Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Potez 639 AB2

The Potez 639 AB2 was a two-seat attack bomber ordered as part of an order for ten evaluation aircraft in the Potez 63 family.

Potez 637 A3

The Potez 637 A3 was a three-seat reconnaissance aircraft that served in small numbers with the Armée de l'Air during the Battle of France, but that was already being phased out in favour of the Potez 63.11.

Monday, May 30, 2011

Potez 636 C3

The Potez 636 C3 was a three-seat fighter designed to be licence-built in Czechoslovakia.

Potez 634

The Potez 634 was an alternative designation given to ten two-seat training aircraft ordered in the first production contract for the Potez 631 fighter.

Potez 633 B2

The Potez 633 B2 was a light bomber version of the Potez 63 twin engined design. Although it was initially ordered in large numbers for the Armée de l'Air, these orders were soon cancelled and only these aircraft ordered for export were built.

Roughshod through Dixie, Grierson's Raid 1863, Mark Lardas.

Roughshod through Dixie, Grierson's Raid 1863, Mark Lardas.

One of the most effective cavalry raids of the American Civil War, Greirson led his small force from north to south across the Confederacy, attracting attention away from Grant's early moves around Vicksburg. This excellent entry in the Raid series traces Greirson's progress day by day, as well as examining the reasons behind his success and other's failures.

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The Fortifications of Verdun, 1874-1917, Clayton Donnell.

The Fortifications of Verdun, 1874-1917, Clayton Donnell.

A study of the fortifications of Verdun, from the first modern works after the Franco-Prussian War to the brutal siege of 1916 and on to the modern preservation of the battlefield. Has some interesting material on the way in which fortifications developed in response to the appearance of high explosive shells fired from rifled artillery as well as on the appearance of the forts during the First World War and the siege itself.

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Friday, May 20, 2011

Potez 632

The Potez 632 was the designation given to a single Potez 633 light bomber ordered by Switzerland.

Potez 631

The Potez 631 was the main French night fighter during the Battle of France, but a lack of any useable system for intercepting German raiders meant that it saw little combat at night.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Potez 630

The Potez 630 was a twin-engined fighter powered by troublesome Hispano-Suiza engines and that was produced in small numbers to make up for slow production of the more reliable Gnome-Rhone powered Potez 631.

Potez 63

The Potez 63 was the overall designation for a series of aircraft that between them were the most numerous in French service, acting as night fighters, day fighters, light bombers, reconnaissance aircraft and army co-operation aircraft.

Fairbairn-Sykes Commando Dagger, Leroy Thompson.

Fairbairn-Sykes Commando Dagger, Leroy Thompson.

This is an excellent book in the new Osprey Weapons series. Written by an experienced author it offers a fascinating insight into an iconic weapon. The book traces the development and origins of this, the most lethal of fighting knives, with detail on its design, evolution and the training of the soldiers who were to use it to take the fight to Hitler with cold steel. From a collector's point of view it covers all the variations of design and also looks at its use and similar weapons in use in non British units. Packed with contemporary photographs and illustrations showing the weapons but also the lethal techniques employed in their use, the book also examines the iconic impact of the weapon and its use as a symbol of Special Forces around the world

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Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Kawasaki Ki-119

The Kawasaki Ki-119 was a design for a single-engined light bomber that would have been used in the defence of the Japanese homeland.

Kawasaki Ki-78

The Kawasaki Ki-78 was a high-speed research aircraft that failed to live up to expectations, but that did introduce a number of features new to the Japanese aircraft industry.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Kawasaki Ki-66

The Kawasaki Ki-66 was a twin-engined dive bomber designed after the German successes in Poland and France in 1939-40, but that never entered production.

Kawasaki Ki-56

The Kawasaki Ki-56 was a twin-engined transport aircraft developed for the Japanese Army and closely based on the Lockheed 14.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Battle of Idomene (426 BC)

The battle of Idomene (426 BC) was a second victory in three days won by Demosthenes against the Ambraciots in the north-west of Greece.

Battle of Olpae, 426 BC

The battle of Olpae (426 BC) was an Athenian victory that ended a Spartan campaign aimed at the conquest of Acarnania and Amphilochia

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Loiré-et-Olivier LeO 455

The Loiré-et-Olivier LeO 455 was a version of the LeO 451 medium bomber that was powered by two supercharged Gnome & Rhone engines.

