“Looks at the pioneering designer, Sydney Camm and examines his legacy, which was the design of two of our most iconic fighter planes . . . Brilliant!” —Books Monthly “This Man Saved Britain” ran a headline in the News Chronicle on 18 February 1941, in a reference to the role of Sydney Camm, designer of the Hawker Hurricane, during the Battle of Britain. Similarly, the Minister of Economic Warfare, Lord Selborne, advised Winston Churchill that to Camm “England owed a great deal.” Born in 1893, the eldest of twelve children, Camm was raised in a small, terraced house. Despite lacking the advantages of a financially secure upbringing and formal technical education after leaving school at 14, Camm would go on to become one of the most important people in the story of Britain’s aviation history. Sydney Camm’s work on the Hurricane was far from the only pinnacle in his remarkable career in aircraft design and engineering—a career that stretched from the biplanes of the 1920s to the jet fighters of the Cold War. Indeed, over fifty years after his death, the revolutionary Hawker Siddeley Harrier in which Camm played such a prominent figure, following “a stellar performance in the Falkland Island crisis,” still remains in service with the American armed forces. It is perhaps unsurprising therefore, as the author reveals in this detailed biography, that Camm would be knighted in his own country, receive formal honors in France and the United States, and be inducted into the International Hall of Fame in San Diego. “John Sweetman’s new biography ably recounts the life of one of the most remarkable figures in 20th-century aviation history.” —Aviation History Magazine

The historian and author details the exploits of British and Australian pilots during the Korean War. With the outbreak of the Korean War, the UN Security Council called on its members to act and 16 nations did, with Britain sending aircraft carriers such as HMS Truimph, from which piston-engined Sea Fury fighters and Fairey Firefly fighter-bombers operated. This is the story of the British and Australian Fleet Air Arm pilots and their missions over hostile territory, missions carried out with distinction and honor.

This is the story of British naval flying from aircraft carriers, from its conception in World War One to the present day. It includes the types of aircraft and the men who flew them, the carriers and the evolution of their designs, the theatres of war in which they served and their notable achievements and tragedies. It traces navy flying from the early days of the biplane, through the rapid developments during World War Two to the post-war introduction of jet-powered flight. The British inventions of the angled flight deck and later vertical landing jets revolutionised sea warfare and allowed the carrier to play a vital part in many recent land wars when naval aircraft flew in support of Allied land forces. Although the British carriers have always been smaller than their American counterparts, the Royal Navy and its aircraft have always been in the van of the development of ships and aircraft. This is the proud history of British Naval flying and ships such as HMS Eagle, HMS Hermes, HMS Glorious, HMS Ark Royal and many more.

Facts, photos, stories, and specs of one hundred remarkable flying machines, from the Sopwith Camel to the 747 to the supersonic F-22 Raptor. Of all humanity’s dazzling innovations, perhaps none captures our imaginations or fuels our inventive spirits as much as flight. In our quest to soar higher, faster, and farther, we’ve dreamed up airborne wonders that are a sight to behold—like the supersonic F-22 Raptor, stealthily soaring above the clouds, or the Boeing-Stearman PT-17 Biplane, the beautiful starter model that helped a generation earn their wings, or the deluxe Concorde—the first passenger jet to cruise at the speed of sound. These iconic aircraft—and ninety-seven more stunning feats of aeronautical engineering—make up the world’s most groundbreaking contributions to flight, all curated and collected here by the experts at Flying magazine. In Flight: 100 Greatest Aircraft, there’s something for every aviation aficionado—from brazen stunt planes to far-from-pedestrian commercial jets, from military marvels to spacecraft that reached dazzling new heights. With its spectacular full-color photographs, fascinating and informative text, and a detailed specifications section, Flight is the essential book for pilots and plane-lovers everywhere.

Naval aviation arrived early in the last century in the form of balloons and airships employed by the British Royal Navy for reconnaissance, and interest was stirring in naval circles in a greater aeronautical capacity for the service. Britain's tradition of projecting a global reach through her sea power would, in the view of many, be greatly enhanced by such a capability. Among the first advocates of military aircraft development was British naval minister, Winston Churchill.??Over the course of the last century since this point of inception, huge leaps have been made in the design, development, and performance of naval aircraft. This comprehensive account, brought to us by eminent aviation historian Philip Kaplan, details the journey from origin through early development into wartime deployment. This is carried forward through post-war innovations and into modern conflicts such as the Falklands campaign. Attention is paid to the key landmarks of aviation history, such as Taranto, Pearl Harbour, The Doolittle Raid, the Battle of Midway and the Korean campaign. Reference is also paid throughout to the flying aces; the high points in the combat careers of the greatest naval and marine aviators of the past century. ??Kaplan weaves multiple threads in an effort to produce a comprehensive and detailed history. One of these is the part played by women in the history of flight, detailing a journey characterised by ever-closer involvement at the vanguard of aviation development, showing how societal changes have impacted upon this area in tune with others. Bringing the history up to date, there is a section dedicated to the Helicopter, its varying uses, current disposition and status of the various types in the U.S and British navies. ??Complemented by a collection of interesting photographs, this is sure to appeal to aviation enthusiasts as well as social historians of the past one hundred years; this isn't just a history of the various aircraft but of the people who got them off the ground and flew them into a new century.

Argues that the CIA planned, and with the help of the Mafia, carried out the assassination of President Kennedy, and discusses the Cuban Missile Crisis and the motives for Kennedy's murder.