Progression in development of Osa-class missile boats revolutionized naval warfare. Even though those ships were considered very small marine vessels, they constituted one of the most numerous boat types in the history of shipbuilding. There were more than 400 units built in total.

The SMS Blücher was the last armored cruiser built by the German Empire. She was constructed to counter the new armored cruisers rumored as being built by the British. Blücher was larger than preceding armored cruisers and carried heavier guns but was unable to match the size and armament of the battlecruisers which replaced armored cruisers in the British Royal Navy and – later - the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine). When the Germans learned of the true details of these new British ships, called Invincible class, and that they were to be armoured with 12" battleship guns, they realized that the Invincible class was a completely new type of warship, soon to be known as battlecruisers. By the time the Germans learned of this it was too late to turn back and construction of the Blücher took place as scheduled. The ship was named after the Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard von Blücher, the commander of the Prussian forces at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

This book is a compilation in which we will find in one place (two volumes) the stories of all the German battleships that were in Kriegsmarine service. The author describes their history in the order in which they entered the service devoting much attention to their construction and precisely describing the differences among them. He goes back to the history of the service, trying not to forget about the many curiosities in this policy and people who had a direct influence on their fate. The book includesany excellent quality photographs primarily from private collections.All the ships are described and illustrated with full technical specifications, profusely illustrated with scale drawings and color illustrations.

In the early stages of World War Two, the Italian Forces in Abyssinia, East Africa, consisting of 200,000 troops and nearly 400 aircraft constituted a grave threat to Kenya and the Sudan. To meet this threat three South African Air Force (SAAF) fighter squadrons were deployed to East Africa to counter the attacking Italian Air Force. The three squadrons operated mostly old and antiquated bi-planes in the form of Hawker Furies, Gloster Gauntlets and Gloster Gladiators. Between then they did also operate a number of Hawker Hurricane Mk. Is, of which some still had fabric wing surfaces and two-bladed wooden propellers. These aircraft were also passed along between the various units, depending on the area that had the highest requirement. Among the three squadrons, 1 Squadron primarily used Gloster Gladiators, while 2 Squadron used Furies and Gladiators, with 3 Squadron being the primary users of the Hurricanes. These units were joined by 4 Squadron, training on Furies and Curtiss Mohawks, before moving to Egypt for operations in the Desert. 3 Squadron later converted to these Curtiss Mohawks, and eventually ended up with a mix of Mohawks, again supplemented by Gladiators. 41 Squadron, an Army-Cooperation unit, also converted to a fighter squadron after the major campaign was completed and served as a holding unit in East Africa, flying Hawker Hurricane Mk. IIs. One Detached Flight, operating Mohawks during the final part of the campaign, was renumbered as B-Flight of 3 Squadron and joined the primary unit for the last major operations in East Africa. The squadrons operated on all fronts in Somaliland and Abyssinia, and made a considerable contribution towards the victory that was achieved in that campaign. Commenting on the part, that the SAAF Fighter Squadrons played in the campaign, Sir Archibald Sinclair said: "When the Italian come to draw up a list of the factors that caused them to lose the East African Empire, they will place the South African Air Force somewhere near the top of the list”. This volume covers the combat history of these fighter squadrons during the campaign, as well as the colors and markings of their aircraft. Primary sources, such as Squadron war Diaries and Pilot Logbooks. were used in the preparation of the text contained herein. This volume contains 23 full-color plates and 112 b&wphotos, indicating the people and aircraft operated by these squadrons. This volume will be followed by two further volumes, tracing the onwards history of these squadrons as well as additional SAAF Fighter Squadrons during the campaign in North Africa and Malta, and the campaign in Sicily, Italy and the Balkans. The authors have already written eight books covering the colors and markings of the SAAF and SA Army equipment in a series of booklets entitled South African Colours and Markings, numbers 1 to 8.

40 colour profiles of the famous Grumman F-14 Tomcat, American supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, variable-sweep wing jet, showing variety of the camouflage and markings of different users.

Scale plans of the Junkers Ju 87 B in 1/24 scale.4 fold-outs in 650 x 297 mm. size.

The first supersonic fighter in the Polish Air Force, MiG-19 and the first version of the MiG-21F-13 are described in the unparalleled details. Many unpublished photos from the private collections. Colour schemes and markings are described and illustrated in a series of specially commissioned colour profiles.

USS Astoria was a cruiser of the New Orleansclass, built at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington.Her keel was laid down on September 1, 1930. She was launched on December 16, 1933, and commissioned in the US Navy on April 28, 1934.

Anthology of articles and photo features on the railways of China, past and present, from the publishers of “Locomotives International” magazine.

Scale plans of the Henschel Hs 129 in 1/72 and 1/48 scale.All version are shown.

Scale plans in 1/32, 1/48, 1/72 and 1/144 scale of the famous Yak-3 Russian fighter10 A3 size scale plans of all Yak-3 versions.

A history of steam-outline internal combustion locomotives in the UK, including chapters on iconic locomotives such as the pioneering BLACOLVESLEY and AULD REEKIE, prolific manufacturers Severn-Lamb and Alan Keef, and more mainstream locomotive manufacturers Hudswell Clarke and Baguley, as well as an Appendix listing all known miscellaneous examples. The book covers all gauges above 7.25".

British battleship HMS Royal Oak secured place in the history books as unlikely hero – sunk as a result of one of the most famous naval operations of the World War II. German submarine U-47, commanded by G. Prien, after undetected penetration into the Royal Navy Scapa Flow base, sent her down the bottom of the ocean together with the majority of her crew. This was one of the most painful losses of the British fleet during the war.Royal Oak was one of five class “Revenge” vessels, better known as simple “R”, battleships built throughout the World War I. Amongst her strong sides were very powerful main guns, quite good sailing abilities and interesting, “bulky” profile. “R” battleships have not participated in many of the naval operations of the Great War, as for Royal Oak she took her part in the battle of Jutland. Between the wars HMS Royal Oak was incorporated into the Atlantic Fleet and Home Fleet. She operated on the Mediterranean Sea during the Spanish Civil War.