In this history of aerial warfare, the author takes as his starting point the prescient theories of the 17th century Jesuit, de Lana Terzi. He deals with the early reconnaissance balloons, the work of the Wright brothers, the Zeppelins, the aircraft of both World Wars, those of the post-1945 'cold war', and the sophisticated and lethal weaponry of the nuclear age. In addition, he contributes an important chapter on the interwar years, when the RAF's use of the airlift and the development of the concept of air control provided a significant pointer to the future of air operations. He also discusses the role of the helicopter in Vietnam, and the paradox of technology in this theatre of war which saw both the development of super-sophisticated pilotless reconnaissance aircraft and the reintroduction of turboprop aircraft in a limited strike capacity. Strategy, weaponry, the classic aircraft and the men who designed and fought in them all find their place in this book. A wide range of black and white and colour illustrations, some of them rarely seen, record the inexorable development of air power, and twelve specially commissioned paintings depict moments in the history of aerial warfare never before recorded in this way.
