Philip Kaplan

Naval aviation arrived early in the last century in the form of balloons and airships employed by the British Royal Navy for reconnaissance, and interest was stirring in naval circles in a greater aeronautical capacity for the service. Britain's tradition of projecting a global reach through her sea power would, in the view of many, be greatly enhanced by such a capability. Among the first advocates of military aircraft development was British naval...

Take someone with superior intelligence, unusual strength, perfect vision, catlike reflexes, exceptional marksmanship, and nerves of steel — and you just might have what it takes. The fighter pilot had total control of an airborne vehicle traveling hundreds of miles an hour, and was capable of leaving a devastating path of destruction in his wake. Navigating with brains and stamina, making life-or-death decisions in the blink of an eye, these unique...

The tank is such a characteristic feature of modern warfare that its difficult to imagine a time when its presence wasn't felt on the battlefield in some form or another. Rolling Thunder, from eminent historian and author Philip Kaplan, traces the history of the vehicle from its developmental early days on the battlefields of the Great War, to modern-day uses and innovations in response to the growing demands of twenty-first century warfare. Featured...

In the early years of the Second World War, the elite force of German submariners known as the Ubootwaffe came perilously close to perfecting the underwater battle tactics and successfully cutting Britain's transatlantic lifeline. To the Allies, these enemy sailors were embarking on a mission of unequivocal evil. Each member of the Ubootwaffe understood that he must take pride in being part of a unique brotherhood. He had to do so because he was...

Philip Kaplan presents us here with a riveting account of the Allied experience behind enemy lines, detailing the trials and tribulations experienced by the British and American airmen who were shot down in European skies during World War Two, to be incarcerated 'behind the wire' in enemy camps. With eloquence and a clear enthusiasm for the subject at hand, the author describes how various individuals adjusted to their incarceration. Whilst some set...

In this new pictorial history from Philip Kaplan, the perspectives of both RAF and Luftwaffe airmen are considered within the wider context of one of the most iconic and pivotal conflicts of modern history. The Blitz, primarily the bombing of London and the major cities of Britain by the German Air Force, lasted for fifty-seven nights from September 1940 into May 1941. Life under the bombing; the perspectives of German and British airmen; the experience...

This book examines the reality behind the myths of the legendary RAF fighter aces during the Battle of Britain. The accounts of the experiences of fighter pilots are based on archival research, diaries, letters, published and unpublished memoirs and personal interviews with veterans.

The legendary Douglas DC-3 airliner was a technological breakthrough that changed the course of both civilian and military aviation. In the 1930s, passenger air travel was expensive, uncomfortable, and frequently unreliable. That began to change with the appearance of the handsome, thoroughly modern DC-3, the twenty-one-passenger twin-engine propeller-driven creation of Donald Douglas and his young California company. The first production models were...

The only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril - Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Churchill, as a former First Lord of the Admiralty, was well versed in the importance of Britain protecting itself at sea. In the opening years of the Second World War, Germanys U-boat (submarine) fleet was tasked with attacking and destroying the supply ships that Britain depended upon for its survival. The U-boats were under the...

"In the style of Alan Furst, this suspenseful thriller - based on real events - places an idealistic American diplomat in a turbulent, US-hating Tehran in the days leading up to the Iranian Revolution. Backed by the CIA, and trailed by a beautiful and engaging French journalist he suspects is a spy, David Weiseman's mission is to ease the Shah of Iran out of power and find the best alternative between the military, religious extremists, and the political...