From the mid-1960s until the end of the Cold War, the United States Air Force acquired and flew Russian-made MiG jets, eventually creating a secret squadron dedicated to exposing American fighter pilots to enemy MiGs. Following underperformance in the Vietnam War, the USAF began to study MiGs in order to improve fighter pilot training. This then developed into the "black" Constant Peg program. In this program, MiGs were secretly acquired, and made airworthy, a difficult task without manuals or parts. A secret base was found to oper... read more
In the skies above south-east England in 1940, battle was waged between the men and machines of the Royal Air Force and Hitler's Luftwaffe. At stake was air superiority, and the Germans intended this to be a first step in the invasion of Britain. Squadrons of Hurricanes and Spitfires, then among the best and most modern fighter aircraft in the world, took on the threat and defeated the Luftwaffe. This extensively illustrated history of the battle looks at the origins and events of the battle, at the men and women of the RAF who pre... read more
Beginning with a look at D-Day itself, this book analyses the deadly fighting on the beaches as the Allies launched the first successful cross-Channel invasion in 900 years. Now, almost 70 years afterwards, this book reveals the realities of the war through the words and recollections of the last surviving veterans. Using their own words and accounts it describes the terror of soldiers facing down a German tank, assaulting a machine-gun post or surviving an artillery barrage. Drawing upon expert analysis and no-holds-barred recreat... read more
In this new book, WWII historian and regular Guardian contributor, Gavin Mortimer, eaxamines the pivotal events of one of the most famous military units of all time. Starting with the unit's formation in July 1941, Mortimer recreates the heady days when a young Scots' Guard officer called David Stirling persuaded MEHQ to give its backing to a small band of 60 men christened "L Detachment". From there, drawing on over 100 hours of interviews with veterans he describes the early raids in the desert against Axis airfields that inflict... read more
Author Eric Hammel presents a unique pictorial history of the US Marines who fought during World War II. Hammel selects the top 100 images from his private archives to share with readers100 images that capture what Semper Fidelis meant to the fighting men during the war. With a mixture of iconic and unique photographs, readers will find themselves faced with the graphic images of Marines during wartime, from the thick of combat to every day survival. Here, in silent, stirring, unwavering testimony, is a display of what the very bes... read more
