Category: Books / Calendars / Publications

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Hawker Typhoon: Its Service Career and Technical Evolution

Coming soon from Key Publishing and author Jamie Ewan is Hawker Typhoon: The Making of a Ground-Attack Icon.

The Hawker Typhoon was one of Britain’s ‘heavy punchers’ during World War Two – and one instrumental in the allies’ victory in Europe. But flying in the shadow of myriad issues that followed it through its service, the brutish Hawker type is often tarred as a failure. Now, more than 85 years after it took to the sky, we tell of the service career and technical evolution of a fighter that found its true purpose as a low-level ground-attack aircraft – and one that not only filled the enemy with fear, but those who knew and flew it. A workhorse (the pilots of which collectively, embodied a decisive evolution in air warfare as they delivered time after time) we strive to connect new generations with this truly vital piece of heritage

The 116 page, paperback publication is currently available for pre-order with release set for July 9.

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Bomber Crew Escaper: A Wartime Airman’s Fight for Survival and Freedom

Coming soon from Air World and authors Jack Sowter and Ian Richardson is Bomber Crew Escaper: One Wartime Airman’s Story of Baling Out, Capture, Imprisonment and Escape

Sergeant Jack Sowter had joined the RAF in October 1941, originally as a trainee wireless operator. He later re-mustered as a navigator and joined the crew of a Handley Page Halifax of 78 Squadron.

On the night of 27/28 July 1943, Jack’s aircraft, JD 148, was one of 787 bombers tasked with attacking the port of Hamburg as part of Operation Gomorrah. Having successfully unleashed its deadly load on the German city, Jack’s captain, Sergeant Les Maidment, turned for home. However, Maidment could not escape the penetrating beams of the German searchlights, nor the enemy flak. With his aircraft repeatedly hit, Maidment gave his crew the order to bale out. Continue reading Bomber Crew Escaper: A Wartime Airman’s Fight for Survival and Freedom

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Follow the 9th Bomb Squadron Into WW2’s Most Dangerous Flying Conditions

Coming soon from McFarland Publishing and author Charles B. Kastner is To War and Back with the 9th Bomb Squadron: In the Skies Over Burma, Thailand, and China in 1945:

Written by his son, and incorporating his father’s stories, personal papers, and original research, this work follows Lt. Walt Kastner from the start of World War Two until its end. Walt joined a new B-24 bomber crew that fought with the 9th Bomb Squadron from its base in India during the drive to liberate Burma from the Japanese Army. His air crew attacked Japanese troop concentrations that barred the advance of the British 14th Army and flew missions deep into Thailand, including attacking the Burma-Siam Railway, the crucial rail link that carried supplies that fed and equipped the Japanese Army in Burma–a railway made famous by the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai. When air combat ended in May 1945, the squadron moved to Assam in eastern India where they hauled aviation gasoline over “the Hump” to the 14th Air Force in China, exposing them to the most dangerous flying conditions in the world.

The 155 page book is currently available for pre-order with release set for August 21.

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Air Battles Over the Baltic 1941: Revised and Expanded Third Volume Coming Soon

The third revised and expanded installment in a four volume series on Air Battles over the Baltic 1941 is scheduled for release shortly from Helion and Company and author Mikhail Timin.

Volume 3 of Air Battles Over the Baltic 1941 turns to the Luftwaffe and the German preparations for Operation Barbarossa, examining in unprecedented detail the aerial build-up to the invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941. Drawing extensively upon German and Russian archival sources, Mikhail Timin reconstructs the strategic planning, reconnaissance operations and combat deployments that shaped the opening hours of the war in the Baltic theatre.

The volume examines the composition and disposition of Luftwaffe forces assembled against the Baltic Special Military District, including bomber, fighter and reconnaissance formations tasked with achieving immediate air superiority. Particular attention is paid to the activities of the secretive Rowehl reconnaissance units, whose pre-war aerial intelligence-gathering operations over Soviet territory enabled the Germans to identify Soviet airfields, infrastructure and troop concentrations in remarkable detail. Continue reading Air Battles Over the Baltic 1941: Revised and Expanded Third Volume Coming Soon

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Two New Calendars Offer Nothing But Spitfires For 2027

More 2027 calendars are starting to hit the market as we move towards the second half of the year, and today we are featuring two of them focused entirely on the iconic Spitfire.

The first brings together a striking collection of historical photography from Imperial War Museum collections, offering glimpses of the heroic people who made up the Squadrons, and an example of the poster art of the time. Also featured is Duxford’s Spitfire Mk Ia N3200, which was recovered and restored before returning to the air in 2014. Each photo is accompanied by informative text and a datepad features previous and next month’s views.

The second Spitfire calendar is offered by Avonside Publishing Ltd and showcases the aviation photography of Darren Harbar. It features a large Monday start grid for entering important dates as well as a multilingual grid (English, French, German, Italian & Spanish). It measures 11.6″ x 23.2″ (295mm x 590mm) open.

Click below to check out product links and additional images.

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Flying Legends 2027: WW2 Warbirds in Flight Captured by Award Winning Photographer

We’re almost halfway through 2026 and so 2027 calendars are starting to appear. One of them is Flying Legends 2027, which also covers September -December 2026.

The calendar focused on WW2 warbirds in flight and showcases the work of award-winning air-to-air photographer John M. Dibbs. The images measure 17″ × 12″ and are accompanied by crucial stats for each plane, including manufacturer, powerplant, performance, and armament.

