P.Z.L. 18

The P.Z.L. 18 was a design for a heavy torpedo-bomber that never got beyond the design stage.

German Tank Destroyers, Pierre Tiquet

An excellent collection of photographs of the main German tank destroyers of the Second World War, with a somewhat less satisfactory text that wanders between excellent sections analysis the performance of the vehicles and otheres that can be rather too congratulationary in tone and appears to use wartime Nazi propaganda for many of its eyewitness accounts, without explaining where each source came from. 

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U.S. Aircraft Carriers 1939-45, Ingo Bauernfeind

A photographic history of the US Aircraft Carrier of the Second World War, covering the Fleet, Escort and Light carriers with a background history of each class, and a brief history and at least one photograph for every carrier that saw service during the war. Also includes a detailed diving tour of the Saratoga, a guided tour of the Hornet (now a museum ship) and a look at the post-war career of the Essex class carriers 

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Kongo-Class Battleships, Lars Ahlberg and Hans Lengerer

An excellent photographic history of the Kongo class of battleships, originally built as pre First World War battlecruisers but modified twice to turn them first into battleships, then into fast battleships with the distinctive Japanese pagoda foremasts. This book combines a good history of the ships with an excellent selection of photographs, including good details on the layout of their distinctive pagoda foremasts and an honest assessment of the results of their reconstructions. 

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HMS Jackal (1911)

HMS Jackal (1911) was an Acheron class destroyer that served with the First Destroyer Flotilla, fighting at Heligoland and Dogger Bank, then with flotillas based at Portsmouth, Devonport and Ireland from late 1916 to the summer of 1918, before ending the war in the Mediterranean. 

USS Farragut (DD-348)

USS Farragut (DD-348) was the name ship of the Farragut class destroyers, and fought in the Pacific, taking part in the battle of the Coral Sea, the Guadalcanal campaign, the Aleutian campaign, the invasion of the Gilbert and Marshall Islands, the landings at Hollandia, the Mariannas and the battle of the Philippine Sea, the Philippines, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

P.Z.L. P.8

The P.Z.L. P.8 was a design for an improved inline engine powered of Zygmunt Pulawski’s gull wing fighters, but which never progressed beyond the prototype stage, and was abandoned in favour of the inline powered P.11. 

No.409 Squadron (RCAF)

No.409 Squadron (RCAF) was a Canadian night fighter squadron that took part in the defence of Britain in 1941-44, then supported the D-Day landings, flew intruder missions over France and took part in the campaign against the V-1 flying bomb.

No Moon as Witness, - Missions of the SOE and OSS in World War II, James Stejskal

A nice mix of a history of the SOE and OSS, allowing to compare these two fairly similar British and American organisations, and see how they interacted, as well as looking at their individual histories, training systems and operations. Greatly benefits from covering both organisations, and from selecting a number of less familiar agents and operations, so we get a broader picture of the two organisation’s operations than is often the case

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SOE: Churchill's Secret Agents, Terry Crowdy

A short history of SOE, starting with a look at its formation, organisation, the famous training regime, before spending the second half looking at SOE’s actual operations. A good introduction to the work of SOE, with a nice mix of familiar and unfamiliar operations, along with a big enough introduction to get a feel for the nature of the organisation. Good for the casual reader who doesn’t have any real prior knowledge of SOE and its operations

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Spitfire Aces of the Channel Front 1941-43, Andrew Thomas

Covers the costly three years of ‘leaning over France’, where Fighter Command attempted to dominate the air over France but suffered persistent losses, including many aces and experienced leaders. Mostly filled with short accounts of each day’s fighting, focuses on the experiences of the aces, with some longer descriptions built around eyewitness accounts from the participants. Also has a useful introduction and sections on general changes to the campaign, especially the arrival of new aircraft models on both sides

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