Series: Duel

An illustrated account of the clashes between the Luftwaffe’s Me 262, the first operational jet fighter, and the USAAF’s B-26 Marauder bomber during the final months of the war in Europe. As the world’s first jet-engined fighter aircraft, the Luftwaffe’s Messerschmitt Me 262 heralded a new dawn in design, performance, and combat capability upon its operational debut in 1944, outclassing...

An illustrated account of the dramatic engagement between the Luftwaffe’s Me 163 units and Allied bombers during the closing years of World War II. In the summer of 1944, US Army Air Force (USAAF) aircrews flying over the Third Reich reported observing small, high-speed ‘batlike’ aircraft flying close to their formations. The Luftwaffe’s extraordinary Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket-powered interceptor was...

An absorbing study of the duels fought between the US Navy’s escort warships and Hitler’s U-boats between December 1941 and May 1945. Although the Battle of the Atlantic lasted several years, its most critical phase began once the United States entered World War II. By December 1941, the British had mastered the U-boat threat in the Eastern Atlantic, only to...

This fully illustrated book assesses the trial of strength between US Navy PT boats and Japanese destroyers operating in the Solomon Islands during 1942–43. During the Solomons fighting, the IJN was forced to rely on destroyers to move men and materiel to its forward garrisons. Conducted at night to avoid American air power, these missions, first seen during the struggle...

Fully illustrated, this book pits US Navy submarines against the aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy at the height of World War II. Before World War II, the world’s navies envisioned the submarine as a tool to hunt and kill cruisers and capital ships (aircraft carriers and battleships). Instead, they became best known for their abilities as commerce raiders....

An illustrated study of how coalition armour in Iraq in 2003–06 handled a unique multi-threat environment, from enemy armour to IEDs. On 20 March 2003, Coalition forces launched the invasion of Iraq on a massive scale. Their armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) faced an uncertain level of resistance and soon had to overcome a wide range of enemy threats. These included...

This is the story of the 17-pdr Achilles and the Jagdpanther, two formidable tracked anti-tank guns that clashed in North-West Europe during 1944–45. Both mounting their country's most effective anti-tank ordnance on a tracked chassis, the 17-pdr Achilles and the Jagdpanther were arguably the best self-propelled anti-tank guns used by the British, Canadian, and German forces that fought in North-West...

This fully illustrated study examines the bloody battle between the US Army's M18 tank destroyer and Germany's formidable Panther tank at Arracourt in September 1944. In response to Germany’s Blitzkrieg victories of 1939–41, the US Army created a dedicated tank-destroyer force intended to encircle and destroy the massed attacking armoured divisions. Fast, relatively well-armed, but weakly armoured, the M18 was...

Although New Guinea’s Thunderbolt pilots faced several different types of enemy aircraft in capricious tropical conditions, by far their most common adversary was the Nakajima Ki-43-II Hayabusa, codenamed 'Oscar' by the Allies. These two opposing fighters were the products of two radically different design philosophies. The Thunderbolt was heavy, fast and packed a massive punch thanks to its battery of...

A noted authority examines the roles played by Germany’s Hetzer tank destroyer and the Soviet SU-76M self-propelled gun during the battle for Hungary in 1945. During World War II, Germany and the Soviet Union soon found that their light tanks were obsolete. While their small guns were no longer useful against the enemy’s armoured vehicles, the chassis allowed for installation...

An illustrated study of some of the final and most fierce aerial clashes of the Pacific War, featuring first-hand accounts and combat reports.For four months in 1945, the skies over Tokyo saw USAAF P-51 Mustang pilots clash with Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF) and Imperial Japanese Naval Air Force (IJNAF) fighters in some of the most intense aerial battles...

An illustrated study of the British Army’s Anti-Aircraft (AA) Command’s performance against the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain and the Blitz. When the Battle of Britain commenced in July 1940, the Luftwaffe committed more than 1,200 medium bombers, 300 Ju 87 Stukas, and 760 Bf 109 and Bf 110 fighters to the campaign. The response from British AA Command...

This insightful illustrated study investigates how the Royal Navy lost two battleships and three aircraft carriers to German U-boats during 1939–42. During World War II, over half of Britain’s capital ship losses were due to U-boats, as Germany’s submarines sought to deplete the Royal Navy’s powerful surface fleet. Featuring specially commissioned artwork and mapping alongside archive photographs, this study explains...

