Christopher ChantReseñas

300 letounú z období druhé světové války s barevným vyobrazením. U každého letounu jsou uvedeny údaje o rozměrech, hmotnostech, výzbroji a pohonných jednotkách. U každého letounu jsou uvedeny údaje o jeho vývoji a nasazení. Rejstřík pro snazší vyhledávání.

Bohatý ilustrovaný průvodce tanky a bojovými obrněnými vozidly od roku 1916. Kniha přináší podrobný vyobrazení a přehled základních údaj téměř 250různých typů vozidel,

Offers technical specifications and background information on fighters, bombers, helicopters, and transport and reconnaissance aircraft. Fighter, Bomber, Attack Aircraft from 1960-1983 + helicopters, Maritime Patrol & Transport aircraft.

9 1/4"x11 3/4" 320 page illustrated hardcover with dustjacket on Aviation published by Chartwell Books/Orbis Publishing in 1978

Over 250 of the world's most important, influential aircraft, from the first powered aircraft, the Wright Brother's 'Flyer' to Northrop's highly advanced B-2 stealth bomber. Commercial aircraft such as the Douglas DC-3 Dakota and the new A380 double decker Airbus, are detailed as are many of the classic fighters and bombers from World War II, such as the Supermarine Spitfire, North American P-51 Mustang and Boeing B-17 Fortress.

All the essential detail is here. Fascinating histories of the design, development, manufacture, and service life of each aircraft are accompanied by a technical specification highlighting on its most important variants. Each is illustrated by a large and detailed color side view artwork, a three-view general arrangement line drawing, and supported with additional photographs.

Air Warfare covers everything from World War I right up to the 1973 Middle East war between Israel and her Arab neighbors. The book also contains entries for newer aircraft of the time like the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, SEPECAT Jaguar, and the Panavia Tornado MRCA.
collection of three volumes from the Illustrated War Library series, one of which also saw print as a Purnell's HISTORY OF THE WORLD WARS Special. The World War Two section is entirely taken from "War In The Air 1939-1945”…contains: 320 technically perfect full color profile drawings displaying most major aircraft in their combat markings; many original maps and diagrams

One of the publisher's collectable Super Profile series, providing a good history of the birth and development of the Harrier right through to the Sea Harrier and the Harrier GR Mk 5Generally known as the “jump jet”, the Harrier uses the unique properties of ‘four-poster’ vectoring-thrust technology for short or vertical take-offs and landings. Thus it is not dependent on the runways that would be among the first casualties of a major war. Yet this British invention, developed from a French idea with American money, long remained little more than a toy. The Harrier was slowly proved in British and American service, and the Falklands campaign of 1982 showed how capable and essential this type really is. This is a superbly illustrated account of the Harrier.

From the moment World War II began--with the German invasion of Poland--to its end in 1945 with the American bombings of Hiroshima/Nagasaki, it was clear that aircraft would play a crucial tactical role. Afterwards, air power became the absolute arbiter of the new world order that emerged from that cataclysmic confrontation. Here are 300 of the top planes from both the Axis and Allied forces, including the famous Supermarine Spitfire, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, North American P-51 Mustang, Messerschmitt Bf 109, and Boeing B-17 Fortress.

Pictures and describes varied forms of aircraft from the Wright Flyer to the 1972 Moonship, Onion. History of the rise of military aircraft from the first days of observation balloons and the pioneer warplanes of 1914-1918 to the hyper-sophisticated, multi-role machines that dominate the battlefields of the 1970s. The book is illustrated throughout with original colour artwork, diagrams, maps and contemporary photographs. Fighters and Bombers in action.

Overview of aviation's first century. From 19th-century experiments to stealth technologies, each illustration-heavy chapter includes explanations of the various aerodynamic and practical problems that were encountered and overcome by a variety of innovations and developments, such as the slotted wing, used to prevent stalling of an aircraft. Milestone events-Bleriot crossing the English Channel in 1909, Lindbergh crossing the Atlantic and Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier,

To celebrate the first full century of powered flight, the National Aviation Hall of Fame and the Aviation World's Fair, together with World of Wings, Inc., have joined forces with premier aviation historian Christopher Chant and world-famous illustrator John Batchelor to showcase an astonishing march of progress.

An idiosyncratic choice, based on my enjoyment of the John Biggins novels. A little disappointing, though; like most Osprey books, the target audience is primarily military modelers and only secondarily people interested in history. Thus there are lots of rare pictures of aircraft and pilots, a central color section with pretty aircraft paintings, and accounts of individual aircraft actions, but not too much on the entire WWI air campaign on the Serbian, Russian and Italian fronts.


It’s clear that Biggins did excellent research documenting Otto Prohaska’s career. The change from submarine to aviation service in the novels seemed to be an implausible plot device, but in fact it doesn’t seem that unusual for KuK soldiers to change branch of services; at least one KuK ace alternated between being a pilot and an infantry officer on the Isonzo front. The practice of using enlisted men to fly aircraft while officers sat in the rear seat and acted as observers was also as discussed by Biggins; in one case an NCO pilot was refused permission to scramble and attack incoming Italian aircraft because there was no officer available to ride in the back seat. One thing not mentioned by Biggins is the KuK’s unconventional way of awarding air victories; every aircrew member involved in the action was awarded one victory for each enemy aircraft shot down – i.e., if two KuK two-seaters shot down a single Russian aircraft, there would be four victories awarded – one for each pilot and one for each observer. This means the total of all KuK victories awarded is greater than the number of enemy aircraft actually destroyed.


Austro-Hungarian aircraft were pretty miserable – there were only 35 available when the war started – until they began getting license-built Albatross’; the exception being the Lohner flying-boat fighters, which looked ungainly but apparently performed well enough that they were copied by the Italians and the #15 KuK ace (and highest scoring naval ace) flew one.


