Featuring the obscure, the unusual, the unbuilt and the unseen. The secret is out - Secret Projects is back. This is a new title in this highly acclaimed series, this time looking at concepts developed by the US aircraft industry in the years immediately prior to and during World War 2. This book includes and describes the major fighter and bomber proposals form the American aircraft industry which embrace various fighter and interceptor concepts, medium, heavy and intercontinental bombers, attack aircraft and anti-submarine aircraft, both for the USAF and US Navy. Particular emphasis is placed on 'Circular Proposals' - a system of submitting designs against requirements circulated around the industry by the Army Air Force in the 1930s and early 1940s. The illustrations show drawings and photographs of unbuilt designs merged with the history and photographs of real aeroplanes. Very little has been published previously about American projects from this time period and much of the material will not have been seen widely before. it will therefore be fascinating reading for all lovers of the previously highly successful 'Secret Projects' series and aviation historians.

The Secret Projects series is now well established with both aviation historians and modellers. American Secret Projects: Bombers, Attack and Anti-Submarine Aircraft 1945-1974 describes the important area of post-World War 2 bomber development in the United States. During the period to the 1970s, the USAF operated several classes of bomber – heavy long-range types for strategic operations, medium bombers and fighter bombers for interdiction and ground support. The US Navy had its own series of attack aircraft and bombers for delivering nuclear weapons, while the anti-submarine aircraft was another area to be examined in considerable depth. As a superpower, America was also able to look at some of the more unusual approaches in the creative process – for example, bombers propelled by nuclear propulsion. Many of the aircraft that entered service or flew only as prototypes resulted from design competitions involving many other proposals which, for one reason or another, never left the drawing board. Following the traditions and format of previous Secret Projects titles, this book examines many of these un-built proposals but, at the same time, gives a full overview of American bomber development from 1945 to the early 1970s. The text opens with the first post-war jets and closes with the Rockwell B-1. It is illustrated with many general arrangement drawings and original manufacturers' models and artworks and many of the designs have never been seen in print before. Appendices give a list of all known bomber projects plus details of specifications.

Germany’s air ministry was quick to grasp the potential of the jet engine as early as 1938 and by 1939 several German aircraft manufacturers were already working on fighter designs that would utilize this new form of propulsion. Rocket engines too were seen as the way of the future and companies were commissioned to design fighters around them. As the Second World War began, the urgent need to bring these advanced new types into production saw a host of innovative aircraft designs being produced which would eventually result in Messerschmitt’s Me 262 jet fighter and the Me 163 rocket-propelled interceptor. And as the war progressed, efforts were increasingly made to find better ways of utilizing jet, rocket and latterly ramjet engines in fighter aircraft. Aviation companies from across Germany set their finest minds to the task and produced some of the most radical aircraft designs the world had ever seen. They proposed rotating wing ramjet fighters, arrowhead-shaped rammers, rocket-firing bat-winged gun platforms, sleek speed machines, tailless flying wings, tiny mini fighters and a host of others ranging from deadly looking advanced fighters to downright dangerous vertical launch interceptors. Secret Projects of the Luftwaffe Volume 1: Jet Fighters 1939-1945 by Dan Sharp, based on original research using German wartime documents, offers the most complete and authoritative account yet of these fascinating designs through previously unseen photographs, illustrations and period documentation from archives around the world.

Since 1943, scores of remarkable aircraft have rolled out of the hangars occupied by Lockheed's top-secret Skunk Works program. This in-depth look at the famous research-and-design team's secret projects reveals the nuts and bolts behind aircraft ranging from the P-80 Shooting Star to today's X-35 Joint Strike Fighter prototype. While the emphasis is on high-profile products like the U-2 Dragon Lady, SR-71 Blackbird, F-117 Nighthawk and F-22 Raptor, the book also examines Skunk Works projects that have yet to be covered in book form, including the Tier III Minus DarkStar unmanned air vehicle and the X-33 VentureStar orbiter. Photographs from Lockheed and private archives help explain how the Skunk Works have revolutionized military aviation from the jet age to stealth and beyond.

TOP SECRET REPORT. JOINT WEAPONS SYSTEMS OF THE EXTRATERRESTRIALS AND THE UNITED STATESPublished by Times Square Press® New York.It is hard to believe that our government has obtained mind-bending technology from extraterrestrials which led to the development of the most destructive weapons systems in history. Many of us doubt this possibility. However, we have irrefutable proofs that such programs exist, and are currently catalogued in secret files of the United States Air Force. This book reveals these secrets and refer us to the military bases where these weapons systems are stored. Weapons which escape the logic of our mind and our belief.

Hawker Aircraft Ltd at Kingston was arguably the most successful and long-lasting manufacturer of military aircraft in Great Britain and Europe. In its various evolved manifestations – Hawker Aircraft, Hawker Siddeley Aviation, British Aerospace – its output of war winning aircraft, mainly fighters, was unsurpassed. From the Hart and Hurricane through the Hunter, Harrier and Hawk, the company consistently produced aircraft that the UK fighting services wanted. But some designs, for whatever reason, failed to reach flight or were declined by the services. With their sometimes advanced aerodynamics and technology, these aircraft could have had successful service careers but instead were abandoned, their stories failing to reach mainstream consciousness. Having not received their just dues, the present book seeks to redress this omission. The reasons for failure are many and varied, often financial or political, but in each case the reasons behind the failure of the design are examined. In a wide-ranging investigation that documents the origins of Hawker Aircraft Ltd and its famous Project Office, this work, the third in Christopher Budgen’s investigation of the inner workings of Hawker Aircraft, is a fitting tribute to the many who made the company the success it was.

The Secret Projects of the German Kriegsmarine in World War II gives a comprehensive overview of advanced German naval building, and excitingly includes previously unseen, secret projects. This book is relatively short, yet densely packed with historical naval insight. It will thus appeal to the busy reader interested in boat modeling, or indeed anyone who is fascinated with naval warfare. The designs covered by the title are wide-ranging, from U-boats and hydrofoils, to submarines, explosive motorboats and even aircraft carriers. Not simply presenting information on functioning prototypes, this book highlights a number of theoretical projects for hydrofoils, landing craft and heavy surface units, among many others. Also included are technical examinations of the ‘Z-Plan’ Kreigsmarine build up and the ill-fated Graf Zeppelin, which was abandoned halfway through the war, amid wrangling between the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe. Secret Projects of the German Kriegsmarine in World War II features little-studied designs, like tracked amphibious vehicles equipped with breathing gear, as well as the Luftwaffe-designed Siebel ferries that saw considerable service on the Eastern front. All the information is extremely well-illustrated, being accompanied by detailed drawings, action-packed photographs and artist’s impressions of the different crafts. The historical snapshots, combined with modern, labeled drawings, help to put the past in perspective and bring to life the naval building projects.