As a Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP), Trudy is one of the most knowledgeable flyers of the P-51 Mustang. She is in full command of one of the fastest airplanes ever made, but she is forbidden from going into combat because of her gender. Trudy is shocked when her dream of going to the front lines is fulfilled. The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) needs a pilot to sneak into German-occupied Lithuania and rescue a professor whose work could have international implications. But first, Trudy will have to get there. As Trudy crosses the United States and Canada with her handsome traveling partner, Major Rod Jackson, she sees the many different ways Americans and Canadians are helping on the home front. Her new base of operations in Duxford, England, will also give her a front-row seat to the violent, deadly aerial battles of the European theater. Trudy is determined to fight to protect the Allies, but will she make it out of her first operation alive?

    From flights over Antarctica to carrying a spare fifth engine beneath the wing, award-winning aviation writer and airline pilot, Owen Zupp, has detailed the varied journeys of the magnificent Boeing 747. Click below to buy this book and share the journey.

    Britain stands alone against Nazi Germany. Only the RAF can protect Britain from falling to the Germans. 'Scramble' is the thrilling story of the epic battle that turned the tide of Nazi invasion in the summer of 1940. In more than 450 first-hand accounts, combatants, civilians, politicians, journalists and others who were part of the day-to-day heroism that was England’s finest hour tell a tale of war from an individual perspective. And what a revealing tale it is — of the shortages of every kind, with groundcrew racing against time to get the battered planes operational, to the tactical battles and controversies revealed by Air Ministry papers. Above all, it evokes the terror, rage and frustration of Britain besieged, and the spirit which held it all together: the courage to live to fight another day. Praise for 'Scramble' ‘We now have an accurate account It is the first one to get it right’. — Group Captain Dennis David ‘Deftly combining interviews, speeches, news reports, military communications and occasional unobtrusive narrative, Gelb presents a many-sided picture of war that reflects the feeling of the battle’ — New York Times Praise for 'Dunkirk' “Norman Gelb demonstrates in Dunkirk how productive it is to focus on an individual operation or battle … Dunkirk is both a good adventure read and an instructive case study yielding modern lessons.” — John Lehman, Former Secretary of the Navy, The Wall Street Journal “Norman Gelb finds fresh angles … Dunkirk stands as an exemplar of the perils of vacillation and the possibilities of action.” — The New York Times Book Review “Mr. Gelb has excavated beneath surface events, delved into political and psychological factors, and produced an intelligent, fast-moving narrative.” — Professor Arnold Ages, Baltimore Sun “Vivid and comprehensive … Absorbing … Sets a high standard for other reconstructions” — Kirkus Reviews Norman Gelb (b.1929) was born in New York and is the author of seven highly acclaimed books, including 'The Berlin Wall', 'Dunkirk', and 'Less Than Glory'. He was, for many years, correspondent for the Mutual Broadcasting System, first in Berlin and then in London. He is currently the London correspondent for New Leader magazine.

    After WWI, battlecruisers were readily converted into aircraft carriers, with questions on how to handle the aircraft on the flight deck beginning to be raised and techniques of how to attack enemy ships beginning to develop. How Carriers Fought focuses on the HOW, not the what, when, or the by whom. It begins by examining the tools and the building blocks of carrier operations, looking at what life was really like in the cockpit for the pilots alongside the technicalities of navigation and communication. A world of tactical dehydration, amphetamine pills, and illegal smoking is explored, as well as the measures they put in place to reduce their risk of death on being hit.This book goes on to examine the major carrier battles of WWII, from the Battle of the Coral Sea to the Battle of Leyte Gulf, with a focus on how the tools of carrier operations were employed during these battles. At the Battle of the Midway the debate of concentration vs. dispersion became relevant, as the Japanese decided to divide their forces while the Americans concentrated theirs. How Carriers Fought questions these tactics, exploring which worked best in theory and in practice. How were searches made, how many planes were used, what was the range and coverage of the search, and how many hits were scored and losses suffered?The final section of the book looks at how carrier operations changed in major ways during the course of the war, as better technology and a better understanding of this new type of warfare allowed for quick advances in how operations were carried out. For example, the balance between fighter and bomber planes changed dramatically, with the US beginning the war with 20% fighters and ending it with 80% fighters. This book gives a comprehensive insight into carrier operations in WWII, with a focus on the Pacific War between the US Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy. A series of appendices expands on topics such as radar, landing on a carrier, radios and even carrier pigeons.

    An exceptional book written by a true professional.

