505th Bombardment Group, USAAF

The 505th Bombardment Group, USAAF, was a B-29 unit that took part in the strategic bombing campaign against Japan and the mining campaign that cut off the Japanese Home Islands.

504th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy)

The 504th Bombardment Group (Very Heavy) was a B-29 Superfortress group that took part in the bombing campaign against Japan and the mining campaign that helped to cut Japan off from the remnants of her empire.

Morane-Saulnier M.S.479 Vanneau

The Morane-Saulnier M.S.479 Vanneau was the last entry in the Vanneau family and was powered by a SNECMA 14X Super Mars engine.

Morane-Saulnier M.S.478 Vanneau

The Morane-Saulnier M.S.478 Vanneau was the designation given to a version of the Vanneau that was to have been powered by an Italian produced Isotta Fraschini Delta engine.

Morane-Saulnier M.S.477 Vanneau

The Morane-Saulnier M.S.477 Vanneau was an experimental variant of the M.S.475 Vanneau V that was given a Renault engine.

Morane-Saulnier M.S.476 Vanneau

The Morane-Saulnier M.S.476 Vanneau was an experimental variant of the M.S.475 Vanneau V, and was given a greatly modified wing.

British Army Uniforms from 1751 to 1783, Carl Franklin.

British Army Uniforms from 1751 to 1783, Carl Franklin.

A splendid visual guide to the uniforms of the British army during the period of the Seven Years' War and the American War of Independence, with a full page of colour illustrations for each infantry, cavalry and guard regiment. A super guide for the modeller or painter, making it effortless to visualise each of the hundreds of units covered.
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Warfare in the Ancient World, Brian Todd Carey, Joseph B. Allfree & John Cairns.

Warfare in the Ancient World, Brian Todd Carey, Joseph B. Allfree & John Cairns.

Looks at twenty-one major battles and the armies that fought them, and traces how warfare developed over the long span of Ancient History. Written as an undergraduate textbook the result is a useful overview of four and a half thousand years of military history, supported by some excellent battle maps.
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Waterloo 1815 - Captain Mercer's Journal, ed. W.H. Fitchett.

Waterloo 1815 - Captain Mercer's Journal, ed. W.H. Fitchett.

A fascinating account of the Waterloo campaign as seen by an officer in the horse-artillery, focusing almost entirely on events as they were known to Mercer at the time. As a result we get a real idea of the fog of war and just how little an participant in a major battle might know about the wider events of the day.
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Cruiser HNLMS Tromp, Jantinus Mulder.

Cruiser HNLMS Tromp, Jantinus Mulder.

Looks at the design, construction and wartime career of the light cruiser HNLMS Tromp, one of the most famous Dutch ships of the Second World War and the ship the Japanese claimed to have sunk more often than any other. Contains a good selection of photographs and plans of the Tromp and an account of her wartime career that focuses on the more dramatic moments of her career in Far Eastern seas.
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Images of War: Great Push, the Battle of the Somme 1916, William Langford.

Images of War: Great Push, the Battle of the Somme 1916, William Langford.

A selection of photographs taken from the pictorial magazine The Great Push, which ran from July to November 1916 and included some 700 official photographs and film stills. A fascinating collection of photographs that give an interesting insight into the image the British Army wanted to give of the fighting on the Somme.
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China's Wars - Rousing the Dragon 1894-1949, Philip Jowett.

China's Wars - Rousing the Dragon 1894-1949, Philip Jowett.

Covers the period from the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95 to the Communist victory in the Civil War of 1946-49, a period dominated first by the warlords who ripped China apart and then by the Japanese who attempted to take advantage of the chaos to establish their own brutal Empire in China.
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Morane-Saulnier M.S.475 Vanneau V

The Morane-Saulnier M.S.475 Vanneau V was the final production version in the Vanneau family and was a two-seat advanced trainer that remained in use from 1950 into the late 1960s.

Morane-Saulnier M.S.474 Vanneau IV (Plover)

The Morane-Saulnier M.S.474 Vanneau IV (Plover) was a carrier-borne version of the Vanneau two-seat trainer, produced for the French Aéronavale.

