(Part 2) Best military aviation history books according to redditors
We found 464 Reddit comments discussing the best military aviation history books. We ranked the 239 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
You have no idea about military strategy if you legitimately think all you need is Air Power alone.
In simple terms it's a combined effort: You need infantry to close with and destroy the enemy via fire and maneuver. The resulting action flushes the enemy out, and CAS finishes them off and support further maneuvers.
I suggest you read this:
https://www.amazon.com/Limits-Air-Power-American-Bombing/dp/0803264542/ref=pd_sim_14_4?ie=UTF8&dpID=41ufRuhDpcL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR107%2C160_&refRID=RRDRN8N08J38RF0D5Q2R
Edit:Words
Check out how fast the mothership and chase plane disappear in this on-board movie looking aft:
(edit: This was not the record setting flight)
I fell in love with this aircraft in the 50s when I was a kid. A great history of the program: Hypersonic: The Story of the North American X-15 (Specialty Press)
> looks like they modelled La-5FN series 2 from June 1943 has speeds like late war La-5FN's from the end of 1944.
Interesting. Could you show me that information and how they modeled it wrong?
Edit: Nevermind. You're making shit up. I just sourced through this book and the developers' numbers are actually lower than the sourced 1943 La-5FN.
> But i was expecting this, it is Russian game and Russian airplane
Lol
The whining has already commenced as expected.
Curious about this, and the entire program? Required reading;
http://www.amazon.com/Hypersonic-American-Revised-Edition-Specialty/dp/1580071317
Depends on how much in-depth you want them to be, and if you're more into 'general politics', or into 'military-related affairs'.
For really good understanding of how Syria came into being, and what events and processes shaped it early on, you might want to read:
Given your German flag, you might add
Now, since much of recent Syrian history is dominated by the Syrian military, you might need some read in this regards. Ideally, there would be an English translation for the best - most detailled, most in-depth - book on history of Syrian armed forces, Pesach Malovany's big volume tittled something like 'Out of the North an Evil shall break Forth' (sorry, all the links I used to have to its publisher are down) - published (like, sigh, so many really good Israeli books on Arab-Israeli wars) in Hebrew only. But there is none. Word is that this might get translated to English by the University of Kentucky, sometimes next or the year after.
Some might suggest you Arabs at War. Regardless how comprehensive, when it comes to Syria I find it hopelessly obsolete, onesided and largely based on 'battlefield heritage' (see: hear-say). Indeed, although anything than 'Syria-related', I found Egyptian Strategy for the Yom Kippour War much more useful for studying the Syrian military during the October 1973 War (and even after!).
Namely, that one is largely based on Egyptian documentation captured during the October 1973 War, and cross-examination of related Egyptian and Syrian military literature.
A 'short-cut' of sort (i.e. avoiding collecting all of these books) would be to go for the Arab MiGs books... though this is in turn an own series of six volumes, covering the history of Arab air forces at war with Israel in period 1955-1973.
Good thing about these books is that they're based on hundreds of interviews, authentic publications (including several by top Syrian military commanders), and whatever documentation the authors managed to get. They're providing really unique insights: far from merely counting aircraft, describing their markings, or discussing claims, they're descibing political backgrounds, arms deals, training (including outright fist-fights between top Syrian pilots and Soviets supposed to instruct them), organization, tactics, weaponry, foreign influences (in the case of Syrians, this was foremost Czechoslovak and not 'Soviet' by nature, and in this regards these books are well-supported by - between others - loads of original documentation from Czech National Archives) etc.
Finally, re. causes of the SCW: there is meanwhile a small myrad of related titles - with best example probably being a quite massive volume titled The Syrian Jihad: al-Qaeda, the Islamic State and the Evolution of an Insurgency. Where that title 'excells' is in showing 'local influence and flair' of the entire affair: in turn, that is often making it hard to follow. Right now, I wouldn't know a 'simplier', 'easier to follow' volume describing this affair, though (any recommendations are most welcome).
Welcome to Stalingrad, comrade. You've stepped into an very mature and difficult game. Luckily the community is very helpful, but not so much on the reddit forums. The game is DX9, which in layman's terms means that it's very CPU dependent game. You have an AMD CPU which the game is not optimized for; hence your fps issues. You can still try to adjust some settings to get better FPS though:
 
