The Fiat G.55 Centauro fighter was designed by Giuseppe Gabrielli at the Fiat factory in 1942 and flown in the spring of the same year (April 30). The plane was to be a response to the demand for an interceptor capable of operating at high altitudes, which was dictated by the increasing intensity of Allied air raids on Italian cities and military infrastructure. A total of 130 copies of this machine were produced. Most Fiats G.55 were stationed in bases in northern Italy, from which they defended industrial plants located in these regions. The G.55 fighters were very highly rated by the pilots who considered them superior to the German Bf 109s G and K versions, and the Focke-Wulf Fw 190A. Unfortunately, due to the bombing of Fiat factories and problems with the supply of a sufficient number of Daimler Benz 603 engines, the production of the aircraft was stopped. Published in Kagero’s renowned Top Drawings series for modellers and military historians, this volume details the history of the Fiat G.55 Centauro fighter and includes 10 quality colour profiles and drawings in scale.

This first volume of Solomons Air War chronicles aerial warfare in the opening phase of the war in the Solomons Islands theatre, being the critical period of August-September 1942. After occupying the Solomon Islands capital of Tulagi with ease in May 1942, the Imperial Japanese Navy commenced building an airfield on the adjacent island of Guadalcanal. The indispensable airfield was over 600 miles distant from their main base of Rabaul and promised to extend the reach of their aircraft into the Allied occupied island chains of Fiji, the New Hebrides and New Caledonia. Much was at stake and the airfield would be held at all costs. Then, in early August 1942 a bold American invasion of both Tulagi and Guadalcanal caught the IJN completely off guard. Nevertheless, Japanese air power responded swiftly and in some cases desperately. So began the knife-edge struggle for Guadalcanal. An ever-increasing variety and number of IJN units was poured into the struggle, met initially with USN carrier-based Wildcats backed up by SBD Dauntless dive-bombers and the new TBF torpedo bomber. These were soon joined by USAAF fighters operating from the newly operational Henderson Field. From late August, Japanese carriers entered the fight, adding more complexity to the intense and frenzied air battles. For the first time belligerents are closely matched and the rationale of the IJN’s sometimes erratic response is explained. The full extent of both Japanese and US involvement is outlined to a level of detail never before presented.

La-7 Soviet single-engine, single-seat fighter aircraft of the World War II period. Developed in the design bureau of S. A. Lavochkin as a successor to the Ła-5FN aircraft. The La-7 was a development of the La-5 design. Both the sizes and shapes of the two aircraft models differed slightly. This extensively illustrated volume in the Kagero Monographs series details the history of the Lavochkin La-7, and includes 165 archival photos, 10 colour profiles, and drawings in scale. It is ideal for modellers and aviation and military historians.

Any USAAF pilot who flew the mission to Hollandia on the fateful afternoon of 16 April 1944 in New Guinea would remember it for the rest of their lives. So would anyone else in the theatre, for the weather-related losses that fateful day earned it the eternal epithet “Black Sunday”. The way home for more than three hundred bombers and fighters was blocked by a towering weather front whose thunderstorms rose well above any altitude they could reach. Over enemy territory and caught between mountains and the sea, there was no option but to confront nature. By dusk that evening 37 aircraft were missing or had been destroyed. A handful of survivors somehow made it back to valley and coastal bases in a series of arduous misadventures. It was, and remains, the biggest non-combat loss of any air force of any nation in the world. More than seven decades later, aircraft from the day are still missing somewhere in the New Guinea jungle. This major revision to the original version includes dozens of rare photos, complemented by a suite of maps, indexes, and colour profiles of participant aircraft. Japanese diaries reveal the fate of unlucky P-38 pilots forced to bail out. The text liberally cites veteran interviews, post-war wreck surveys and official USAAF records. The narrative tracks down the fate of every aircraft and every crew member, including those who rescued them. Put yourself in the cockpit against nature’s massive odds over hostile terrain and watch a composite picture evolve. The accelerating narrative from dozens of different perspectives is both fascinating and overwhelming.

