L’Europe, morcelée par la chute des empires centenaires à la fin de la Grande Guerre, dut se réinventer. La France avait les moyens de bâtir son avenir sur ses acquis ancestraux, alors que, pour certains nouveaux États européens, presque tout restait à faire. Des politiciens visionnaires souhaitaient créer des contacts entre ces deux mondes, mais la multiplicité des frontières et la lenteur des transports empêchaient toute collaboration efficace. Pierre de Fleurieu, un héros de l'aviation de chasse de 23 ans, apporta la solution. Grâce au soutien financier de la Marmorosch Blank Bank, de l'État français et de plusieurs pays européens, il conçut et mis en place la Compagnie franco-roumaine de navigation aérienne - la première compagnie aérienne véritablement européenne qui, dès 1922, étendit son réseau de Paris à Istanbul. L'avionneur Henri Potez, qui partageait les idées de Pierre de Fleurieu sur l'avenir de l’aviation commerciale, convertit en un temps record des avions militaires en avions civils, et d’anciens pilotes de chasse se muèrent en pilotes de ligne; des aéroports militaires furent équipés d'aérogares et d'ateliers. Dès 1923, les avions de la CFRNA transportaient des passagers, du fret et du courrier, de jour comme de nuit. La compagnie joua également un grand rôle dans l’amélioration de la sécurité avec le développement des prévisions météorologiques et l’utilisation de la TSF à bord des appareils. En 1925, la CFRNA changea de nom pour devenir la CIDNA - Compagnie internationale de navigation aérienne. En 1933, l'État français réunit les cinq grandes compagnies aériennes françaises - Air Union, Air Orient, Lignes Farman, l'Aéropostale et la CIDNA - pour créer Air France. Dès ses débuts, la compagnie nationale prit à son compte les infrastructures au sol, et ouvrit ses portes au personnel expérimenté de la CIDNA. Elle bénéficia en outre de l'immense prestige de l'aéronautique française créé en treize ans d'existence de la CFRNA-CIDNA dans toute l'Europe. Bien que l'oeuvre de la Compagnie souffrit lors de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, puis, suite à la mise en place du «Rideau de fer», son influence bénéfique sur le développement de l'aviation européenne est indéniable.

As America’s expeditionary force-in-readiness, the US Marine Corps operates an eclectic mix of fixed-wing, rotary-wing, tiltrotor and unmanned aircraft to support the marine rifleman on the ground. The first two decades of the 21st century have seen an almost complete transformation of the marine air wings, as Cold War-era legacy aircraft yield to digital-age replacements. In Harpia’s first book dedicated to a North American air arm, Joe Copalman explains the significance of each aircraft transition in the Marine Corps over the previous 20 years – community by community – on the Marine Air-Ground Task Force and its ability to conduct amphibious and expeditionary warfare. While some of these transitions, like that of the KC-130T to KC-130J and AH-1W to AH-1Z, have been incremental, evolutionary steps up, others like the tandem-rotor CH-46 Sea Knight to the tiltrotor MV-22 Osprey and the introduction of the F-35 Lightning II to replace all three of the Marine Corps’ tactical jets have revolutionised the way the service fights. In addition to introducing newer, vastly more capable and connected aircraft into its air wings, the Marine Corps has also invested heavily in keeping its remaining legacy fleets at the cutting edge of lethality and survivability throughout the final days of each type’s service. Utilising a before-and-after approach, Copalman guides the reader through every transition in Modern USMC Air Power, examining what each legacy aircraft brought to the fight, and how the service’s newer platforms have improved upon those capabilities, especially when aided by new constructs like precision-guided ordnance and digital interoperability.

40 color profiles of the Hawker Hurricane I and Supermarine Spitfire I. Specially commissioned profiles with a high levels of detail.

This book is a compilation of the 4-view color profiles, scale plans, and photo details of the single variant of the NAA P-51B-1-NA. Illustrated are plans in 1/72 and 1/48 scales plus drawings from wartime technical manuals. Also, photos of the details in B&W and color are included.

Le Me 262 et le P-51 représentent un sommet en termes de design, de performance et de capacité au combat en raison de leur puissance de vol respectives. Avec ses débuts opérationnels à l'été 1944 et propulsé par le moteur Jumo 004, le ME 262 dépassait tout ce que les Alliés possédaient en puissance de feu et en vitesse. Cependant la disponibilité des deux machines ainsi que celle de pilotes entrainés devenait un problème insurmontable pour la Luftwaffe. Pendant ce temps, le P-51, avec son moteur Rolls-Royce (Packard) Merlin et ses réservoirs largables permet à la USAAF d'avoir un avion de combat capable d'escorter ses bombardiers au plus profond de l'espace aérien du Reich, et de revenir, et ce sur plus de 1 700 kilomètres. Bien plus encore, poussé à ses limites, le P-51 était capable de tenir la dragée haute au redouté Me 262, malgré la différence de puissance et de vitesse-limite. En fait, le Mustang permettra de prouver aux engins de la Luftwaffe qu'il serait sa Nemesis (son châtiment). Il s'agit ici de la version française d'un livre Osprey, premier d'une série.