My recommendation:
Go to Options->
Camera->
uncheck cinematic view (will get rid of motion blur)
 
Go to Options->
Graphics->
Attempt to keep your resolution at 1080p (Don't go higher, as you won't be able to see targets at distance as well because they're smaller on your screen)
Uncheck SSO
Uncheck HDR
Distant Landscape Detail x1 (Experiment here as it'll allow you to see ground targets farther way, but also gives a hit to FPS at lower altitudes.)
Vync OFF (Unless you have screen tearing)
FPS Limiter NONE (Unless you have screen tearing)
 
This should help you with your FPS issues, ^^hopefully.
 
 
_____
 
If you'd like to fly together with others, join the official teamspeak for BoS. That info is here: http://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/4802-official-teamspeak-server-bos-mp-now/
 
I also recommend you read Chuck's aircraft guide to help you get familiar with the planes:
https://drive.google.com/a/poteetisd.org/file/d/0B-uSpZROuEd3WV9zRFRwMDJVWGc/view
 
You can also watch Requiem's Air Combat Tutorials here:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheAirCombatTutorialLibrary?gvnc=1
 
And since you're just starting out (I'm assuming you've never flown before because you just purchased this game, so take the below advice with as much salt as necessary), I recommend the more user friendly German planes... Having said that, the Russians need many more pilots, and I feel it's more rewarding to shoot down a German plane in the less friendly Russian planes. I personally fly the Lagg3, and IL2 the most. Either choice, German or Russian, be prepared to be shot down a lot before you make a "kill". The game is rewarding when you make it home alive after a successful sortie, not how great your KDR is.
 
As you increase in skill, you should join the flight nights. They are missions created by the community. They're much harder to fly because you have to stick with your wingmen, there's no map icons (or icons period), and you're given a task by your commander to complete for the week. You also only have one virtual life (for the week), and a limited number of planes. The cool thing about the Flight Nights is your success or failure determines how the next week's mission will go. Additionally, there are no AI planes, even though you're flying coop with your mates. The enemy planes are other players of various skill levels just like you and me. If I were to compare the Flight Nights with something, it would be similar to poker night with you and your buds, but virtually... and with planes.
Here's Friday Night Bomber Flights:
http://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/23544-friday-night-bomber-flight-topic-temporal/
And Saturday Night Bomber Flights:
http://forum.il2sturmovik.com/topic/20918-saturday-night-bombers-flight /
 
 
Good luck out there comrade!
Sketch
 
 
__
 
If you're interested in the history of the Eastern Front here are some reading suggestions -
Various Planes of the Eastern Front:
http://kplanes.tumblr.com/post/141672701850/k-planes-episode-96-barbarossa?is_related_post=1
 
The Yak's History:
http://kplanes.tumblr.com/post/108267224620/k-planes-episode-15-yakkity-yak?is_related_post=1
 
Various counts of the Eastern Front in English:
http://iremember.ru/en/
 
Kolyadin Victor Ivanovich:
http://iremember.ru/en/memoirs/airmen/kolyadin-victor-ivanovich/
 