The Pacific Profiles series presents the most accurate WWII profiles of aircraft which served throughout the South Pacific. Volume Nine covers the P-38 and variants including the photo-reconnaissance F-4 and F-5, along with field-modified P-38G night-fighters. The P-38 flew combat in the SWPA and SOPAC theatres until mid-1944, serving a total of nineteen Fifth and Thirteenth Air Force USAAF combat Squadrons, one service squadron, Fifth Fighter Command, and finally with the Combat Replacement Training Center at Nadzab. Most profiles are presented for the first time, alongside an explanation of markings, including squadron heraldry and squadron codes. Until now there has been a paucity of accurate information about some markings, especially those which attend the Thirteenth Air Force, night-fighter and photo-reconnaissance units. Each profile has been produced by citing wide-ranging reference material, including official squadron records, colour movies, maintenance logs, diaries, wreck site inspections and thousands of photos including colour slides. A brief summary history of each unit and the rationale of its markings completes the text. The author, Michael Claringbould, is world-renown for his expertise on the Pacific air war. Never before have Pacific P-38s and their colourful derivatives been illustrated with such accuracy and detail.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Allied landing at Dieppe, France, on 19 August 1942, one of the most controversial battles of the Second World War, which also involved extensive air operations to provide direct support for the amphibious assault and to defend the troops and the fleet against the Luftwaffe. This book is a tribute to the 1st Polish Wing, Fighter Command’s most successful wing during the operation. The wing provided 10% of the Spitfire squadrons engaged in the battle, suffered 3. 5% of losses and was credited by Fighter Command with 17% of all enemy aircraft destroyed. Nos. 303 and 317 Polish Squadrons were the top-scoring units that day. Notably, they achieved this while still flying the Spitfire V variant, while some Fighter Command squadrons already had the much improved Mk IX. Several hundred of carefully selected and extensively captioned images depict Spitfires of the five Polish squadrons, as well as the men who maintained and flew them in support of the Dieppe landings.

Retired from service close to a quarter century ago, the English Electric (BAC) Lightning has become a cult subject with aviation enthusiasts, especially those who, like the author, remember seeing this mighty interceptor take to the air. As its Avons roared, it rotated on take-off, snapped in the main undercarriage like a flash, and then sat on its tail to go into a vertical climb disappearing to in the deep blue above, all within a few seconds.On its introduction into service, Royal Air Force squadrons faced a leap of several generations in technology, from the cannon-armed, subsonic Hunter and Javelin to the Mach 2, missile-armed Lightning. Its major task was the defense of Britain’s airspace, while for many years, it became the frontline interceptor in RAF Germany, operating from a base less than 100 miles away from the ‘Iron Curtain’. Further afar, Lightning squadrons were based in Cyprus and Singapore.For an aircraft whose development fell victim to false political doctrines at the time of its birth, it has more than vindicated its existence. Notwithstanding its complex nature as a service aircraft, it was loved by all those who worked on it; any Lightning pilot would agree that the only recurring feature in flying the aircraft was a unique sense of excitement.Richard J. Caruana describes and illustrates the Lightning in his inimitable way, a tribute to an aircraft whose retirement from service marked the end of a long tradition of single-seat interceptors in the Royal Air Force.

Noted for its exceptional performance, the Sukhoi Su-27 is not only one of the most capable fourth-generation fighters, but its development history is also remarkably rich. The ‘Flanker’ story took on a new industrial and political dimension when the Su-27 was chosen by China to meet the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s requirement for a new fourth-generation type. This was a win-win-situation: Russia received a much-needed multi-billion-dollar contract and the PLAAF, for the first time, obtained a true high-end fourth-generation fighter. However, what followed was a complex drama, with both sides telling different stories. Following the direct sale from Russia, China obtained a contract for licence manufacturing. This yielded mixed success in the beginning and by the time the manufacturing procedures had evolved and improved, the licenced J-11 fighters no longer met the PLAAF’s requirements.Subsequently, China developed indigenous variants of the ‘Flanker’ equipped with improved avionics, weapons, and engines, which Russia regards as a breach of the formal agreement. Regardless of whether these ‘Sino-Flankers’ are illegal copies, evolved clones or indigenous versions, the Chinese ‘Flanker’ series ultimately evolved into a wide range of variants, sometimes with no true counterparts in Russia. This book provides a full overview of the Chinese ‘Flanker’ family, describing the genesis of this family and providing a review of the variants, their systems, and capabilities and how they are used by the People’s Liberation Army.

