Aviation

  • Flying with the Navy

    Steve Bond

    Heather Bond

    Flying with the Navy is a once-in-a-lifetime publication and a must-have for all devotees of this truly astounding branch of the armed forces.

    During five years of research for the four volumes of the Fleet Air Arm Boys book series covering the post-war FAA, former personnel not only contributed a huge quantity of stories but also sent many thousands of photographs, largely taken by themselves, and mostly never previously seen. It soon became clear that what was needed was a stand-alone photograph-heavy book, showing off many of these superb photos to best effect by giving them up to a full page or more with high quality reproduction.

    £28.00
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  • Sabotage!

    Chris Wroblewski and Garth Barnard

    On the night of 4 July 1943, transport aircraft Liberator AL523 took off from Gibraltar’s North Front tarmac and within moments crashed into the sea with only one survivor, the pilot. The commander-in-chief of the Polish army and prime minister of the Polish government in exile, General Władysław Sikorski, was dead.

    Rumours as to the cause of the crash abounded. Was it pilot error? Was it, as officially classified, merely an accident, or was it, as the authors conclude in this riveting and meticulous study, an act of sabotage?

    £25.00
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  • Stanford Tuck

    Helen Doe

    The first full reappraisal of one of Britain’s great fighter aces, this book examines the truth behind Tuck’s 1956 biography, Fly for Your Life. It looks at the evidence behind the myths, checks out some of the exaggerated stories and reveals the real Stanford Tuck.

    Stanford Tuck is a neglected hero of the British narrative of the Second World War despite his success as a fighter ace in the critical years. Helen Doe has successfully rescued Tuck as an airman worth knowing better, and at the same time has removed the many myths and distortions that earlier accounts accumulated. This is no hagiography, but a thoroughly researched biography that presents the many sides of Tuck’s personality and career with candour but also with sympathy.
    Professor Richard Overy

    Scrupulously researched, this book tells the story of the human being behind the hero, bringing home the true tragedy and suffering of war. It makes for a compelling read.
    Stephen Bungay

    “This is an acute memoir of refreshing clarity written with sympathy and elan.”
    Britain at War, Book of the Month (January 2024)

    “An impeccably researched and highly readable account, and one very fair in its reasoning and assessments. Excellent.”
    Aeroplane

    £25.00
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  • Facing Armageddon

    Chas Hall

    Facing Armageddon reveals the true extent of the controversial nuclear testing and how it affected servicemen; with 25 men dying during Chas’s time on Christmas Island and many more suffering mentally as they continued serving on the island.

    £20.00
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  • Fleet Air Arm Boys Volume Four

    Steve Bond

    Steve Bond is back with the final volume in this popular series. Unlike his previous three tomes, with their focus on air/rotorcraft, this book is uniquely dedicated to the personnel of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) themselves. Each chapter will concentrate on the memories of contributors who served in a range of roles, including those below the flight deck.

    £30.00
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  • Jet Provost Boys

    David Watkins

    As a versatile and undemanding aircraft, the Jet Provost established itself as the basic trainer for the RAF from the late 1950s until its retirement in September 1993. In Jet Provost Boys, David Watkins explores the history of this magnificent flying machine through the vivid memories of former air crew from the RAF and foreign air forces.

    £25.00
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  • From Jet Provost to Strikemaster (Revised Edition)

    David Watkins

    This book covers the complete and long overdue history of the Hunting/BAC Jet Provost and Strikemaster, which for 38 years trained generations of pilots and pioneered the RAF’s all-through flying training programme. Originally designed and built in 1951 as a private venture by Percival Aircraft in Luton, the Jet Provost became the primary jet-powered training aircraft for the RAF following a series of experimental courses at RAF Hullavington in 1955. By 1957, there was a contract for the production order of 100 Jet Provost T Mk. 3s. The Jet Provost even had a display flying team between 1958 and 1976 but was eventually withdrawn from RAF service in 1993.

    £25.00
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  • Hawkeye

    Brigadier General Giora Even-Epstein

    This fast-moving autobiography details the experiences of Giora Even-Epstein, who for more than thirty years, flew fighters for the Israel Air Force. Gaining the nickname ‘Hawkeye’ thanks to his amazing vision that enabled him to pick out enemy aircraft long before his squadron mates, Giora is recognised as the high-scoring jet-mounted ace with the greatest number of confirmed victories in the French Mirage. He also compiled a record of Arab MiGs and Sukhoi kills that bettered any other combat aviators’ tally in the entire world.

    £16.99
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