The Origin of the Fighter Aircraft

The Origin of the Fighter Aircraft PDF Author: Jon Guttman
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781594162978
Category : Fighter planes
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
From Scouts to Balloon-busters, the Emergence of Air-to-Air Combat in World War I When World War I began in August 1914, the airplane had already proven its worth as an intelligence gathering "eye-in-the-sky." These scouting aircraft soon became indispensable to armies on both sides, and the attempt to drive enemy planes away began in earnest. Local air superiority was incorporated into battlefield strategy, and the use of aircraft to conduct offensive operations would change warfare as dramatically as the first firearms 300 years before. By the end of 1915, the basic formula of the armed scout settled on a single-seater with a machine gun synchronized to fire through its propeller blades. This heavily armed aircraft became the first true fighter plane whose primary function was to destroy enemy aircraft, whether scouts, balloons, bombers, or other fighters. A new glamorized "knight of the air" was born: the ace, a fighter pilot who brought down five or more opponents. From 1916 on, as the combatants relied on airplanes more, flying tactics and strategy--including mass formations--were developed for what would become a deadly struggle for complete air superiority. By 1918, the final year of the war, air battles could be as sprawling as those on the ground. In The Origin of the Fighter Aircraft, historian Jon Guttman tells the engrossing story of how one of the most amazing inventions became a integral component of warfare. Balancing technical description, personalities, and battle accounts, the author demonstrates that by the end of World War I most of the fundamentals for modern aerial combat had been established.

The Origin of the Fighter Aircraft

The Origin of the Fighter Aircraft PDF Author: Jon Guttman
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781594162978
Category : Fighter planes
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
From Scouts to Balloon-busters, the Emergence of Air-to-Air Combat in World War I When World War I began in August 1914, the airplane had already proven its worth as an intelligence gathering "eye-in-the-sky." These scouting aircraft soon became indispensable to armies on both sides, and the attempt to drive enemy planes away began in earnest. Local air superiority was incorporated into battlefield strategy, and the use of aircraft to conduct offensive operations would change warfare as dramatically as the first firearms 300 years before. By the end of 1915, the basic formula of the armed scout settled on a single-seater with a machine gun synchronized to fire through its propeller blades. This heavily armed aircraft became the first true fighter plane whose primary function was to destroy enemy aircraft, whether scouts, balloons, bombers, or other fighters. A new glamorized "knight of the air" was born: the ace, a fighter pilot who brought down five or more opponents. From 1916 on, as the combatants relied on airplanes more, flying tactics and strategy--including mass formations--were developed for what would become a deadly struggle for complete air superiority. By 1918, the final year of the war, air battles could be as sprawling as those on the ground. In The Origin of the Fighter Aircraft, historian Jon Guttman tells the engrossing story of how one of the most amazing inventions became a integral component of warfare. Balancing technical description, personalities, and battle accounts, the author demonstrates that by the end of World War I most of the fundamentals for modern aerial combat had been established.

Curtiss Fighter Aircraft

Curtiss Fighter Aircraft PDF Author: Francis H. Dean
Publisher: Schiffer Military History
ISBN: 9780764325809
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Making use of primary Curtiss documents, as well as the combined resources of the world's leading historians of the subject, the authors have skillfully resolved myths and woven a comprehensive study of the often very confusing story of these classic airplanes. Making use of previously unpublished documents and photographs, this massive, life-long work will stand as a legacy to the memory of those wonderful shapes, the men and women who built them, flew them and took them to war, and the lasting contributions they have made, collectively, to aviation history and the defense of democracy.

The World Encyclopedia of Fighter Aircraft

The World Encyclopedia of Fighter Aircraft PDF Author: Francis Crosby
Publisher: Lorenz Books
ISBN: 9780754834748
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Explores the development and history and an A-Z of over 170 aircraft, with 600 photographs, in a new fully updated edition.

Fighter Planes

Fighter Planes PDF Author: Mark Dartford
Publisher: Lerner Publications
ISBN: 9780822547068
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 56

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Book Description
An overview of the history and characteristics of fighter planes.

Fighter

Fighter PDF Author: John Batchelor
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 153

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Book Description


The Cutting Edge

The Cutting Edge PDF Author: Mark A. Lorell
Publisher: Rand Corporation
ISBN: 0833025953
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 247

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Book Description
The proposition that innovation is critical in the cost-effective design and development of successful military aircraft is still subject to some debate. RAND research indicates that innovation is promoted by intense competition among three or more industry competitors. Given the critical policy importance of this issue in the current environment of drastic consolidation of the aerospace defense industry, the authors here examine the history of the major prime contractors in developing jet fighters since World War II. They make use of an extensive RAND database that includes nearly all jet fighters, fighter-attack aircraft, and bombers developed and flown by U.S. industry since 1945, as well as all related prototypes, modifications, upgrades, etc. The report concludes that (1) experience matters, because of the tendency to specialize and thus to develop system-specific expertise; (2) yet the most dramatic innovations and breakthroughs came from secondary or marginal players trying to compete with the industry leaders; and (3) dedicated military R&D conducted or directly funded by the U.S. government has been critical in the development of new higher-performance fighters and bombers.

