forces and warfare Books

Using diary entries, interviews and first-hand accounts, this vivid narrative brings to life the struggle in the air over the island of Guadalcanal between August 20 and November 15, 1942.The battle of Guadalcanal was the first offensive operation...

Airpower Over Gallipoli, 1915-1916, focuses on the men and machines in the skies over the Gallipoli Peninsula, their contributions to the campaign, and the ultimate outcomes of the role of airpower in the early stages of World War I. Based on extensive...

The first ever puzzle book from FlightRadar24 At any one time there are nearly 20,000 flights in the sky, and more than 75 million flights a year – and, since 2006, the website Flightradar24 has kept its beady eye on them all. For the first time ever,...

(Previously published as ‘After the Flood’)Former RAF Tornado Navigator and Gulf War veteran John Nichol sets out on a personal journey to discover what happened to 617 Squadron after the flood. RAF 617 Squadron’s destruction of the dams at the heart of...

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The definitive history of combat aviation and fighter aircraft, from World War I to present INCLUDES 32 PAGES OF PHOTOGRAPHS AND 12 MAPSLords of the Sky is the “dramatic, fast-paced, and definitive" (Michael...

This never-before published diary of Lt. Howard G. Rath shows the War through his eyes. Rath was the lead bombardier of the 96th Aero Squadron, which was the first American bomb squadron in World War I.  He was the first American to drop bombs...

"From the skies over war-torn Europe to the opulent halls of English nobility, Edward Bagot's journey is a riveting testament to courage, heritage, and unwavering faith." Edward Bagot’s memoir offers a unique personal perspective on World War II,...

Wing Commander Vic Hodgkinson DFC served as a pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force throughout WWII. Starting in 1939, he was a founding member of 10 Squadron RAAF, operating Short Sunderland flying boats. Loaned to the RAF in early 1940, the squadron...

They were the best of enemies – dedicated, skilled and deadly. In the night skies above wartime Germany an RAF navigator-air bomber from New Zealand and a Luftwaffe pilot seek out their targets, testing the gap between success and their own destruction...

A truly comprehensive account of 617 Squadron, RAF, ​who carried out one of the most dangerous and audacious aerial bombing raids of World War II. It was the evening of 16 May 1943. Nineteen modified Lancaster bombers from 617 Squadron RAF, under the...

The gripping and heroic story of fighter pilots defending the skies over Britain from unprecedented Nazi attackFor 113 terrifying days in 1940, Nazi Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe, threw everything it had at Great Britain in hopes of early victory in...

"Irresistible . . . My aviation title of the year." - Rowland White"Stupendously brilliant . . . Completely addictive." - James Holland"The most explosive book about aircraft ever." - Jim Moir, aka Vic ReevesFrom the terror and exhilaration of First...

The inside story of the most expensive and controversial military program in history, as told by those who lived it.The F-35 has changed allied combat warfare. But by the time it's completed, it will cost more than the Manhattan Project and the B-2...

Richard M. Dolan is a gifted historian whose study of U.S. Cold War strategy led him to the broader context of increased security measures and secrecy since World War II. One aspect of such government policies that has continued to hold the public's...

The C-5 Galaxy is truly an effective military aircraft. It remains an essential, successful component of the U.S. military airlife capability. This book reveals the events that led to the C-5 requirement; and the controversies of its early operational...

From Topgun to Squadron Command You're in the cockpit of the legendary F-14 Tomcat fighter, blazing along at twice the speed of sound seven miles above the ocean and the carrier that hurled you off its deck. You're practicing dogfighting with...

In 1941, as Nazi hordes swept east into the Soviet Union, a desperte call went out for women to join the Russian air force. The result-three entire regiments of women pilots and bombers-was a phenomenon unmatched in World II. Through interviews with...

Dave Baranek (callsign "Bio") was one of 451 young men to receive his Wings of Gold in 1980 as a naval flight officer. Four years later, seasoned by intense training and deployments in the tense confrontations of the cold war, he became the only one of...