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Aviation  /  Modern Aviation
Night Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe 1943-45 Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 128
ISBN: 9781636245546
Pub Date: 15 Mar 2025
Illustrations: 100+ photographs and artwork profiles
Description:
The week-long Allied bombing campaign against Hamburg in late July 1943 was not only hugely destructive but also had a significant impact on the German night fighter arm. From now on, the “boxes” of Kammhuber’s “Raumnachtjagd” would be the starting point from which fighters would be led into the bomber stream as early as possible, a tactic dubbed “Zahme Sau.” The night fighters had to quickly adopt new “freelance” procedures, and also found themselves increasingly engaged in daylight operations.
RRP: £24.95
Luftwaffe Night Fighter Aces 1940–43 Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 128
ISBN: 9781636244907
Pub Date: 21 Nov 2024
Illustrations: 100+ photographs and artwork
Description:
On 10 May 1940, the Wehrmacht launched its assault on the West. One element of the West’s response was the dispatch of RAF Bomber Command ‘heavy’ bombers at night over German industrial centers. These raids had only limited effectiveness, but the inability of the Luftwaffe to chase down RAF bombers at night so annoyed Wolfgang Falck that it swiftly resulted in the creation of a credible night fighter force.
RRP: £24.95
Operation Eldorado Canyon Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 256
ISBN: 9781950394128
Pub Date: 24 Apr 2024
Illustrations: colour maps, colour and black-and-white photos and tables
Description:
If asked to pinpoint the beginning of the war against Islamic extremism, most would probably say September 11, 2001. However, there has been tension between Islamic autocracies and Western governments going back centuries. In the early 1980s, the boogieman du jour was Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, who sponsored numerous acts of terrorism throughout Europe.
RRP: £43.50
Through Blue Skies to Hell Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 256
ISBN: 9781636244624
Pub Date: 10 Apr 2024
Illustrations: 16 pages b/w photos
Description:
This book provides a comprehensive look at air war over Europe during the climactic year of World War II, combining firsthand experience with expert analysis. The centerpiece is a mission-by-mission diary of 1st Lieutenant Richard R. Ayesh, bombardier on a B-17 Flying Fortress, who flew with the 100th Bombardment Group, 13th Combat Wing of the 8th Air Force—the legendary “Bloody 100th.
Red Dragon 'Flankers' Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 256
ISBN: 9781950394104
Pub Date: 27 Oct 2022
Illustrations: colour maps, colour and black-and-white photos and tables
Description:
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.
AMX Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 144
ISBN: 9781950394081
Pub Date: 28 Sep 2022
Illustrations: colour maps, photos and tables
Description:
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.
Cuban MiGs Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 144
ISBN: 9781950394098
Pub Date: 28 Sep 2022
Illustrations: colour maps, colour and black-and-white photos and tables
Description:
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.
Modern South Korean Air Power Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 256
ISBN: 9781950394074
Pub Date: 10 Dec 2021
Illustrations: colour maps, photos and tables
Description:
Since the early 1950s, the heavily industrialised nation of South Korea has seen steady growth and is now the world's seventh-largest exporter and 11th-largest economy overall. As the Cold War on the Korean peninsula gathered momentum, the development of the Republic of Korea Air Force became one of the nation’s top priorities. While initially dependent on the United States for its aircraft, Korea’s aviation industry has matured rapidly, and the ROKAF’s use of indigenously manufactured equipment is on the rise.
Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles Cover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 184
ISBN: 9781950394050
Pub Date: 10 Dec 2021
Series: Strategic Handbooks
Illustrations: colour maps, photos and tables
Description:
The field of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) is rapidly diversifying as an array of light, midsized, and heavy UCAVs and munitions enter the global marketplace. This has the potential to dramatically expand access to armed unmanned platforms and change the way unmanned aerial vehicles are used in combat. The influence of UCAVs on the conduct of war has already been felt in conflicts in the Caucasus, the Middle East and North Africa, where state and non-state actors have fielded a dizzying number of UCAVs from around the world.
Modern Taiwanese Air Power Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 96
ISBN: 9781950394036
Pub Date: 15 Jun 2021
Illustrations: colour maps, photos and tables
Description:
The sovereign status of Taiwan - or the Republic of China - has been a source of instability in the Asia-Pacific region for much of the last 70 years. While Taiwan aspires to be an independent and democratic nation, the communist-led People’s Republic of China sees it as a breakaway province. With Beijing flexing its muscles in recent years amid rising tensions between China and the US, the potential for a military flashpoint along the narrow Taiwan Strait cannot be overstated.
Modern USMC Air Power Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 80
ISBN: 9781950394029
Pub Date: 15 Nov 2020
Description:
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.
Chinese Air Power in the 20th Century Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 256
ISBN: 9781950394005
Pub Date: 01 Dec 2019
Description:
The international community has not only acknowledged China’s continuing rise as a world power but has also closely observed Beijing regain its place in the international community and grow to become a dominant player in the Far East. Despite the difficulty in obtaining relevant information, Harpia’s Modern Chinese Warplanes series has filled an important void in recent years, focusing on the current situation, the structure of this growing force, its order of battle, and the latest types in service and under development. Now, and in order to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force on 11 November 2019, this new book turns its attention to the history since Mao’s Communist Party took control of the country in 1949.
Flashpoint Russia Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 144
ISBN: 9780997309270
Pub Date: 25 Jun 2019
Description:
Russian military aviation has undergone several upheavals in the post-Soviet era. There have been two driving forces behind these changes. First, the Russian experience of air power in conflicts has led to an increasing integration of the various branches of the armed forces.
Modern Chinese Warplanes: Chinese Army Aviation - Aircraft and Units Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 96
ISBN: 9780997309287
Pub Date: 25 Jun 2019
Description:
Compared to the People’s Liberation Army Air Force and Naval Aviation, the PLA’s Army Aviation is the least known und understood of the country’s air arms. Its formation was only approved in 1986 and it was established as the Army Aviation Corps in January 1988, using helicopters inherited from the Air Force. Beginning as a single regiment, the first true Army Aviation brigade was formed in 2009 and the force has now expanded to around a dozen frontline units operating hundreds of different helicopters.
Modern Chinese Warplanes: Chinese Air Force - Aircraft and Units Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 256
ISBN: 9780997309263
Pub Date: 29 Oct 2018
Description:
In 2012 the original Modern Chinese Warplanes set the standard as a uniquely compact yet comprehensive directory of modern Chinese air power, combining magnificent illustrations and in-depth analysis. Now almost six years later, much of the fascination that Chinese military aviation holds for the analyst and enthusiast still stems from the thick veil of secrecy that surrounds it. However, in the time that has passed since the first edition a plethora of new types, systems and weapons has been revealed.
EMB-314 Super Tucano Cover
Format: Paperback
Pages: 80
ISBN: 9780997309249
Pub Date: 30 Apr 2018
Description:
Robust to the point of supporting operations on unprepared runways and in an environment with 36°C temperature and humidity at 100 per cent. Independent to operate without any ground support and taking off from narrow and short runways from border Army Battalions. Technological for integrating in a 4th generation cockpit the most modern technology including Datalink, HOTAS, Head-up Display, night and thermal vision and use of up to 1,500kg of conventional and guided weaponry with also ballistic protection for pilots.