American Aircraft of World War II

The United States Army Air Force (USAAF) came into its own during World War II, building some of the most innovative fighters and effective strategic bombers of the era, which came to dominate the skies across Europe and the Pacific. American Aircraft of World War II is a detailed guide to the main fighters and bombers deployed by the USAAF and US Navy from 1941 to 1945. Organised by type and chronologically, this book includes all the great types, such as the B-17 Flying Fortress, which led the daylight bombing campaign against German industrial targets; the B-24 Liberator, which carried out the famous raid on the Ploesti oil refinery in Romania in 1943; the highly-adaptable P-51 Mustang fighter escort and the carrier-based F6F Hellcat ? which outperformed the legendary Japanese A6M Zero fighter ? as well as the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, with its distinctive twin-boom design; and the B-29 Superfortress, the aircraft most responsible for degrading Japan?s ability to wage war with their constant aerial attacks in 1944 and 1945. The guide is illustrated with profile artworks and three-views, as well as two-page dynamic artworks of some of the more famous aircraft in service, such as the highly-adaptable B-25 Mitchell, which served in every theatre in a variety of roles, the twin- engined P-61 Black Widow night-fighter, and the robust P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bomber. Illustrated with more than 200 authentic artworks with accurate markings and camouflage, American Aircraft of World War II is an essential reference guide for modellers and military aviation enthusiasts.