In late 1939, the Air Ministry were looking to replace the Blenheim as a medium bomber. Bristol Aircraft Company (BAC) initially came up with a bomber development of the Beaufighter, the Type 161. Due to specification changes and redesigns, the end result was the Type 163 Buckingham, a twin engined, twin tailed medium bomber. At the time of the Buckinghams conception inquiries were made about a torpedo bomber version. A redesign of the Buckingham brought about the Type 164 Brigand. The torpedo requirement was eventually dropped and the aircraft re-configures as a bomber. With no suitable trainers to train the Buckingham and Brigand pilots BAC came up with the Buckmaster, which was basically a Buckingham with a new nose section containing dual controls.By the time the Buckingham and Brigand entered service their roles had been superseded with newer and better aircraft. Most Buckinghams went straight into storage to await their fate, but some were converted in high speed courier aircraft with four seats. But it was too little too late. The Mosquito could do a better job at almost half the cost. The Brigand with its long range was earmarked for the Far East and the battle against Japan, but the war ended before they could be sent over. It was the Malaya Emergency that saved the Brigand. Carrying out a role for which it was never designed, that of a dive bomber, two Squadrons carried out over 3,500 against the Communist Terrorist.Had it not been for the constant delays and construction changes the aircraft may have lived up to their expectations. As it was they were plagued by mechanical and hydraulic issues as well as structural defects. After a number of catastrophic airframe failures the Brigands were retired from operational service in early 1953.

This book contains 8, A3 size scale plans in 1/48 and 1/72 scale of the British WW2 torpedo aircraft Fairey Barracuda.

This book is the latest in a new reference series for aircraft modelers called "Spotlight On" and is a showcase for the superb aviation artwork created for the publisher by the remarkable Polish aviation artist Tomasz Kaca. The book contains 20 color plates showing 20 famous P-51 Mustang fighters depicted in the air. Aircraft of the famous fighter aces are shown based on the latest research.

The development of the famous Italian WWII fighters of the Reggiane factory, with radial engines, is described and illustrated. It served with the Regia Aeronautica and other forces, including the Hungarian and Swedish air arms. This book describes the design, development, and operations of this elegant and effective fighter. This book contains: scale plans, photos and drawings from Technical Manuals, superb color illustrations of camouflage and markings, and rare b&w archive photographs. Color photos of the preserved aircraft illustrate all aspects of the airframe.This is essential reading for aviation enthusiasts & scale aeromodelers.

Italy began work on a new fighter-bomber in the late 1970s, aiming to field an aircraft capable of surviving in heavily defended Cold War airspace, flying at very low level, and releasing its weapons deep in enemy territory with a high degree of accuracy. In the early 1980s, Brazil joined the programme, resulting in the AMX. Subsonic, the new fighter-bomber has also proven well suited to the types of conflicts that have proliferated in the last 25 years and has served the Italian Air Force well during close air support, interdiction and reconnaissance missions. For Brazil, the AMX brought 21st-century capabilities to its air force, introducing advanced avionics and systems including a head-up display, radar warning receiver, chaff and flare countermeasures, identification friend or foe, and other new concepts. In this way, the AMX provided the Brazilian Air Force with a useful stepping-stone to the Super Tucano and the modernised F-5 Tiger II. Most importantly, the AMX had a huge impact on the Brazilian defence industry, which developed new technologies and infrastructures that helped drive both military and civilian programmes developed by Embraer from the 1990s onwards, including the E-Jet family and the KC-390 transport. This book is a must-have for specialists and enthusiasts alike, containing exclusive material, including photos and interviews that have never previously been published, and first-hand accounts of tactics and operations.

