Book Mil Mi-4 by Jakub Fojtik.This latest authoritative reference work joining the Warpaint series traces the rise of the helicopter in both military and civilian use in the vast territories of the Soviet Union since the mid-1950s. The Mi-4 was the first successful mass production type, and its widespread use with the Soviet Army and Navy saw fundamental changes in tactics and doctrine.Richly illustrated with original images, the story unfolds in detail and tells how the Mi-4 went on to serve globally, from China to Cuba, via Africa, India and the Middle East, and would remain ubiquitous in both military and civilian use throughout the Eastern Bloc and with Soviet client states around the world.The 88-page book recounts the aircraft's inception, development and all the many aspects of its long service. Few aircraft can have achieved so much and remained so unsung, but author Jakub Fojtik brings the story to life with a comprehensive and informed text that makes this book the definitive reference on the type, including all the usual Warpaint features, with illustrations and scale drawings by Sam Pearson.
Book Boeing B-29 and B-50 Superfortress 120 pagesAfter launching the flagship bomber for use in the European theater, Boeing embarked on a journey into the unknown. Bringing together numerous untried technologies, the Boeing Aircraft Company launched its most significant bomber, the B-29 Superfortress. Although plagued by development problems and after suffering the loss of the prototype and its chief test pilot Eddie Allan, the company continued to create the first long-range strategic bombers. After the capture of Pacific islands, B-29 bomber groups began bombing Japanese islands. On the other side of the Himalayas, other bomber groups launched attacks against targets in ??Japan. As combat experience grew, the focus shifted to destroying as much of its production facilities as possible, mainly by bombing areas known to have such targets. And then the world changed forever. The use of two atomic bombs against Hiroshima and Nagasaki had shown the power of the atom. When the Japanese eventually surrendered, the Cold War came to take its place. The Korean War followed, which was the swan song for the B-29 as its younger sibling, the B-50, assumed the Strategic Defense role, a position it held until the arrival of the B-47 Stratojet.One of the largest aircraft of World War II, the B-29 remained in service in various roles throughout the 1950s, being retired in the early 1960s after 3,970 had been built. The Royal Air Force flew the B-29 under the service name "Washington from 1950 to 1954," while the B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II with redesigned engine became the first plane to fly around the world nonstop during a 94-hour flight in 1949. The Soviet Union produced 847 Tupolev Tu-4s, an unlicensed reverse-engineered copy of the B-29. This latest in the essential Warpaint series offers a comprehensive look at the famous bomber in all its forms, with history, development, service details, color illustrations and scale plans by Sam Pearson.
Book Dassault-Mirage F1 by Andy Evans 60 PagesDuring the 1960s, Dassault began development of what would become the Mirage F1 as a private enterprise, along with the larger Mirage F2. Work on the F1 eventually took precedence over the more expensive F2, which was cancelled in the late 1960s. The Armee de l'Air became very interested in the nascent F1 to meet its demand for an all-weather interceptor aircraft. The Mirage F1 was similar in size to the Mirage III and Mirage 5 and was powered by the same SNECMA Atar engine that had been used on the larger Dassault Mirage IV, however, unlike its predecessors, it had an arrow wing arrangement, but mounted high on the fuselage, and a conventional tail surface like that used by the F2. Although it had a smaller wingspan than the Mirage III, the Mirage F1 still proved superior to its predecessor, carrying more fuel and possessing a shorter takeoff run and greater maneuverability. This latest addition to the Warpaint series includes all the usual reference and historical material that has made the series the go-to source for modelers and aviation enthusiasts. This book is written by Andy Evans and is superbly illustrated by Sam Pearson.
Book Vickers Viking, Wellington and Varsity in Military Service. By Adrian M. Balch £19.00 56 pagesThe Vickers VC.1 Viking was a British twin-engine short-range airliner derived from the Vickers Wellington bomber and built by Vickers-Armstrongs Limited at Brooklands near Weybridge in Surrey. After World War II, the Viking was an important airliner for British airlines, pending the development of turboprop aircraft such as the Viscount. The Valetta was a military derivative of the Viking developed into transport and training variants for the Royal Air Force, while the Varsity was a versatile twin-engine piston aircraft developed from the Viking and Valetta but with tricycle undercarriage and a ventral bag for the formation bomb sight, among other changes. It was commissioned into RAF service in 1951 for crew training as a replacement for the Wellington T.10.This Warpaint tells the story of all three types, focusing on military operators, as per the title of the series. It is profusely illustrated by 125 high-quality photographs, almost all in color, from the author's extensive photographic archive and supported by excellent color profiles and plans by Sam Pearson.
