Battle Stations III
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F-117 Nighthawk Stealth
F-117A: The Black Jet
www.f-117a.com
A comprehensive website on the F-117's history and current status.
Nighthawk F-117: Stealth Fighter by Paul and Alison Crickmore (Motorbooks International, 2003) £14.99
Lockheed Martin F-117 Nighthawk by Dennis R Jenkins (Warbird
Tech series) (Specialty Press, 2000). US edition only; may be available
from online bookshops.
This volume includes coverage of 'Have Blue' demonstrators, advanced derivatives,
precision-guided weapons, and first combat losses. Technical descriptions are
given along with an overview of operations.
Where to see it
Three F-117s are preserved in museums in the United States:
at Nellis Air Base, adjacent to Las Vegas, Nevada; at the USAF Museum
at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio; and in front of the
'Skunk Works' – Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, Palmdale,
California – as a tribute to Ben Rich.
F-15 Eagle
F-15 Eagle
www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=101
All
the facts, from the US Air Force website.
F-15 Eagle
www.boeing.com/defense-space/military/f15/flash.html
As
well as the basic details and history, this website has photos and videos
of the aircraft, plus a downloadable screen saver.
McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle by Peter E Davies and Anthony
M Thornborough (Crowood Press, 2001). US edition only; may be available
from online bookshops.
The complete story of the F-15, its development,
service career and combat record, including the views of aircrew and
engineers.
Flight 1 – the F-15 Eagle
This computer simulation
(Windows only) was originally issued by Microprose in 1992, a direct
result of the aircraft's participation in Operation Desert Storm. A second
edition, entitled Jane's F-15 (Electronic Arts), came out in
1998, with a simulation of the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle,
sometimes known as the 'Mudhen'.
B-17 Flying Fortress
Sally B – The AAM Flagship
http://aam.iwm.org.uk/server.php?show=
ConWebDoc.1104&navId=00h
Information
on the Sally B, the only airworthy Flying Fortress
in the UK and the official 'flagship' of the American Air Museum, part
of the Imperial War Museum at Duxford, Cambridgeshire. (The Sally
B featured in the eponymous lead role in the 1989 film Memphis
Belle.) There's more information on the aircraft on the Sally
B website.
Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress
www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/air_power/ap16.htm
Details
of Shoo Shoo Baby, the Flying Fortress now on display
at the USAF Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.
Flying Fortress by Edward Jablonski (Doubleday, 1965). Out
of print; may be available from libraries or second-hand bookshops.
An
excellent history of the B-17.
The Mighty Eighth: A history of the units, men and machines of the
US 8th Air Force by Roger A Freeman (Weidenfeld & Nicolson,
2000). US edition only; may be available from online bookshops.
A complete operational history, voted 'Best
history book' in 2000 by readers of Flypast magazine.
The Bombers: The illustrated story of offensive strategy and tactics
in the 20th century by Robin Cross (Bantam, 1987) Out of print.
A fascinating
overview, from the ever-reliable Robin Cross.
The Schweinfurt-Regensburg Mission: American raids on 17 August
1943 by Martin Middlebrook (Cassell Military, 2000) £6.99
This carefully researched and narrative account of the disastrous American
bomber daylight raid on the industrial centres of Schweinfurt and Regensburg
in August 1943 – one of the B-17's classic operations – is
based on eyewitness accounts of survivors from both sides.
WarBirds by Interactive Magic Online
This
computer simulation is specifically
designed to allow hundreds of players simultaneously to fly and fight
with and against each other in 50 of the greatest aircraft of World War
II, including the Flying Fortress. See the Intelligamer
website for
more details.
F-18 Hornet
F/A-18 Hornet
www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/factfile/aircraft/air-fa18.html
A
fact file on the aircraft, from the US Navy website.
F/A-18 Hornet
www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/f-18.htm
Very
technical exposition of the aircraft – on the FAS Military
Analysis Network website – including a diagram showing all the
various types of armament the F-18 is capable of deploying.
The Pentagon Paradox: The development of the F-18 Hornet by
James P Stevenson (Naval Institute Press, 1993) £24.95
Provides
a developmental history of the F-18 Hornet from the drawing board to
its results in the Gulf War, and chronicles the design war between military
officers who favoured fewer, more sophisticated aircraft, and those who
claimed that larger numbers have always won in warfare.
Boeing F/A-18 Hornet by Brad Elward (Warbird Tech series) (Specialty
Press, 2001). US edition only; may be available from online bookshops.
A good introduction to the aircraft.
F/A-18 Hornet & Super Hornet Units in Operation Iraqi Freedom by
Tony Holmes (Osprey, to be published in July 2004)
The F/A-18 Hornet
in its various guises was the 'universal soldier' of the 2003 Iraq war,
with around 250 seeing combat. Flown by various squadrons and groups,
it attacked a range of targets including tanks of the various Iraqi Republican
Guard units and government buildings housing elements of the Ba'ath party
regime. Apart from its ability to drop precision munitions such as laser-guided
bombs, the Hornet was also capable of launching anti-radar missiles and
acting as an aerial tanker and reconnaissance platform for other strike
types. This book explores the Hornet's versatility, which has enhanced
its reputation as one of the world's leading strike-fighter aircraft.
