56 books match the query 'Aviation & Space' and 3 start with f

cover of Fiat G.91

Fiat G.91

Arno Landewers

Amsterdam University Press, 2023

The Fiat G.91 was an Italian jet fighter aircraft. It was the winner of the NATO competition in 1953 for a light fighter as standard equipment for Allied air forces. It entered in operational service with the Italian Air Force in 1961, with the West German Luftwaffe in 1962, and later with the Portuguese Air Force.

It was in production for nineteen years. 756 aircraft were completed, including the prototypes and pre-production models. The assembly lines were finally closed in 1977. The Fiat G.91 enjoyed a long service life that extended over 35 years. It was widely used by Portugal in the Portuguese Colonial War in Africa.
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cover of Fighter Aircraft Combat Debuts, 1915–1945: Innovation in Air Warfare Before the Jet Age

Fighter Aircraft Combat Debuts, 1915–1945

Innovation in Air Warfare Before the Jet Age

Jon Guttman

Westholme Publishing, 2014

An International History of the Development, Competition, and Deployment of High-Speed, Maneuverable, Fighter Aircraft During the Era of the World Wars
Of all military aircraft, fighter planes hold a mystique all their own. Perhaps it is because fighters can afford the least compromise: when the goal is to seize and maintain control of the air, the confrontation is direct. During World War I, the concept of air superiority took hold and in the ensuing decades the development of fighter aircraft became an ongoing back-and-forth battle, with adversaries trying to gain an upper hand through innovations in aerodynamics, powerplants, and armament. Fighter Aircraft Combat Debuts, 1915–1945: Innovation in Air Warfare Before the Jet Age by prominent aviation expert Jon Guttman explores the first combats for a variety of fighters of World War I, the conflicts of the so-called "interwar years," and World War II—a thirty-year period that saw the birth of the fighter concept and its maturity on the threshold of the Jet Age. Most of the aircraft described are fairly well known to aviation historians and a few names, such as Sopwith Camel, Fokker Triplane, Messerschmitt Me-109, Mitsubishi Zero, North American Mustang, and Supermarine Spitfire, are familiar even to the most nonaviation- minded persons. Not so well-known are the circumstances of their combat debuts, in which some, such as the Zero, made their mark almost from the outset, but in which others, like the British Bristol F.2A, showed rather less promise than they would ultimately realize. While a certain amount of space must be devoted to the technical development of these famous fighters, these studies of first combats serve as a reminder that it is the human factor, with all its special quirks, that inevitably came into play when these deadly flying machines first fired their guns. Profusely illustrated, Fighter Aircraft Combat Debuts is an authoritative history of one of the most enduring subjects in military aviation.
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cover of Fokker C.X

Fokker C.X

Edwin Hoogschagen

Amsterdam University Press, 2023

Designed in 1933, the elegant looking Fokker C.X was outdated from the start. The type was intended as strategic reconnaissance plane but was not suited for this task. More modern, twin-engine types had claimed this specialized role. Instead, the biplane served well as short range scout and light bomber.

The C.X is a little-known member of the Dutch Fokker stable. Just like the D.XXI this biplane served in the air forces of two little neutral countries on the eve of World War II. Both fought gallantly in a war of David versus Goliath proportions, and the complete operational history of the type spans a total of 25 years. In retrospect, the C.X was the last fighting biplane type built by Fokker and the company's last pre-war military type to survive.
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