Morane-Saulnier M.S.472 Vanneau II (Plover)

The Morane-Saulnier M.S.472 Vanneau II (Plover) was the first production version of the Veaneau and was a two-seat trainer that was used by the French Armée de l'Air from 1946 until the late 1960s.

Morane-Saulnier M.S.470 Vanneau (Plover)

The Morane-Saulnier M.S.470 Vanneau (Plover) was the prototype of a family of two-seat trainers that served with the French air force and navy in the post-war period.

Morane-Saulnier M.S.1500 Epervier (Sparrowhawk)

The Morane-Saulnier M.S.1500 Epervier (Sparrowhawk) was designed in response to a requirement for a counter-insurgency aircraft for use in Algeria.

Morane-Saulnier M.S.530

The Morane-Saulnier M.S.530 was the last in a long series of parasol wing training aircraft to be built by Morane-Saulnier.

Morane-Saulnier M.S.450

The Morane-Saulnier M.S.450 was an improved version of the M.S.406 developed for a French fighter requirement of 1937 but that didn't enter production.

Siege of Norham (June-July 1463)

The siege of Norham (June-July 1463) was the most active Scottish intervention in the fighting in Northumberland in 1461-64 but ended as an embarrassing fiasco after the Lancastrian-Scottish army fled in the face of a Yorkist relief force.

Siege of Dunstanburgh Castle of December 1462

The siege of Dunstanburgh Castle of December 1462 was a Yorkist victory that helped secure temporary control of the main Northumbrian castles but that was soon undone.

Warsaw 1944 - An Insurgent's Journal of the Uprising, Zbigniew Czajkowski.

Warsaw 1944 - An Insurgent's Journal of the Uprising, Zbigniew Czajkowski.

The wartime journal of a teenage Polish fighter who took part in the Warsaw uprising of 1944 and was one of only three in his ten-strong squad to survive the battle. Written just after the fighting it takes us down into the streets and sewers of Warsaw as the brave but doomed uprising struggled to hold off the Germans in the vain hope that the Soviets would liberate the city.
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The Fear in the Sky: Vivid Memories of Operational Aircrews in World War Two, Pat Cunningham.

The Fear in the Sky: Vivid Memories of Operational Aircrews in World War Two, Pat Cunningham.

Ten mini-memoirs written by operational aircrew who fought in a variety of different roles during the Second World War, including bomber command, night fighters, met flights, torpedo bombers and covering a mix of duties, including pilots, navigators, gunners, engineers and wireless operators. Most also give a brief summary of their post-war lives and reflect on their earlier exploits.
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The Journey's End Battalion: The 9th East Surrey in the Great War, Michael Lucas.

The Journey's End Battalion: The 9th East Surrey in the Great War, Michael Lucas.

A history of the battalion in which R.C. Sherriff, author of Journey's End, served during the First World War, mainly focusing on the actual history of the battalion but with sections on Sherriff's experiences, how they influenced his work and the writing and reception of his famous play.
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USS Dayton (CL-105)

USS Dayton (CL-105) was a Cleveland class light cruiser that entered just in time to take part in the final fighting in the Pacific in 1945, and that served in the Mediterranean after the war before going into the reserve in 1949.

USS Atlanta (CL-104)

USS Atlanta (CL-104) was a Cleveland class light cruiser that saw action in the last months of the Second World War, winning two battle stars.

USS Wilkes-Barre (CL-103)

USS Wilkes-Barre (CL-103) was a Cleveland class light cruiser that saw combat in the Pacific during 1945, taking part in the raids on the Japanese home islands and the fighting at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. She won four battle stars for her actions in the Pacific.

USS Portsmouth (CL-102)

USS Portsmouth (CL-102) was a Cleveland class light cruiser that entered service just after the end of the Second World War and briefly served in the Mediterranean before entering the reserve fleet.

