The World’s Great Fighters

Since its arrival in action over the battlefields of World War I, the fighter has developed into one of the most potent and versatile weapons of war, whether launched from an airfield or from the heaving deck of an aircraft carrier. The World’s Great Fighters traces the history of this warplane from flimsy ‘kite’ to high-performance jet, explaining why some designs turned out to be winners while others proved to be catastrophic. All the legendary names are featured in The World’s Great Fighters: the Albatrosses, Spads and Sopwiths of the Great War; the Spitfire, Zero and Messerschmitt 109 of 1939-45; the F-4 Phantom, the MiGs and the Tornado of the post-war period; and many more. The book discusses their development, their equipment and avionics, their combat capabilities, and the innovations that set them apart from the rest. In addition to 80 colour and black-and-white photographs, The World’s Great Fighters is illustrated with 100 full-colour artworks, each accompanied by a full specifications table. From biplanes to jets to the Raptor stealth, The World’s Great Fighters is a superbly illustrated history of the world’s most outstanding aircraft.