Red Star Against Swastika (a great book!)
https://www.amazon.com/Red-Star-Against-Swastika-Eastern/dp/1853676497
If you want more information about the 4360 and its development, variants and applications than you know what to do with, I highly recommend Graham White's R-4360: Pratt & Whitney's Major Miracle. It is a bit pricey nowadays but it belongs on the shelf of anyone who has a passion for the internal combustion engine.
I think we are basically in agreement, and I acknowledge my hyperbole and oversimplification regarding the inner thoughts of Sir Arthur Harris.
My statistic on bombing accuracy comes from late '42/early '43 - before the advent of things like the AN/APS-15 and the P-51D.
This is interesting reading for all kinds of reasons.
I'll check out "Tail End Charlies" - always room for another good book on the WWII air war.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Into the Teeth of the Tiger
This is written by Don Lopez, the first director of the Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Dude loved the P-40 Warhawk and hated the early versions of the P-51 - really interesting chapter on that. Also an interesting look at the war on mainland China.
Dumb But Lucky by a P-51 pilot who started flying combat over Italy/the Med in 1944.
The Mighty Eighth blends a lot of first hand accounts/vignettes with some basic history. Reminded me a little of Mark Baker's book "Nam" in format - but probably more accurate.
Baa Baa Blacksheep I'm a former US Marine, so if I don't recommend this one I go to the brig for six months.
Fire In The Sky This is about the air war in the Pacific. It was absolutely shocking to read about the maintenance practices of the Japanese detailed herein. I guarantee you'll be smacking your forehead in exasperation at how utterly grabasstic the IJAAF was about fixing broken airplanes.
I've read a bunch more (including some more scholarly books), and am very interested in any recommendations you may have.
The best concise overview of the entire war is George Herring's "America's Longest War," http://amzn.com/0072536187
Another good source for big-picture overview is Edward Moise's work, which is all free online: http://www.clemson.edu/caah/history/FacultyPages/EdMoise/vietnam.html
Moise also has a very comprehensive bibliography of the Vietnam literature, its an invaluable resource for finding and judging various books on the subject. http://www.clemson.edu/caah/history/facultypages/EdMoise/bibliography.html
Finally, for personal favorites, I focus on the air war. The best book on the bombing campaigns is Clodfelter's "The Limits of Air Power," http://amzn.com/0803264542
I also enjoyed the look at the air-to-air war in Marshall Michel's "Clashes!" http://amzn.com/1557505853
Hope that helps! The Vietnam literature is broad and full of vitriol. Good luck!
The simple answer to your question is yes, but very rarely. The most famous example of a pilot taunting an enemy combatant is Major Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, during the air war in the South Pacific, or more specifically, over Bougainville and Rabaul in 1943. As the naval and land forces fought it out on the many islands surrounding “The Slot” and “Iron Bottom Sound”, epic air battles took place over the islands surrounding the Solomon Sea. With the U.S. and Japanese air forces in such close proximity (the U.S. Marines and Army had air bases on Guadalcanal, Espiritu Santo, Vella LaVella and whatever carrier task force that happened to be in the area, while the Japanese forces centered around Rabaul) it was inevitable that a battle for air superiority would result.
According to biographer and VMF-214 historian Bruce Gamble, on the afternoon of October 18, 1943, Boyington led a flight of F4U Corsairs to Kara and Kahili airfields and began circling the enemy bases at around 18,000 feet. Knowing that an English speaking Japanese soldier was monitoring the American frequencies, he began insulting and taunting the Japanese fighter pilots to come up and fight. Eventually, the Black Sheep pilots saw the Japanese Zeros taking off, first one at a time, then eventually in pairs. Boyington describes the ensuing dogfight in his autobiography "Baa Baa Black Sheep" in great detail, stating that the Zeros gained altitude in a lazy, turning circle instead of vectoring off in another direction, climbing, and then returning to the fight at a suitable altitude. As a result, the American pilots had the fortune of watching their opponents throughout the whole process, never losing sight of them. While the Zeros were still at a low altitude and in a moderate climb, the Corsairs (still holding the “high ground” at around 18,000 feet) dove in and picked off the Zeros one by one. At the end of the day, 14 Zeros were claimed to have been shot down (8 by the Black Sheep, 6 by their sister squadron VMF 221 “The Fighting Falcons”, who happened to join in on the brawl) which clashed with official Japanese losses stating that only 8 planes were shot down during the engagement.