Lioré-et-Olivier LeO 454

The Lioré-et-Olivier LeO 454 was a version of the LeO 451 medium bomber that was to be powered by two Bristol Hercules II engines.

The Field Campaigns of Alexander the Great, Stephen English

The Field Campaigns of Alexander the Great, Stephen English.

Completing a three volume study of the campaigns of Alexander the Great, this final book looks at his pitched battles and field campaigns. Combines a detailed examination of the sources with an attempt to produce coherent battle narratives. The discussion of the sources allows the reader to judge the success of the author's own narratives.

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Warspite, From Jutland to Cold War Warrior, Iain Ballantyne

Warspite, From Jutland to Cold War Warrior, Iain Ballantyne.

A history of the super-dreadnaught HMS Warspite, a warship that played a major part in both World Wars, fighting at the battles of Jutland and of Cape Matapan. An interesting story, well supported by a large number of quotes from sailors who served on the Warspite. Also includes brief histories of the other seven warships to carry the same name.

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Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Lioré-et-Olivier LeO 453

The Lioré-et-Olivier LeO 453 was the designation given to a number of LeO 451 medium bombers that were given Pratt & Whitney radial engines in the late 1940s.

Lioré-et-Olivier LeO 452

The Lioré-et-Olivier LeO 452 was the designation given to a version of the LeO 45 medium bomber that was to be powered by two Hispano-Suiza 14 AA 12/13 engines

Monday, May 09, 2011

Lioré-et-Olivier LeO 451

The Lioré-et-Olivier LeO 451 was considered to be the best medium bomber in French service during the Battle of France in 1940, but it wasn't available in large enough numbers to make any real difference to the course of the fighting.

Lioré-et-Olivier LeO 450

The Lioré-et-Olivier LeO 450 was the designation given to a version of the LeO 45 medium bomber that was to powered by two 1,080hp Hispano-Suiza 14 A 06/07 engines.

Friday, May 06, 2011

Farman F.224

The Farman F.224 was a passenger aircraft based on the F.222 bomber, originally built for Air France but that served with the Armée de l'Air as a paratrooper transport.

Lioré-et-Olivier LeO 45

The Lioré-et-Olivier LeO 45 was the overall name given to the series of medium bombers that saw service with the French Armée de l'Air in the form of the LeO 451.

Panzer Destroyer - Memoirs of a Red Army Tank Commander, Vasiliy Krysov

Panzer Destroyer - Memoirs of a Red Army Tank Commander, Vasiliy Krysov.

The memoirs of a Soviet tank and self-propelled gun commander who fought at Stalingrad, Kursk and during the long Soviet offensives that followed, ending the war in East Prussia, and who was lucky to survive for so long, losing his crew and his commanding officer, and being wounded four times. Provides a memorable picture of life in the Red Army during some of the titanic battles on the Eastern Front.

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Commuter City: How the Railways Shaped London, David Wragg

Commuter City: How the Railways Shaped London, David Wragg.

A history of the development in and impact of the railways on London, from the earliest short lines up to the current high speed routes. Includes chapters on the railway in both World Wars, focusing on troop transport in the First and with a wider range of topics during the Second World War, including bomb damage to the line, the use of the tube as a bomb shelter and the impact the war had on the overall condition of the railways.

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Spitfire Sisters (DVD).

Spitfire Sisters (DVD).

Looks at the contribution made by the women pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary, the ferry pilots who made sure that the right aircraft were in the right place during the Second World War. The documentary is built around a series of fascinating interviews with remarkable people, whose love of flying and in particular the Spitfire comes across very clearly, even sixty years after the events they are discussing.

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Thursday, May 05, 2011

Farman NC.223

The Farman NC.223 was the most advanced entry in the F.221/F.222 series to see active service during the Second World War, and carried out the first Allied bombing raid on Berlin.

Farman F.222

The Farman F.222 was the only four-engined bomber to be in front line service with any Allied air force at the start of the German invasion of the west in May 1940.

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Farman F.221

The Farman F.221 was the first four-engined bomber to enter service with the French Armée de l'Air, and was still in service in small numbers at the start of the Second World War.

Farman F.220

The Farman F.220 was a prototype four-engined bomber that was the basis for the F.221 and F.222, the only four engined bombers in Allied service at the start of the Second World War.

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Farman F.212

The Farman F.212 was an improved version of the F.211 four-engined heavy bomber.

Farman F.211

The Farman F.211 was a prototype four-engined bomber that was developed just before the large and more successful but otherwise similar F.221/ F.222.