Doyle. The Douglas A-20 Havoc was a light bomber, attack, and intruder aircraft of World War II. Used by the American Army Air Forces, nearly one-third of the aircraft served with the Soviet military, while many other A-20s fought with the RAF. Taking its first operational shape on the eve of the outbreak of the war in Europe, the 7B prototype actually crashed with a French observer aboard, kicking off a scandal in still-isolationist America where military aircraft were not to be exported. U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt pressed for a change in that restrictive rule and the French, impressed by the plane's rugged dependability and maneuverability, proceeded to place orders for 100 of the aircraft, albeit with modifications that resulted in the DB-7 version. Even before shipments began in November 1939, Paris had increased its order by another 170 aircraft. Many of those, however, found their way into the British RAF, which flew them under the nickname "Boston," after the fall of France in June 1940. The U.S. Army Air Corps issued its first contracts for the aircraft they called the A-20 and A-20A, in May 1939, these were only delivered during the months from late 1940 through much of 1941. A dozen A-20As had recently arrived in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese surprise attack destroyed two of them on the ground. Modifications of the design continued and it was after the U.S. entry into the war when the A-20C version, produced by Douglas and Boeing, first were accepted. Of the first 515 A-20Cs, 108 were retained by the U.S. Army Air Forces, while 407 were shipped off to the Soviet Union. Numerous versions of the aircraft followed. About half of the A-20G were sent to the Soviet Union, as were many of the A-20H. In fact the Soviet air forces had more A-20s than the USAAF. Illustrated with 192 vintage photographs and detailed line drawings. 80 pages.

Squadron Products A-20 Havoc in Action (SC) Squadron Signal Books Model Kit

DOYLE, David

MMD Holdings, LLC

Doyle. Based on the chassis of the M4 Sherman tank and fitted with a 3-inch M7 gun, the M10 was numerically the most important U.S. tank destroyer of WWII. The M10 was built in response to the stunning successes of the German armored Blitzkrieg at the outset of the war in Europe. Fitted with a turret, unlike most self-propelled artillery of the era, the vehicle was more heavily gunned but lightly armored than a tank. M10 crews were expected to make the most of their vehicle's speed and agility. The M10 received its baptism of fire in Tunisia in 1943 where it demonstrated its ability to destroy most German Panzers then in service. Illustrated with more than 135 vintage photographs and detailed line drawings. 80 pages.

Squadron Products M10 Tank Destroyer in Action (SC) Squadron Signal Books Model Kit

David Doyle

Written by David Doyle. Illustrated with over 200 photographs, 72 pages. New book never used or pre-owned. Published by Squadron Signal Publications. In service for only a decade, the supersonic bomber was dubbed the 'Hustler', a tribute to its impressive performance. The effort that resulted in the B-58, which saw its heyday in the 1960s, began back in February 1949 the Air Research and Development Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base initiated the second Generalized Bomber Study (GEBO II). The first of these, the 43d Bomb Wing, was based from 1960 into 1964 at Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, Texas, adjacent to the factory where the B-58s were built, then moved in 1964 to Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas, where it remained until the Hustler’s retirement in 1970. Despite its impressive performance, the B-58 was not without shortcomings. Accordingly, in 1965, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered the B-58 phased out by 1974. Then, as the Nixon Administration made one last attempt to bring the Vietnam War to a successful end, Defense Secretary Melvin Laird advanced this phase-out to Fiscal Year 1970 to cut defense expenditures. Accordingly, the aircraft were, except for a few display specimens, shuttled off to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, where they lingered in storage until 1977, at which time they were sold for scrap to Southwestern Alloys.

Squadron Signal Publications B-58 Hustler in Action

Dann. 'Expanded Edition with more photos, updated content and 20 extra pages'. The Curtiss P-40 War hawk, a U.S. single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft, first took to the air in1939. In service throughout World War II and used by most Allied powers during the war, the P-40 was the third most-produced American pursuit plane. A total of 13,738 of the aircraft were produced by the time output ceased in November of 1944. The P-40 first saw combat with British Commonwealth forces in June 1941, even before the U.S. had entered the conflict. It was in the Pacific, however, that the aircraft became an icon. Decorated with menacing shark mouths, P-40s served as workhorse fighters of the American Volunteer Group – better known as the "Flying Tigers," who came to China in late 1941, following the withdrawal of the Soviet Volunteer Group earlier that year, as the USSR faced with the full onslaught of Nazi Germany, struggled to maintain a precarious neutrality with Japan and avoid a two-front war. Meanwhile, the P-40 was the first Allied fighter to be supplied to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease for use against the Germans. After Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Army Air Force flew the P-40 extensively in the Mediterranean Theater and during Operation Torch and the subsequent advance northwards into Europe.  Illustrated with 168 photographs, numerous color profiles, and detailed line drawings, this volume traces the development of the various modifications of the P-40 throughout the war years and carries on with a few contemporary shots of surviving P-40s still going through their paces at airshows today. 80 pages.

