• An insight into British ambitious and often unrealistic aspirations to stay at the forefront of advanced technology such as the development of the atomic-powered warplane • The world’s first military flying wing was a British design that saw operational service during the First World War • A manned rocket-ship launched from a converted V-bomber was proposed, capable of reaching the edge of space • Beautifully illustrated with many rare and unpublished photographs • Of interest to aviation and military historians, modellers, gamers and flight simulator enthusiasts Flying wings, deltas and tailless aircraft continue to generate enormous interest within the aviation community and many of the older designs still look surprisingly futuristic. British Special Projects: Flying Wings, Deltas and Tailless Designs examines the lesser-known and frequently secret British projects undertaken for research or military purposes during the last century and also covers those aircraft that were built and in some cases entered service. The first commercially successful British flying wing biplane designed by John Dunne undertook limited military reconnaissance duties during the First World War. Various flying wings followed but the German development of the delta would prove massively influential with post-war British aerodynamicists immediately recognising the potential for a new generation of high-performance designs. Parallel research into advanced flying wings would produce plans for the superb looking Barnes Wallace supersonic swing-wing bomber, although his design was too far ahead of its time to progress any further. There were also dead-end projects for bombers powered by atomic propulsion, vertical take-off concepts and over-ambitious ideas for British spacecraft that utilised delta- and blended-wing bodies, but were too technically challenging and costly to develop further. Nevertheless, many of these designs that stemmed from the simple flying wing remain influential today.

This is the first comprehensive history of all the British Special Forces, from their beginnings during the Second World War to the Falklands War. The birth of many of the Special Forces was controversial - they were accused of being 'private armies' and a waste of valuable manpower that could have been better used within the regular forces. Their existence was justified only by their successes. The secrecy that still surrounds some of the Special Forces makes writing an authoritative history no easy task. William Seymour's fascinating narrative draws on a wide variety of documentary sources and eye-witness accounts from surviving members of the Forces. The Special Forces covered are: The Commandos, the Special Boat Section, Combined Operations Pilotage Parties, the Long Range Desert Group, Popski's Private Army, The Special Air Service, the Special Boat Squadron and Raiding Forces, and the Royal Marines Special Forces. From the chaungs of Burma to the African desert, the Greek islands to the D-Day landing beaches, Special Forces played a vital part in Allied victory in the Second World War.

The ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and the bombings overseas have shown that—despite the "War on Terror"—terrorism is still very much a part of daily life for many individuals. Encyclopedia of Terrorism, Third Edition provides students, researchers, journalists, and policymakers with a complete survey of what seems to be an intractable problem. More than 330 entries organized in an easily accessible, A-to-Z format offer comprehensive treatments of the events, people, organizations, and places that have played a major role in international terrorism. Each entry is placed within its appropriate historical context to help readers understand the wide-ranging motivations behind terrorist actions. New and updated entries include: Islamic State mass shootings narco-terrorism Paris attacks Pulse nightclub terrorist attack right-wing terrorism San Bernardino attacks school site analysis siege of the U.S. Capitol Special Projects Team-Special Air Service (SAS) state-sponsored terrorism white supremacist groups