The Lebanese Civil War of 1975-76 caused 80,000 dead and totally split the country along factional lines.An estimated 50 different militias came into existence, and acts of violence were both individual and collective. In the midst of this explosive atmosphere, cross-border conflict between Israel and Lebanon intensified, culminating in Operation Peace for Galilee - the invasion of Lebanon. This book offers a day-by-day account of the invasion and the subsequent si...

Lee E Russell utilises his expert knowledge to guide us through the post-WWII history of the Marines, chronicling their involvement in Korea, Vietnam, Lebanon and Grenada.The account includes such remarkable exploits as the siege of Khe Sanh during the Vietnam conflict and the gruelling Chosin Reservoir campaign, which proved a supreme test of courage and discipline. Here, the Marines were isolated and overwhelmingly outnumbered in an unhospitable terrain where tem...

On 21 October 1983, following the death of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, the leaders of the six small nations forming the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States voted to intervene militarily to restore order in Grenada.As none possessed the forces necessary to carry out a successful operation, the United States, fearing for its citizens on the island, and wanting to curb Cuba's growing influence, decided to get involved. This book provides a day-by-day account o...

On 21 October 1983, following the death of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, the leaders of the six small nations forming the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States voted to intervene militarily to restore order in Grenada.As none possessed the forces necessary to carry out a successful operation, the United States, fearing for its citizens on the island, and wanting to curb Cuba's growing influence, decided to get involved. This book provides a day-by-day account o...

A concise history of the Royal Navy's air arm during World War II, from their Arctic convoys, to the battle of Malta, and the last raids on Japan.Amazingly, the Admiralty only had 406 operational pilots and eight carriers when war broke out, but a mere six years later there were over 3,000 operational pilots and 53 aircraft carriers patrolling the seas in every theatre of the war. This book charts the rapid evolution of the Fleet Air Arm during the war as air power...

To the US Navy they were CVEs! To the Royal Navy auxiliary carriers! To crews of endangered merchantmen in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans they were heaven-sent protection! To their crews they were Combustible, Vulnerable, Expendable!The need for air cover against enemy aircraft and submarines brought unprecedented demand for carriers. Over 100 vessels were converted on specially built for convoy duty. This is their story, warts and all.

This book provides a highly detailed account of the history, organisation, uniforms and insignia of South African Special Forces from their origins up to the early 90s.Units such as the 44 Parachute Brigade, the Hunter Group and the infamous SWA Police COIN Unit 'Koevoet' are examined in depth.These elite units of the South African Defence Force and the special anti-terrorist units of the South African Police Forces comprised the largest, best trained and best equi...

With war against Germany looming, Britain pushed forward its carrier program in the late 1930s.In 1938, the Royal Navy launched the HMS Ark Royal, its first-ever purpose-built aircraft carrier. This was quickly followed by others, including the highly-successful Illustrious class. Smaller and tougher than their American cousins, the British carriers were designed to fight in the tight confines of the North Sea and the Mediterranean. Over the next six years, these c...

Deadly in its primary role as a submarine hunter, the PBY Catalina was the scourge of the Imperial Japanese Navy's submarine force.Its amphibious traits also made the aircraft well suited to air-sea rescue, and thousands of Allied airmen were saved from a watery grave by PBY crews. Using personal interviews, war diaries and combat reports combined with original Japanese records and books, Louis B Dorny provides a view on the role of the Catalina from both side of t...

While the Japanese war cabinet argued about whether to surrender, and on what terms, the U.S. Army Strategic Air Force on Guam and Tinian geared up for a thousand-plane raid upon the Empire. It would be the last air raid of the Second World War. This little book, which first appeared in Air & Space / Smithsonian magazine on the 50th anniversary of the war's end, tells the story of those momentous forty-eight hours. Revised and expanded for e-book publication, including: a portfoli...

This book describes in considerable detail the people, events ships and aircraft that shaped the Air Service from its origins in the late 19th century to its demise in 1945. The formative years began when a British Naval Mission was established in Japan in 1867 to advise on the development of balloons for naval purposes. After the first successful flights of fixed-wing aircraft in the USA and Europe, the Japanese navy sent several officers to train in Europe as pilots and imported a steady...

The Vought F4U was the best carrier based fighter of WW2. 12,571 aircraft were built and downed 2,140 enemy aircraft for the loss of only 189 Corsairs. It was developed early in 1938 for the US Navy. The designer, Tex Beisel, worked on the principle of the largest engine in the smallest airframe. Britain received 2012 of the type. This book contains the world famous color profiles created by Dave Windle of the type in different operational modes, configurations and color schemes. Martin Bo...