Military Aircraft: World's Greatest Fighters, Bombers and Transport Aircraft from World War I to the Present

by Thomas Newdick

Military Aircraft features 52 of the most important military aircraft, from biplane fighters to tactical bombers, transports, multirole fighters and stealth bombers. Packed with over 200 illustrations, each entry includes a description of the model’s development and history, a profile view, key features and specifications.Ever since man first took to the air, combat aircraft have been at the cutting edge of aviation technology, resulting in some of the greatest and most complex designs ever built. Military Aircraft features 52 of the most important military aircraft of the last hundred years.
The book includes all the main types, from biplane fighters and carrier aircraft to tactical bombers, transport aircraft, multirole fighters, strategic strike aircraft and stealth bombers. Featured aircraft the Fokker Dr.1 triplane, the legendary fighter flown by German flying ace Manfred von Richthofen, ‘the Red Baron’, during World War I; the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, Japan’s highly-manoeuvrable fighter that dominated air-to-air combat in the early part of the Pacific War; the tank-busting Il-2 Shturmovik, the most produced aircraft in World War II; the Harrier jump jet, a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) fighter that has been service for more than 40 years; the B-2 Spirit bomber, an American precision strike aircraft used in recent conflicts in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan; and the F-22 Raptor, an air superiority fighter with state-of-the-art stealth technology that makes it almost invisible to radars.
Each entry includes a brief description of the model’s development and history, a profile view, key features and specifications. Packed with more than 200 artworks and photographs, Military Aircraft is a colourful guide for the military aviation enthusiast.

Genres: Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

Published October 14, 2021

Reviews

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starting with the Sopwith Camel and moving towards the present day, this volume – slightly retitled from its original 2015 edition – is a very good book to have on the shelf for people with any interest in war planes. They all come with very nice treatment – photorealist views from the side, from above and from directly in front, photos of the birds in action if possible (and on the landing field if not), histories of the use of each one and also of noted users – not much seems left out, certainly for the non-academic reader.

Taking us from the plane anyone on the street around you would recognise the name of up to more obscure (to me at least) modern ones, this has the technical data for the specialist mind, the readable snapshots of military aviation history this all builds up to, and a very strong pictorial sense in keeping with pretty much everything from this publisher. Said academic will possibly tire of seeing them all fly across the page, guns blazing and missiles a-firing (in much the same way a dinosaur book never shows them at peace), but this is a trivial matter for such a commendable publication. A strong four stars.

[Fenriz Angelo · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Thanks to Amber Books for giving me the ARC of this book through Netgalley*

Usually, i have enough self control to not request every book about aviation i see in the History section of my dashboard in Netgalley, but then there's occasions (like this one) where i can't help myself but hit the 'Request' button and hope i get accepted or not.

Military Aircraft is the perfect book for the new war plane aficionado who wants to learn key information about the most popular, innovative or multirole aircraft throughout the wars. I like that this offers easy to understand technicalities and the description plus story of each aircraft is laid in such a concise way you don't feel information lacking.

The illustrations of each aircraft have a neat modern, realistic style that help picturing the airplanes' form with all its details. Though i'd have liked an illustrative timeline of the changes the airplanes went through, i guess that would have made the book quite heavy haha.

I might have a few aircraft books already, however i could do with the addition of a more modern edition.

[Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book covers 50 airplanes starting in 1916 with a Sopwith Camel through Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II in 2006. I am surprised at how many of these planes I have seen while visiting the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia which is part of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and the National Air-force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. Each airplane has four pages and includes detailed color drawings, a historic photo, a flag to indicates country of origin, technical specifications and then general information about the craft. I was surprised to see things like a B-52 originally designed in 1952 still being used in 2001 in Afghanistan. I think the reading level is too difficult for my elementary aged students although they love these kinds of books. This is for airplane and military enthusiasts. Thank you NetGalley and Amber Books for a temporary ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

[John Dodd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always loved Janes Guides to Ships, Guns, and Aircraft when I was younger, what I see in this book is the same interest that held me as a boy. The entries are clear and precise, the amount of information on each is not quite to the same level as Janes, but it's sufficient to get the idea of the plane's capabilities.

What is massively improved from the Janes guides is the amount of information on the aircraft itself. Where Janes provided a straight and clear guide on what it's capabilities were, they didn't include the narrative on why it was designed, what purpose it fulfilled, and why it was seen as necessary to engineer in the first place. This book goes well beyond the basics and ensures that the full history of the aircraft is there. With plenty of images for each, and informed commentary to go with them, it's a worthy contender for a successor to Jane's guides

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating look at military aircraft through the ages.
It's easy to read for people with no techincal knowledge, and includes fascinating facts, and beautiful illustrations on each one.

[Emily Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an informative and enjoyable book! I really liked photos (I assume from an archive) from WWII. The images are just captivating! The detailed descriptions of the different parts of the planes are nice as well and the book is a good balance of aircraft description and history. Approximately half, or a little over half, of the book is dedicated to WWI and WWII aircraft with the second half discussing the Cold War era to the present. I’m partial to the aircraft of WWII, but the entire book was enjoyable. Definitely a great book for lovers of history or airplanes.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the electronic advance copy!