Another aspect of this question that must be mentioned is that taunting was not only done between pilots, but also between nations. Axis Sally and Tokyo Rose are famous examples of radio propaganda programs designed by the Axis to demoralize and antagonize the Allied forces. This type of propaganda/radio warfare was especially useful in the Pacific, where radio communication was often the only way in which Allied forces could communicate with each other. American B-29 crews would often get their weather reports from China or Australia, which would have to be relayed via radio from a nearby source, as the B-29 comm’s equipment wasn’t sensitive enough to pick up the original report. Even for naval ships with huge antennae, the weather reports (transmitted via Morse code or coded language) were usually very faint and required intense concentration to be decoded. The Japanese, who were able to tune into the same radio reports, would often broadcast loud music, distracting noises, or false Morse Code beeps to throw off the American radio operators.
One last comment about Boyington and the Black Sheep: the dogfight that I alluded to early was one of the Black Sheep’s most famous engagements. During the 1970’s television show Black Sheep Squadron starring Robert Conrad (which Boyington signed on as a “Technical Advisor”) the radio taunting and subsequent engagement were drawn out for over half a season, where Boyington and the Black Sheep go head to head with one of the highest ranking Japanese aces in the South Pacific, in which numerous taunts and threats are exchanged.
For more information on the Black Sheep, I’d recommend reading Gamble’s [Definitive History of the Black Sheep] (http://www.amazon.com/Black-Sheep-Definitive-Fighting-Squadron/dp/0891418253/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372217034&sr=1-1&keywords=black+sheep) or [Black Sheep One] (http://www.amazon.com/Black-Sheep-One-Gregory-Boyington/dp/0891418016/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372222939&sr=1-5&keywords=black+sheep). You can also read [Wukovits's updated version] (http://www.amazon.com/Black-Sheep-Boyington-Library-Biography/dp/1591149770/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372222939&sr=1-3&keywords=black+sheep).
For first person accounts of former Black Sheep, Boyington’s autobiography [Baa Baa Black Sheep] (http://www.amazon.com/Black-Sheep-Gregory-Pappy-Boyington/dp/0553263501/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372222939&sr=1-4&keywords=black+sheep) and Frank Walton's autobiography [Once They Were Eagles] (http://www.amazon.com/Once-They-Were-Eagles-Squadron/dp/0813108756/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372222939&sr=1-7&keywords=black+sheep) are both excellent reads. Boyington's book, however, does tend to leave the reader wondering how exaggerated some of the combat scenes were. For more information on Black Sheep pilot Chris Magee (one of the most daring and colorful Black Sheep) you should read Reed's [Lost Black Sheep] (http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Black-Sheep-Search-Chris/dp/1555716474/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372222939&sr=1-9&keywords=black+sheep)
Finally, for an exhaustively researched history of air combat in the South Pacific, I highly recommend Bergerud's Fire in the Sky. It's size is intimidating, but he keeps it interesting throughout all 700 pages (no easy task when explaining the nuances between Japanese and U.S. carrier tactics, the effect of the vast expanse of the Pacific theater on the U.S. command structure in the Army air corps, etc.)
Finally, [Flying Aces] (http://www.amazon.com/Flying-Aces-Aviation-Art-World/dp/1586632477/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372224263&sr=1-5&keywords=aviation+art+of+world+war+2) provides a great pictorial representation of the Black Sheep engagement I mentioned earlier.
Seems like it's too long, so I'll split it up in two here:
General accounts:
When Titans Clashed
Russia at War
Thunder in the East
Absolute War
Hitler's War in the East
The Road to Stalingrad