The Red Air Force versus the Luftwaffe in the skies over Eastern Europe. June 1941: Having conquered most of Western Europe, Adolf Hitler turned his attention to the vast Soviet Union. Disregarding his Non-Aggression Pact with Joseph Stalin, Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa, a full-scale invasion of the Soviet homeland. .. aimed squarely at Moscow. In the skies over Russia, the battle-hardened airmen of the Luftwaffe made short work of the Red Air Force during opening days of Barbarossa. To make matters worse, Stalin had executed many of his best pilots during the perennial "purges" of the 1930s. Thus, much of the Red Air Force was destroyed on the ground before meeting the Luftwaffe in the skies. By 1944, however, the Soviet airmen had regained the initiative and fervently wrested air superiority from the now-ailing Axis Powers.

This book includes compilations of the 4-view color profile, scale plans and photo details of the single variant of the Morane Saulnier MS.406. Scale plans in 1/72 and 1/48 scales plus drawings from wartime technical manuals. Also photos of the details in B&W and color.

The raid on the secret rocket research establishment at Peenemünde on the Baltic coast in August 1943 has gone down in history as one of the most successful and remarkable of the war. The site was virtually obliterated, and the Germans forced to move rocket production and development elsewhere. But it came at a terrible cost. More than 40 bombers and 215 RAF aircrew failed to return. After the war, the bodies of many of those who were killed were recovered by the Missing Research and Enquiry Service (MRES) and buried in Commonwealth war graves. But not all. A series of mishaps and miscommunication led the MRES to search in the wrong place. Funds to continue the search dried up. And with the site falling into Russian hands, and access to British and US search parties severely restricted, the search ultimately had to be called off, and the remaining men commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial as having no known grave. But some of the missing men are still there, waiting to be found.With a foreword from Peenemünde raid veteran pilot George Dunn DFC L d'H, and illustrated with a wealth of previously unpublished photographs, Sean Feast and Mike McLeod tell the story of the forgotten graves of Peenemünde, the search to discover the truth about their final resting place, and the chance that their bodies may yet be discovered and returned.

“Despite everything I felt very lucky to have flown Corsairs, they were the best you know even though it took me sometime to realise this when so many friends died flying them.” (Colin Facer, Corsair pilot, HMS Illustrious) The Vought-Sikorsky Corsair was one of the most potent fighters of the Second World War. It was also one of the most flawed. Conceived by Rex Beisel, Vought’s Chief Designer during 1938, the US Navy condemned it as being too dangerous for carrier operations and refused to certify it safe for use at sea. With the British Aero Industry unable to build fighters with sufficient range and potentcy for carrier use the Admirtalty sought alternatives. With the Lend Lease programme, created by President Roosevelt, in place they could acquire weapons from American factories. In practice, this meant standing in line behind the US Navy, Marines and Army for service, but it still opened up new opportunities to be exploited. So, with newly built Corsairs being stockpiled and the promise of an improved version on the way, the RN saw a opening worthy of development and exploited it. By the end of the war the Fleet Air Arm had acquired more than 2,000 Corsairs to equip its squadrons. But the risks identified by the USN were largely ignored by the Royal Navy and far too many men and aircraft were lost in accidents as a result. Yet in the hands of experienced carrier pilots its virtues were only too apparent and, in due course, they achieved great things. Eventually, the US Navy noted this “success” and certified the Corsair for use on their carriers too, but the aircraft never entirely lost its reputation as a “widow maker.” This book describes the Corsair’s development and tells the sad, but inspiring story of the young men who struggled and suffered to make the Corsair a going concern in the most vicious unforgiving war one can imagine. To do this the author met and corresponded with ninety or more veterans from America, Britain, New Zealand and Canada. Their recollections made this book possible and through their vivid memories we can experience what it felt like to be barely of age, a civilian called to arms and a fighter pilot.

