Air History Military

Malcolm Gladwell, author of New York Times best sellers including Talking to Strangers and host of the podcast Revisionist History, uses original interviews, archival footage, and his trademark insight to weave together the stories of a Dutch genius and his homemade computer, a band of brothers in Central Alabama, a British psychopath, and pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard. As listeners hear these stories unfurl, Gladwell examines one of the greatest moral challenges in modern American history.

Boarding an airplane strikes at least a small sense of fear into most people. Even though we all have heard that the odds of being struck by lightning are greater than the odds of perishing in a plane crash, it still doesn't feel that way. Airplane crashes might be rare, but they do happen, and they’re usually fatal. David Soucie insists that most of these deaths could be prevented. He’s worked as a pilot, a mechanic, an FAA inspector, and an aviation executive. He’s seen death up close and personal - deaths of colleagues and friends that might have been prevented if he had approved certain safety measures in the aircrafts they were handling.

From Cold War dogfights to Desert Storm and beyond, Viper Alley unleashes the untold combat saga of the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Blazing through five decades of aerial warfare, Viper Alley is the definitive chronicle of the F-16 Fighting Falcon—the world’s most successful multirole fighter. From the sands of the Middle East to the skies over Kosovo and Afghanistan, the F-16 has fought in more wars—and served under more flags—than any jet in modern history. Crafted from years of operational records and eyewitness testimony, Viper Alley reveals the untold combat stories behind the F-16...

Dave Baranek (callsign "Bio") was one of 451 young men to receive his Wings of Gold in 1980 as a naval flight officer. Four years later, seasoned by intense training and deployments in the tense confrontations of the Cold War, he became the only one of that initial group to rise to become an instructor at the navy's elite Fighter Weapons School. As a Topgun instructor, Bio was responsible for teaching the navy's and Marine Corps' best fighter pilots how to be even better. He schooled them in the classroom and then went head-to-head with them in the skies.

Frank Luke, Jr., was an unlikely pilot. In the Great War, when fliers were still "knights of the air", Luke was an ungallant loner, a kid from Arizona who collected tarantulas, shot buzzards, and boxed miners. But during two torrid weeks in September 1918, he was the deadliest man on the Western Front. In only 10 missions, he destroyed 14 heavily defended German balloons and four airplanes, a rampage unequalled even by the dreaded von Richtofen, and the second highest American tally of the entire war.

Drones have been much maligned in the media and popular culture, and there has been much controversy over their deployment. This book reveals the history of unmanned aircraft, their recent development, and why they have emerged onto the scene, setting the record straight about drones and their use.

Are you a junior officer, senior enlisted, fresh faced diplomat or just curious? War Winning Strategies covers all the basics of military strategy comprehensively. This concise guid for NATO leaders is for you! In today's fast-paced and ever-changing global landscape, understanding military strategy is crucial for junior officers and aspiring foreign and security policy experts and senior NCOs so we can work more effectively together. This concise 70-page guide provides a comprehensive introduction to the fundamental principles of military strategy, empowering you and your subordinates m to...

‘SAS Shadow Warriors’ is an explosive account of some of the Special Air Service’s most dangerous and little known operations. It takes the reader on a rollercoaster of a ride from the jungles of Malaya, through the plains and mountains of the middle-east, to missions against international terrorism. Also featured are four stories of incredible derring-do from the Rhodesian SAS archives. It is a must read for those interested in military history, or fans of the SAS and Special Forces in general. ‘SAS Shadow Warriors’ is the latest book by the author of ‘Bravo Ten’, Andy Ryan.

NEWS: 'The Rhodesian SAS at War'. has just been published and is a thrilling companion to 'The Rhodesian SAS: Their Most Daring Missions.. It tell the story of SAS operations from the earliest part of the bush war until the close of 1978 - where 'The Rhodesian SAS: Their Most Daring Missions' picks up. It's a must read and is available now from Amazon. 'The Rhodesian SAS: Their Most Daring Mission' from the Author of ‘BRAVO TEN’, the explosive true story of some of the greatest secret operations of the Rhodesian SAS…. At the height of the cold war, the small landlocked country of ...

John Plaster’s riveting account of his covert activities as a member of a special operations team during the Vietnam War is “a true insider’s account, this eye-opening report will leave readers feeling as if they’ve been given a hot scoop on a highly classified project” (Publishers...

The dramatic account of one of America's most celebrated - and controversial - military campaigns: the Doolittle Raid. In December 1941, as American forces tallied the dead at Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt gathered with his senior military counselors to plan an ambitious counterstrike against the heart of the Japanese Empire: Tokyo.

Curtis Lemay's life spanned an epoch in American military history—from his troubled background, heroic service in Europe, and firebombing of Tokyo to his guardianship of the U.S. nuclear arsenal during the cold war, frustrated career in government, and short-lived political run. LeMay: The Life and Wars of General Curtis LeMay tells the whole story of the innovative pilot and navigator, brilliant strategist, unflagging patriot, and founder of modern strategic bombing.

Death Waits in the Dark: Six Guns Don't Miss is a thrilling story about a Night Stalker at war. This is the story of an attack helicopter pilot who flew with the renowned 160th Special Operations Regiment (Airborne), and the incredible friendships Greg Coker and his fellow compatriots forged in the heat of combat.

STINGERS One Tour. 362 Days. A Thousand Lifetimes. Stingers is the brutally honest, firsthand account of an 18-year-old crew chief and door gunner thrust into the blood-soaked heart of the Vietnam War. From the cramped, bullet-riddled cabins of UH-1C Huey gunships to nighttime rocket attacks that shattered any illusion of safety, Fred Allen tells it exactly like it was—with no filter and no apologies. Flying with the elite “Stingers” of the 116th Assault Helicopter Company, Allen survived rocket barrages, crash landings, and relentless firefights over hostile terrain. But survival ...

Rattler One-Seven puts you in the helicopter seat, to see the war in Vietnam through the eyes of an inexperienced pilot as he transforms himself into a seasoned combat veteran. Soon after the war, Gross wrote down his adventures, while his memory was still fresh with the events. Rattler One-Seven (his call sign) is written as he experienced it, using these notes along with letters written home to accurately preserve the mindset he had while in Vietnam.

There are few moments in American history in which the course of events tipped so suddenly and so dramatically as at the Battle of Midway. At dawn of June 4, 1942, a rampaging Japanese navy ruled the Pacific. By sunset, their vaunted carrier force (the Kido Butai) had been sunk and their grip on the Pacific had been loosened forever. In this absolutely riveting account of a key moment in the history of World War II, one of America's leading naval historians, Craig L. Symonds, paints an unforgettable portrait of ingenuity, courage, and sacrifice.

Listeners will learn over 100 facts about military sea and military air vehicles, such as helicopters, bombers, and stealth flighters, as well as submarines, mammoth ships, and militarized barges.

The night of 16 May, 1943: Nineteen specially adapted Lancaster bombers take off from RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, each with a huge 9000-lb cylindrical bomb strapped underneath it. Their mission: to destroy three dams deep within the German heartland, which provide the lifeblood to the industries supplying the Third Reich's war machine.

This book brings you the previously untold firsthand accounts of combat and brotherhood, of captivity and redemption, and the aftermath of a war that left no American community unscathed.

The American 345th Bomb Group - the Air Apaches - was legendary in the war against Japan. The first fully trained and fully equipped group sent to the South Pacific, the 345th racked up a devastating score against the enemy. Armed to the teeth with machine guns and fragmentation bombs, and flying their B-25s at impossibly low altitudes - often below 50 feet - the pilots and air crews strafed and bombed enemy installations and shipping with a fury that helped cripple Japan.