Among the offensive aerial missions employed in World War II, air-to-ground gun fighting was one of the most valuable. Strafing, which involved the extensive damage of ground, air and naval forces by pilots flying in deadly, low-altitude skies, helped the Allies to their victory. This historical text examines the role of strafing in combat, particularly during World War II, but also during the Korea and Vietnam wars. The nature of gunnery, strafing and gunfighting are explored within the context of particular missions and actions. First-hand accounts and gun camera film evidence contribute to the exploration of this most dangerous form of combat and honor the courage of America's veterans who served as pilots or aerial crewmen.

Ian Gooderson presents a study of close air support in World War II, with the analysis focusing on the use of tactical air power by British and American forces during the campaigns in Italy and northwestern Europe between 1943 and 1945.

An account of the contributions of World War II's Torpedo Squadron Eight traces their role in key U.S. victories at Midway and Guadalcanal, citing the honors achieved, and losses suffered, by its thirty-five members.

Hero of the Soviet Union Dmitriy Loza has carefully crafted his World War II experiences with U.S.-provided Sherman tanks into a highly readable memoir. Between the fall of 1943 and August 1945, Loza fought in the Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Austria. He commanded a tank battalion during much of this period and had three Shermans shot out from under him. Loza's unit participated in such well-known combat actions as the Korsun-Shevchenkovskiy Operation, the Jassy-Kishenev Operation, and the battles for Budapest, Vienna, and Prague. Following the German surrender, Loza's unit was sent to Mongolia, where it participated in the arduous trek across the Gobi Desert to attack the Japanese Kwantung Army in Manchuria. This is the first available detailed examination of the Red Army's exploitation of U.S. war matiriel during World War II and one of the first genuine memoirs available from the Russian front. Loza also provides firsthand testimony on tactical command decisions, group objectives and how they were accomplished, and Soviet use of combat equipment and intelligence. Only after the collapse of the USSR and concomitant relaxing of prohibitions against publication of materials related to the Lend-Lease Program there could this account be made available Dmitriy Loza served as an instructor at the Frunze Academy after the war, retiring in 1967 with the rank of colonel. He resides in Moscow. James F. Gebhardt, now a defense contractor at Fort Leavenworth, is a Vietnam veteran. He is the author of Blood on the Shores: Soviet Naval Commandos in World War II.

Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers over Britain analyses the campaign from March 1942-June 1943 using contemporary records and first-hand accounts from both the German and British sides.