Pen & Sword Aviation is one of the company's largest imprints. By teaming up with some of the worlds leading aviation experts we are able to offer an unrivalled list of aviation publications. Many of our titles include stunning colour photographs and our colour profiles are now world renowned. We cover the first flights of early aviation pioneers right through to modern day conflicts and unmanned aircraft.
'Author Spring's text is inevitably somewhat technical, but it's all well-argued and explained. There is also an underlying intrigue.'
3 Stars - Good
Aeroplane - June 2024
'Author Spring's text is inevitably somewhat technical, but it's all well-argued and explained. There is also an underlying intrigue.'
3 Stars - Good
Aeroplane - June 2024
Fascinating for its recreation of the bombers' encounters with enemy fighters and flak, as well as the confrontations in captivity between prisoners of war and guards, 'Stories from the Stalags' provides a real insight into the war as experienced by those who 'fell from formation'.
AirMail - Royal Airforces Association - Spring 2024
Fascinating for its recreation of the bombers' encounters with enemy fighters and flak, as well as the confrontations in captivity between prisoners of war and guards, 'Stories from the Stalags' provides a real insight into the war as experienced by those who 'fell from formation'.
AirMail - Royal Airforces Association - Spring 2024
As featured
JP4 - May 2024 Issue
As featured
JP4 - May 2024 Issue
I have just read [this] book in one sitting; informative, logical and persuasive. A veritable "tour de force" which adds to our knowledge and appreciation of events past and challenges ahead. I was particularly interested in the US perspective, of which I was mainly ignorant and the slightly internecine Falkland TG aviation tangles. I have had no qualms about my distaste and mistrust of the Crabs; the book confirmed all that I knew. I was impressed with the strategic conclusions which not only confirms my view about Whitehall and what needs to be done. I take nothing away from the overt support for the trans-Atlantic alliance, I would just add that, although admittedly a tangential matter for this book, the dependence upon the efforts of European continental powers to make up the whole alliance of northern hemisphere democracies is pivotal. I believe passionately that a European dimension to sea based air already exists and should be further exploited - CDG is a single but highly capable.. Read more
Commander Paul Fisher
I have just read [this] book in one sitting; informative, logical and persuasive. A veritable "tour de force" which adds to our knowledge and appreciation of events past and challenges ahead. I was particularly interested in the US perspective, of which I was mainly ignorant and the slightly internecine Falkland TG aviation tangles. I have had no qualms about my distaste and mistrust of the Crabs; the book confirmed all that I knew. I was impressed with the strategic conclusions which not only confirms my view about Whitehall and what needs to be done. I take nothing away from the overt support for the trans-Atlantic alliance, I would just add that, although admittedly a tangential matter for this book, the dependence upon the efforts of European continental powers to make up the whole alliance of northern hemisphere democracies is pivotal. I believe passionately that a European dimension to sea based air already exists and should be further exploited - CDG is a single but highly capable.. Read more
Commander Paul Fisher
In May 1970 the UK Ministry of Defence produced Air Publication 3410 ‘Royal Air Force – The Malayan Emergency 1948-1960.’ Classified ‘Restricted’ at the time it has now been republished verbatim in this well produced and very welcome book. The original work was an in-depth study, including the most comprehensive statistical analysis of the use and effectiveness of air power during the 12-year-long campaign against the Communist insurgency in Malaya. Initially, the text explains the background and describes the insurgent and security forces before giving an overview of the campaign. The main body then covers the organisation of the air forces (RAF, RAAF, RNZAF and RN) available before covering each major activity by role, viz: offensive air support, medium and short-range transport and air reconnaissance. It also outlines the raising of local forces before offering a concise summary. No fewer than 25 annexes provided detailed statistics of the campaign. The narrative is crisply.. Read more
Andrew Thomas - Author and Historian
In May 1970 the UK Ministry of Defence produced Air Publication 3410 ‘Royal Air Force – The Malayan Emergency 1948-1960.’ Classified ‘Restricted’ at the time it has now been republished verbatim in this well produced and very welcome book. The original work was an in-depth study, including the most comprehensive statistical analysis of the use and effectiveness of air power during the 12-year-long campaign against the Communist insurgency in Malaya. Initially, the text explains the background and describes the insurgent and security forces before giving an overview of the campaign. The main body then covers the organisation of the air forces (RAF, RAAF, RNZAF and RN) available before covering each major activity by role, viz: offensive air support, medium and short-range transport and air reconnaissance. It also outlines the raising of local forces before offering a concise summary. No fewer than 25 annexes provided detailed statistics of the campaign. The narrative is crisply.. Read more
Andrew Thomas - Author and Historian
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Aircraft Wrecks: A Walker's Guide
Originally published to acclaim in 2009, this paperback re-issue aims to give readers access to the tangible remains of hundreds of historic aircraft that still lie at crash sites on the moors and mountains of the British Isles, all of which can be visited. It covers almost 500 selected sites, with emphasis placed on those located within open access… Read more...
