Five days before Christmas 1943, a badly damaged American bomber struggled to fly over wartime Germany. At its controls was a twenty-one-year-old pilot. Half his crew lay wounded or dead. It was their first mission. Suddenly, a sleek, dark shape pulled up on the bomber's tail - a German Messerschmitt fighter. Worse, the German pilot was an ace, a man able to destroy the American bomber with the squeeze of a trigger. What happened next would defy imagination...

"By the New York Times bestselling author of Viper Pilot, former USAF F-16 legend Dan Hampton tells the thrilling story of how fighter pilots have ruled the skies for 100 years, from the Red Baron to today's supersonic jets"-- "By the USAF F-16 legend behind the bestselling memoir Viper Pilot, this is the first comprehensive history of fighter pilots and air combat--a unique, riveting look at the aces of the sky, their machines, their most daring...

"Written by gifted storyteller Winston Groom (author of Forrest Gump), The Aviators tells the saga of three extraordinary aviators--Charles Lindbergh, Eddie Rickenbacker, and Jimmy Doolittle--and how they redefine heroism through their genius, daring, and uncommon courage. From Winston Groom, the best-selling author of Forrest Gump, Shiloh 1862, and Vicksburg 1863, comes the fascinating story of three extraordinary heroes who defined aviation during...

"Area 51's most important military aviation developments are profiled in an illustrated format. When most of us think of Area 51, we think of aliens, UFOs, and controversial government cover-ups. It's easy to forget that, since the mid-1950s, the United States' famed extension of Edwards Air Force Base has served as a top-secret CIA testing ground for many of the most groundbreaking advancements in American military aviation technology. In Area 51...

Twenty-six of the most dramatic true stories ever told of men in aerial combat, from World War I to Vietnam. An unforgettable collection of real-life tales of aerial warfare drawn from a wide a range of sources: American, British, German, Japanese, and more.

An account of the contributions of World War II's Torpedo Squadron Eight traces their role in key U.S. victories at Midway and Guadalcanal, citing the honors achieved and losses suffered by its thirty-five members.

"The creation of the first weapon in history that can stalk and kill an enemy on the other side of the globe was far more than clever engineering. As Richard Whittle shows in Predator, it was the most profound development in military and aerospace technology since the intercontinental ballistic missile. Once considered fragile toys, drones were long thought to be of limited utility. The Predator itself was resisted at nearly every turn by the military...

Shares the author's experiences as a Marine in Afghanistan from 2002-2003.

In 1942 First Lieutenant Cletus Frade, a Marine aviator, and two others are sent to Buenos Aires to sabotage the resupply of German ships and submarines.

"From the winged gods of mythology to the technology of the Stealth Bomber, Aviation: A Smithsonian Guide presents the thrilling panorama of world aviation. It combines fast-paced narrative by Flying Tiger pilot Don Lopez with stunning color visuals from the National Air and Space Museum."--BOOK JACKET. "Seven thematic sections detail landmark events, technological advances, and the drama of the men, women, and aircraft that soared ever higher, farther,...