Air History Military

"Eloquent… An uplifting, heart-rending, and terrifyingly real account of frontline air combat. A first-rate military memoir." – David Eastman, US Army retired and author. In this true story, Robert Stanek delivers a raw and unforgettable narrative, revealing what it’s like to be in war waged from the skies above. Day by day, step by step, he brings readers into the secretive world of combat fliers, and tells the story of the men and women who flew dangerous combat missions during the largest air war of the 20th century. Experience the extraordinary events through the author’s ...

In the middle of August 1944, the Soviet Red Army crossed the eastern border of Romania and threatened the entire position of the Axis in the Balkans. On August 23, Romania's King Michael summoned the head of the government to the royal palace and asked him to break with the Germans and negotiate surrender terms with the Soviet Union. Shortly thereafter, Michael took Romania out of the war and issued an ultimatum that the German forces leave the country within three days.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Johns was commissioned at the RAF College Cranwell in 1959 after completing flying training on Piston Provost and Meteor aircraft. Following 9 years service as an operational fast-jet pilot, primarily on the Harrier, he commanded both a Harrier squadron and the Harrier Force in Germany, then became a qualified flying instructor during which time he taught The Prince of Wales to wings standard. A succession of national and NATO senior appointments followed, culminating in his promotion to Chief of the Air Staff and Air ADC to the Queen.

Iris Origo, one of the twentieth century's great diarists, was born in England in 1902. As a child, she moved between England, Ireland, Italy and America, never quite belonging anywhere. It was only when she married an Italian man that she came to rest in one country. Fifteen years later, that country would be at war with her own. With piercing insight, Origo documents the grim absurdities that her adopted Italy underwent as war became more and more unavoidable.

Fresh from successful flights before royalty in Europe, and soon after thrilling hundreds of thousands of people by flying around the Statue of Liberty, in the fall of 1909 Wilbur and Orville Wright decided the time was right to begin manufacturing their airplanes for sale. Backed by Wall Street tycoons, including August Belmont, Cornelius Vanderbilt III, and Andrew Freedman, the brothers formed the Wright Company.

Linda R. Robertson argues that the development of the United States as a global military power arose from the influence of an image of air combat carefully constructed during World War I to mask the sordid realities of modern ground warfare. The Dream of Civilized Warfare carries this trajectory to its logical end, tracing the long history of the American desire to exert the nation's will throughout the world without having to risk the lives of ground soldiers - a theme that continues to reverberate in public discussions, media portrayals, and policy decisions today.

The fifth book in this series recounts the nostalgic and moving history of fighting in the skies during World War II, from every fighting air force on both sides of the Atlantic, and the stories of the men and machines that made those forces great. It follows the development of military aircraft - the RAF and the USAF - from fighters to the big bombers that ruled our skies during World War II from the Battle of Britain to the atom bomb.

To all appearances, Anthony "Tony" Korkuc was just another casualty of World War II. A gunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress, Korkuc was lost on a bombing mission over Germany, and his family believed that his body had never been recovered. But when they learned in 1995 that Tony was actually buried at Arlington National Cemetery, his nephew Bob Korkuc set out on a seven-year quest to learn the true fate of an uncle he never knew.

The General’s dysfunctional home life drove him to apply to the Air Force Academy almost 40 years ago, where he was provided with a new family and sense of worth he had never gotten from his own father. This purpose has driven the General throughout his remarkable career, taking him to Alaska, the Pentagon, and Germany; to Florida during Hurricane Opal, and has also allowed him to work alongside Presidents Bush and Obama and Secretaries of Defense Leon Panetta and Ashton Carter. Journey is a book about leadership. It is packed with the General’s lessons from life in the military.

The first British major success of World War II was when the Royal Navy forced the preying pocket battleship, Graf Spee, to scuttle at sea. Hitler had ordered a blockade of the British Isles and for some months German U-boats and warships caused havoc among allied merchant shipping carrying vital supplies.