Fighter Aircraft Combat Debuts, 1915-1945

Fighter Aircraft Combat Debuts, 1915-1945 PDF Author: Jon Guttman
Publisher: Westholme Publishing
ISBN: 9781594162008
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
An International History of the Development, Competition, and Deployment of High-Speed, Maneuverable, Fighter Aircraft During the Era of the World Wars Of all military aircraft, fighter planes hold a mystique all their own. Perhaps it is because fighters can afford the least compromise: when the goal is to seize and maintain control of the air, the confrontation is direct. During World War I, the concept of air superiority took hold and in the ensuing decades the development of fighter aircraft became an ongoing back-and-forth battle, with adversaries trying to gain an upper hand through innovations in aerodynamics, powerplants, and armament. Fighter Aircraft Combat Debuts, 1915-1945: Innovation in Air Warfare Before the Jet Age by prominent aviation expert Jon Guttman explores the first combats for a variety of fighters of World War I, the conflicts of the so-called "interwar years," and World War II--a thirty-year period that saw the birth of the fighter concept and its maturity on the threshold of the Jet Age. Most of the aircraft described are fairly well known to aviation historians and a few names, such as Sopwith Camel, Fokker Triplane, Messerschmitt Me-109, Mitsubishi Zero, North American Mustang, and Supermarine Spitfire, are familiar even to the most nonaviation- minded persons. Not so well-known are the circumstances of their combat debuts, in which some, such as the Zero, made their mark almost from the outset, but in which others, like the British Bristol F.2A, showed rather less promise than they would ultimately realize. While a certain amount of space must be devoted to the technical development of these famous fighters, these studies of first combats serve as a reminder that it is the human factor, with all its special quirks, that inevitably came into play when these deadly flying machines first fired their guns. Profusely illustrated, Fighter Aircraft Combat Debuts is an authoritative history of one of the most enduring subjects in military aviation.

Fighter!

Fighter! PDF Author: Bill Gunston
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780760713785
Category : Fighter planes
Languages : en
Pages : 104

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Book Description
Fighters are the thoroughbreds of the aviation world-They are agile, fast, lethally armed killers designed to win and challenge enemy aircraft and to win superiority of the skies. They are created to be deadly.

ABC's of Fighter Planes

ABC's of Fighter Planes PDF Author: David Blanchard
Publisher: Perfect Commando Productions
ISBN: 1939977428
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 54

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Book Description
ABC’s of Fighter Planes delves into the history of military aircraft from World War 1 to the present, from prototypes, to air superiority. Done in the style of a children’s ABC book, with a unique airframe selected for each letter, and its technical data and historical over view listed side by side ABC’s of Fighter Planes is great for military and aviation enthusiasts.

Wings That Stay on

Wings That Stay on PDF Author: Edward V. Coggins
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
ISBN: 1681621770
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
From the Preface: This book was required. As a former professor of military history at the American Military University (AMU) and a retired USAF Colonel, I wanted to teach a course on the effects of fighter aviation in war. In addition, I wanted to create a course that was a "hands-on" approach to fighter aviation history. Having flown USAF fighters for more than 20 years, I felt I had a good working knowledge of fighter aviation, but when I researched the subject I found I would have to ask my students to read scores of books to provide the background they would need. There was no "single-source" book that covered everything I wanted to cover. I determined to write that book. I wanted to write a straightforward book in plain language that would not bore fighter pilots and at the same time that would be simple enough to be attractive to laymen as well as air power historians. That is what I have done, I have covered some detailed thoughts about fighter flying in what Southern Americans might call "biscuits and gravy" language. The overriding premise of the text, is that the fighter has been the key element in the air power equation and continues in that role today although this role may be changing with the advent of good, reliable, beyond visual range air-to-air missies. This view has not been universally held over the years; however, it is a view that has been held by fighter pilots since the advent of the fighter. More and more historians are beginning to support this view. Table of Contents: World War I; Fighter Development Between Wars; The Air Wars Between World Wars; Fighter Development In World War II; The Korean War; The Fighter In The Vietnam War; The Arab-Israeli Wars; The India-Pakistani Conflicts; The Air War In The Falklands; Soviet Experience In Afghanistan; The Persian Gulf War; The Future; Summary And Conclusions.\; Appendices Definitions.