An industrial miracle took place at the Fairfax Airport, on the shores of the Missouri River, between 1941 and 1945. A massive factory was quickly built and a large modification center was soon added. At its peak, over 24,000 greater Kansas City�area residents were employed by North American Aviation, Inc. Their goal was to build as many twin-engine B-25 Mitchell medium bombers for wartime service as possible. Their success was the construction of an unprecedented 6,608 aircraft. The B-25 ...

In 1916, an airplane company was established in the previous Heath shipyard along the Duwamish River, situated a short distance south of Seattle's Elliott Bay. Work on the first two airplanes was already well underway as the articles of incorporation for Pacific Aero Products Company established three Seattle residents as the principals, William E. Boeing, James Foley, and Edgar Gott. The company's diverse crew included men with woodworking skills, women with expertise in sewing fabric, an...

A classic book now available on audioW ith narration by John Chancer, who traces the history of racism from its emergence in the Middle Ages to todayAre antisemitism and white supremacy manifestations of a general phenomenon? Why didn't racism appear in Europe before the fourteenth century, and why did it flourish as never before in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries? Why did the twentieth century see institutionalized racism in its most...

Now, for the first time, an insider's look at an Air Force combat wing -- the planes, the technology, and the people . . . with Tom Clancy as your guide.Tom Clancy's previous explorations of America's armed forces, Submarine and Armored Cav, revealed exclusive, never-before-seen information an the people and technology that protect our nation. Now, the acclaimed author of Clear and Present Danger and Debt of Honor ...

Clarence L. “Kelly” Johnson led the design of such crucial aircraft as the P-38 and Constellation, but he will be more remembered for the U-2 and SR-71 spy planes. His extraordinary leadership of the Lockheed “Skunk Works” cemented his reputation as a legendary figure in American aerospace management.From the Trade Paperback edition.

In 1945 Second Lieutenant Jack Broughton graduated from West Point with the silver pilot wings of a newly commissioned member of the Army Air Corps. Nearly thirty years later, he retired as a full colonel in the United States Air Force, an entity that didn't even exist when he first learned to fly. Along the way Colonel Broughton saw duty in virtually every fighter aircraft the Air Corps and then Air Force had to offer. He experienced the birth and coming of age of the U.S. Air Force and i...

After Pearl Harbor, he led America’s flight to victoryGeneral Doolittle is a giant of the twentieth century. He did it all.As a stunt pilot, he thrilled the world with his aerial acrobatics. As a scientist, he pioneered the development of modern aviation technology.During World War II, he served his country as a fearless and innovative air warrior, organizing and leading the devastating raid against Japan immortalized in the film Thirty Seconds ...

**A magnificent volume of short novels and an essential World War II report from one of America's great twentieth-century writersA Penguin Classic**On the heels of the enormous success of his masterwork The Grapes of Wrath and at the height of the American war effort John Steinbeck, one of the most prolific and influential literary figures of his generation, wrote Bombs Away, a nonfiction account of his experiences with U.S. Army Air Force bomber crews dur...

The personal account of the original “Red Eagle” of the establishment, equipment, and training practices of the highly classified MiG squadron of the USAF.America's Secret MiG Squadrons is the story of a group of incredibly brave military pioneers who put their lives on the line to establish a training program that would prepare the US Air Force for a potential Cold War battle with Soviet aircraft.As a F-4 Phantom II pilot in Vietnam, Col. Peck had...

If you're looking for a great eBook on the history of flight, read this guide to aircraft, the history of the airplane, aviation history, history of flightgear, history of flight poster and more.

A comprehensive look into what it takes to make a pilot in the United States Air Force.To Be a U.S. Air Force Pilot details every step of training for those with the skill and daring to "cross into the blue" as an elite US Air Force pilot. The book traces the growth of aspiring young recruits, starting with grueling physical and mental tests, early flight training on high-tech flight simulators, moving onward and upward until they are finally ready to push ...

The fascinating true story of the controversial development and deployment of the supersonic fighter jet that changed aerial warfare foreverThe McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet was born in 1978, a state-of-the-art supersonic fighter and attack aircraft with a top speed of Mach 1.8, more than one thousand miles per hour. It was versatile, fast, and reliable, and no war machine in the air could match it. The marines adopted it first, followed by the navy, impressed by ...