In September 1946, the London Gazette published a dispatch from Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh C T Dowding that was titled simply: "The Battle of Britain". Written and submitted to the Air Ministry in 1941, this document became the very framework for the accepted Battle of Britain narrative that has been established across the following 80 years. In this work, Andy Saunders takes a critical look at Dowding's dispatch and analyzes the facts and details contained in that important document.

From combat to commercial flight, Wings of Valor contains 17 rollercoaster rides through air and space. Strap in and fly along with courageous men and women in today's combat aircraft. You'll experience amazing tales of dangerous airfield maneuvers, remotely piloted aircraft and drones, bringing a dead aircraft back to life, and communicating from air to ground in enemy territory.

Through the firsthand experiences of pilots and ground crew, the author of Javelin Boys chronicles the history of the RAF’s first jet-engine aircraft. As Britain’s first jet fighter, the Gloster Meteor has had a remarkably varied and lengthy life. But while many books have focused on its development and service history, the time has come to hear the personal experiences of its air and ground crews.

Joey Jacobson, a young Jewish man from Westmount on the Island of Montreal, trained as a navigator and bomb-aimer in Western Canada. On arriving in England, he was assigned to No. 106 Squadron, a British unit tasked with the bombing of Germany. Joey Jacobson’s War tells, in his own words, why he enlisted, his understanding of strategy, tactics, and the effectiveness of the air war at its lowest point, how he responded to the inevitable battle stress, and how he became both a hopeful idealist and a seasoned airman.

"Eloquent… An uplifting, heart-rending, and terrifyingly real account of frontline air combat. A first-rate military memoir." – David Eastman, US Army retired and author. In this true story, Robert Stanek delivers a raw and unforgettable narrative, revealing what it’s like to be in war waged from the skies above. Day by day, step by step, he brings readers into the secretive world of combat fliers, and tells the story of the men and women who flew dangerous combat missions during the largest air war of the 20th century. Experience the extraordinary events through the author’s ...

Inspired by actual events. Suffering from the later stages of Alzheimer's, Captain Tom “Winkle” Brown is a retired RAF test pilot and World War 2 veteran approaching his century year. When 36 pristine Spitfires are discovered buried deep within the Burmese jungle, he gets a surprise visit from Grant Global Industries, with a most intriguing proposition.

At the end of August 2012, BBC ran a report about the commemoration of a young man who had been killed more than 70 years earlier. Just 12 days before Oswald St John Pigg’s death, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had already immortalized the men of the Royal Air Force with one of the West’s most famous war-time quotes. But the sentiment and gratitude Churchill expressed back in 1940 is very much alive today. The sacrifice made by “The Few”, the British and Allied fighter pilots who won the Battle of Britain in 1940, remains close to the hearts of the British public.

The second book in this series follows the history of the "Guinea Pig Club". Founded by the brilliant plastic surgeon, Sir Archibald McIndoe, this is probably the most exclusive club in the world, and one no one would want to join given the chance. McIndoe directed operations, re-constructing his patients and inspired them to rebuild their own lives.

The epic World War II story of Australia's 75 Squadron - and the 44 days when these brave and barely-trained pilots fought alone against the Japanese. In March and April 1942, RAAF 75 Squadron bravely defended Port Moresby for 44 days when Australia truly stood alone against the Japanese. This group of raw young recruits scrambled ceaselessly in their Kittyhawk fighters to an extraordinary and heroic battle, the story of which has been left largely untold.

Six raids that changed the course of history. Operation Judgement: one of the most spectacular efforts of World War Two, where obsolete British biplanes attacked the Italian fleet in Taranto. Operation Archery: the first true combined operation carried out by all three British forces. This successful raid persuaded Hitler that the Allies were planning a full-scale invasion. Operation Biting: a cross-Channel raid into France that was the first major attack by the British Airborne Division and its first battle honour. Operation Gunnerside: a dramatic demolition assault on Hitler's atomic bomb plant in Norway....