Spotlights an oft-overlooked and under-sung aircraft type, the North American F-82 Twin Mustang. Features over 100 black and white photographs and illustrations, showing the craft in development as well as in flight.
Consolidated-Vultee Aircraft Corporation's (Convair) attempt to make a few design changes to its famous B-24 Liberator for the U.S. Navy in 1942 eventually evolved into the PB4Y-2 Privateer, a 70,000-pound patrol bomber equipped with state-of-the-art electronics gear, armed with twelve .50-caliber machine guns, and the capability to deliver bombs, depth charges, and guided missiles. Beginning with the development and production of the aircraft, this book presents an in-depth examination of the patrol bomber's entire operational history from 1942 to the present. Containing over 260 photographs and line art, the book covers the PB4Y-2's service with the U.S. Navy, French Aeronavale, Republic of China Air Force, various countries of Latin America, and finally as a slurry bomber for aerial fire fighting companies.
The book explores the development of radar-equipped night fighter aircraft used by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps during World War II, focusing on the Vought and Grumman models. It details the operational history of night variants like the F4U-2 Corsair and F6F-3/5N Hellcat, as well as post-war fighters such as the F7F-3N Tigercat. Accompanied by previously unpublished color and black-and-white photographs, it offers a visual journey through the evolution of these crucial aircraft in nighttime combat.
Focusing on the operational history of the United States Navy's patrol and bombing squadrons, this revised edition delves into the use of the B-24 Liberator and its successor, the PB4Y-2 Privateer, during the final months of World War II against Japan. The author enriches the narrative with personal accounts, over 300 photographs, a detailed record of aerial victories, and a comprehensive list of personnel casualties. Additionally, it includes squadron records and the roster of aircraft deployed in the Pacific theater from 1943 to 1945.
A narrative history of the United States naval air operations against German U-Boats and Italian submarines in the Atlantic and Caribbean, 1941-45.
Osprey's examination of the PV Ventura/Harpoon Units and of their participation in World War II (1939-1945). A development of the successful Lockheed 'medium twins' of the late 1930s, the PV Ventura/Harpoon family of patrol bombers saw widespread service with both the US Navy/Marine Corps and the TAF and Commonwealth from October 1942 onwards. The USAAF also used surplus Venturas originally ordered by the RAF, designated B-34 Lexingtons, in the bomber training and coastal patrol roles. The final variant in this family was the larger PV-2 Harpoon, which was built to a US Navy requirement from March 1944 onwards. Used primarily in the Pacific, 470 Harpoons saw frontline service on anti-shipping and submarine patrols through to VJ-Day. This book covers each of these variants in complete illustrated detail.
Focusing on USN B-24 Liberator and PB4Y-2 Privateer operations in the Pacific, this book offers a detailed account of their roles during the final eleven months of World War II against Japan. The author enriches the narrative with personal stories, over 200 photographs, and comprehensive records, including aerial kills, personnel casualties, and squadron histories. This work serves as a tribute to the bravery of those involved in these crucial missions, providing a thorough overview of the aircraft's contributions from 1943 to 1945.
Alan Carey's new book, his fifth on USN and USMC bomber units of the Second World War, is the story of U.S. Navy Fleet Air Wing Seven (FAW-7) and the men who flew the Navy version of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber out of Dunkeswell and Upottery, England during World War II. Navy PB4Y-1 Liberator squadrons were unlike their counterparts in the U.S. Army's 8th Air Force, who battled their way through thick flak and swarms of German fighters while flying to and from targets in continental Europe. The job of U.S. Navy PB4Y-1 Liberator aircrews was to keep German U-boats from successfully operating in the Bay of Biscay and the English Channel by going out day after day, often in miserable weather conditions, on unrelenting search and destroy missions. During the war, FAW-7 Liberators were responsible for the sinking of five U-boats and damaging many more.
Focusing on a United States Navy land-based squadron, this meticulously researched work chronicles its history from commissioning in August 1943 through the end of World War II. It features previously unpublished combat and nose art photography, details the squadron's tactical organization, and provides a comprehensive mission record for each aircrew. Additionally, it honors personnel killed in action and includes an appendix listing Japanese shipping and aircraft affected by the squadron's operations, making it a vital resource for military history enthusiasts.
This revised and expanded second edition covers USN and USMC squadrons that operated the Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber as the PB4Y-1 in the Pacific from early 1943 through September 1944 in the Central Pacific. Combat air crews consisted of eleven young men typically ages 18 to 26 led by a patrol plane commander in his early to mid-twenties. They flew alone on single-plane patrols often lasting ten or more hours. Alone on patrol there were no witnesses when an aircraft failed to return to base; they simply vanished, leaving little if any clues about their fate. Other aircrews sent to look for the missing would occasionally spot a deflated life raft floating or dye marker spreading across the water--evidence marking where a four-engine bomber and its crew had gone down.