History and Archaeology

Closed in 1949, the Sukhoi Design Bureau was reborn in 1953 to meet an urgent demand for a fast interceptor that would counter the threat posed by NATO bombers. It wasted no time developing a succession of missile-armed, Mach 2 interceptors characterized by delta wings; the single-engined Su-9 entered service in 1960, followed by the up-armed Su-11 in 1964 and the twin-engined Su-15 in 1967. Thoug

The German MG (Maschinengewehr) 34, along with the later-war MG 42, was a recoil-operated, air-cooled machine gun and is considered the world’s first general-purpose machine gun. Considered the most advanced machine gun in the world at the time, its ease of mobility and high rate of fire—900 rounds per minute—made it ideal both for infantry and antiaircraft use. First entering service during the S

The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was not only the largest and most advanced US aircraft to see combat in World War II, it was also the most expensive weapons system of the war, even exceeding the cost of developing the atomic bomb—the weapon that ultimately would be delivered to Hiroshima and Nagasaki by a pair of B-29s in August 1945. Through a broad range of photos gathered from around the world, t

The M18 was developed in an era when the United States fought tanks not with other tanks, but with specialized tank destroyers. With a powerful aircraft-style radial engine pushing it at up to 50 miles per hour, and mounting a potent 76 mm cannon, the Buick-built M18 Hellcat, or “Hell-Cat” as Buick's publicists named it, provided US troops with a powerful shoot-and-scoot answer to heavily armored

Successors to the US Navy’s Los Angeles–class fast-attack submarines (presented in volume 1), the Seawolf- and Virginia-class SSNs are presented here from their initial design and construction, through testing and trials, to current operations. From its debut in 1997, the nuclear-powered Seawolf (SSN-21) represented the lead ship of the deadliest submarine ever to be constructed for the USN during

Rangers Led the Way is a collection of interviews from 20 Rangers who fought in Europe during WWII, including the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Ranger Battalions. The book also includes historical context so the actions described in the interviews can be understood as part of the larger war. Within a year after the fateful attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the US military understood the need for Speci

A complex and contradictory graffiti culture has been brewing over the last few decades in one of the least expected settings—China’s capital. Through an unparalleled collection of one local photographer’s images, as well as interviews with 25 prolific artists, see how Beijing has developed its graffiti movement against the backdrop of the once-secluded nation’s rise to global economic might. Whil

This book charts the development and service history of the Antonov design bureau's heavy transport aircraft. In the late 1950s, the Antonov design bureau began developing the An-22 heavy military transport, intended to carry 50 tons. Powered by four 15,000 hp turboprops, it was the world’s heaviest transport when it first flew in February 1965. The four-turbofan An-124 was again the world’s most

Founded in 1953, the US Air Force Thunderbirds flying-demonstration team has performed in air shows in the United States and around the world. The team is based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, where it has been honing its skills since 1956. This book details the origins and early formation of the team, as well as describing the different model aircraft that the team has flown during its nearly 7

The Polizei Division first took shape in 1939, drawing manpower from the civilian police. In February 1942, the unit was transferred to the Waffen-SS and redesignated SS-Polizei-Division(4.SS). The former policemen appeared on the Western Front in 1940, before being shipped to the Leningrad sector in 1941. Polizei remained on the Eastern Front for the duration of the war, including deployments in

When the Myasishchev design bureau was reborn in 1951, it was immediately tasked with creating a high-speed strategic bomber to balance the threat posed by NATO’s heavy bombers, notably the B-52. Designated M-4 and code-named "Bison" by NATO, the new four-turbojet bomber was developed within an incredibly short time—just one year. It made use of many innovative features, including a bicycle landin

The Vickers Armstrong Wellington, affectionately dubbed the “Wimpy” after the hamburger-scoffing cartoon character, lays claim to two distinctions within RAF WWII annals. The first related to its geodetic structure, with a cloth covering that proved to be superior to previous designs for surviving battle damage. Second, the aircraft was destined to remain on the front line with Bomber Command thro

In 1935, Fascist Italy invaded Abyssinia (now Ethiopia), one of just two independent states in Africa at the time. Italy first invaded Ethiopia in 1895 and was driven out by the army of Emperor Menelik II. In 1935, the defensive effort would be led by Emperor Haile Selassie I. Benito Mussolini (the Italian “Duce”) claimed victory in 1936, but the struggle of Selassie and his people against impossi

Two Great Knights of Adventure was written by Jacques Mortane in 1936. Mortane was on friendly terms with both Marc Pourpe and Raoul Lufbery and wrote the book as a tribute to the two pilots, both of whom were killed in the First World War. Due to the access that Mortane had to these early aviators, this was the best work on their lives, but it was never translated into English and is long out of

What’s Your Call Sign? is filled with cleverly written and funny stories behind the seemingly mean-spirited nicknames naval aviators use to address each other as terms of endearment. As such, these stories provide a realistic and true insight into the life of naval aviators that reveals their human side. Movies like Top Gun depict the intensity and professional drive of naval aviators trying to be

In many ways, the M26 Pershing was the most advanced and most powerful tank fielded by the US military during the Second World War. The prototype T26 "heavy" tank design was developed to answer the threat of the German Panther and Tiger tanks. Unfortunately for US Army tankers, the T26 tank wasn't ready for field use until 1945. The T26, specifically the E3 variant, was adopted and standardized as

Based on the original letters of physics professor Robert Wichard Pohl, who spent several years flying on zeppelins during the First World War, this book tells the story of the first flight to exceed 100 hours in the air. Along the way, it tells the story of those men responsible for the flight, as well as the history of both airship development and the continuing interest in transatlantic flight.

Reborn in 1951, the Myasishchev design bureau made its mark by creating the M-4 strategic bomber. Yet, this subsonic aircraft was soon made obsolescent by supersonic fighter technology—any new strategic bomber would need supersonic performance to avoid being intercepted. Hence in 1952, Myasishchev started work on supersonic bomber projects, which led to the M-50 of 1955. Designed for sustained sup

A bombshell dropped onto Honolulu docks in 1933—by ominous coincidence, on December 7. It was merely a crate of Japanese pulp fiction titled Account of the Future US-Japan War. Unlike other popular war fiction of the day, this riveting techno-thriller was written by a Japanese naval commander with forewords by two prominent admirals of the imperial navy. The book gave readers a foretaste of the st

Spanning Ancient Egyptian culture (ca. 3200 BC to AD 400), this 'Handbook of Egyptian Mythology' is a complete survey of Egyptian mythology.