On 12 April 1937 Frank Whittle became the first person to successfully start and run a turbojet engine. In may 1941 the engine took to the air in an experimental Gloster-Whittle aircraft, but despite the RAF's desperate need for air supremacy over her enemies, little support was forthcoming from the military establishment. It was the enthusiasm of the American General 'Hap' Arnold that took the next stage of development to the USA and within six months Whittle's invention was powering more Am...

DESCRIPTION“An excellent book to read at this time during the anniversary of the bombing of the German dams by what seemed impossible odds.” Review.**Guy Gibson: Legend of the Dam Busters tells the dramatic story of a renowned British flying legend and his leadership of the infamous raid on the Ruhr dams in May 1943, providing a fitting and timely tribute to a truly courageous aviator.This short i...

THE WORLD'S GREATEST TEST PILOT TELLS HIS STORY'When you read through his life story, it makes James Bond seem like a bit of a slacker'Kirsty Young, Desert Island Discs'The greatest test pilot who ever lived. A true inspiration'Tim Peake, astronaut and former regular British Army Air Corps officer'The stories beggar belief'Guardian'Fascinating...

DESCRIPTIONRJ Mitchell: Legend of the Spitfire recounts the extraordinary achievements of one of Britain’s greatest aviation legends, the man responsible for creating Britain’s most iconic fighter aircraft, the Supermarine Spitfire.The book, which is around the length of a short story, approximately 40 printed pages, gives the reader a concise and straightforward insight into the life of RJ Mitchell, his role in the prestigious Sch...

The story of the British-made bombs, Upkeep and Highball, successfully dropped on Nazi dams “has never been told in such depth before” (Daily Mail, UK).The night of May 16, 1943: Nineteen specially adapted Lancaster bombers take off from an RAF airfield in Lincolnshire, England, each with a huge nine-thousand-pound cylindrical bomb strapped underneath it. Their mission: to destroy three hydroelectric dams that power the Third Reich’s war machine.It...

In this memoir, the author of Nimrod: Rise and Fall details his experience testing the UK's strategic bomber while flying for Avro during the Cold War.In 2007, a restored Avro Vulcan Mark 2—XH558—took to the skies to help commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Falklands conflict. To coincide with this, the memoirs of one of its test pilots, Tony Blackman, was published to great acclaim.Tony flew no less than 105 of the 136 built, logging 850 flights...

In 1945 Britain was the world's leading designer and builder of aircraft -- a world-class achievement that was not mere rhetoric. And what aircraft they were. The sleek Comet, the first jet airliner. The awesome delta-winged Vulcan, an intercontinental bomber that could be thrown about the sky like a fighter. The Hawker Hunter, the most beautiful fighter-jet ever built and the Lightning, which could zoom ten miles above the clouds in a couple of minutes and whose pilots rated flying it as ...

Nevil Shute best describes this autobiography in his own words: "Most of my adult life, perhaps all the worthwhile part of it, has been spent messing about with airplanes. For 30 years there was a period when airplanes would fly when you wanted them to, but there were still fresh things to be learned on every flight, a period when airplanes were small and so easily built that experiments were cheap and new designs could fly within six months of the first glimmer in the mind of the designer...

In June 1940, the German Army had brought the rest of Europe to its knees. 'Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world will move forward into broad, sunlit uplands,' said Churchill. The future of Europe depended on Britain.A self-confident Herman Goring thought that it would be only a matter of weeks before his planes had forced Britain to surrender. The courage, resourcefuln...

In May 1943 a specially established RAF squadron made its permanent imprint on military aviation history.They flew a high-risk, low level, nighttime attack against German hydro-electric dams vital to the Nazi armaments industry in the Ruhr Valley. A comparatively tiny part of Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris' four-month-long “Battle of the Ruhr” this one raid had an impact totally out of proportion to the small number of aircraft involved. It highlights the syne...

In the summer of 1940 the fate of Europe hung in the balance. Victory in the forthcoming air battle would mean national survival; defeat would establish German tyranny.The Luftwaffe greatly outnumbered the RAF, but during the Battle of Britain it was the RAF that emerged triumphant, thanks to two key fighter planes, the Spitfire and the Hurricane. The Hurricane made up over half of Fighter Command's front-line strength, and its revolutionary design transformed the RAF's capabilitie...

An in-depth look at this historic military aircraft, including firsthand accounts from those who flew it.The Meteor is remembered as the first British jet fighter to enter squadron service and the only jet-powered Allied fighter to see action in WW II. Subsequent development was limited as a result of its relatively conventional airframe—although it did hold the world air speed record for a while.The Meteor was immensely strong and many pilots owe their liv...