Category: Books / Calendars / Publications

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Bomber Command to Royal Command: A Lancaster Pilot’s Journey from Bomber Raids to Civil Aviation Pioneer

Coming soon from Air World is From Bomber Command to Royal Command: A Lancaster Pilot’s Autobiography: Thousand Bomber Raid’s to Civil Aviation Trailblazer, which tells the story of Albert “Johnny” Meagher from his service flying dozens of missions over Germany through introducing the Bristol Britannia airliner into BOAC service and flying royalty.

Though he was in a reserved occupation, Albert Meagher, known to everyone as ‘Johnny’, volunteered for training as a pilot and was called up in July 1941. He duly completed his training as an RAF bomber pilot and joined the Avro Lancaster-equipped 61 Squadron in June 1942.

Johnny’s first operational sortie – an attack on Bremen – came on the 25th of the month. During the next six weeks Meahger’s crew attacked eleven more cities including Frankfurt, Munich, Kiel and the industrial targets in the Ruhr. On 16 January 1943, Bomber Command attacked Berlin, and for the raid the prominent American NBC reporter, Stan Richardson, was assigned to Meagher’s crew. After 34 sorties over Germany, it might be thought that Squadron Leader Meagher would have sought a less precarious posting. But nothing was further from his mind. Instead, he flew another 20 missions before finally leaving the frontline to become an instructor. Continue reading Bomber Command to Royal Command: A Lancaster Pilot’s Journey from Bomber Raids to Civil Aviation Pioneer

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Tidal Wave: Highly Anticipated Saga of Courage and Survival in WW2 Now Available

Now available from NYT Bestselling author Adam Makos and Ballantine Books is Tidal Wave: The Pilots, the Princess, and the Enemy Ace – A True Story of Courage and Survival in WWII.

It’s summer 1943, and the world is on fire. Lieutenant Ernie Poulson, a twenty-two-year-old outdoorsman from Utah, finds himself at the controls of America’s most advanced bomber, the B-24, brought to North Africa for a top-secret mission. On the far side of Europe, Lieutenant Constantin Cantacuzino, Romania’s most daring ace, duels Soviet fighters on the Eastern Front while searching for purpose in an unwinnable war.

In Nazi-aligned Romania, Princess Catherine Caradja walks a perilous line between loyalty to her country and quiet defiance, as German forces dig in around the oil refineries in her backyard. And in the royal palace, twenty-one-year-old King Michael of Romania—mocked and sidelined by a Nazi-backed dictator—quietly plots to seize his nation’s destiny before it is lost forever. Continue reading Tidal Wave: Highly Anticipated Saga of Courage and Survival in WW2 Now Available

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New Book Compiles Air Combat Recollections From Pilots in Every Theater of WW2

Coming soon from Air World and author Martin Bowman is Voices in Flight: Squadrons Scramble!: RAF and Commonwealth Fighter Pilots of the Second World War, which offers air combat stories and follows fighter pilots scrambling under alarms, from southern England and Malta to the Blitz.

Feel your pulse race and your heart pound as you follow the pilots of The Few running for their aircraft as the alarms sound and the enemy attack for a second time on a day of glory and death over the sunny skies of southern England. Then, beyond the Spitfire Summer of 1940, how the RAF’s pilots scrambled to defy the enemy over the battered ruins of Malta, the George Cross Island, or to defend Britain at night during the blacked out months of the Blitz.

The prelude to D-Day, the disastrous raid on Dieppe was the scene of the RAF’s biggest air battle up to that point in the war, and Operation Overlord was shielded by the overwhelming aerial might of the 2nd Tactical Air Force. All these momentous events are told through the words of those pilots who fought in the unforgiving arena of the dogfight where a single moment can turn victory into defeat, life into certain death. Continue reading New Book Compiles Air Combat Recollections From Pilots in Every Theater of WW2

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New Book Studies How Pubs and Clubs Sustained WW2 Pilots During Britain’s Darkest Hour

Coming soon from Air World and author Justin Omps is Pubs, Pilots, and the Battle of Britain: Churchill’s ‘Few’ Living Life to the Full in Britain’s Darkest Hour. As the title suggests, the book deals with fighter pilots’ reliance on pubs and clubs as lifelines, from blackout boards to night revelry.

