Michael Sharpe

WARFARE & DEFENCE. Inside AIR FORCE: Air forces of World War II - Fighter planes - Bombing runs - Escort duty - Key missions - Battle of Britain - Combat units - D-Day, plus much more! Get tough with some of World War II's fighting men and units. From battlefield frontlines to Naval convoys, from secret missions to aerial dogfights, Action Force brings together the people, weapons, vehicles, the stats and the facts in one all-action World War II series. You want action packed? Read Action Force! Ages 9+.

208 p. : 28 cm

This book presents profiles of 35 aircraft from the greatest conflict of the 20th century. Each aircraft is presented in a unique seven-perspective format, showing armament attachment points, bomb bay and landing gear configuration. The unique illustrations make the book of interest to model builders and aviation enthusiasts.

An examination of over one hundred of the most famous samurai leaders.

World-renowned British historian Sir Max Hastings recounts one of the most horrific months of World War II. June 1944, the month of the D-Day landings carried out by Allied forces in Normandy, France. Germany’s 2nd SS Panzer Division, one of Adolf Hitler’s most elite armor units, had recently been pulled from the Eastern Front and relocated to France in order to regroup, recruit more troops, and restock equipment. With Allied forces suddenly on European ground, the division—Das Reich —was called up to counter the invasion. Its march northward to the shores of Normandy, 15,000 men strong, would become infamous as a tale of unparalleled brutality in World War II. Das Reich is Sir Max Hastings’s narrative of the atrocities committed by the 2nd SS Panzer Division during June of 1944: first, the execution of 99 French civilians in the village of Tulle on June 9; and second, the massacre of 642 more in the village of Oradour-sur-Glane on June 10. Throughout the book, Hastings expertly shifts perspective between French resistance fighters, the British Secret Service (who helped coordinate the French resistance from afar and on the ground), and the German soldiers themselves. With its rare, unbiased approach to the ruthlessness of World War II, Das Reich explores the fragile moral fabric of wartime mentality.

This book features 300 military jet aircraft, each one being illustrated by a full-colour artwork. Full dimensions, weights, armament and powerplant details are provided for each aircraft, and all measurements are in imperial and metric. Each aircraft's development history and career are shown, and there is a comprehensive index. (Adapted from back cover).