Born in the Philippines to an American father and a Filipina mother, George Cooper is one of the few surviving veteran pilots who saw action over such fearsome targets as Rabaul and Wewak. Not just another flag-waving story of air combat, Jayhawk describes the war as it really was - a conflict with far-reaching tentacles that gripped and tore at not only the combatants, but also their families, friends and the way they lived their lives. Stout examines the story of Cooper’s growing up in gentle and idyllic pre-war Manila and how he grew to be the man he is. At 100 years old, few men are left alive who can share similar experiences. Stout reviews Cooper’s journey to the United States and his unlikely entry into the United States Army Air Forces. Trained as a B-25 pilot, Cooper was assigned to the iconic 345th Bomb Group and flew strafing missions that shredded the enemy, but likewise put himself and his comrades in grave danger. A husband and father, Cooper was pulled two ways by the pull of duty and his obligation to his wife and daughter. And always on his mind was the family he left behind in the Philippines who were under the Japanese thrall.

In July 1944 the Allies were stunned by the appearance of the Messerschmitt Me-262, the world’s first operational jet warplane. This new German fighter was more than 100mph faster than any other aircraft in the skies. Although always greatly outnumbered, the Me-262 gained scores of victories over Allied fighters and bombers, and by the end of the war, many of the Luftwaffe’s greatest aces had clamored to be in their cockpits. No wonder military leaders believed that if it had been introduced earlier, this jet could have changed the outcome of the war. Sharks of the Air tells the story of Willy Messerschmitt’s life, and shows how this aeronautical genius built many revolutionary airplanes - not excluding the Luftwaffe’s mainstay, the Me-109 - and culminating in the Me-262. It describes how his various warplanes fought in Spain, Poland, France, Britain, the U.S.S.R., and over Germany, and it provides thrilling accounts of air battles drawn from combat reports and interviews with veterans. This book also shows how Messerschmitt - like other geniuses such as Porsche, vonBraun, and Speer - was affected by cutthroat Nazi politics, and describes his intense rivalries with other aircraft designers. It reveals aspects of his life never before made public, including his love affair with the beautiful Baroness Lilly Michel-Rolino, a rich aristocrat who left her husband to live with Willy. And finally it shows how in World War II Messerschmitt believed he was loyally supporting the Fatherland, until he realized too late that Hitler was a madman. Like many of the technical innovations of Nazi Germany in the war, production arrived too late in order to change the final outcome. If Messerschmitt had been given free rein from the start, however, Allied air superiority might never have occurred.

40 color profiles of the famous Ilyushin Il-2, Russian WW2 famous attack aircraft, showing variety of the camouflage and markings of different units.

The second edition, revised and extended.This is the story of Poland's most famous fighter aircraft. It contains: Scale plans in 1/48, photos and drawings from technical manuals, superb color illustrations of camouflage and markings, walk-around color photographs of the only one preserved aircraft, and rare b&w archive photographs. This is an essential reading for aviation enthusiasts & scale aeromodelers.

This book describes the operations of the Soviet Air Force along the Finnish-Soviet front during the Winter War 1939-1940. The book includes 350+ photos, most of which were never published before, 28 color profiles, and 5 maps. A must-have book for the student of Soviet aviation history

This latest book in the Rainbow Series covers Swedish bomber aircraft deployed during World War Two and in early 50s.Camouflage and markings on the bombers obtained from different countries are described in unparalleled detail by the well-known Finnish author Mikael Forslund.The book features many previously unpublished photographs, and exclusive color profiles created for this book by Karolina Hołda.

In November 1921 the first purpose-built aircraft carrier was launched by the Japanese, followed a year later by the launch of the British Hermes. The conversion of battlecruisers into aircraft carriers after World War I required the consideration of issues including handling aircraft on the flight deck and the techniques of attacking enemy ships, and the evolution of carrier operations was ongoing when World War II broke out. With a focus on the conflict in the Pacific between the U. S. Navy and the imperial Japanese fleet, this title examines how aircraft carriers fought during World War II by first considering all the tools and building blocks of carrier operations, and then discussing the various battles that involved aircraft carriers to explore how carrier operations evolved during war. Every aspect of carrier operations is covered; from the technology used on the carriers and in aircraft including for navigation and communication, to what life was really like in the cockpit for the pilots. A world of tactical dehydration, amphetamine pills, and illegal smoking is explored, as well as the measures pilots implemented to reduce their risk of death in the event of being hit. The major carrier battles of the war are considered, from Coral Sea to Leyte Gulf, with a focus on how the tools of carrier operations were employed. At the battle of Midway the debate of concentration vs. dispersion became relevant, as the Japanese decided to divide their forces while the Americans concentrated theirs. How Carriers Fought questions these tactics, exploring which worked best in theory and in practice. The book concludes with a discussion of how carrier operations changed during the course of the war, as better technology and a better understanding of this new type of warfare allowed for quick advances in how operations were carried out.