History and Archaeology

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

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

During WWII, Germany fielded a variety of six- and eight-wheeled armored cars, which were used in numerous ways, including reconnaissance, antitank, infantry support, and other roles.  The earliest of these vehicles, the 6-Rad, or six-wheeled vehicles, were based on 6 × 4 truck chassis. Once the limitations of this design became evident, later models utilized specially designed all-wheel-drive pow

This is a comprehensive history of Italian mountain troops (the Alpine infantry “Alpini” and the mountain artillery “Artiglieria da Montagna”) from the 1870s to the present. The Alpini suffered a crushing defeat to the Ethiopian army at Adwa in 1896. During WWI, the Italian mountain troops fought against Austrian Gebirgsjäger high in the Alps. This fighting, known as the war of snow and ice, invol

Artist Debra Luker, on her first trip to India, discovered it to be her personal artistic inspiration and instituted the popular Pigment Trail tours that introduced travelers to the amazing, transforming everyday art found there as they wander through city and countryside. Part travelogue and part artistic insight, this book is a visual adventure that transports the reader to India's creative spir

Here is the life story of the most successful fighter pilot of all time, with 352 air combat victories - who spent ten and a half years behind Soviet barbed wire, surviving prison uprisings, hunger strikes, resistance against the NKVD and forced labor. After being released he was still mentally and physically fit enough to fly F-86 jet fighters in the post - World War II German Air Force.\nThis ph

The standard reference now revised and expanded. Dr. Robinson has opened up his vast photo archives to enhance this new edition of his classic work. Much of the new photographic material is published here for the first time.

Additional nose art and unusual markings as seen on today’s B-52s, B-1Bs , FB-111s, F-16s, F-4s, and many others, including Desert Storm markings.

Pilot, scholar, daredevil, general . . . James "Jimmy" Doolittle was one of America's greatest heroes. In a life filled with adventure and achievement, Doolittle did it all.

As a stunt pilot, he thrilled the world with his aerial acrobatics. As a scientist, he pioneered the development of modern aviation technology. During World War II, he served his country

An oracle using Aztec animal doubles of the human soul as spirit guides • Contains 40 full-color cards depicting 31 Nahualli animals and 9 Lords of the Night • Provides a means for spiritual seekers to communicate with their own animal doubles • Based on traditional Aztec symbolism

This book presents the evolution of one of the most famous French-made fighter aircraft of WWI—the fast, rugged Spad. From humble beginnings this airplane became the mount for such famous WWI aces as Frenchmen Georges Guynemer and René Fonck, American Eddie Rickenbacker, Italian Francesco Baracca, and many others. Illustrated with rare WWI-era photographs, this book examines how the Spad was conce

The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, commonly nicknamed the "Warthog" due to its unusual and ungainly appearance, became the most effective close-air-support aircraft that has ever served for the US Air Force and Air National Guard. Designed around the GAU-8/A Avenger autocannon, the aircraft was a highly effective tank killer during Operation Desert Storm. The Warthog continues to serve, f

As part of its rise as a regional South American power, Chile chose to emulate the highly successful Prussian military system in the last decades of the 19th century. Prior conflicts and the prospect of war with Argentina, which came to a head in the early 1890s, can be seen as the pretext for Chile’s purchase of "Prussian" military equipment, including Mauser rifles and Krupp cannons. This book s

Under the Lend-Lease agreement with the US during WWII, the Soviet Union received large quantities of war materiel, including many aircraft; the Bell P-39 Airacobra takes a special place among them. The P-39 was dismissed as hardly suitable for combat both by the US and England, who turned it over in large numbers to the USSR. Soviet pilots had different views, though, and achieved excellent resul

John C. Woods, the US Army's hangman during World War II, is known for his role executing ten senior Nazis in 1946. For the first time, learn about Woods's early life in Kansas and his dishonorable discharge before World War II. Discover how volunteering as a military executioner would lead Woods to his career as a hangman.  Award-winning author Colonel French MacClean separates fact from fiction

The Colt M1911 is one of the most well-known and popular military weapons of the 20th century. Designed by John Browning, this pistol, with its legendary reliability and firepower, represents the developmental starting point of a majority of automatic pistols to this day. It was the standard-issue sidearm of the US armed forces for more than 70 years and is still in use throughout the world. This

Volume 2 on the famed Sherman medium tank covers the welded-hull, radial-engine-equipped M4 and documents its development and production through its many variations, as well as its combat use around the globe. Produced by Chrysler, Pressed Steel Car Company, Alco, Pullman-Standard, and Baldwin Locomotive Works, the M4 bore the brunt of fighting until late summer 1944, when the M4A3 began to become

The N1 was the booster rocket for the Soviet manned moon program and was thus the direct counterpart of the Saturn V, the rocket that took American astronauts to the moon in 1969. Standing 345 feet tall, the N1 was the largest rocket ever built by the Soviets and was roughly the same height and weight as the Saturn. Though initially ahead of the US in the space race, the Soviets lagged behind as t