Archive for Items Categorized 'Military', only excerpts shown, click title for full entry.

The U-2 Spyplane: Toward the Unknown, A New History of the Early Years

by Chris Pocock

Iron Curtain. Cold War. Nuclear winter. The end of the world. It was the U-2 that made it possible to step back from the brink. Anyone with an interest in world affairs and aviation “firsts” should read this.

Pure Luck, The Authorised Biography of Sir Thomas Sopwith

by Alan E. Branson

Camel, Pup, Hurricane, Typhoon, Tempest, Lancaster, Harrier. You know the names, now meet the man behind them and many other aviation, business, and sporting accomplishments.

The Royal Air Force: An Encyclopedia of the Inter-War Years

by Ian M. Philpott

From tactics to equipment, the RAF underwent drastic changes at a time the world was making great efforts to avoid or at least manage conflict. A complex story told in a complex set of books.

AMARG: America’s Military Aircraft Boneyard

by Nicholas A. Veronico, Ron Strong

An excellent pictorial survey of the history of a one-of-a-kind storage facility and the procedures used in mothballing, recommissioning, or destruction.

Secret Wonder Weapons of the Third Reich: German Missiles 1934–1945

by J. Miranda & P. Mercado

View hundreds of offensive and defensive jet-and rocket-powered robot and piloted weapons that the Germany military tried to make operational during World War Two.

The Flying Wings of Jack Northrop, A Photo Chronicle

by Pape, Campbell & Campbell

A flying wing is about as clean a machine as you could have. Today’s B-2 Stealth bomber wouldn’t exist without Northrop’s efforts. If photos of his contraptions are what you’re looking for, this is the book.

Killer Rays: Story of the Douglas F4D Skyray and F5D Skylancer

by Mark Frankel

From concept to first prototype, flight testing, carrier qualifications and operational history, this solid book presents the history of the U.S. Navy’s first operational delta-wing aircraft.

50 Years of the U-2

by Chris Pocock

You cannot understand world events without understanding the U-2 spy plane that provided decision makers the raw data to deal with them! This thorough book leaves no questions unanswered.

American Secret Pusher Fighters of World War II: XP-54, XP-55, and XP-56

by Gerald H. Balzer

These creative aircraft proposals are an example of aerodynamic theory being way ahead of engine development. They are also examples of the US trying to regain ground to European aircraft development.

X-Planes of Europe: Secret Research Aircraft from the Golden Age 1947–1974

by Tony Buttler & Jean-Louis Delezenne

Showcasing European efforts, the aircraft in this excellent book did by and large not advance into production but some of the technologies they tested did—the lift fan, vectored thrust, supersonic flight, to name a few.

Secrets of the Spitfire

by Lance Cole

Adding a new chapter to the voluminous Spitfire literature, this book tells the story of a brilliant but quiet aerodynamicist whose seminal work is only in recent years being recognized.

The Handley Page Victor: The History and Development of a Classic Jet, Vol. 2

by Roger R. Brooks

After a last hurrah in the Falklands and then the first Gulf War, Victors were mustered out in 1993, after a long 30 years of service but with a relatively low 6500 flight hours. Specs and data here tell the story.