Book North-American OV-10 Bronco written by Mike VerierThe complete story of the first true multi-role combat aircraft, the OV-10 Bronco, still in operational flight after nearly sixty years of service, is told here for the first time in a 104-page War Painting bumper. Detailed first-hand information gathered over many years has enabled the author to bring together the many facets of this extraordinarily versatile aircraft, including pre-cursors, competitors and prototypes, through Vietnam and combat service with some eleven U.S. and foreign air forces, and its part in the development of modern precision weapons, to its astonishing range of uses since. These include fighting drug cartels in Colombia, wildfires in California, mosquitoes in South Carolina, and ISIS in northern Iraq. In addition, German "jet" Broncos are finally described in complete and accurate detail. The world's largest restoration project and the current training of U.S. and NATO JTACS update the story.The declassified information has made it possible to detail for the first time all of the long-nosed Model D conversions and all of the Broncos that served in Desert Storm, their preparation, the epic transcontinental deployment of a squadron by air, and the key roles played by the Broncos during the war.The detailed and revealing narrative is profusely illustrated with fully captioned photographs-many never before seen-and supported by personal accounts, individual aircraft histories, airframe listings, scale plans and specially commissioned artwork with complete color scheme information.Warpaint 140 North-American/Rockwell OV-10A/OV-10BAuthor: Mike VerierContents: 104 pages
Book de Havilland (Canada) DHC-2 Beaver By Adrian M. Balch.The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engine short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft with a high-wing propeller developed and manufactured by de Havilland Canada. It has been used primarily as a fighter aircraft and has been used for a wide variety of utility roles, such as cargo and passenger transport, aerial applications (crop dusting and aerial topdressing), and civil aviation tasks. It was used by military forces in a variety of roles around the world and saw conflict in both the Korean and Vietnam wars. Production lasted 20 years and when it finally ceased in 1967, a total of 1,657 DHC-2 Beavers had been built since its first flight in 1947. This is the second de Havilland Canada type in the Warpaint series written by author Adrian Balch with more than 100 rare photographs from his extensive archives, almost all in color and many never before seen, supported once again by excellent color profiles and drawings by artist Sam Pearson.With the recently reprinted Airfix Beaver kit, this is a must for modelers of the type and aviation historians as it is the first complete kit publication on this type in such great detailWarpaint No.139 de Havilland (Canada) DHC-2 BeaverAuthor: Adrian M. Balch56 pagesOver 12 pages Color profiles150 ImagesDetailed plans
Book Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk by Andy Evans - WARPAINT SERIES Now you see it, now you don't! The retirement of the F-117 may seem premature, but is it really over? The informative text traces the history of this remarkable aircraft from its origins Have Blue to its retirement from active frontline service, and takes a look at some of the recent sightings of the aircraft that suggest there may still be a role of some kind . This latest Warpaint includes all the usual expertise and research that has made the series the benchmark for aviation reference material. With complete history, development, detailed guidance, illustrations, and full-color plans, author Andy Evans comprehensively documents this iconic stealth design.
Libro Dambusters and the Avro Lancaster - 64 pagine di Desmond Brennan - WARPAINT SERIES Poche imprese militari hanno catturato l'immaginazione del pubblico tanto quanto il famoso raid dei 'Dambusters' nella notte tra il 16 e il 17 maggio 1943. Per celebrare l'ottantesimo anniversario dell'impresa, la Linee Guida presenta Dambusters e l'Avro Lancaster Lancaster, uno studio completo del raid stesso, i retroscena e la pianificazione che lo hanno portato, e gli uomini e i macchinari che vi hanno preso parte, nonché uno studio ragionato sulle scosse di assestamento. Autore Des Brennan, uno dei nostri scrittori più rispettati su storia dell'aviazione militare, ha raccolto tutti i fili di questa storia sorprendente e li ha intrecciati per presentare un libro che rende omaggio a una delle imprese più straordinarie della Seconda Guerra Mondiale.
Douglas SBD Dauntless By Kev DarlingThe Douglas SBD Dauntless earned a reputation as a great dive bomber even though its predecessors were largely prewar in origin. Many nicknames were given to the SBD during its frontline service, my favorite being "slow but deadly." The original concept was developed by Jack Northrop with the help of Ed Heinemann. The resulting aircraft, the BT-1, had some flaws that would be corrected when the SBD-1 appeared. Definitely a pre-production model, the remainder of this first contract was completed as SBD-2 and had few improvements over the earlier machines. It took the appearance of SBD-3 to create a more warlike machine incorporating self-sealing fuel tanks, armor plating, and improved armament. Each subsequent version showed some improvement; the final version, the SBD-6, is the best of all. The USAAF also used a version of the Dauntless, this being the A-24 Banshee. The only difference between the two models was the lack of naval equipment for carrier operations, otherwise it was the same. Unfortunately, when the SBD-6 appeared, the Dauntless' frontline career was over. However, the Dauntless and its land-based equivalent, the Banshee, had further careers with the Royal Navy, the French Air Force and Navy, Chile, and Mexico.The Douglas SBD Dauntless ("fearless" in English) was a boarded dive bomber produced by the U.S.-based Douglas Aircraft Company in the 1940s and used by Allied forces during World War II.Endowed with high characteristics at the time of its entry into service, it was capable of conducting dive attacks with a 454 or the heavier 726-pound bomb, was characterized by high robustness, and was used efficiently by Marine and U.S. Navy divisions. Its main success, however, remained the sinking of the Japanese aircraft carriers at Midway, winning the most uncertain air-to-air battle of the Pacific War.The U.S. Army had a land-based version of the Dauntless, called the A-24 Banshee, which was essentially the same plane with minor differences (it did not have a arresting hook and the tires were different). It was produced in two versions and employed during and after the war.
