History and Archaeology

As of 2023, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is the fastest manned jet aircraft ever produced. It set the record in 1976 and has been retired since the late 1990s. With its unrivaled speed and stunning appearance, the Blackbird has maintained an almost supernatural mystique to this day. The type entered service in the 1960s as a high-altitude (and obviously extremely high speed) military reconnaissanc

The 11th SS Freiwilligen (Volunteer) Panzergrenadier Division “Nordland” was formed in 1943. Despite what the name indicated, this was not an all-volunteer or fully Nordic unit. The ranks were filled with men from across Europe, many of them conscripts. A cadre of Norwegians in the Regiment 23 “Norge” and Danes in the Regiment 24 “Danmark” formed the backbone of the new division. Nordland was dep

The M42 Duster was a tracked antiaircraft vehicle developed by Cadillac for the US Army in the early 1950s. The vehicle adapted the Bofors 40 mm AA gun to a modified M41/T41 tank chassis. Although never particularly prolific in the intended air defense role, the Duster did find a niche during the Vietnam War. The M42 was relatively small and agile, and the high rate of fire and loud report from it

Lockheed developed the F-104 Starfighter in the late 1950s. The plane was designed to be an all-weather interceptor. Speed, climb, and altitude all were priorities, and the plane did turn out to be extraordinarily fast, but there were costs associated with that top speed: low-speed handling and landing characteristics in particular. The plane had a relatively short service life with the US Air For

The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor entered service in 2005, and production ended in late 2011. Despite the appearance of many new designs in the interim, an argument can still be made for the Raptor as the most advanced fighter aircraft on active duty today. The F-22 program cost the US government more than $60 billion; the aircraft generated great hype and scrutiny from the press. Despite this high

The Douglas C-47 Skytrain and its near twin, the C-53 Skytrooper, formed the backbone of American airborne transport during WWII. In addition to hauling cargo, these aircraft also delivered paratroopers to the front, including for the Normandy invasion. Derived from the Douglas DC-3, the C-47 saw service with US and Allied militaries in Korea and even Vietnam, including notably the heavily armed

Here is the life story of the most successful fighter pilot of all time, with 352 air combat victories - who spent ten and a half years behind Soviet barbed wire, surviving prison uprisings, hunger strikes, resistance against the NKVD and forced labor. After being released he was still mentally and physically fit enough to fly F-86 jet fighters in the post - World War II German Air Force.\nThis ph

The standard reference now revised and expanded. Dr. Robinson has opened up his vast photo archives to enhance this new edition of his classic work. Much of the new photographic material is published here for the first time.

An oracle using Aztec animal doubles of the human soul as spirit guides • Contains 40 full-color cards depicting 31 Nahualli animals and 9 Lords of the Night • Provides a means for spiritual seekers to communicate with their own animal doubles • Based on traditional Aztec symbolism

This by turns shattering and hope-giving account of prisoners who dug their way to freedom from the Nazis is both a stunning escape narrative and an object lesson in the ways we remember and continually forget the particulars of the Holocaust. No Road Leading Back is the remarkable story of a dozen prisoners who escaped from the site where more than 70,000 Jews were shot in the Lithuanian forest

This book presents the evolution and development of perhaps the most iconic German fighter of WWI—the Fokker Dr. 1 triplane or “Dreidecker.” The Dr. 1 was born from experiments in cantilever monoplanes and the excellent combat record of the Sopwith triplane, which appeared at the western front at the end of 1916. Only 320 Fokker Dr.1s were built, yet their imprint on aviation history was and is fa

This book charts the development and service history of the Antonov design bureau's heavy transport aircraft. In the late 1950s, the Antonov design bureau began developing the An-22 heavy military transport, intended to carry 50 tons. Powered by four 15,000 hp turboprops, it was the world’s heaviest transport when it first flew in February 1965. The four-turbofan An-124 was again the world’s most

The largest and most advanced US aircraft to see combat in WWII, the B-29 Superfortress was also the most expensive weapons system of the war, even exceeding the cost of developing the atomic bomb. Not surprisingly, the aircraft remained a part of the US arsenal in the following years and again saw combat in Korea. The evolution of the B-29 into the B-50 is covered in this book—the second of two v

The Lockheed C-130 Hercules has been in continuous production for over six decades, longer than any other military aircraft in the world, and no end of production is yet in sight. The Hercules has been a part of US combat operations since Vietnam, and the airframe, which began life as a simple transport, has been adapted to a variety of roles, including gunship, electronic warfare, refueling, and

The General Motors Corporation DUKW was without a doubt the most successful amphibious military vehicle ever constructed. This is due in large part to the enormous amount of scientific and engineering talent that was devoted to the project. Included in the design team were America's Cup winner Rod Stephens, adventurer and environmentalist Dennis Puleston, and scientist and engineer Palmer C. Putna

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is one of the most iconic aircraft in aviation history. Through a broad range of photos gathered from around the world, this book—the second of two volumes—chronicles the design, development, and wartime use of the late models of the Flying Fortress, from the first truly combat-capable model, the B-17E, to the lifesaving B-17H. These B-17 versions featured the so-ca

The M3 Lee was America's first mass-produced combat tank. Its unusual configuration of hull-mounted 75 mm gun and turret-mounted 37 mm cannon was a result of the rush to get the vehicle in production following Nazi Germany's rapid advances in Europe. Following heavy British tank losses in France, the Commonwealth turned to the US to bolster their tank stocks, and the M3 was adapted, through the us

Powered by a massive Ford V-8 engine, the M4A3 Sherman was the standard tank of the US Army during the later stages of WWII, as well as the Korean War. The M4A3 was also supplied to the Marines during WWII, when the Corps faced a shortage of their preferred M4A2. The M4A3 was used by both services during the Korean War and was supplied in large numbers to Allied nations during the post-WWII rebuil

Arthur La Vove was born in Manhattan in 1909, the son of a French military attaché. Arthur flew commercial airliners for Century Airways and United in 1930s. When Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941, he volunteered for the Army Air Force. Any enthusiasm that Arthur had for the conflict quickly eroded once he arrived in the CBI, the China-Burma-India theater of operations, for service with Air Transp