In August 1940, Spitfire pilot Tim Vigors was shot down by a Messerschmitt Bf 109 over Kent. After crash-landing in a field, he realized he would have to pass through London to get back to his squadron’s airfield. He decided there was no rush, called his girlfriend Jill, and hours after nearly dying, he was dancing the night away at London’s fashionable 400 Club.

This juxtaposition of mortal combat and carefree revelry was not unusual – it was daily life for the young men of Fighter Command. Pubs, Pilots, and The Battle of Britain reveals how Britain’s pubs and clubs became crucial lifelines during the Battle of Britain. These weren’t just places to drink – they were unofficial messes, refuges where fear and grief could be drowned in camaraderie, becoming even the centres of squadron identity. At the White Hart in Brasted, Biggin Hill, pilots signed the now-famous blackout board that became a roll call of Britain’s aerial defenders. At the Cat & Custard Pot near RAF Hawkinge, pilots who flew cover during the Dunkirk evacuation found momentary peace in its ancient rooms. Continue reading New Book Studies How Pubs and Clubs Sustained WW2 Pilots During Britain’s Darkest Hour

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New Volume Expands Definitive Red Baron and Jagdstaffel 11 History

Aeronaut Books has released Volume 2 of Bruno Schmäling’s study of Manfred von Richthofen’s Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 11.

Volume 2 focuses on the Easter Battle of Arras in 1917, which went down in the history of the Royal Air Force as “Bloody April.” In a short period of just over four weeks, Jagdstaffel 11, under the command of Manfred von Richthofen, achieved the greatest successes in its history. Drawing on numerous previously unpublished documents from German archives, as well as accounts from eyewitnesses, this book presents the most comprehensive account of these events. A special section is devoted to the aerial battle between Albert Ball and Lothar von Richthofen. Previously unknown and unpublished German reports shed light on this often-controversial event. 200 photos, 48 maps, and 39 documents round out the most comprehensive documentation ever written about the Red Baron and his Jagdstaffel 11.

The 306 page book is currently available in hardcover and paperback editions. It follows Volume 1, which was released in 2025 and focuses on the period from October 1916 to March 1917.

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Storm from the Sky 1941: The German Aerial Invasion of Crete and its Impact on WW2 Aerial Tactics

Coming soon from Pen and Sword and authors Jeffrey Plowman and Mark M J Wilson is The Battle of Crete: Storm from the Sky 1941: Then and Now, and analysis of the German airborne invasion of Crete, detailing the battle’s chaos, defenders’ resolve, and the operation’s lasting impact on WWII airborne tactics.

Operation Merkur, the German airborne invasion of Crete, is an iconic operation in military history. It pitched an elite airborne division against Creforce, a rag-tag force of British and Commonwealth escapees from Greece. The outcome to the Germans seemed assured. Yet, not only had the Germans underestimated the size of the defending force, they lacked an appreciation of the willingness to fight of the defenders, and had wrongly understood the reception they would receive from the Cretan civilians. To add to their woes their uniforms were ill-suited to the climate and other conditions they were to encounter on the island, and the dropping of their primary weapons in separate containers proved to be a grave doctrinal error.

For many of the fallschirmjäger, the events of the first day ensured that this turned into a struggle for their own personal survival as the need for water and ammunition became paramount, while being hunted by Allied troops and civilians alike. It was a disaster and could have been fatal to the invader, except for the intransigence in the higher levels of command of their foes. Continue reading Storm from the Sky 1941: The German Aerial Invasion of Crete and its Impact on WW2 Aerial Tactics

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Coming Soon: Four-Volume History of Lend-Lease and Soviet Aviation in WW2

Coming soon from Helion and Company and author Vladimir Kotelnikov’s new series Lend-Lease and Soviet Aviation 1941–1945 which examines how Allied Lend-Lease aircraft supported Soviet aviation during the Second World War and influenced its postwar development.

