David Doyle

The Grumman F6F Hellcat formed the backbone of America's carrier-based fighter force as the Allies pressed the war toward Japan. Powered by a massive and reliable Pratt & Whitney radial engine, the Hellcat racked up an incredible 19:1 kill ratio against its foes in WWII, and 305 aviators earned ace status while flying the Hellcat. Such famed US naval aces as David McCampbell, Cecil Harris, Eugene Valencia, and Alex Vraciu all flew the Hellcat. In addition to its wing-mounted .50-caliber machine guns, the F6F was equipped to carry bombs as well, allowing pilots to deliver up to 2,000 pounds of bombs on targets. By the time that Hellcat production ended in November 1945, 12,275 examples had rolled off Grumman's Bethpage, Long Island, assembly line. Through carefully researched photos, many never before published, the history and details of this iconic aircraft are revealed. Part of the Legends of Warfare series.

USS Saratoga and her sister ship USS Lexington were the two largest aircraft carriers in the world until 1944. The keel of the battle cruiser USS Saratoga (CC-3) was laid by New York Shipbuilding in Camden, New Jersey, on September 25, 1920. Work on the fast, formidably armed battle cruiser was suspended in February 1922, when the Washington Naval Conference negotiated limits on warship sizes and numbers. Once the accord was signed, the decision was made to covert the 28 percent complete Saratoga into an aircraft carrier (the same fate befell her sister ship, Lexington). Launched as an aircraft carrier on April 7, 1925, she became the largest ship of that type afloat. Saratoga's revolutionary turboelectric drive and hull design allowed her to operate at 33 knots (either forward or backward), a trait believed to be useful in the event of combat damage to either end of her flight deck. And damaged she was. Though in port at San Diego, California, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, during the ensuing war the ship was damaged repeatedly, and sometimes severely. Despite this, she fought throughout the war, earning eight battle stars. Following the war, in view of her age, past damage, and the limitations of her design, Saratoga was deemed surplus and was expended as a target during the Bikini Atoll nuclear tests. She survived the first "Able" bomb test but was sunk by the "Baker" test on July 25, 1946. This 144-page volume, an expansion of the author's earlier work, immerses the reader in the construction and operation of the ship at peace and war, as well as detailing the many refits and repairs she underwent, through over 350 photos and illustrations.

Among the iconic aircraft of World War II, the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt not only was physically the biggest single-engine fighter, it also had an enormous impact on history. In terms of its combat effectiveness, P-47 fliers destroyed 7,067 hostile aircraft, with about half of those "kills" recorded during aerial combat. Thunderbolt pilots reported destroying 6,000 enemy tanks, 68,000 trucks, 86,000 railway cars, and 9,000 locomotives. For a single-engine fighter, such a tally is definitely one for the history books. The history of this iconic aircraft is presented through carefully researched archival photos, as well as photographs of preserved examples, thereby illustrating not only the combat use of the Thunderbolt, but also the details of its design and construction. Large, clear photos, coupled with descriptive and informative captions, put the reader on the airfield and in the sky with this historic aircraft. Part of the Legends of Warfare series.

Featuring sloping armor and armed with a powerful 75 mm gun, Germany's Panther tank was developed as a counter to the Soviet T-34. Entering production in 1943, the Panther was intended to become Germany's standard medium tank. Although featuring potent armament and excellent armor, the Panther was hampered by disruptive production and drivetrain maintenance requirements. Produced in three variants, by three firms (MAN, Daimler-Benz, and MNH), the roughly 6,000 Panthers were used on the Eastern Front, in Italy, and from Normandy to Berlin. In this greatly expanded edition of the author's earlier work, almost 250 photos are used to present the Panther from the factory to the battlefield in considerable detail.

USS Kidd (DD-661) is the only Fletcher-class destroyer preserved in WWII configuration. With 175 total ships launched, the Fletchers were the most numerous and most impactful class of destroyers in the US Navy during the Second World War. DD-661 was named for RAdm. Isaac C. Kidd, who was killed onboard the Battleship Arizona at Pearl Harbor. USS Kidd saw action in both the Atlantic and in the Pacific. In April 1945, the ship was seriously damaged by a Kamikaze strike. Kidd was recommissioned during the Korean War, and finally decommissioned for the final time in 1964. The interior and exterior of the ship have been painstakingly restored and preserved in Baton Rouge by the Louisiana Naval War Memorial Commission. This work uses color photography to provide readers an illustrated tour of the ship, above and below deck.

During WWII, Germany fielded a variety of six- and eight-wheeled armored cars, which were used in numerous ways, including reconnaissance, antitank, infantry support, and other roles. The earliest of these vehicles, the 6-Rad, or six-wheeled vehicles, were based on 6 × 4 truck chassis. Once the limitations of this design became evident, later models utilized specially designed all-wheel-drive power trains, with the final model, the 234 series, incorporating a unibody design. Similarly, armament evolved from 7.92 mm machine gun to 75 mm PaK 40 cannon and 7. 5 cm StuK40 howitzers. Based on the author's earlier work, through over 250 photographs this volume explores 12 major types of these vehicles and delves into the subtle changes made during production.

The striking P-61 Black Widow was the first purpose-built American night fighter. Designed by Jack Northrop and Vladimir Pavlecka, the P-61's menacing appearance was matched by the plane's advanced technology and fearsome weaponry. Interestingly, the Widow is credited with the final aerial kill of the war. This book tells the story of the Black Widow from the experimental XP-61 on through the final production variant, the F-15A, through black-and-white photos and vintage color photos, augmented by four color profiles and detailed line drawings.