USS Amsterdam (CL-101)

USS Amsterdam (CL-101) was a Cleveland class light cruiser that reached the Pacific Fleet just in time to take part in the last carrier strikes against the Japanese Home Islands, but that entered the reserve soon after the end of the war and remained there until she was scrapped.

Cleveland Class Light Cruisers

The Cleveland Class Light Cruisers were the most numerous class of cruisers ever built, with 52 ordered, 29 completed as cruisers and 9 as light aircraft carriers, with 22 of the cruisers seeing service during the Second World War.

The British Sailor of the Second World War, Angus Konstam.

The British Sailor of the Second World War, Angus Konstam.

A concise look at the life of the British sailor of the Second World War, looking at their training, daily life on the ships (with the difference between different types and sizes of particular interest), the activities of the Home Fleet, Mediterranean Fleet and various Far Eastern fleets and the eventual process of demobilisation.
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The Napoleonic Art of Keith Rocco, Peter Harrington

The Napoleonic Art of Keith Rocco, Peter Harrington.

Looks at the paintings of a modern proponent of the historical painting genre, with high quality prints of a wide selection of his paintings, ranging from studies of individual soldiers to large scale battle scenes. Supported by a useful text that explains the historical context for the painting and the artist's methods and motivation.
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USS Galveston (CL-93/ CLG-3)

USS Galveston (CL-93/ CLG-3) was laid down as a Cleveland class light cruiser but was eventually completed as a guided missile cruiser and served throughout the 1960s, fighting in Vietnam.

USS Little Rock (CL-92)

USS Little Rock (CL-92) was a Cleveland class light cruiser that entered service too late to participate in the Second World War but that was later converted into a guided missile cruiser (CLG-4) and served with the Mediterranean Fleet.

Siege of Bamburgh Castle of June-July 1464

The siege of Bamburgh Castle of June-July 1464 was a Yorkist victory that ended the Lancastrian campaign in Northumberland that had begun in the aftermath of the battle of Towton, and was also the first occasion when an English castle was defeated by gunpowder artillery.

Siege of Bamburgh Castle (December 1462)

The siege of Bamburgh Castle (December 1462) was a Yorkist victory that briefly gave them control of Bamburgh Castle, on the Northumbrian coast.

Eager for Glory: The untold story of Drusus the Elder, Conqueror of Germany, Lindsay Powell.

Eager for Glory: The untold story of Drusus the Elder, Conqueror of Germany, Lindsay Powell.

 A useful biography of an important figure during the birth of Imperial Rome, a stepson of Augustus, successful general who conquered the area just to the north of the Alps and campaigned in Germany, where he reached the Elbe, and a skilled administrator and even an explorer.
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US Marine Infantry Combat Uniforms and Equipment 2000-12, J Kenneth Eward.

US Marine Infantry Combat Uniforms and Equipment 2000-12, J Kenneth Eward.

Looks at the equipment used by the US Marine Corps during a prolonged period of combat that forced the introduction of improved uniforms, protective equipment and weapons to deal with an unexpectedly dangerous battlefield. Behind the sea of acronyms (for which the author can't be blamed!) is a very valuable account of the way in which the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have forced the Marines into a rapid programme of re-equipment.
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Siege of Alnwick (December 1462-6 January 1463)

The siege of Alnwick (December 1462-6 January 1463) saw the castle captured by the Yorkists, although only after a Lancastrian and Scottish relief army had rescued the garrison.

Siege of Alnwick Castle (July 1462)

The siege of Alnwick Castle (July 1462) saw a Yorkist army capture the castle, which changed hands repeatedly between 1461 and 1464.

Battle of Towton (29 March 1461)

The battle of Towton (29 March 1461) was the decisive battle of the first phase of the Wars of the Roses and saw the young Edward IV defeat one of the largest Lancastrian armies to take to the field during the war.

Battle of Ferrybridge (27-28 March 1461)

The battle of Ferrybridge (27-28 March 1461) took place on the day before the battle of Towton and saw the Yorkists force their way across the River Aire at Ferrybridge, defeating a Lancastrian attempt to hold the line of the river.