Volume 1 traces the programme’s diplomatic origins, delivery routes, and early operational use in 1941–42, highlighting the challenges of introducing Hurricanes, Kittyhawks, and other Western aircraft into Soviet service. Volume 2 focuses on British and American fighters—including the Hurricane, Spitfire, P-40, Airacobra, and Kingcobra—examining their delivery, deployment, technical characteristics, and influence on Soviet tactics. Volume 3 covers bombers, transports, and maritime aircraft, including the A-20 Boston, B-25 Mitchell, C-47, and PBY Catalina, assessing their contributions to combat operations, frontline supply, and naval warfare. Volume 4 evaluates the programme’s overall impact from 1941 to 1945, weighing operational successes and shortcomings, examining maintenance and supply challenges, and exploring how Allied deliveries relieved pressure on Soviet industry and shaped postwar aircraft development and doctrine. Drawing on Soviet and Western archives, operational records, and first-hand accounts, the series combines rare photographs, colour profiles, maps, and technical and statistical tables to document Lend-Lease aviation’s contribution to Soviet victory and its lasting legacy.

The books will be available in paperback format. Vol 1 has 72 pages, while vol 2 has 104 pages. Both will be available on January 15, 2027. Vol 3 has 104 pages and will be released on November 30, 2026. Vol 4 has 104 pages and will be released on December 31. All four volumes are currently available for pre-order.

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Allison-Powered P-51 Mustang Development, Design, Service and Tech Details Detailed in New Book

Coming soon from MMP Books and author Robert Pęczkowski is NAA P-51 Mustang with Allison engine (Yellow Series), which traces the development, wartime service, design evolution, and technical features of the Early Allison-engined P-51 Mustang through detailed illustrations.

This book presents the history, development and operational service of the early Allison-engined versions of the North American P-51 Mustang. It covers the aircraft’s design evolution, wartime use and technical features. Illustrated with wartime and detailed photographs, colour profiles, scale plans and technical drawings, it is a valuable reference for aviation historians and modellers.

The paperback book is currently available for pre-order with release set for January 15. The date will also see the release of the second edition publication on the NAA A-36A Mustang dive-bomber variant.

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Study of Mustang Dive Bomber Variant Gets Updated Second Edition

Coming soon from MMPBooks and author Przemyslaw Skulski is NAA A-36A 2nd edition (Yellow Series), which documents the history, development, and combat service of the rare A-36 dive-bomber variant.

This second edition presents the history, development and combat service of the North American A-36, the rare dive-bomber variant of the Mustang. It covers operations in the Mediterranean and Far East, as well as the aircraft’s technical features. Illustrated with wartime and detailed photographs, colour profiles, and newly added scale plans and technical drawings, it is a valuable reference for aviation historians and modellers.

The 120 page book is currently available for pre-order with release set for January 15.

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Spitfire V vs Fw 190: An Illustrated Account

Coming soon from Osprey Publishing and author Andy Saunders is Spitfire V vs Fw 190: Northwest Europe 1941–42 (Duel, 153), an illustrated account of the challenge posed to RAF Fighter Command by the Luftwaffe’s Fw 190, and the ways in which Spitfire crews adapted to the deadly new threat.

The introduction of Focke-Wulf’s Fw 190 to Luftwaffe service presented RAF Spitfire VB and VA pilots with a formidable new foe that could quite literally run rings around them. First encountered over France in September 1941, the Fw 190 – or ‘Butcher Bird’ – soon demonstrated its startling capabilities, wrong-footing RAF Fighter Command and forcing the swift development of new tactics and methods. The actions that ensued were some of the most fiercely contested of the air war in northwest Europe and would lead to the production and eventual fielding of the Spitfire IX.

In this new study, air war expert Andy Saunders details how the RAF – having perhaps become complacent about the superiority of the Spitfire – found itself left behind with an inferior fighter. Covering the introduction to service of both the Spitfire V and the Fw 190, the fighters’ first encounters and the battles that shaped subsequent tactics and design, it combines combat reports and first-hand accounts with archive photographs and newly commissioned artwork and formation diagrams to convey what it was like to be a fighter pilot in both aircraft from 1941 to 1943.

The 80 page paperback book is currently available for pre-order with release set for January 19.

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