Böcker av United States Air Force

Designed by Lockheed's legendary engineer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, the F-80 (first designated P-80) "Shooting Star" was one of the world's first operational jet fighter aircraft. After it missed seeing combat in WWII - four prototype aircraft were in Europe at war's end - the plane drew first blood in Korea in 1950. Variants included a photo recon version and the two-seat T-33, both of which saw heavy service in air forces around the world. Originally printed by Lockheed and the United States Air Force in the 1950s, this F-80 Flight Operating Manual taught pilots everything they needed to know before entering the cockpit. Classified "Restricted", the manual was recently declassified and is here reprinted in book form. This affordable facsimile has been reformatted and color images appear in black and white. Care has been taken however to preserve the integrity of the text.

The F-111 Aardvark flew 4000 combat missions during the Vietnam War, struck Libya in 1986, and saw action during Operation Desert Storm. Originally designed as a medium-range fighter-bomber, the versatile aircraft proved its meddle as a strategic bomber, tractical strike aircraft, and reconnaissance platform. When it debuted in 1964, the F-111 ushered in a new era. Equipped with variable-geometry wings, afterburning turbofan engines, and terrain-following radar, the high-tech F-111 was truly groundbreaking. Originally printed by General Dynamics and the United States Air Force in the 1960s, this F-111 Flight Operating Manual taught pilots everything they needed to know before entering the cockpit. Classified "Restricted", the manual was recently declassified and is here reprinted in book form. This affordable facsimile has been reformatted and color images appear in black and white. Care has been taken however to preserve the integrity of the text.

An improvement over the Bell X-1 - the first plane to break the sound barrier in level flight - the X-1A was designed to reach Mach 2.0. Initial test flights commenced in January of 1953. On December 12th, test pilot Charles "Chuck" Yeager set a record with the aircraft, reaching a speed of Mach 2.43 at 75,000 feet. In 1954, pilot Maj. Arthur Murray flew the plane to a new altitude record of 90,440 feet. Roughly a year later, the X-1A was severely damaged by an explosion while strapped to its B-29 mother ship. The plane was jettisoned and destroyed. Variants of the design, including the X-1B, X-1D, and X-1E continued to fly as late as 1958. Originally printed by the U.S. Air Force and NACA / NASA, this handbook provides a fascinating glimpse inside the cockpit of one of history's great planes. Classified "Restricted", the manual was declassified. This affordable facsimile has been slightly reformatted. Care has been taken to preserve the integrity of the text.

Built as both a fighter-interceptor and fighter-bomber, the F-86 Sabre (sometimes called the Sabrejet) was one of the most widely-produced fighters of the Cold War. In December of 1950, three squadrons of Sabres were rushed into combat in Korea, where they dueled North Korean, Chinese and Russian pilots flying the MiG-15. By the time the war was over, F-86 pilots achieved a stunning victory ratio - destroying nearly 800 enemy aircraft with a loss of only 76 Sabres. The nimble jet also saw combat in the Taiwan Straight Crisis and the Indo-Pakistan Wars of 1965 and 1971. Originally printed by North American and the U.S. Air Force, this F-86 Flight Operating Manual taught pilots everything they needed to know before entering the cockpit. Classified "Restricted", the manual was recently declassified and is here reprinted in book form. This facsimile has been reformatted and color images appear in black and white. Care has been taken to preserve the integrity of the text.

The radical Douglas X-3 Stiletto was built primarily of titanium, and was intended to test high speed flight and low-aspect ratio wing design. Initial requirements indicated the aircraft would carry the J-46 engine and be capable of reaching cruising speeds above Mach 2.0. Problems with the J-46 engine, led Douglas engineers to substitute underpowered J-34 turbojets. Although the plane once achieved Mach 1.2 in a dive, it never went supersonic in level flight. Nevertheless, the plane was a valuable research tool and produced critical data about inertial coupling. The X-3 first flew in 1952 and was retired in 1956. Originally printed by the U.S. Air Force and NACA (later NASA), this hand- book provides a fascinating glimpse inside the cockpit of one of history's great planes. Classified "Restricted", the manual was declassified and is here reprinted in book form. Although slightly reformatted, care has been taken to preserve the integrity of the text.

The Air Force's first all-jet strategic bomber, the swept-wing Boeing B-47 Stratojet had a range of 3,500 nautical miles and a payload capacity of 20,000 pounds. It served as the mainstay of Strategic Air Command in the 1950s into the mid 1960s. The B-47 was an outgrowth of WWII research and development efforts, and the prototype aircraft first flew in December of 1947. The unique six-jet design featured twin engine pods on the wing near the fuselage, and one outboard. It also incorporated an elegant bicycle-type landing gear with two-wheel struts on the forward and aft fuselage and outrigger wheels. In 1956, over 1300 B-47s and 250 RB-47s were on alert. It was the high water mark for the aircraft, which was fully supplanted by the B-52 by 1967. This B-47 pilot's flight operating handbook was originally produced by the USAF. It has been slightly reformatted but is reproduced here in its entirety. It provides a fascinating view inside the cockpit of one of history's great planes.

Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Lewis F. Powell, Jr., was one of a small group of people specially selected to accept and integrate ULTRA, the most secret signals intelligence from intercepted and decoded German military radio transmissions, with intelligence from all other sources. From May 1944 to the end of the war in Europe, he served as the ULTRA officer on General Carl Spaatz's United States Strategic Air Forces staff. Earlier, Colonel Powell had served as an intelligence officer with the 319th Bomb Group, the Twelfth Air Force, and the Northwest African Air Forces. He finished the war as Spaatz's Chief of Operational Intelligence in addition to carrying out his ULTRA duties. The Air Force is grateful to Justice Powell for his generosity in giving his time and recollections so that his experiences can be of benefit, through the medium of history, to the Service today and in the future.