The 2027 editions features the following aircraft: Bell P-39-Q6 Airacobra, Curtiss P-47G Thunderbolt, Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless, Boeing PT-17 Stearman, Curtiss P-40F Warhawk, Supermarine Spitfire Mk VB, North American Aviation P-51D Mustang, Supermarine Spitfire Mk Ias, Messerschmitt Bf 109E-3, Hawker Sea Hurricane Mk IB and De Havilland Mosquito T III.

The calendar is currently available for pre-order with release set for August 11. Click below to check out the product link and additional calendar images.

Continue reading Flying Legends 2027: WW2 Warbirds in Flight Captured by Award Winning Photographer

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Coming Soon: An Illustrated History of BAC Lightning Units of the Cold War

Coming soon from Osprey Publishing and author Michael Napier is RAF Lightning Units of the Cold War, an illustrated study of the Lightning Jet Fighter and its eventful operational history as the RAF’s star aircraft of the Cold War era.

The Mach 2-capable English Electric Lightning is perhaps the most iconic RAF aeroplane of the Cold War. Boasting a massive increase in performance and improved radar and weapons systems over its predecessors, the Lightning brought new capabilities to the RAF’s air defences. Tactics were adapted to fit the aircraft, including incorporating air-to-air refuelling as a routine part of operations because of the Lightning’s notoriously short range.

Retired fighter pilot Mike Napier draws on first-hand accounts from RAF aviators to tell the story of Britain’s ultimate Cold War jet fighter. Covering everything from the Lightning’s exercises with other NATO air forces to its interception of Soviet long-range ‘Badger’ and ‘Bear’ bombers in the late 1960s, this volume complements the aircraft’s colourful operational history with 20 profile artworks and photography from both official and personal archives.

The 96 page book is currently available for pre-order in paperback and Kindle editions with release set for February 16, 2027.

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B-47 Stratojet: An Illustrated History of Its Development and Operations

Coming later this year from Osprey Publishing and author C. Mike Habermehl is B-47 Stratojet Units of the Cold War, an illustrated account of the development and operations of one of the most influential aircraft of the Cold War.

The B-47 Stratojet was the most numerous jet bomber to ever serve with the USAAF’s Strategic Air Command (SAC), and arguably Boeing’s most significant aircraft. Initially plagued by design and production problems, it eventually proved to be a capable medium-range bomber, an influential testbed, and an effective reconnaissance platform, paving the way for the successes of the B-52 and the KC-135. The Stratojet also provided SAC with crucial lessons – sometimes at the cost of lives – that moved operations such as aerial refuelling, combat tactics, global reconnaissance and strategic deterrence from the glacial pace of World War 2 into the jet age of the Cold War.

This detailed new study sees Stratojet expert Mike Habermehl draw upon more than 50 years’ research to assemble a complete operational history of the B-47 in all its roles. First-hand accounts and archive photographs are combined with SAC correspondence, documents, and manuals, helping to bring to life the fascinating story of this profoundly influential aircraft.

The 96 page book is currently available for pre-order in paperback and Kindle editions with release set for December 15.

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New Book Explores Unorthodox Cold War Fighter Escort Experiments

Coming later this year from Air World and author William Wolf is Cold War Long-Range Jet Fighter Program: USAF Experiments for Bombers to Take Fighters into Battle.

After the Second World War, the introduction of the six-engine Consolidated-Vultee B-36 Peacemaker bomber, capable of intercontinental ranges of 5,000 miles or more, reignited the long-standing problem of fighter escort. Early-generation US jet fighters consumed enormous amounts of fuel and lacked the endurance to accompany the B-36 over extended distances. Designing a jet fighter with enough fuel capacity for such missions would result in an aircraft far too large and unwieldy to engage smaller, more agile enemy interceptors effectively.

In response, during the early Cold War, the United States Air Force explored two experimental methods to extend fighter range. The first was wingtip-to-wingtip towing, in which a fighter would attach itself to the bomber’s wing for fuel support. The second involved carrying a fighter inside the bomber’s bomb bay on a trapeze mechanism, allowing it to be launched and later recovered in flight. Continue reading New Book Explores Unorthodox Cold War Fighter Escort Experiments

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Cold War Air Thieves: Inside the Race to Steal Enemy Aircraft Secrets

Coming soon from Pen & Sword and author Steven Taylor is Cold War Air Thieves: Stealing Military Aviation Technology and the East-West Battle for Aviation Secrets. The book provides the first in-depth exploration of the hidden Cold War battle fought by the intelligence services of both sides to obtain, by any means necessary, the secrets of some of the most potent warplanes ever to take to the skies.

The Cold War was a conflict defined by the battle for intelligence. And nowhere was this intelligence war more keenly fought than in the sphere of military aviation. Gaining information on the enemy’s latest warplanes and aviation-related hardware was a prime intelligence objective for both sides throughout the titanic ideological struggle that dominated the second half of the 20th century. Had the Cold War turned hot, the side possessing the greatest knowledge of its opponents’ combat aircraft would enjoy a crucial tactical advantage. Lagging behind the US and its NATO allies in many areas of aviation technology, the USSR also relied heavily on industrial espionage as a means of bridging the technological gap between East and West, shaving years and many millions of roubles off the development process in such key areas as the gas-turbine engine, long-range strategic bombers, air-to-air guided missiles, electronic countermeasures and stealth technology. Recruiting senior engineers and designers working in the opposing side’s aviation industries to spy for them, orchestrating the defection of pilots in their state-of-the-art aircraft, recovering shot-down aircraft wreckage from warzones like Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan, even stealing components from under the noses of their enemies – nothing was off limits for the CIA, KGB, MI6 and Mossad in their relentless pursuit of aviation technology.

The 256 page hardcover book is currently available for pre-order with release set for August 30.

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