Squadron Products P-40 War Hawk in Action (SC) Squadron Signal Books Model Kit

Dann, Richard

Sullivan, Scrivener. 'Expanded Edition with more photos, updated content and 20 extra pages'. During World War II, the United States Navy needed a powerful fighter to counter the Japanese Zero. After their debut in combat in early 1943, Hellcats scored more than 5,000 confirmed kills with a 19-to-1 kill ratio. The folding-wing aircraft were capable of operating from carriers or land. Some were equipped with radar for night combat. The heavily-armed fighters could pack armament including six wing-mounted.50-caliber machine guns, 20mm cannons, wing-mounted rockets and a bomb rack. Flown by both the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, the aircraft was also employed by the British Fleet Air Arm during World War II. France also made use of the aircraft after the war, employing it during the Indochina conflict in the early 1950s. In American service after the Second World War, remote-controlled versions of the aircraft were used to test atomic bomb blasts and as flying bombs. Illustrated with more than 200 photographs, color profiles, and detailed line drawings. 80 pages.

F6F Hellcat In Action (SC) Squadron Signal Books

Sullivan, Jim

Scrivner, Charles

Squadron Products World War II Jeep in Action (SC) Squadron Signal Books Model Kit

History

Military

Doyle. Its contrails twisting through the clouds, one fighter aircraft was able to escort America's heavy bombers from England to Berlin, and from Iwo Jima to Tokyo – the North American P-51 Mustang. Beyond bomber escort, this iconic Pursuit (later F- for fighter) aircraft was employed against ground targets using machine guns, rockets, and bombs – in fact one variant was specifically produced as a dive bomber, an Allied counterpart to Germany's famed Stuka. Including derivatives, the Mustang soldiered on in the arsenal of America and her allies into the 1980s, and was responsible for downing over 5,000 enemy aircraft. This new 80-page edition of a classic book about an iconic aircraft includes over 170 photos, one-third of which are in rare vintage color. Detailed line drawings and color profiles augment the archival images to present this new look at the Mustang, from the early experimental NA-73X to the PA-48, the final military variant. 80 pages.

Squadron Products P-51 Mustang in Action (SC) Squadron Signal Books Model Kit

Doyle. The Republic F-105 Thunder chief was the largest single-seat, single engine combat aircraft to enter production, was conceived as supersonic, low altitude fighter-bomber capable of delivering a heavy nuclear payload. While never used as intended, the Thunder chief did see extensive combat. The F-105 carried the brunt of the U.S. bombing campaign during the early part of the U.S. involvement in Vietnam by completing more than 20,000 sorties. While serviced and flown by brave and competent men, the extremely sophisticated Mach 2-capable F-105, or 'Thud' as the type was nicknamed, was ill suited for repetitive missions in humid Southeast Asia. Maintenance requirements exceeded 100 man-hours labor per flight hour. Further, combat losses rose to almost half of the 833-unit production total. Ultimately, the F-105 was withdrawn from the theater. Features development, production and deployment of the seven Thunder chief models with nearly 200 vintage photos, more than half are in original color, augmented with a dozen line drawings and eight color profiles. 80 pages.

Squadron Products F-105 Thunder Chief in Action (SC) Squadron Signal Books Model Kit

By the time the Third Reich collapsed in 1945, the Messerschmitt firm had produced some 34,000 examples of the legendary Bf 109, making it the most prolific aircraft of the era. Key to this tremendous output and to the plane's longevity was a simple design that allowed rapid production, even by unskilled Zwangsarbeiter (forced laborers), and gave Messerschmitt an advantage over the Focke Wulf Fw 190. The Nazis came to power in January 1933 intent on scrapping the Versailles Treaty that banned Germany from having an air force. Issued on 15 February 1934, the request by the new Reichsluftfahrtsministerium (Air Ministry) for a single-seat daytime air-combat fighter with a top speed of 400 kmh brought new life to the financially strapped Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG (BFW). BFW began work on the plane, its first military aircraft, that December, and in May 1935 the Bf 109 V1 prototype took to the air (10 months before the first Spitfire) launching the career of an iconic plane whose numerous versions served the Reich until the end of WWII. Covers the entire career of the Bf 109 in all its versions and variations.

Messerschmitt Bf 109 In Action

Stapfer, Hans-Heiri

John Gurley. In 1966 a Landing Craft Coordinating Group was assembled to discuss and draft specifications for a new landing craft. The work resulted in the Patrol Air Cushion Vehicle (PACV) that saw service in the Vietnam War. By 1970 designs for an Amphibious Assault Landing Craft (AALC) were on the drawing board. The U.S. Navy ordered the first three LCACs February 1982. LCACs move over rocks and other beach obstacles and have reduced susceptibility to damage from mines. The crew consists of five enlisted personnel: a Deck Engineer, a Load Master, a Navigator, an Engineer, and a Craft Master. LCACs are not given names, only pennant numbers to differentiate between them. With an originally specified 30-year life expectancy, LCACs would have begun to retire in 2004 but for a major Service Live Extension Program (SLEP) begun in 2001. Packed with more than 240 vivid color photos, comprehensive tables, color profiles and detailed line drawings. 80 pages.

Squadron Products Landing Craft Air Cushioned in Action (SC) Squadron Signal Books Model Kit

Gourley, John

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