An illustrated study of RAF Coastal Command’s deployment of the Beaufighter against German supply lines in 1941 and the long-running ‘arms race’ with Kriegsmarine Flak ships that followed. Crucial German shipping lines faced a new threat in 1941 when RAF Coastal Command debuted the iconic long-range Beaufighter. The aircraft and its subsequent Mk VIC and Mk X versions gave the...

A detailed study of how Operation Desert Storm saw Coalition forces respond to Iraq’s surface-to-air missile defences with ground-breaking combat aircraft technology. Developed in the wake of the USA’s ill-prepared entry into the Vietnam War, aircraft carrying electronic counter-measures equipment and anti-radar missiles were crucial to the success of Operation Desert Storm during the First Gulf War. Iraq’s air defence...

A fascinating exploration of the often-overlooked gunnery duels between the formidable artillery weapons in the Atlantic Wall defences and the mighty US and Royal Navy battleships. Amphibious landings were an essential tool of Allied military strategy in World War II. The Royal Navy and the US Navy provided operational mobility that allowed the Allies to strike unexpectedly across the vast...

The Battle of France in 1940 involved the first large-scale tank-against-tank battles in history. The massive clashes at Stonne, Hannant, and Gembloux involved hundreds of tanks on both sides, yet have faded from memory due to the enormity of the French defeat. This book examines two of the premier opposing tanks of the Wehrmacht and the French Army, the German...

The F-105D Thunderchief was originally designed as a low-altitude nuclear strike aircraft, but the outbreak of the Vietnam War led to it being used instead as the USAF’s primary conventional striker against the exceptionally well-defended targets in North Vietnam and Laos. F-105 crews conducted long-distance missions from bases in Thailand, refuelling in flight several times and carrying heavy external bombloads....

Steven J. Zaloga offers a fascinating comparison between the two most important tanks involved in the crucial fighting of 1944, the American Sherman and the German Panther. Placing the reader in the heart of this battle between quality and quantity, Zaloga uses a compelling account of the ferocious fighting during the Battle of the Bulge to explain the successes and...

An illustrated account of the clashes between RAF Fighter Command’s Hurricane and Spitfire and the Luftwaffe’s Ju 87 Stuka in the skies over France, the Channel and southern England. The story of the Luftwaffe’s Ju 87 Stuka and its use against British targets in 1940 has been clouded by the aircraft’s – somewhat unfair – reputation as 'fighter fodder' for...

The duel between Japan’s superb Mitsubishi A6M Zero and the USA’s rugged Grumman F4F Wildcat in 1942 represented the clash of two contrasting design philosophies and naval fighter doctrines. The Grumman F4F Wildcat and the Mitsubishi A6M Zero-sen were contemporaries, although designed to very different requirements. The Wildcat, ruggedly built to survive the rigours of carrier operations, was the best...

This fully illustrated study examines and compares the roles of the US Navy submarines and the Imperial Japanese Navy’s anti-submarine warfare capabilities during World War II. In 1941 and 1942, US Navy submarine operations in the Pacific were largely ineffective, hampered by faulty torpedo design, conservative tactics, and insufficiently aggressive submarine captains. Eventually, though, a new generation of wartime submarine...

A tightly focused illustrated study comparing the design, development, and combat performance of two of the Cold War's first main battle tanks. Centurion vs T-55 was conceived at the height of World War II. The British Centurion and the Soviet T-55 were initially expected to counter the formidable Panther and Tiger tanks of Germany. As the Cold War unfolded, these...

The Hurricane was the RAF's first monoplane fighter and saw significant combat during the fight over France and the Battle of Britain. One of its principal opponents in 1940 was the Bf 110 twin-engined, two-seat heavy fighter. Following the invasion of France, these fighters clashed regularly as the RAF's Hurricanes attacked German bomber formations defended by Bf 110. Although the...

British Coastal Weapons vs German Coastal Weapons by Neil Short provides a unique comparison of the British and German World War II big guns that engaged in duels and harassed shipping in the Channel. For the first time, this book explores one of the longest-running battles of World War II, which took place across the English Channel. During this period,...