Douglas C-47 Skytrain/Dakota By Adrian M. BalchWhen the prototype Douglas DC-3-actually a DST Douglas Sleeper Transport first flew from Clover Field, Santa Monica, California on Sunday 17 December 1935, Donald Wills Douglas never imagined that the production run would total more than 10,000, with more licence built in Russia and Japan, let alone many would be still be flying 86 years later, the C-47 being perpetuated by turbo-prop conversions, seeing the type probably still flying to see its 100th anniversary! Arguably the most famous transport aircraft of all time, the DC-3 and C-47 has been operated by just about every country in the world in service with their airlines and military air arms. This Warpaint has not skimped on the colour schemes and markings used by military operators, the C-47 being named by the USAAF as the Skytrain and the RAF and Commonwealth countries as the Dakota, both names being adopted worldwide. This lavish and extensive Warpaint by author Adrian Balch includes over 300 photographs of military C-47s, nearly all in colour, accompanied by 10 pages of colour profiles by artist Sam Pearson making this the most comprehensive reference to colours and markings for modellers and historians on the type to date.
Boeing B-52A-F Stratofortress. The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress has become an icon although it was the result of a difficult birth courtesy of various officials whose understanding of realistic goals was overridden by the desire to chase an impossible dream. Eventually a great eight engined high winged bomber would appear on the Seattle flight line. The first model would be a development batch with the B Model being the first operational version. From these two batches would come the famous Balls 3 and Balls 8 of NASA fame. Of all the versions of these tall tail bombers the B-52D would be the one that would achieve a certain measure of fame. Not only was this the largest production run of all the models, but it would also be the main bomber used during the Vietnam War having succeeded the B-52F in this role. Eventually the B-52D would be the only survivor remaining in service till it was replaced in the remaining Strategic Air Command Bombardment Wings by the B-52G and B-52H. This book is written by Kev Darling and is superbly illustrated by Sam Pearson.Author Kev Darling96 pages £25.0016 pages of Colour Profiles4 pages detailed plansOver 150 many never seen before images
North-American P-51 Mustang - Warpaint Special no 5 - A massive 108 pages - Author superb and respected Kev Darling - Artwork by John Fox - Over 200 images some never seen before - 16 pages of Colour Profiles - 2 page scale Plans - 4 pages of detailed Aircraft used by various units
Cessna Bird Dog Warpaint Special No 4 Author: Des Brennan. Cessna's Bird Dog was designed and built to serve in what some might regard as the unglamorous field of Army co-operation at a time when attention was more often focused on a growing array of gleaming silver, nuclear-capable jet fighters and bombers deemed essential for a seemingly inevitable Third World War. Nonetheless the Bird Dog was flown sometimes by multiple services and by a wide range of nations on every continent. The Bird Dog served in numerous internal and cross-border conflicts and was from the 1950s into the 1980s, and with the UH-1 Huey helicopter epitomised the role of the United States air power in operations over South-East Asia during the 1960s and into the 1970s. This superb 68-page book is written by Des Brennan with superb colour profiles by Mark Roolfe.
Bristol Britannia including the Canadair CP-107 Argus and CC-106 Yukon by Charles Starface. The Britannia and its Canadian derivatives were not built in huge numbers - 39 Yukons and CL-44s, and 33 Argus were built in Canada. These and the 85 Britannias carried out useful work faithfully and reliably, and all over the world, the last civilian Britannia being retired in 1997. All versions of this interesting aircraft are described in this new Warpaint title written by Charles Stafrace, and illustrated by 115 photos, many of them in colour, in addition to plans and seven pages of artwork by John Fox.
Warpaint Profile & Line Drawings no 1 - American Aircraft of WWII. 100 pages Perfect bound Curtis P-40, Grumman F6F Hellcat, Vought F4U Corsair, Douglas A-20 Havoc, Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, Martin B-26 Marauder, North American B-25 Mitchell and Consolidated B-24 Liberator.