This book examines the LaGG family of fighters, that were amongst the first modern piston-engined interceptors made available to the Red Air Forces in early 1941and proved far better fighters than their radial-engined predecessors. Despite technical maladies and political interf…
Always outnumbered by their Soviet counterparts, the small band of Finnish fighter pilots who defended their Scandinavian homeland from the 'communist hordes' in three separate wars between 1939 and 1945 amassed scores only bettered by the Luftwaffe's Jagdflieger. Initially equi…
The Japanese High Command realized that the loss of Okinawa would give the Americans a base for the invasion of Japan. Its desperate response to the invasion of Okinawa was to unleash the full force of the Special Attack Units, known in the west as the Kamikaze ('Divine Wind'), …
Originally designed as a carrier-borne long-range interceptor armed with radar-guided missiles and tasked with defence against missile-launching bombers, the Phantom II went on to establish itself as one of the most important multi-role fighter, attack and reconnaissance aircraf…
The MiG-21, nicknamed 'Fishbed' by NATO, was the primary Soviet jet fighter from 1972 onward, opposing the F-15 Eagle and F-14 Tomcat worldwide in a variety of conflicts. The MiG-21 firmly holds the title of the world's most widely built and used jet fighter, with over 10,000 un…
When the revolutionary Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter first appeared in the skies over northwest Europe in mid-1944, it represented one of the greatest challenges to Allied air superiority. The first group to solely fly jet fighters, Jagdgeschwader 7 was tasked with wrestling …
Jagdverband 44 was formed in February 1945 on Hitler's orders, to fly the Me 262 "Stormbird", the world's first operational jet fighter, and demonstrate its superiority. The unit was led by the legendary Adolf Galland, who recruited some of Germany's leading aces into it, to the…
Nicknamed the 'Bluenosed Bastards of Bodney' due to the garish all-blue noses of their P-51s, the 352nd FG was one of the most successful fighter groups in the Eighth Air Force. Credited with destroying almost 800 enemy aircraft between 1943 and 1945, the 352nd finished fourth i…
Dubbed the 'Oscar' by the Allies, the Ki-43 Hayabusa Peregrine was the most prolific Japanese fighter of World War 2. Designed for manoeuverability and speed, the low-wing model meant that firepower and safety had to be sacrificed, with only two machine guns per plane. Despite t…
The outcome of the Pacific War was heavily influenced by the results of naval battles between the Imperial Japanese fleet and the US Navy. One of the key elements was Japan's large fighter component, which had gained experience over Manchuria, China and Mongolia in the late 1930…
by Weal, John
fromOsprey aircraft of the aces
The Fw 190 was the scourge of Fighter Command from the moment it appeared on the Western Front at Abbeville in August 1941 with II./JG 26. A nimble, speedy and well-armed adversary, the 'Butcher Bird' quickly proved superior to all Allied fighters of the time, particularly at me…
The B-2A 'Spirit' was an aircraft conceived to fight the Cold War (1946-1991) but which has proved invaluable to both the 'New World Order' and more recently the 'War on Terrorism'. The combination of low-observability, precision strike, range and payload flexibility has made th…
The Aichi Type 99 Carrier Bomber (D3A) - code named 'Val' by Allied intelligence - was the mainstay of the Imperial Japanese Navy's carrier dive-bomber force from 1941 to 1943. It sank more Allied warship tonnage than any other Axis aircraft during World War II (1939-1945). Whil…
The F-4 Phantom II was the USAF workhorse fighter-bomber for the Linebacker campaign of the Vietnam War (1955-1975), which eventually saw US forces withdraw from Vietnam 'with honour' in 1973. This book covers the F-4 attacks on numerous targets in North Vietnamese cities such a…
This book is the story of a majestic bomber of the propeller era flying perilous combat missions against a sleek, nimble warplane of the jet age, the Soviet MiG-15. A very heavy bomber and a sky giant during World War II, at that time the B-29 was the most advanced combat aircra…
Osprey's study of the use of MiG-21 Units in the Vietnam War (1955-1975). Having honed their piloting skills on the subsonic MiG-17 and transonic MiG-19, the Vietnamese Peoples' Air Force (VPAF) received their first examples of the legendary MiG-21 supersonic fighter in 1966. So…
Osprey's title examining the TBD Devastator Units' short-lived participation in World War II (1939-1945). The first monoplane aircraft ordered by the US Navy for carrier operations, the Douglas TBD Devastator was designed to fulfil a requirement for a new torpedo bomber. Just 12…
World War I aerial combat went through periods of alternating aerial superiority based on technology leaps. Sopwith Camels, Fokkers, and Spads became famous because they dominated later in the war, but this was an ongoing cycle for years. In the spring of 1916 the deployment of …
