Series: Dogfight

Using maps, contemporary photographs, and new artwork, this book examines the Hellcat and the naval aviators who flew them. Joining combat in the Pacific in late 1943, the Hellcat squadrons soon demonstrated their ascendency over their Japanese opponents, culminating in the great "Marianas Turkey Shoot" during the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944. The fighter proved to be...

An illustrated account of how the USAAF's might was challenged by the Jagdflieger and their heavily armed, and armoured, Fw 190A-8 Sturmjäger. Developed from one of the finest fighters of World War II, the radial-engined Fw 190A-8 was conceived as a heavy assault aircraft and armed accordingly. Its mission was to provide a response to the increasing numbers of USAAF...

This book examines the role of the Grumman F4F Wildcat, the US Navy’s standard carrier fighter at the start of the Pacific War, and its clashes against the Imperial Japanese Naval Air Force’s Mitsubishi A6M Zero-sen. The US Navy went to war in December 1941 with the tubby Wildcat, the first of Grumman’s famed ‘cats’, as its principal carrier fighter....

An illustrated study of the legendary Spitfire and the evolving tactics behind its early defence of Britain’s shores. The Spitfire endures as one of the most iconic aircraft of World War II. Nevertheless, its initial skirmishes and battles yielded as many challenges as successes, with German forces soon outpacing pre-war RAF tactics and exploiting the Spitfire’s modest endurance to their...

Strap in alongside the Sabre pilots as they experienced the world’s first large-scale jet-vs-jet combats. Brought to life with innovative tactical artwork and dramatic first-hand accounts from the pilots themselves. F-86A Sabre had entered USAF service in 1949, and in December 1950 three squadrons were sent to South Korea. Despite primitive basing conditions and overwhelming Chinese opposition, the Sabre pilots...

Using archival photographs sourced directly from Vietnam, specially commissioned diagrams, and combat accounts from veterans, István Toperczer reveals how the MiG-21 “FISHBED” defended Vietnam between 1966 and 1968. One of the most successful communist jet fighters ever built, the MiG-21 "Fishbed" was involved in a series of deadly duels with American fighters over North Vietnam as the USAF and US...