The Road to Berlin
A Writer at War
THE ROLE OF THE SOVIET UNION IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR: A Re-examination
Why Stalin's Soldiers Fought: The Red Army's Military Effectiveness in World War II
If you're interested in memoirs I'd suggest:
Blood on the Shores
Over the Abyss
Sniper on the Eastern Front
GUNS AGAINST THE REICH: Memoirs of an Artillery Officer on the Eastern Front
PANZER DESTROYER: Memoirs of a Red Army Tank Commander
Through the Maelstrom: A Red Army Soldier's War on the Eastern Front, 1942-1945
Red Road From Stalingrad: Recollections Of A Soviet Infantryman
Red Star Against the Swastika: The Story of a Soviet Pilot over the Eastern Front
Penalty Strike: The Memoirs of a Red Army Penal Company Commander, 1943-45
BUT NOT FOR THE FUEHRER
Through Hell for Hitler
A Stranger to Myself: The Inhumanity of War : Russia, 1941-1944
Barbarossa:
War Without Garlands: Barbarossa 1941/42
BARBAROSSA DERAILED: THE BATTLE FOR SMOLENSK 10 JULY-10 SEPTEMBER 1941 VOLUME 1: The German Advance, The Encirclement Battle, and the First and Second Soviet Counteroffensives, 10 July-24 August 1941
Operation Barbarossa and Germany's Defeat in the East
Kiev 1941
Operation Typhoon: Hitler's March on Moscow, October 1941
THE VIAZ'MA CATASTROPHE, 1941: The Red Army's Disastrous Stand against Operation Typhoon
THE DEFENSE OF MOSCOW 1941: The Northern Flank
What Stalin Knew: The Enigma of Barbarossa
War of Annihilation: Combat and Genocide on the Eastern Front, 1941
Germany and the Second World War: Volume IV: The Attack on the Soviet Union
There's a book written called The Night Witches (funnily enough). Interesting read, but a bit of an odd format (semi fictionalised embellished accounts, interspersed with interviews) The author did manage to interview some of the remaining pilots in the late 70s, which makes a fairly unique book in that regard.
I think what he meant to say is that the shah of Iran had the full support of its Western Allies while the Soviets had somewhat support of their Arabian Comrades and with that, the war would have been over in 2 weeks rather than 8 years. My comment above is not a claim, it is true that Arabs were not properly trained by the Soviets in this book: https://www.amazon.com/MiG-19-MiG-21-Units-Combat-Aircraft/dp/1841766550
And that is true. Iraq had ordered their military forces to engage with Iranian border units during the 1970s and that exchange was very brief because the Shah opposed it with full force and it was over before it went anywhere. See below:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shatt_al-Arab_clashes
This book is probably the most detailed book I've found. It's got a lot of good details on the program and design of all the different aircraft. It also has a CD with pictures and aircraft manuals.
The whole Arab Migs provides a rather good overview of the several wars and conflicts from the perspetive of Arab airforces.
Taking Sides provides a good overview of america's relationship with Israel
Arabs at war provides a military effectiveness overview but it is extremely biased towards Israel
I have this book: http://www.amazon.com/Aircraft-World-Aviation-Factfile-Chartwell/dp/078582958X
I really like it, but like the reviews below say there are some inconsistencies and the descriptions about the aircraft aren't too extensive. Nevertheless it is still a really interesting read about all the aircraft.
https://www.amazon.com/Aircraft-World-War-1914-1918-Identification/dp/1906626650
Has pretty much the entire war covered. I use it frequently and most of the information is correct (some minor details are wrong, but nothing that makes the book completely useless)
The Hazy Center is phenomenal. (Just to make clear, this is not the center on the National Mall in DC; it's in VA, near the Dulles Airport. I went specifically to see the Concorde and the Enola Gay, but I didn't realize they also had the Liberty Bell Mercury capsule, an SR-71, and an amazing amount of world war 2 vintage aircraft including the F4U Corsair. It's a wonderful place for airplane nuts. Incidentally, the Smithsonian publishes a book called At the Controls, which has great photos and writeups of the cockpits of many of the aircraft in the Hazy Center.
Cover photo for this book:
http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/1932033122
The Filthy Thirteen: From the Dustbowl to Hitler's Eagle's Nest :The True Story of the101st Airborne's Most Legendary Squad of Combat Paratroopers
https://www.amazon.com/Filthy-Thirteen-Airbornes-Legendary-Paratroopers/dp/1932033122
