Aircraft of the Second World War: The Development of the Warplane 1939-45 (Putnams's History of Aircraft)

This is a study of aircraft from World War II. The book is part of a 12-volume series, which covers the production and operation of aircraft worldwide. Each volume is devoted to essays on aircraft types, their development and option, systems and equipment. As well as outlining developments, each article seeks to explain why progress was in a particular direction, emphasizing the political, strategic or economic factors that dictated that development. Moving from the general to the specific, graphs and tabular data relating to typical or significant aircraft or allied subjects are provided in each section. The series concentrates on the development of aircraft from the viewpoint of their technical development, the effect of technical development on the use of aircraft, and the effect of their usage on technical development. Contributors to this title include: E.R. Hooton, Derek Wood, Alfred Price, M.J.F. Bowyer, Group Captain Peter Hearn, Norman Friedman, Elfan Ap Rees, Les Coombes, Andrew Nahum, Captain Eric Brown and John Golley. The years 1939-45 saw rapid and unprecedented development in all spheres of aviation as the warring nations vied to gain a technological edge over their opponents, win mastery of the skies, and thereby secure ultimate victory. Designers, engineers and scientists in industry and in research institutions laboured to improve the aeroplane and enhance its capabilities and equipment. By the end of the Second World War enormous strides had been made not only in weaponry and destructive power, but in all of the essential technologies that would revolutionise air transport in the years ahead. In these pages some of the most prominent specialist aviation writers have come together to present an authoritative account of this dramatic era in the history of aviation technology. This is not just another account of the aeroplane's use in warfare, full of valiant needs and heroism. It is a combined study of an outstanding era to the evolution of the flying machine, an era when it attained its maturity and achieved new significance in world affairs. This authoritative account tells the story of a dramatic era when rapid innovation created more fire power and enhanced crew safety and aircraft reliability.