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From 1949 to 2006 the English Electric Canberra has served in the frontline of the Royal Air Force around the world. The Canberra became the UK's first jet bomber, although that was not its only role, undertaking other tasks such as, pilot/navigator training, photographic reconnaissance, target-tag and electronic countermeasures duties to name a few.The story of the Canberra came to a close for the RAF on the 22nd June 2006 when the last remaining Canberra PR.9s retiring from service life after returning from operational duties. The author had the honour to serve with them in their twilight days of their careers. This book presents an overview of the development and operational use of the ‘English Electric Canberra’ with many photos and illustrations.

Ordered by the Royal Navy in 1941, the destroyers of the 5th Emergency Flotilla became known as S-class and served as fleet and convoy escorts in World War II. In the last months of the war, three were transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy for service in the Far East. HMS Serapis was renamed HNLMS Piet Hein and served in the Indonesian War of Independence and saw action in the Korean War. She was sold for scrap in 1962.

In 1937 The Glen Martin company started with the design of the model I62. This was a design for a twin engine high-wing monoplane flying boat with an inverted gull wing. As power plant one of the most powerful air-cooled radial engines then available was selected: the Wright R-200-6 Cyclone of 1600 hp maximum take-off power.

The most successful British jet fighter produced was without doubt the sleek and graceful Hawker Hunter. As usual for every new aircraft type it had its share of teething problems, but once these were all adequately solved the U.K. had at that time one of the best jet fighters available. It was built in large numbers and exported to many countries. This book presents an overview of the development and operational use of the ‘Hawker Hunter’ jet with many photos and illustrations.

One of the lesser-known fighter aircraft of World War II was the Brewster Buffalo, or, using the U.S. Navy designation system, the F2A. By some historians the Buffalo is regarded as an outright failure, but this is a rating this stubby little fighter did not deserve. This book presents an overview of the development and operational use of the Buffalo with many photos including a number not published before.

When the B-58 Hustler bomber entered service in 1958 it was a very futuristic looking delta wing bomber, creating a lot of sensation. Intended as a successor of the B-47 Stratojet it could reach twice the speed of sound.However, problems occurred during the development process and costs risings went so out of control that the whole project was almost cancelled a few times. Strategic Air Command was initially against ordering the B-58 for service, not only because of its complexity but also since they saw no advantage of a Mach 2 bomber over other types. Despite this the B-58 entered service at S.A.C. in 1960. It would have a relatively short operational career.

When Hungary got involved in World War II, the WM-21 Sólyom (Falcon) was the only Hungarian designed and manufactured plane in service with the Hungarian Royal Airforce. It was in widespread service as reconnaissance plane starting from 1938 onwards. In June of 1941, the machines failed to make an impression, mainly because of accidents and technical issues. The planes were diverted to the training role and were still used as such by May 1945.The Sólyom story starts in 1927, with the Fokker C.V, of which the Hungarian Royal Airforce had acquired 76, mostly built under license by Manfred Weiss (WM). WM improved the C.V, which resulted in the WM-16, with 18 built in two variants. This WM-16 paved the way for the WM-21, of which 128 examples were built.

The Blackburn Buccaneer was the first jet aircraft that was especially designed for very low flying under the radar at high subsonic speeds. It was developed in the fifties and entered service at the Royal Navy in 1962. Later, it also flew as an attack bomber at the R.A.F. and it even played a role during the Gulf War in 1991, before being retired in 1994 after an operational career that spanned three decades.

The Fiat G.91 was an Italian jet fighter aircraft. It was the winner of the NATO competition in 1953 for a light fighter as standard equipment for Allied air forces. It entered in operational service with the Italian Air Force in 1961, with the West German Luftwaffe in 1962, and later with the Portuguese Air Force. It was in production for nineteen years. 756 aircraft were completed, including the prototypes and pre-production models. The assembly lines were finally closed in 1977. The Fiat G.91 enjoyed a long service life that extended over 35 years. It was widely used by Portugal in the Portuguese Colonial War in Africa.