    Author Gene Gurney takes the reader from the superplane’s inception, test flights and production to its combat deployments and its ultimate purpose of dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

    Apart from flying Alouette helicopter gunships in Angola, he has fought in the Balkan War (for Islamic forces), tried to resuscitate Mobutu’s ailing air force during his final days ruling the Congo, flew Mi-8s for Executive Outcomes, and thereafter an Mi-8 fondly dubbed 'Bokkie' for Colonel Tim Spicer in Sierra Leone. Finally, with a pair of aging Mi-24 Hinds, Ellis ran the Air Wing out of Aberdeen Barracks in the war against Sankoh's vicious RUF rebels. For the past two years, as a “civilian contractor,” Ellis has been flying helicopter support missions in Afghanistan, where, he reckons, he has had more close shaves than in his entire previous four-decades put together.Twice, single-handedly (and without a copilot), he turned the enemy back from the gates of Freetown, effectively preventing the rebels from overrunning Sierra Leone’s capital—once in the middle of the night without the benefit of night vision goggles. Nellis (as his friends call him) was also the first mercenary to work hand-in-glove with British ground and air assets in a modern guerrilla war. In Sierra Leone, Ellis' Mi-24 (“it leaked when it rained”) played a seminal role in rescuing the 11 British soldiers who had been taken hostage by the so-called West Side Boys. He also used his helicopter numerous times to fly SAS personnel on low-level reconnaissance missions into the interior of the diamond-rich country, for the simple reason that no other pilot knew the country—and the enemy—better than he did.Al Venter, the author of War Dog and other acclaimed titles, accompanied Nellis on some of these missions. “Occasionally we returned to base with holes in our fuselage,” Venter recounts, “though once it was self-inflicted: in his enthusiasm during an attack on one of the towns in the interior, a side-gunner onboard swung his heavy machine-gun a bit too wide and hit one of our drop tanks. Had it been full at the time, things might have been different.” The upshot was that over the course of a year of military operations, the two former Soviet helicopters operated for the Sierra Leone Air Wing by Nellis and his boys were patched more often than any other comparable pair of gun ships in Asia, Africa or Latin America. Nellis himself earned a price on his head: some reports spoke of a $1 million reward dead or alive while others doubled it.This book describes the full career of this storied aerial warrior, from the bush and jungles of Africa to the forests of the Balkans and the merciless mountains of today’s Afghanistan. Along the way the reader encounters a multiethnic array of enemies ranging from ideological to cold-blooded to pure evil, as well as well as examples of incredible heroism for hire.

    For Marines, the Vietnam conflict was different in I-Corps along the DMZ, different and more massively deadly than the conflict in other parts of the country. That’s not to say the Army and other Marine units didn’t have a deadly time further south, but in northern I-Corps along the Z, south to Khe Sanh and the A-Shau valley, east to Cua Viet and west to Laos, and all of the combat and fire support bases in Leatherneck Square and on the ridges and in the valleys to the west, the war was constant and especially vicious. This was the area most easily supplied from the Ho Chi Minh Trail. This was the area where Ho Chi Minh sent his troops in division strength to challenge the Americans. This area was known as The Meat Grinder, and for the Grunts, combat here was called The Beast. The Grunts and Cannon Cockers on FSB Russell and FSB Neville sitting alone on ridges just south of Mutters Ridge near the DMZ had to face The Beast every day, and one squad from Echo Company 2/4, stuck on a small hill outpost about five klicks south of FSB Russell, would come to know and embrace The Beast intimately during the month of February, 1969.

    From the moment he survived, the time-line of United States history dramatically changed. The harsh reconstruction of the former Confederate states by Radical Republicans was altered. A newly reunited, and highly militarized country stepped aggressively onto the world stage. Significant obstacles remained. Among them was what to do with the former slaves, the failure by Great Britain to address the Alabama Claims, and an energetic push west.

    But not generally know is the fascinating and compelling individual behind the acclaimed television personality.With the cooperation of many of Jacques Cousteau’s collaborators, friends, and family, Brad Matsen gives us the first full picture of this remarkable life. Here is Cousteau working for the French resistance during World War II (for which he received France’s Croix de Guerre); developing—and risking his life to test—the regulator that made scuba diving possible; running the world’s largest scuba equipment manufacturing firm; becoming a legendary catalyst of the worldwide environmental movement; starring in The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau and in hundreds of documentaries; and publishing more than fifty books. And here is the widowed Cousteau marrying his longtime mistress—forty years his junior and the mother of two of his children—kindling a bitter family feud that continues to this day. Vividly conveying the people, the adventure, the science, and the lure of the sea that shaped Cousteau’s life, Matsen paints a luminous portrait of a man who profoundly changed the way we view, and treat, our planet.