The Fuerza Aérea Revolucionaria (FAR), one of the most powerful and little-publicised air forces in the Americas, had Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG) fighters as its main fighter aircraft, both in the defence of Cuban territory against the threat of US invasion and in support of Cuban leader’s efforts to export their revolutionary ideals. The book casts an unprecedented look at the introduction and utilisation of all MiG models in Cuban service, since their arrival before the Cuban Missile Crisis, to current times, going through all of the conflicts in which Cuba was involved, from incidents with the Dominican Republic (‘Operación Pico’) and the Bahamas, to its entanglements in wars in Vietnam, Syria, Guinea, Southern Yemen, Angola, Ethiopia and Nicaragua and the recent apprehension of ‘export goods’ to North Korea in the Panama Canal. The story of military aviation in Cuba before the arrival of the MiGs is also briefly presented, from the beginning of their air corps and its role in the political crises that affected the country, in Castro's Revolution and the ill-fated attempted invasion at the Bay of Pigs, contextualising the times when they happened. This is the result of extensive research using Cuban publications, documents, interviews with former pilots, historians and contributions by veteran Cuban airmen both in exile and residing in their homeland. The book is richly illustrated with over 170 photographs and colour profiles detailing the history of all twenty models of MiG fighters operated by Cuba from 1962 to the present.

In February 1942, a reconnaissance party of United States Army Air Forces officers arrived in England. Firmly wedded to the doctrine of daylight precision bombing, they believed they could help turn the tide of the war in Europe. In the months that followed, they formed the Eighth Air Force - an organization that grew at an astonishing rate. To accommodate it, almost seventy airfields were hastily built across the eastern counties of England. At the heart of the Eighth Air Force were its bombardment groups, each equipped with scores of heavily armed, four-engine bombers. These Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Consolidated B-24 Liberators were soon punching through the enemy's defences to bomb targets vital to its war effort. They were crewed by thousands of young American airmen, most of whom were volunteers. This book tells the story of just one "Bomb Group" - the 381st, which crossed the Atlantic in May 1943. Arriving at RAF Ridgewell on the Essex-Suffolk border, its airmen quickly found themselves thrown into the hazardous and attritional air battle raging in the skies over Europe.Bomb Group follows the 381st's path from its formation in the Texan desert, to its 297th and final bombing mission deep into the heart of Hitler's Third Reich. It is the remarkable story of one group and the part it played in the strategic bombing campaign of "The Mighty Eighth."

"General Gavin was a very brave man who had great faith in his men. The battle or the weather never stopped him from going to check the troops. He would go in the rain or snow. If the battle was severe, he would crawl from foxhole to foxhole to talk to his men to let them know he was with them. Words cannot explain the love and pride I had for General Gavin." - Walter Woods, World War II aide to General GavinLieutenant General James Gavin, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division during WWII, is one of the best-known figures of the war. Beginning as the commander of the 505th Parachute Combat Team that spearheaded the American assault on Sicily in July 1943, Gavin advanced to division command and finally command of US forces in Berlin. Throughout this time he kept a wartime diary that starts in April 1943, as the unit was preparing to go to northern Africa, and continues through to his final entry on 1 September 1945 during the occupation of Berlin.During the war years, Gavin came into close contact with virtually all the leading airborne commanders and many others who would advance to the top levels of Army leadership. His diary includes observations on fellow military and political leaders, such as General Dwight Eisenhower and the British Field Marshal Montgomery, Army operations, and the general's personal life. Gavin was an officer who led by example: on four combat jumps - into Sicily, at Salerno, then Normandy and the Netherlands - he was the first man out the door. Two Distinguished Service Crosses, two Silver Stars, and the Purple Heart rewarded his service.For decades, Gavin kept the existence of the journal a secret; the general's family discovered it among his belongings after his death. Editor Lewis "Bob" Sorley has worked closely with the Gavin family and the Army Heritage Center to prepare the diary for publication. His edited and annotated version includes a prologue and epilogue to frame the entries within the wider scope of the general's life.