Trapped in the Far East by the over-run of the Netherlands and by the occupancy of the Netherlands East Indies, Tromp's destiny lay in the Indian Ocean and Pacific onslaughts. The ship became one of the highest decorated Dutch warships of World War II. Often referred to as 'The Ghost Ship', the crew preferred to call her 'The Lucky Ship', since she was no less than five times claimed to be sunk.

The ships of the Jacob van Heemskerck class of the Royal Netherlands Navy were constructed as specialized air defense frigates. The two ships that were built served for about twenty years in the R.N.N. Since 2005, both ships are in service as the Almirante Latorre class in the Chilean Navy. This book presents an overview of the development and operational use of the ‘Frigate HNLMS Jacob Van Heemskerck’ with many photos and illustrations.

The ships of the Oliver Hazard Perry-class were designed in the United States in the mid-1970’s as general-purpose escort vessels. They were inexpensive enough to be bought in large quantities and replace older ships. Meant to protect amphibious landing forces, supply and replenishment groups, and merchant convoys from submarines, they also became part of battleship-centric groups and aircraft battle/strike groups. This book presents an overview of the development and operational use of the ‘Frigate U.S.S Clark’ with many photos and illustrations.

Protected cruiser (Pantserdekschip) HNLMS Gelderland was a Holland-class cruiser of the Royal Netherlands Navy. This class, of six ships, was considered a modest, but well thought-out design. At a speed of 10 knots the radius of action would have been 8000 miles, while the two triple expansion engines could generate a maximum speed of 19,5 knots.

HMCS Haida was a destroyer of the Tribal-class serving in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) from 1943-1963. During World War II, Haida sank more enemy surface tonnage than any other Canadian warship. In the Korean War the ship did two tours of duty. Nowadays she is the only surviving Tribal-class destroyer out of 27 units that were constructed between 1937-1945 for the Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy.

HNLMS Zuiderkruis (1975-2012) was the second Fast Combat Support Ship of the Royal Netherlands Navy. It was primarily intended for Replenishment At Sea, fueling task groups and NATO units. As a modern design Zuiderkruis enabled a “one stop replenishment” and also carried AVCAT, fresh water and spare parts. A helicopter deck facilitated vertical replenishment.

HNLMS Kortenaer was torpedoed by the Japanese cruiser Haguro in the Battle of the Java Sea on February 27, 1942. An eyewitness recorded that ‘Kortenaer, about 700 yards bearing 80° relative, was struck on the starboard quarter by a torpedo, blew up, turned over, and sank at once leaving only a jackknifed bow and stern a few feet above the surface.’

The primary role of the Type 42 destroyers was providing air defense for the fleet. With their long-range sensors, the ships could also act as radar pickets, sailing ahead of a task group. HMS Southampton was the eighth ship originally destined to be a 16-ship class – two of these ships have been exported to Argentina. The type 42 comprised eight Batch 1 vessels, four Batch 2 and four Batch 3 Stretched Type 42.

After World War II, the Royal Netherlands Navy ordered new ships to counter the growing threat coming from the Soviet submarines. These ships were classified as ASW destroyers (onderzeebootjagers), but close to contemporary destroyers in terms of specifications. The national industry designed and constructed two classes of these ships. Drenthe was of the more capable Type 47B series.

Built by Boeing, designated as B-47 and named the Stratojet, this plane was quantum leap in aircraft development. Initially Boeing entered the unknown when they started this project, but soon it would be evident that Strategic Air Command would have its multi-engine jet bomber with a speed performance similar to the latest jet fighters...

The Sopwith Triplane was a British single seat fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War. It has the distinction of being the first military triplane to see operational service.

The CW-21 was designed during the late 1930s. It combined light weight construction with a powerful engine, which resulted in an excellent rate of climb and manoeuvrability, allowing the fighter to quickly reach the height of attacking enemy aircraft, and attack them. The prototype was sent to China as a demonstration copy and an order for three aircraft, plus a further 32 as kits, followed. These would be assembled locally. Only the three production machines arrived in the chaos of war and would never see actual combat. A second modified variant was ordered by the Dutch government and 24 were delivered to the Netherlands Indies. The CW-21s were outnumbered and outgunned when the Japanese launched their attack on the Netherlands Indies. Despite the poor outlook, the pilots flying them put up a good fight...

