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

Sänger: Germany’s Orbital Rocket Bomber in World War II

by David Myhra

Everyone knows NASA’s Space Shuttle. Many know the X-15 and -20. But few outside the rocketry community know the craft or the man that provided key theoretical underpinnings for their propulsion systems and the principle of the lifting body, Eugen Sänger.

TSR2 – Britain’s Lost Bomber

by Damien Burke

Developed in the late 1950s this revolutionary aircraft was cancelled in 1965 after only one prototype was completed and flight testing had just begun. The word “bomber” in the title alongside the program designation “TSR” (Tactical Strike Reconnaissance) is an indication of the friction that would first lead to muddled development and ultimate cancellation.

U.S. Naval Aviation

by M Hill Goodspeed & Richard R Burgess

After taking a first, skeptical look at the newfangled flying machine in 1898 it would take until May 8, 1911 that the Navy placed its first order for a proper aeroplane, and that day was later designated as the official birthday of naval aviation in the US. First published in 2001, this now revised and updated version of the book celebrates a big round number: 100 years.

Secret Aircraft Designs of the Third Reich

by David Olaf Myhra

Unless you already know a bit about this subject you’ll probably be surprised how many hundreds of advanced aircraft projects were on the drawing boards at the end of WWII. In political terms it’s a good thing that that’s were they stayed, denying Germany the technological supremacy that would have altered the outcome of the war.

Something Quite Exceptional: Hugh Easton and the Battle of Britain Memorial Window for Rolls-Royce

by Adam Goodyear

Many aircraft have been, and are, powered by Rolls-Royce engines. In the WWII context it is of course the Spitfire with its Merlin engine that tops the list. It played a pivotal role in the Battle of Britain, where, against formidable odds the pilots of the planes it powered turned the tides of war.

German Aircraft Industry and Production 1933–1945

by Vajda & Dancey

This book is a compilation of statistical data gathered from German archives and previously published material. While the book is certainly not for everyone, it does contain a huge quantity of information. The authors’ conclusions in Chapter 12 on why Germany was destined to lose the air war are alone worth the price of the book.

Lady’s Men: The Story of World War II’s Mystery Bomber and Her Crew

by Mario Martinez

Martinez is the first to accept that his book is at odds, sometimes sharply so, with other accounts on certain vital points. Even so, his conclusions about an American bomber that simply vanished one night in the Libyan Desert in 1943 after its first and only combat mission have never been seriously challenged by anyone.

The Royal Air Force at Home: The History of RAF Air Displays from 1920

by Ian Smith Watson

In democracies the military is usually financed by the public in the form of taxation. Few people like to pay taxes, especially if the money goes towards something abstract or, in the case of military spending, something morally dubious.

A suitably rousing aerial display may change minds.

Combat in the Sky: The Art of Air Warfare

by Philip Handleman

It would be only too natural for any sensitive reader’s blood pressure to rise at seeing the words art and warfare in the same sentence. Fear not, Handleman himself is acutely aware of this tension and devotes a considerable amount of grey matter to addressing it.

History of Air-to-Air Refuelling

by Richard M Tanner

“Fill ‘er up!” How would you do if you had to fill up while you’re moving, and the pump is moving, and the hose is moving? And you can’t just reach out and grab the nozzle with that wonderfully articulated arm of yours—instead you have to maneuver the entire vehicle—which is the length of a city bus, or two—and line up the filler neck with the nozzle just so. And let’s throw in wind….

Battle of Britain 1917: The First Heavy Bomber Raids on England

The First Heavy Bomber Raids on England

by J Sutherland & D Canwell

While this is the 70th anniversary year of the Battle of Britain (the one in WW II) we should recall that there was another one, in WW I. This book looks at the performance and impact of German Zeppelins and Gotha and Giant fixed-wing bombers.

The Spitfire Story

by Alfred Price

Old or new, military or civilian, no matter your interests in aviation you know of the Spitfire and the singular place it occupies in aviation history. Its famous Rolls-Royce engines, its famous Schneider Trophy connection, its famous Battle of Britain role.

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