Traces the history and discusses the principles of rockets and jet propulsion airplanes. Illustrated with black and white photographs.

During the last decade, rapid growth of knowledge in the field of jet, rocket, nuclear, ion and electric propulsion has resulted in many advances useful to the student, engineer and scientist. The purpose for offering this course is to make available to them these recent advances in theory and design. Accordingly, this course is organized into seven parts: Part 1 Introduction; Part 2 Jet Propulsion; Part 3 Rocket Propulsion; Part 4 Nuclear Propulsion; Part 5 Electric and Ion Propulsion; Part 6 Theory on Combustion, Detonation and Fluid Injection; Part 7 Advanced Concepts and Mission Applications. It is written in such a way that it may easily be adopted by other universities as a textbook for a one semester senior or graduate course on the subject. In addition to the undersigned who served as the course instructor and wrote Chapter I, 2 and 3, guest lecturers included: DR. G. L. DUGGER who wrote Chapter 4 "Ram-jets and Air-Aug mented Rockets," DR. GEORGE P. SUTTON who wrote Chapter 5 "Rockets and Cooling Methods," DR . . MARTIN SUMMERFIELD who wrote Chapter 6 "Solid Propellant Rockets," DR. HOWARD S. SEIFERT who wrote Chapter 7 "Hybrid Rockets," DR. CHANDLER C. Ross who wrote Chapter 8 "Advanced Nuclear Rocket Design," MR. GEORGE H. McLAFFERTY who wrote Chapter 9 "Gaseous Nuclear Rockets," DR. S. G. FORBES who wrote Chapter 10 "Electric and Ion Propul sion," DR. R. H. BODEN who wrote Chapter 11 "Ion Propulsion," DR.

The pilot’s son delivers “a fascinating read and an invaluable insight in to the workings of pre- and wartime test flying under the Third Reich” (Military Aircraft Monthly). On 27 August 1939, Flugkapitan Erich Warsitz became the first man to fly a jet aircraft, the Heinkel He 178, and in June of the same year he flew the first liquid-fuel rocket aircraft, the Heinkel He 176. His legendary flying skills enabled him to assist the pioneering German aircraft and engine design teams that included Wernher von Braun and Ernst Heinkel. He repeatedly risked his life extending the frontiers of aviation in speed, altitude and technology and survived many life-threatening incidents. This book is written by Erich’s son who has used his father’s copious notes and log books that explain vividly the then halcyon days of German aviation history. Warsitz was feted by the Reich’s senior military figures such as Milch, Udet and Lucht and even Hitler keenly followed his experimental flying. Little is known of this pioneer period because of the strict secrecy which shrouded the whole project—it is a fascinating story that tells of the birth of the jet age and flight as we know it today. The book includes many unseen photographs and diagrams. “This book is nothing short of a gem for anyone interested in real aviation history . . . through Lutz Warsitz’s words, readers share the emotions— apprehension, loyalty, fear, frustration and elation—of being part of some of aviation’s most significant advances.” —Pacific Wing Magazine “More than just a good read. An historical document of inestimable value in the aviation pioneering field.” —Airnews

Germany was not only the first country to get a jet aircraft to fly but above all it was the only country fighting in World War Two to mass produce and above all engage several types of aircraft using this new kind of power plant in the fighting, thus opening the way for air warfare as we know it nowadays. This new volume in the collection "Planes and Pilots", which wittingly ignores the myriad of jet aircraft projects which the Germans thought up all during the war most of which never got beyond the drawing board, only deals with the machines which were built in enough numbers to be used operationally. The Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket-fighter, more dangerous for its pilots than for its opponents; the twin-engined Arado 234, better at reconnaissance than at bombing which was its intended role; the Heinkel He 162, the People's Fighter, built in record time but arriving too late to prove the effectiveness of its design; and above all the Messerschmitt Me 262 - the real star among the German fighters during the last year of the war and whose tally of kills gives a glimpse of the real impact on the course of the war it might have had, had its development not been so considerably delayed by innumerable technical problems and, for a while, by crass strategic errors.

Fighting Hitler's Jets brings together in a single, character-driven narrative two groups of men at war: on one side, American fighter pilots and others who battled the secret “wonder weapons” with which Adolf Hitler hoped to turn the tide; on the other, the German scientists, engineers, and pilots who created and used these machines of war on the cutting edge of technology. Written by Robert F. Dorr, renowned author of Zenith Press titles Hell Hawks!, Mission to Berlin, and Mission to Tokyo, the story begins with a display of high-tech secret weapons arranged for Hitler at a time when Germany still had prospects of winning the war. It concludes with Berlin in rubble and the Allies seeking German technology in order to jumpstart their own jet-powered aviation programs. Along the way, Dorr expertly describes the battles in the sky over the Third Reich that made it possible for the Allies to mount the D-Day invasion and advance toward Berlin. Finally, the book addresses both facts and speculation about German weaponry and leaders, including conspiracy theorists’ view that Hitler escaped in a secret aircraft at the war’s end. Where history and controversy collide with riveting narrative, Fighting Hitler’s Jets furthers a repertoire that comprises some of the United States’ most exceptional military writing.