Many fighter aces began their careers in two-seaters, but a surprising number of British, French and German aircrews managed to achieve acedom in those not-so-helpless workhorses too. This is their story.Often overshadowed by the fighters that either protected or threatened them, two-seater reconnaissance aircraft performed the oldest and most strategically vital aerial task of World War 1 - a task that required them to return with the intelligence they gathered at...

A thorough history of the aces that took on enemy observation balloons and won.Tethered balloons reached their zenith as a means of providing a stationary observation platform above the battlefield during World War I. It took a special breed of daredevil to take on such odds deep in enemy lines in order to destroy a balloon, with Balloon specialists such as Willy Coppens, Pierre Bourjade and Michel Coiffard rising to the challenge.This book covers the story...

A thorough history of the aces that took on enemy observation balloons and won.Tethered balloons reached their zenith as a means of providing a stationary observation platform above the battlefield during World War I. It took a special breed of daredevil to take on such odds deep in enemy lines in order to destroy a balloon, with Balloon specialists such as Willy Coppens, Pierre Bourjade and Michel Coiffard rising to the challenge.This book covers the story...

A definitive technical guide to the Sopwith Camel, featuring illustrations and profiles.An icon of World War I aerial combat, the Sopwith Camel was a superb dogfighter in the hands of a pilot who could master its vicious idiosyncrasies. The first British fighter to be armed with twin machine guns, the Camel packed a considerable punch and was highly successful, notching up a considerable number of aerial victories. The Camel was a remarkable aircraft, and one that ...

A definitive technical guide to the Sopwith Camel, featuring illustrations and profiles.An icon of World War I aerial combat, the Sopwith Camel was a superb dogfighter in the hands of a pilot who could master its vicious idiosyncrasies. The first British fighter to be armed with twin machine guns, the Camel packed a considerable punch and was highly successful, notching up a considerable number of aerial victories. The Camel was a remarkable aircraft, and one that ...

Few perspectives epitomize the sheer drama and sacrifice of combat more perfectly than those of the fighter pilots of World War II. As romanticized as any soldier in history, the World War II fighter pilot was viewed as larger than life: a dashing soul waging war amongst the clouds. In the sixty-five-plus years since the Allied victory, stories of these pilots' heroics have never been in short supply. But what about their adversaries—the highly skilled German aviators who pushed the Allies...

When Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin's rigid airship LZ 1 flew over Lake Constance in 1900, it was the most advanced and impressive flying machine in the world: a colossal, lighter-than-air craft capable of controlled flight.In World War I, Zeppelins were first used in a reconnaissance role, but on 19 January 1915 Kaiser Wilhelm II authorised their use in bombing strategic targets in England. From then on, 'Zeppelin' became synonymous with terror to the British, and in...

An illustrated account of the DH 2, the most successful 'pusher' fighter of World War I, against the Albatros D II, part of a long family of fighters that in many ways symbolized German aerial might in the conflict.Flown by Victoria Cross recipient Lanoe Hawker and the members of No 24 Sqn, the ungainly yet nimble DH 2 helped the Allies attain air superiority over the Somme in early 1916 and hold it through the summer. With its rotary engine 'pusher' configuration ...

A concise technical history of the German Albatros D.III and D.III(OAW) type scouts.In 1916 German aerial domination, once held sway by rotary-engined Fokker and Pfalz E-type wing-warping monoplanes, had been lost to the more nimble French Nieuports and British DH 2s which not only out-flew the German fighters but were present in greater numbers. Born-from-experience calls from German fighter pilots requested that, rather than compete with the maneuverability of th...

The Mosquito developed into one of the most versatile aircraft of World War 2, entering service with Fighter Command in early 1942.The 'Mossie' was soon defending raids on Britain's Cathedral cities and became an integral part of the country's night defences. Its airborne radar gave it the ability to 'see' the enemy at night, and its speed and devastating fire power made it the finest nightfighter deployed by any side during World War 2.This book examines t...

"This is the book that puts the flesh on the bones of its reputation as one of the best aircraft of the Second World War." — Pennant MagazineThe flak started about four or five minutes before the target and immediately it was apparent that it was intense and extremely accurate. Oboe entailed the pilot flying dead straight and level for ten minutes on the attack run. Suddenly a tremendous flash lit up the sky about 50 yards ahea...

On 15 November it came suddenly out of nowhere inches above the hangars with a crackling thunderclap of twin Merlins. As we watched, bewitched, it was flung about the sky in a beyond belief display for a bomber that could out perform any fighter. Well-bred whisper of a touch down, a door opened and down the ladder came suede shoes, yellow socks and the rest of Geoffrey de Havilland.The memories of Sergeant (later Flight Lieutenant DFC) Mike Carreck who was an observer with 105 Squadron whe...