HISTORY · MILITARY AIRPLANES
Kenneth Munson
Also known as: K. Munson, Kenneth G. Munson
Kenneth George " Ken " Munson ( October 29th, 1929 - January 2nd, 2015 ) was educated at Eltham College ( London, England ). " Ken " then worked in the Air Ministry from 1945 to 1959, most importantly on the Joint Services Aircraft Recognition Journal, before turning to aviation journalism as a career. He left the Civil Service on being informed he was to be posted to an Accounts Section ( " to gain more experience, the Civil Service said " ). He worked, initially, for Rainbird ( a publications packaging company ) but it was through his work on the Ian Allan ABC - series of softback books that many readers first came across " K.G. Munson ". A text commissioned by the company on German and Italian aircraft of WW2 was deemed unsatisfactory and incomplete. After a recommendation from John W.R. Taylor ( for whom he would later work on J.A.W.A. ), " Ken " was approached to overhaul it and bring it up to the required standard. The text was virtually re - written and published as Enemy Aircraft ( German and Italian ) of WWII by K.G. Munson in 1960. " Ken " went on to compile more of these ABC - series, later brought together as a hardback, and was responsible for over 40 books and many more part - works on various aspects of aviation, past and present. As well as Ian Allan, " Ken " worked with Blandford Publications, Profile Publications and Putnams. " Ken " joined the compiling team of Jane’s All The World’s Aircraft in 1968, becoming its Assistant Editor in 1973 and then Deputy Editor ( 1990 - 2014 ). Kenneth G. " Ken " Munson passed away peacefully, at the age of 86. Here are some of his publications : Fighters and bombers of World War II, 1939 - 1945 ( 1966 ), Fighters 1939 - 45 : Attack and Training Aircraft ( 1969 ), Airliners between the Wars, 1919 - 39 ( Blandford Colour Series, with John W. Wood, 1972 ), Combat helicopters since 1942 ( 1986 ), World unmanned aircraft ( 1988 ). ( sources : Royal Aeronautical Society, goodreads, BIBLIO. com )
For most of the 1930s Britain's politicians and military leaders were haunted by nightmare visions of a massive 'knock-out blow' from the air against which there could be little defence save the threat of retaliation.
— from The Battle of Britain
Most acclaimed
Geschichte der Luftfahrt
Bis sich der Traum der Menschen, den Vogeln gleich sich in die Luft zu erheben, mit den Versuchen der Brüder Montgolfier erstmals verwirklichte, war es ein weiter Weg. Die Entwicklung über die Luftsprünge Otto Lilienthals und der Brüder Wright, die fliegenden Zigarren des Grafen Zeppelin, Glück und Elend so vieler großer und weniger bekannter Flugpioniere bis hin zu den überschallschnellen Luftriesen „Concorde“ und „Tu 144“ schildert einer der profiliertesten Luftfahrtexperten, unterstützt von einer Vielzahl faszinierender Bilddokumente.
The Battle of Britain
British historian Holland (Italy’s Sorrow: A Year of War, 1944–45, 2007, etc.) provides a thorough reconsideration of the Battle of Britain that is both staggeringly technical and dramatically engaging. According to the author, the battle began well before RAF Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding’s squadrons took on Hermann Göring’s mighty Luftwaffe over southeast England in July 1940. It is hard now to imagine how isolated and vulnerable Britain had grown at the increasing demonstrations of German aggression. With its lightning thrust into Belgium, Holland and France in the spring of 1940, the Nazi war machine seemed invincible. The French, despite having greater forces than the Germans, “had fallen for Nazi spin-doctoring.” Hemmed in with the British along the Channel coast, the Allied forces were saved from annihilation by a last-minute halt by the Germans, allowing them a miraculous evacuation from Dunkirk. As the French crumbled, the British were largely expected to sue for peace as well, if the prevailing defeatist voices were to be believed. The galvanizing role of the new prime minister, Winston Churchill, has been amply documented elsewhere, and Holland underscores the power of his rhetoric in steeling the nation to its defiant task, aided by the press and media. Thanks to delays caused by bad weather and Nazi dithering, the British were gaining strength and producing new aircraft at startling speed, so that by July they were ready for the Luftwaffe’s onslaught. Holland uses numerous interviews with British and German pilots for respective takes on strategy, and he takes a frank look at the strengths and weaknesses of each side. In the end, Hitler could not launch an invasion of Britain until the RAF could be destroyed—and the British did not let that happen. A painstakingly detailed history of the battle that exposed the myth of Nazi invincibility.