    The simple and lucidlanguage adopted by the author has already made this publication to be highlypopular amongst the students and teachers of the various engineering colleges inIndia and abroad. It has also become the first choice of the professional fieldengineers. The student appearing for the competitive examinations, particularlythose appearing at the Engineering Services, Civil Services (IAS), and GATEexaminations, will find this book of immense utility and highlysecuring, paving their way for an excellent success in these competitions. Thetext matter has been thoroughly revised and updated in this edition, and issupported by about 500 Objective Questions and a vast number of numericalexamples, including those from the various universities and competitiveexaminations. Complete hydraulic design of a Water Treatment Plant has also beenadded in this new edition.

    This piece of history is set in 1969 West Germany. The reality of what happened in the Cold War on the border between the opposing forces of East and West makes this a great read; it's an important part of our military history. Rick Fontain, the main character, is found just out of high school working for Bell Systems when he is summoned by his friends and neighbors. During his induction into the US Army he is given an aptitude test. The test results change the path of his life forever. He is encouraged to become an officer but the extra time, in addition to his two years, is a no go for Rick. He opts for training on the Redeye, the first ever hand held surface to air missile system designed for close combat for the infantry. What Rick doesn't know is that he is being watched from afar. His progress is being scrutinized and he is being evaluated for recruitment into the CIA. The style of the author, Fortin, is written in the first person. We travel with Bill on a journey that follows the army life of Rick though short snippets of his, at times, humorous and MASH-like journey. The style of headers detailing the timeframe of where and when things were taking place are unique and are always appreciated by the reader always pushing to find out where and when what would happen next. His journey from boot camp continues when he is stationed near the Fulda Gap. Not a well known place, but its stragetic position to the free world was an important post that kept Europe safe during those tense 30 plus years. Rick and his team would become one of the greatest deterrents to an invasion from Mother Russia. Fortin brings all the key elements together to make a fabulous story: mystery; intrigue; love; suspense; bravery and reality. It is a snap shot in history back to when the world was at the brink. Redeye Fulda Cold is a historical expression of our military tradition. The story ends leaving the reader wanting to see a sequel novel to find out where Rick goes next. Author Bill Fortin has deftly combined fictional characters and people he served with in the United States Army to recount some important but little-known events during the Cold War. His story takes the reader to the people and places of the late 1960s European Military Community and a series of carefully crafted CIA military operations designed to thwart a possible Russian invasion through the infamous Fulda Gap.

    Your very belief is tested in combat, you must kill your enemy, or your enemy will kill you – that is the simple, hard cold fact. Because in my humble opinion, War is hell on Earth. Evil roams freely in War, and it will kill you, one way or another, with its evil intent. Nightmares are common and, in their fantasy, never reflect the real horror and the reality that War can bring to your mind. No matter what your personal spiritual beliefs are, you will be tested. The conduct of your intent will be your judge for life. It is your second guessing that can be dangerous to you. A wise Philosopher once said in Greece, “If you want real peace, you must always prepare for War.” This book is about war. It tells my experiences of the paths I took as a United States Marine in Vietnam. The mouths of many soldiers will say the same – the same soldiers who had shared my paths with the experiences of my many paths in life. I have not shared these words or reflections with anyone, except in bits and pieces, and that too, with other veterans in the form of bunker talk.

    In 'Bomber Boys' Kevin Wilson presents an account of the everyday heroism of British bomber crews in 1943 - the year when Bomber Command believed it could win WWII by bombing alone.

    Written in the tone of the quixotic lieutenants who populate its pages, this novel vividly illustrates the pressures on the new generation of war fighters. Along the way the book introduces an engaging cast of characters: a self-centered squadron commander hell-bent on fixing his tainted professional reputation; a reluctant air-wing commander more suited for life within the walls of the Pentagon than on a flight deck at sea; a battle-group commander trained in the art of driving ships, now thrust into the snap-decision matrix of supersonic jets; and a host of junior officers. Seeking only the ideals they were promised, these technology-savvy aviators are products of pop culture, unimpressed by rank for its own sake and unresponsive to petitions in the name of the profession's lofty mottoes. But for all of its irreverance, Punk's War is a loving tribute to those called to service during an unsteady peace and a definitive statement about why flying fighters for a living remains among the most noble of professions.