The individual accounts of the aces’ careers have some amusing anecdotes; a group of five pilots escaped from a prison in Montenegro and fled back to Austrian lines by stealing the Prince of Montenegro’s limousine; two pilots managed to bomb a military review attended by the Tsar, and one officer-observer was credited with shooting down an enemy aircraft with his Mauser C96 personal sidearm (why wasn’t he using a Steyr, I wonder?)


Good enough if your interested in this sort of thing, although, like all Osprey books, a little pricey.

Tato encyklopedie zahrnuje 125 typů nejen parních lodí sloužících převážně k obchodním účelům. Popisuje základní znaky prvních parou poháněných lodí používaných jako remorkéry, ale také obrovských plavidel současnosti poháněných spíše naftou než parou. V knize jsou popsány první transatlantické lodě určené pro přepravu osob, velké zaoceánské parníky z let 1880–1960, ale i další typy plavidel, jako jsou letadlové lodě a tankery, které sehrály významnou úlohu během první i druhé světové války, či specializované nákladní lodě pro dopravu kontejnerů a hromadných nákladů, jež bývají vybaveny jeřáby a dalšími zařízeními, která usnadňují vykládku a nakládku.

While containing useful information about the Hapsburg air arm and its pilots, it's a bit off-putting how much of this booklet is devoted to providing a general survey of Vienna's war effort. It makes one appreciate that a new number in the series concentrating on Austrian Albatros aces is coming out; my initial impression is good.½

For a slender coffee-table book, this is surprisingly good. Nicely produced on good paper that takes photographs well, the book tells the story of the development of first the British strategic bomber types in general, and then the development of the Lancaster through its earlier twin-engined variant the Manchester, then on through its post-war incarnation as the Lincoln, with mention of its transport variants the York and the Lancastrian, and its final development as the Shackleton. There is a surprising amount of unit information and sheer anorakism, too.

The "Super profile" series was quite heavily criticised by enthusiasts when it first apperared; it was branded as a mere packaging exercise, with medium-quality pictures that could generally be found elsewhere, and none of the colour three-views that the original 'Profile' publications pioneered in the 1960s and 1970s. However, in the case of this title, these observations were secondary to the notoriety of the subject; it was published only a couple of years after the Falklands War, where the type saw action with the Argentine Naval Air Arm, and this was one of the first assessments of the type's combat performance and record to appear for the UK enthusiast.½

The "Super profile" series was quite heavily criticised by enthusiasts when it first apperared; it was branded as a mere packaging exercise, with medium-quality pictures that could generally be found elsewhere, and none of the colour three-views that the original 'Profile' publications pioneered in the 1960s and 1970s. However, in the case of this title, these observations were secondary to the standard of the photographs which, in the Cold War era that the book dates from, were quite good, even though the bulk of the pictures of the MiG-21 originated from Finnish examples rather than Soviet ones. What Soviet pictures there were were up to the same standard, however, and so this "Super profile" merited consideration at the time. Of course, since then, good pictures of Soviet aircraft have become widely available; but no-one knew what would happen just a few years after this book first saw light of day!½

An excellent, well-illustrated and comprehensive survey of air warfare and the men and planes which pursued it from the beginning of powered flight to the mid-1970s. The strategic contexts of the various conflicts covered are described well, as are the various air battles and campaigns with references to and useful technical data on the aircraft involved.

Synopsis

From its first use in 1914 to bomb Zeppelin sheds to its current use as a means of enforcing peace, the bomber has become one of the world's most effective and feared weapons. In World War I bombers flew as tactical weapons on the battlefield due to its short range and lack of power. By the mid 1930s there came a major change as the bomber's capabilities were dramatically increased. Engines became more powerful, and sleek all-metal monoplanes with enclosed cockpits and internal bombloads, like the Heinkel He III and Dornier Do 17, were deployed, proving their effectiveness in the early campaigns of World War II. Yet while the Germans concentrated on tactical bombing, the Allied nations made strategic bombing a major part of their war effort. Losses were heavy as the German air defences took their toll, but by 1944 the bombing efforts by Boeing B-17s and Avro Lancasters were seriously degrading Germany's ability to wage the war.

The dropping of two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 finally turned the bomber into a weapon of grand strategic capability. Throughout the Cold War, the United States and Soviet Union produced ever more capable turbine-powered bombers, like the giant B-52 and Tupolev Tu-95 Bear, that later added missile launching to their repertoire. Today only the US can afford to continue development, production, and deployment of strategic bombers like the highly advanced B-2 Stealth aircraft.

Magnificently illustrated throughout with photographs and full-color artworks, The World's Great Bombers details the development, unique features, and operational capabilities of the major bomber types. Each artwork is accompanied by the relevant technical specifications for the aircraft, including armament, powerplant, performance, and dimensions. The book provides a mass of information on one of the most decisive weapons of the last 100 years.

It has a grand title, but fundamentally this book is a sequence of different ships. Some are specific well-known vessels while others are generic types, each discussed in a couple of pages (or 4 for larger entries) with perhaps a couple of small illustrations, all in colour, and mostly with brief data (size, speed, complement etc) where available.

I can't really recommend this book! It is a smallish glossy 'coffee table' book and as such would be ideal for a general reader as a basic introduction to the subject were it not for too many faults: it isn't an "encyclopaedia" nor is it in any way "complete"; many important entries are superficial, while other less consequential entries are exaggerated; some of the choices seem rather bizarre (eg several America`s Cup racers); with one or two exceptions, it is almost entirely dedicated to 'western' vessels; it is littered with errors; virtually every page contains one or more irritating 'typos'; the opening 'history of sail' chapter is far too shallow.

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