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Twin Mustang: The North American F-82 at War
One of the most unusual and remarkable American fighter aircraft, the F-82 Twin Mustang was the last mass production propeller-driven fighter acquired by the U.S. Air Force. Originally intended as a very long-range fighter escort for the Boeing B-29 Superfortress during World War II, it arrived too late to see combat and evolved into a night and all-weather… Read more...
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Daring Raids of World War Two: Heroic Land, Sea and Air Attacks
The Second World War saw a host of heroic raids enacted across the various theatres, all delivered valiantly in a variety of ways by British combatants; on land, by sea and from the air. Daring exploits such as the raid on Rommel, the endeavours of the Cockleshell Heroes and the Dam Busters have become legendary in the annals of warfare. All feature… Read more...
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Nothing is Impossible
Battle is the severest test a man can be called upon to undergo; it can bring out the best in a man – and the worst... The author of this book, Victor Miller, joined the Queen's Royal Regiment, at Guildford, upon the outbreak of the Second World War. He volunteered for the elite Glider Pilot Regiment upon its formation and passed, with above average… Read more...
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Air War Normandy
So much ink has been spilt and so many miles of film expended on the amphibious invasion of Normandy on 6 June, 1944, otherwise known as D-Day, and so familiar have the images become of men leaping from their landing craft and wading ashore as shells exploded all around them, that it is all too easy to forget that none of this would have been possible… Read more...
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Secret Wings of WWII
There are many myths and legends surrounding the advanced German aeronautical technology of the Second World War. There are also facts and proven events. Yet within these stories and behind these facts lie conspiracy theories, mistaken assumptions and denials that seem to contradict the evidence. So what really happened? How far ahead were the German… Read more...
On 10 July 2018, exactly 100 years and 100 days after the formation of the world’s first independent air force, 103 aircraft of twenty-four types from twenty-five squadrons flew over London in the largest formation of military aircraft seen over the capital of the UK in nearly thirty years. Involving over 250 aircrew and operating out of fourteen… Read more...
The events of 1942 marked a pivotal year in the history of British air power. For more than two decades the theory that long-range bombing could win wars had dominated British defence policy. The vast majority of warplanes ordered for the RAF were designed either to bomb enemy cities or stop the enemy from bombing British cites. Conventional armies… Read more...
One moment the sky would be full of aircraft wheeling and positioning for the best shot at the enemy; a sky full of danger and menace. The next instant there would just be a clear blue empty sky with the sun shining down on a calm and beautiful landscape. Such was the phenomenon experienced by pilots who fought in the key battles of France and Britain… Read more...
Prior to World War Two, Wing Commander Guy Gibson joined the Royal Air Force. In 1944, he wrote down his experience of serving in the RAF. Aged just 25, Gibson had completed two full tours, each of 30 operations, with Bomber Command, and had led the now-famous Dam Busters raid against the dams of the Ruhr Valley in May 1943. He died aged 26 in 1944,… Read more...
We Seek the Highest has been the motto of the thousands of Officer Cadets who, over ten decades, have passed through the rigorous training regime at the Royal Air Force College, Cranwell, Lincolnshire. The words embody the College ethos: to strive to reach the tough standards demanded by the RAF, in the air and on the ground. This book tells the 100-year… Read more...
This is the story of the Arado 234, an aircraft that on one day in 1944, in the skies above Normandy, heralded the beginning of a new era in aviation: the jet era... For more than a century, the aviation industry has experienced continual change and upheaval. Many individuals have contributed to this field of developmental aviation over the course… Read more...