Bücher veröffentlicht von Philedition

Hawker had its roots in the aftermath of the First World War, which resulted in the bankruptcy of the Sopwith Aviation Company. The new team began to work on new models and during the 20s and the 30s, the company produced a few fighter aircraft which saw operational service with the RAF. Until Hawker designed the famous Hurricane, a few biplane fighters were put into service in the RAF, the Woodcock, the Fury, the Nimrod and the Demon of which the last three were still in service when war broke out even if it was not necessary in the fighter role. Over 100 photos and 9 colour profiles illustrate the book, a book which covers also the usage of the Fury by the SAAF which fought again the Italians in East Africa in 1940-1941 and the Demon by the RAAF.

The Douglas Boston or Havoc is one major aircraft of WW2. Designed as a light bomber, it proved to be very versatile and was used with success in various roles over all theaters of operations. In the RAF it served as a night fighter for defensive role (see SQUADRONS! 24), but in the same time the RAF found the type perfectly suited for offensive operations by night to harrass the Germans airfields when the Fighter Command went to the offensive in the spring of 1941. This book tells how the Boston/Havoc was used between 1941 and 1943 in the intruder role from the UK by three squadrons, Nos. 23, 418 RCAF and 605. 52 pages, over 40 photos, 6 color profiles.

The Spitfire XIV was the logical development of the Spitfire Mk XII (see SQUADRONS! 5). The Mk.XIV differed from the Mk.XII in that the longer, two-stage supercharged Griffon 65 was mounted further forward. A new five-bladed Rotol propeller was used and was the most obvious visual difference compared to earlier marks. The first batch of aircraft to fly with the Griffon 60 series engines were six converted Mk.VIIIs . The first one of these was flown on 20 January 1943, with production ordered following a series of trials. The first aircraft left the production line in October 1943 following the amendment of existing Spitfire contracts. The XIV was initially seen as an interim design pending the Spitfire Mk.XVIII’s availability. Delays with the XVIII meant the XIV became one of the major Spitfire fighter variants and a valuable asset for the RAF during the final year of the war. The XIV was built as a fighter, but was also developed for fighter-reconnaissance (FR) to replace the effective, but ageing, Mustang in the Tac/R role. The mark remained in service with the RAF and various foreign air forces, including Belgium, well after the war. During the war only a limited number of squadrons were re-equipped with the type and among them, one Belgian squadron (350) and one Dutch squadron (322). This book covers the operational usage of the Spitfire XIV by those two units which were engaged against the V-1 and with the 2 TAF. This book is illustrated with about 35 photos and five colour profiles.

The Douglas Boston or Havoc is one major aircraft of WW2. Designed as a light bomber, it proved to be very versatile and was used with success in various roles over all theatres of operations. In the RAF it served as a night fighter for defensive role since the beginning, first with conventional equipment, later using various devices like the land mines or a huge searchlight installed in the nose. This book tells how the Havoc was used between 1941 and 1943 in this role. 48 pages, over 30 photos and 4 colour profiles. Updated November 2019.