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

Avro Lancaster: The Survivors

by Glenn White

Only 17 known complete survivors of the iconic WWII bomber exist worldwide and this thoroughly illustrated book takes you to and inside them.

Hypersonic

by Dennis R. Jenkins & Tony R. Landis

Over their 199 flights, the three X-15s obliterated records and returned benchmark hypersonic data for aircraft performance, stability and control, and materials. This book is so thorough you could probably build an X-15 from scratch!

Rocket and Jet Aircraft of the Third Reich

by Terry C. Treadwell

A popular subject these days—but this book won’t be! Too inaccurate.

“I Would Not Step Back . . .” Phil Lamason

by Hilary Pedersen and others

More than a just another war story, this book explains what made a quiet, humble man a leader even his enemies could not ignore.

The Lancaster and the Tirpitz

by Tony Iveson & Brian Milton

The subtitle calls only the bomber “legendary” but not the battleship? A good and necessary book but a bit one-sided.

The Spitfire: An Icon of the Skies

by Philip Kaplan

There’s a ton of Spitfire books. This one adds something. People who flew or otherwise know the Spit inside out tell you what makes this airplane different, and, well, better.

The Avro Manchester: The Legend Behind the Lancaster

by Robert Kirby

If it weren’t for the subtitle many readers would probably not even know into what period to place this all but forgotten aircraft. Developed during times in which neither the technology nor the mission was entirely clear it lived a short and difficult life—but it was not for naught.

Military Aviation Disasters: Significant Losses Since 1908

by David B.Gero

Whereas the Geneva-based Aircraft Crashes Record Office compiles and makes public statistics on aviation accidents of aircraft capable of carrying more than six passengers (excluding helicopters, balloons, and fighter airplanes), the military keeps its cards closer to the vest.

Soviet Spyplanes of the Cold War

by Yefim Gordon & Dmitriy Komissarov

Well-illustrated histories of the “real” planes are accompanied by detailed descriptions of plastic scale model kits and commentary concerning their accuracy and available modifications.

The Royal Flying Corps 1914–1918

by Peter G. Cooksley

Absolutely one of the better books on the subject, which is probably why it keeps getting re-issued. Great at the human-interest level and a solid Big Picture introduction to the service that really validated aviation and thereby served as a model for all air forces.

Lancaster: Reaping the Whirlwind

by Martin A. Bowman

A close-up look at operating the mighty World War II bomber during the war and then on relief missions in the immediate aftermath.

Dogfight: The Supermarine Spitfire and the Messerschmitt Bf109

by David Owen

These two very famous WW II fighters were pitted against each other for six years. Both were very good, especially under specific conditions that often favored one over the other—and both were built by men new to the fighter game.