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1580071732?pc_redir=1408428500&robot_redir=1
Wow, thank you for such kind words! And thank you for sharing my book trailer. You can get this book at
Fonthill Media: http://fonthillmedia.com/epages/a72b332e-5c82-4e84-ad34-4c5316ee7a6b.sf/en_GB/?ObjectID=15059497
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lavochkin-Fighters-Second-World-War/dp/1781555141
Battle of Moscow historical film: https://youtu.be/9GQQOaOzBIg?list=PLI3O7kuJYvFiID_YjJD98RWoZd3mkS79z
Thank you for showing such interest!
After loads of reading on the bus to work every day, here follows my reading list for military aviation:
Modern
Vietnam
WWII
Overall/Other
Bonus non-military aviation
I highly second the recommendations of Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon, and Diamond Age. I would also recommend:
This book is the bible for WW1 aircraft. It lists every plane used by every nation in WW1, along with losses, battles, etc. Have a look at the reviews as they will tell you a little more.
Jane's books are incredibly detailed, the WW2 one is also amazing. I am sure there will be an interwar one.
The Jack Herris guide is also good, but not as good as Jane's
Surprised this wasn't mentioned:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_women_in_World_War_II#Pilots
I'm a bit of an aviation buff, and the female Soviet pilots of WWII are one of the more remarkable stories, IMO.
I recommend this book, if interested.
If you'd like to know more about german planes, I highly recommend Wings of the Luftwaffe by Eric Brown. I'm german and I find this book to be the best source on the topic; it's also well written :)
See if you can track down a piece of a combat aircraft off eBay, and have it mounted. I'm in the middle of getting a air data probe mounted at the moment.
If that doesn't work, there are heaps of good books about combat aircraft. I'd recommend SR-71 Revealed, Sled Driver or Valkyrie
Since we're on the subject of SR-71 reading material... I give these three my complete and total recommendation.
SR71 Blackbird- Stories, Tales, and Legends by Richard Graham
REALLY good read. Essays and interviews from all kinds of people involved in the program- pilots, RSO, mechanics, crew chiefs, engineers. 11/10 very fun read
Archangel to Senior Crown: Design and Development of the Blackbird by Peter Merlin
More about the technology, history, and politics behind the aircraft. Not as 'fun' as the first one, but very detailed. Also comes with 4gb of manuals for the SR71. Allow me to clarify that, the book comes with a DVD with shitloads of manuals and documents from Lockeed, USAF, NASA, etc. I'd give it a 9/10 based simply on it being a bit dry at times.
Lockeed SR71 Owners Manual by Haynes
Yes, the same company that makes the owners workshop manual for your car... Lots of pictures, detailed diagrams and schematics, very informative. Makes a great bathroom reader. Fun! 10/10
Ahhh.... this solves a mystery that has existed for me since I read a chapter in this book where a Tomcat pilot said he could still shoot his Sparrows even though his AWG-9 was down. I was perplexed. Thank you!
https://www.amazon.com/Debrief-Complete-History-Aerial-Engagements/dp/0764327852/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1498995500&sr=1-1&keywords=debrief
Just as an FYI, RuAF's never ordered "vanilla" R-77, which only nominally passed the trials and was accepted into service just to be able to force a procurement of a token number of new MiG-29S that could use it as the military spending was being drastically reduced at that time. The missile itself, though, was never seen on RuAF birds, only mock ups were ever spotted.
I suppose, Deka is referencing RVV-AE, which is a kind of an export version of R-77, except, unlike the latter, it actually exists in numbers and was procured in significant enough quantities by China, India, Syria, Malaysia and many others. There was a blog post with compilation of links for all the spotted RVV-AE appearances but I can't find it for some reason, will come back and post it here, if I manage to find it, but for now the links posted above should suffice.
There is also this old doc that lists all the pre-2010 contracts. Yes, China has been ordering these at least all the way up to 2010.
Finally, RuAF in Syria doesn't use "export version", those are R-77-1 (Izdeliye 170-1). It has been in development at least since 2000s and, according to Butowski (see the book reference below), entered mass production back in 2010. We also have a 100% confirmation for 2015-2017 procurement contracts in a form of an official tender document. The corresponding export missile is RVV-SD and KTRV states a significant range increase over the basic model.
