One of the most legendary naval aircraft of WWII, the Grumman TBF Avenger (and the General Motors-produced TBM) saw action in most of the major battles in the Pacific including Midway and Leyte Gulf. Armed with a forward machine gun and a second in a dorsal turret, the plane could carry a 21-inch torpedo or four 500-lb. bombs, or a combination thereof. Avengers are credited with sinking the Japanese superbattleships Musashi and Yamato. A young aviator who would later become President, George H.W. Bush flew a TBF off the carrier USS San Jacinto in 1943-44. Originally printed by Grumman, G.M. and the U.S. Navy late in the war, this TBM-3 Flight Operating Handbook taught pilots everything they needed to know before entering the cockpit. Classified "Restricted," the manual was declassified long ago and is here reprinted in book form. This affordable facsimile has been reformatted and color images appear in black and white. Care has been taken however to preserve the integrity of the text.

En instruktionsbog (Flight Manual) for TBF/TBM-3 Avenger.

In 1944 Allied codebreakers learned the Imperial Japanese Navy had dispatched the cargo submarine I-52 to occupied France with tons of military supplies and payment—in gold—for German assistance. I-52 undertook the mission as part of the Yanagi missions, a military program meant to alleviate Japan’s desperate need for military material and technical knowledge. After tracking I-52 from Asia to the Atlantic, the Allies destroyed the vessel in a battle that ended the Yanagi missions and left I-52 an unlikely treasure ship on the seafloor. David W. Jourdan adds to the history of I-52 with a spellbinding account of his efforts to find the sunken submarine. One of the first joint American-Russian research expeditions, the search for the wreck combined a team effort, exhaustive detective work, and a dramatic battle with the sea. The effort paid off when the group found I-52’s nearly intact hull three miles down. The expedition also earned an unexpected historical dividend when it uncovered one-of-a-kind recordings of American Avenger torpedo bomber attacks on an enemy submarine. Part war tale and part seagoing adventure, Operation Rising Sun tells the story of the two very different missions to find submarine I-52.

A compact guide to 70 of the most iconic aircraft to have shaped warfare over the last 100 years. Aviation has revolutionised warfare over the last 100 years, and this new pocket guide gives the reader the essential details of 70 iconic aircraft, including the Sopwith Camel, the Spitfire, the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the P-51 Mustang and the F-4 Phantom. Drawing on Osprey's comprehensive aviation archive, Plane Spotter's Guide uses detailed profile artwork to illustrate and aid recognition, as well as specification boxes to provide all the technical details.

II as the second of the great Essex-class carriers to be commissioned, Lexington destroyed more than one thousand Japanese aircraft, sank more than a million tons of enemy shipping in the Pacific, and in September, 1945, had the honor of being the first American aircraft carrier to enter Tokyo Bay in victory. Photographer-writer Hugh Power has captured every aspect of this great warship through beautiful photography, detailed floor plans, and illuminating text. Serving.