Böcker i Aircraft of the Aces-serien

Initially designed as a fast medium bomber, the Junkers Ju 88 was also used as a Zerst├╢rer heavy fighter by the Luftwaffe. It saw its combat debut over Poland in 1939, and heavy fighter variants saw action on every front up to VE Day. The ultimate Ju 88 fighter variant was the G-model of 1944, which boasted a FuG 220 or 227 radar, an astounding array of cannon and machine gun armament, and advanced Junkers Jumo or BMW engines. A dedicated nightfighter, the first Ju 88G-1s entered service with the Nachtjagd in the summer of 1944, replacing Ju 88C/Rs as well as some Bf 110Gs. Despite suffering heavy losses in the final months of the war, Ju 88Gs also inflicted serious casualties on Bomber Command right up to VE Day.Illustrated with original artwork, Ju 88 Aces of World War 2 tells the story of the aces who menaced Allied aircraft and shipping throughout the war, whether patrolling over the Bay of Biscay, to the Arctic circle opposing Allied convoys and, most successfully, as radar-equipped nightfighters engaging RAF heavy bombers during defense of the Reich operations from late 1941.

Having learned their trade on the subsonic MiG-17, pilots of the Vietnamese People''s Air Force (VPAF) received their first examples of the legendary MiG-21 supersonic fighter in 1966. Soon thrown into combat over North Vietnam, the guided-missile equipped MiG-21 proved a deadly opponent for the US Air Force, US Navy and US Marine Corps crews striking at targets deep in communist territory. Although the communist pilots initially struggled to come to terms with the fighter''s air-search radar and weapons systems, the ceaseless cycle of combat operations quickly honed their skills. Indeed, by the time the last US aircraft (a B-52) was claimed by the VPAF on December 28, 1972, no fewer than 13 pilots had become aces flying the MiG-21. Fully illustrated with wartime photographs and detailed color artwork plates, and including enthralling combat reports, this book examines the many variants of the MiG-21 that fought in the conflict, the schemes they wore, and the pilots that flew them.

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 of these 'balloon busters' from both sides in World War 1 through a mix of first-hand accounts and expert analysis, which compares tactics, theatres of operation, aircraft types and the overall odds for success.

Germany's nightfighter force was virtually non-existent at the start of the war, but by 1942 was equiped with some 389 fighters fitted with advanced airbourne radar which helped to destroy hundreds of RAF bombers. This text includes interviews with some of the leading aces.

French pilots fought both for and against the allies during World War II. After the fall of France, many pilots achieved ace status flying with Vichy French squadrons, and in Russia flying Yaks on the Eastern Front. This volume includes many scale drawings of planes and archival photographs.