With stunning artwork and detailed analysis, a pilot’s view of the dramatic clashes between these two legendary fighters, as some of the most gifted and ‘big name’ aces of World War II went head to head in the skies of North-West Europe. As the Battle of Britain approached its conclusion, two new versions of the famous Spitfire and Messerschmitt Bf...

By the early months of 1944 in the Pacific, the US Navy’s burgeoning force of carrier-based F6F-3/5 Hellcats had pretty much wiped the skies clear of Japanese fighters during a series of one-sided aerial engagements. However, starting in October, they faced the superb Kawanishi N1K1/2 Shiden/Shiden-Kai, a formidable fighter with improved armament, a powerful engine, and excellent manoeuvrability. In contrast...

A unique comparison between the two most numerous British and German tank types from 1941 to 1943. Although much has been written about the Panzer III, little attention has been given to the equally prominent Valentine tank. This work compares the respective strengths and weaknesses of these iconic tanks, which frequently went head-to-head in brutal battles across Europe, Libya, Egypt,...

Since the end of World War II, the strategic bombing of Germany has inspired numerous studies, countless books, and several documentary films, which is unsurprising. With more than one million tons of bombs dropped, close to 300,000 civilians killed, 700,000 wounded, and over 3,500,000 industrial and residential structures destroyed, the Allied bomber offensive represented industrial war on a grand scale....

World War II saw tanks assume a dominant role in warfare, capable of tearing through the enemy lines if left unchecked. To combat the threat posed by these armoured behemoths, the United States developed the M1 Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher, better known as the Bazooka. First employed in combat during 1942, the weapon required a great deal of skill and courage...

A classic duel in the age of sail, boasting first-hand accounts, dramatic battle recreations and detailed comparisons of the strengths and weaknesses of the frigates of these two great nations. Famed as a classic naval duel, a one-on-one clash between two sailing frigates offered the victor immeasurable fame and glory. During the War of 1812, the Royal Navy and United...

F9F Panther vs Communist AAA offers a detailed look at the deadly battle between US Navy F9F Panther jet fighter-bombers and communist anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) defences that proliferated throughout the Korean War. The F9F Panther was among the many fighters converted for ground-attack duties, following an established US tradition. Initially designed as a jet fighter, it became in April 1951...

After the fall of France in 1940, Germany attempted to strangle Britain into submission by attacking the Atlantic Convoys, which brought much-needed supplies and war materiel from the USA and Canada. While the U-boats attacked from beneath the seas, the Germans modified a civilian airliner to create the Fw-200 Condor to attack from the skies. By the summer of 1941,...

A detailed, comparative look at the design, development, and combat performance of the M60 and the T-62. Designed for the battlefields of Europe at the height of the Cold War, the M60 and T-62 were the premier combat tanks of their day. However, it was in the deserts of the Middle East that they finally met in battle. M60 vs...

A fascinating insight into the dogfights that took place during the Six Day War, complete with first-hand accounts and fully illustrated throughout. Although the opposing forces of the Six Day War were both flying comparable third-generation Mach 2 jet fighters, the pilots were trained to different standards and were expected to utilise different tactics. Using up-to-date research, first-hand accounts, and...

P-40E Warhawk vs A6M2 Zero-sen presents the intense aerial battles of World War II, where the P-40E Warhawk, often regarded as one of the less successful American fighter designs, found itself in a critical position. In 1942, it was the only aircraft available to the USAAC in-theatre, compelling units equipped with it to confront the formidable A6M2 Zero-sen. Already gaining...

Discover the history of a classic duel as the finest American and German pilots are pitted against each other in the war-torn skies over Europe, in two of the most advanced fighter planes of the age, the P-51 Mustang and the Fw 190. This first book in the Duel series describes the design and development of these rivals and analyses...

In the summer of 1944, the Red Army staged a massive armoured assault up the Karelian Isthmus with the intent of eliminating any remaining German and Finnish forces facing the Leningrad region. Most of the Soviet units sent into Finland were new to the region, moving mainly from the fighting in the Leningrad area. As a result, some had the...

Leading up to the Pacific War, Japanese naval strategists believed that a decisive fleet engagement would be fought against the United States Navy. Outnumbered by the USN, the Imperial Japanese Navy planned to use its large, ocean-going submarines to chip away at its opponent before the grand battle. In order to accomplish this, the IJN’s submarine force was tasked to...