Ordered in 1938 to replace the aging ships on the Dutch East Indies route, her keel was laid in 1939 at De Schelde shipyard in Flushing, Netherlands, for Rotterdam - sche Lloyd Interrupted by World War II and two bombing raids, the liner finally departed for her maiden voyage on 2 December 1947, as ‘Willem Ruys’. This book presents an overview of the development and operational use of the ‘Willem-Ruys’ with many photos and illustrations.

The Italian cruise ship Willem Ruys was built between 1939 and 1947. When it was sold to the Italian Lauro Organization in 1966, it was renamed after the company owner Achille Lauro. After being hijacked by Palestinian warriors (PLO), in October 1985, the blue liner and cruiser made international headlines. Swept by a catastrophic fire Achille Lauro sank December 2, 1994, off the Somalian coast.

The S.S. 'America' was an ocean liner which entered service in 1940 for the United States Lines. She was designed by the famous naval architect William Francis Gibbs. In the 54 years between her introduction and her wrecking in 1994, she had eight different owners (of which one twice) and sailed under the names of 'America' (carrying this name three different times), 'West Point', 'Australis', 'Italis', 'Noga', 'Alferdoss' and 'American Star'. She served most in passenger service as S.S. 'America' and S.S. 'Australis'. In this number of Liners the story of this remarkable ship. This book presents an overview of the development and operational use of the ‘S.S. 'America’ ocean liner with many photos and illustrations from 1940 until 1964.

The Northrop Corporation offered the single engined Gamma 2F attack plane to the US Army Air Corps in October 1934. After modification work this type evolved into the highly innovative A-17 attack aircraft of which 110 aircraft were ordered. Northrop integrated all modern aircraft technologies of the day, such as all metal monocoque construction, two pitch propeller, flaps and dive brakes into the design, combined with forward firing machine guns fitted in the wings, a respectable bomb load, high speeds and admirable flying range. It eclipsed all other attack types then in service.This book offers an overview of an iconic aeroplane. The authors, all specialists in their field, have compiled a comprehensive story and gathered more than 350 photographs, colour profiles and maps, thus offering a fascinating view at an aircraft type linking the ‘Golden Age of aviation’ days with the dark years of World War Two.

Taking the height of the poleFor the sixteenth century navigator this meant finding your latitude. Five centuries ago, to the year, the first nautical handbooks on celestial navigation appeared in print with declination tables written for 1517-1520. They explained how you can find your position taking the height of the sun or the Pole Star. And which course to steer to find your port. These are techniques that have proven their value through the centuries. In this book Siebren van der Werf and Dick Huges revive this format for the modern sailor, who has a sextant and an accurate clock. There are modern declination tables for four years, 2017-2020, but which may also be used for at least twelve years, without significant loss of accuracy. Also tables that give the length of the day light period, the time between sunrise and sunset. They let you find your longitude, which in the sixteenth century was not really possible. And of course there is the "Regiment of the North Star" in a new and user-friendly version. The story of a Trans-Atlantic crossing of Dick Huges, where he used celestial navigation, at first out of necessity, later by passion, illustrates the procedures.

The six Frigate Panters were all built in the USA with MDAP funds. They were designed to escort slow coastal convoys in the Channel and North Sea areas and were operated as a single squadron by the Royal Netherlands Navy. They proved useful in a number of peacetime tasks, especially fishery protection, and some retained this role in the North Sea until the mid-1980s.

Both Tromp-class frigates entered service in 1975/-76. Their primary task was area air defense. They acted as flagships for the COMNLTG (Commander Netherlands Task Group). Their large radome (which housed a 3D radar antenna) is why the ships had the nickname ‘Kojak’, after the bald-headed actor in the famous crime tv-series.

In the eighties, the Royal Netherlands Navy acquired 15 minehunters of the Alkmaar-class. They were deployed worldwide in conflicts (the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Libyan Sea). In all European waters they exercised and cleared historical ordnance. HNLMS Haarlem represents the rich history of the tripartite minehunters of the Royal Netherlands Navy. This book presents an overview of the development and operational use of the ‘Tripartite Class Minehunter Haarlem’ warships with many photos and illustrations.