For more information on RVV-AE production numbers and R-77-1 R&D and procurement for RuAF you can also check Butowski's book on Russia's Air-launched Weapons: Russian-made Aircraft Ordnance Today :)
You're welcome. If your interest in the Pacific theater is broader, you may also consider "Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway" by Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully. It revisits the battle of Midway from the Japanese perspective and is excellent.
Other extremely good works are John B. Lundstrom's The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway and The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942. Despite the appearance of these titles, they are not dry academic works, but full of interesting facts and quite fun reading.
Hell to Pay: Operation Downfall and the Invasion of Japan, 1945-194 by D. M. Giangreco is an excellent work examining the end of the war in the Pacific, what the impact of strategic bombing was (nuclear and conventional), how the US and her allies planned to invade Kyushu and Honshu, how much the Japanese knew and how far developed their preparations were, and reasonable estimates of how events would play out if the invasions had actually been carried out. He examines how the details of each sides' plans would play out, the impact of nuclear weapons in the tactical role, how actual weather conditions and events would impact the land and sea portions of the campaigns and more.
I own all of the above and recommend them whole-heartedly.
A brief search also gave videos of several speeches/talks by Jon Parshall, but I haven't viewed them yet. Given the quality of his and Tully's work in Shattered Sword, I plan to watch each of them now.
It is a badly written article. AFAIK, there was never any way to make a nuclear powered Mach 3 bomber. Switching piston engines for nuclear powered electrical ones in a B-36 is one thing, trying to make the thrust required for Mach 3 flight is another.
This sentence was lame, just hanging out there, with no additional detail, not even a link to the wiki article:
>Some surfaces also used a special alloy known as René 41.
And this one speaks for itself:
>Ballistic missiles had become effective enough to shoot down planes at the highest altitudes.
But, there's a pretty interesting book about the XB-70, and I have actually seen it in person at the Air Force Museum. It's an amazing plane; I think it's the overall coolest airplane of the 20th century.
The First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942 because /r/AskHistorians recommended it in response to my question.
Check out "At the Controls". If you're really interested in cool cockpits, this book is highly recommended by me!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_Air_Force
http://www.amazon.com/MiG-19-MiG-21-Units-Combat-Aircraft/dp/1841766550
http://cencio4.wordpress.com/2009/05/18/syrian-arab-air-force-in-combat/
http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_262.shtml
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/syria/airforce.htm
http://www.conservapedia.com/MiG-21
This is my favourite on the US Navy in WW2 http://www.amazon.com/First-Team-Pacific-Combat-Harbor/dp/159114471X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1303309350&sr=1-1.
The sequel is just as good.
Nah; read Wings of the Luftwaffe. Eric Brown test flew pretty much everything, and his conclusion was that the 262 was not controllable much beyond about Mach 0.8.
Condensation doesn't tell you anything about the aircraft's Mach number. It just tells you that the air is humid and the passage of the aeroplane is sufficient to cause the water to condense. You will see it over very obviously subsonic aeroplanes (e.g. over the high lift system of airliners on approach).
The Prandtl-Glauert singularity also doesn't tell you that the aeroplane is supersonic with respect to the freestream.
Picked this up at Barnes and Noble few weeks ago for $11 on sale;
http://www.amazon.com/Aircraft-World-War-Aviation-Factfile/dp/078582958X
Great book with info, diagrams, stats, etc. Nice coffee like table book.
You already made an idiot out of yourself, now, wind your neck in and read this
https://www.amazon.com/Debrief-Complete-History-Aerial-Engagements/dp/0764327852/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1488002409&sr=1-1&keywords=debrief