Introduction -- Photographer's preface -- 1905 Wright Flyer III : the first practical aeroplane -- Louis Blériot and his Type XI : closing the gap -- Fokker E. III : Boekle, Immelman and the Eindecker -- Caproni Ca. 3 : strategic bombing begins -- Sopwith Camel : WWI's most successful fighter -- Fokker D. VII : too few and too late -- SPAD XIII : French and fast -- Curtiss NC-4 : first across the pond -- Vickers Vimy : nonstop transatlantic -- Douglas World Cruiser : global conquest -- Fokker World Beaters : trimotors and trailblazers -- Ryan NYP : ninety-second but still first -- Schneider Trophy Racers : faster with floats -- De Havilland's Moths : planes for the proletariat -- Waco : "Ask any pilot" -- Lockheed Vega : versatile adventurer -- Douglas DC-3 : legendary workhorse -- Short Brothers' Flying Boats : imperial flagships -- Messerschmitt Bf 109 : formidable fighter -- Hawker Hurricane : eight-gun destroyer -- Supermarine Spitfire : Mitchell's legacy -- Boeing B-17 : the flying fortress -- Junkers Ju 52 : Iron Annie -- Mitsubishi A6M : the Zero -- Avro Lancaster : bludgeon and rapier -- P-51 Mustang : scourge of the Luftwaffe.
D.H. Mosquito : wooden wonder -- Messerschmitt Me 262 : swallow and stormbird -- F-86 Sabre : the elegant blade -- MiG-15 : Soviet surprise -- Lockheed Constellation : "Connie" -- DHC Beaver : creature of the bush-- D.H. Comet : Tragic pioneer of the jet age -- Vickers Viscount : noble turboprop -- BAC/Aerospatiale Concorde : supersonic, at a price -- Flying Club Cessnas : why drive when you can fly? -- Learjet : the businessman's aerial hotrod -- X-15 : rocketing into space -- SR-71 : high-speed blackbird -- MiG-21 : flying fishbed -- F-4 Phantom II : the rhino -- B-52 Stratofortress : the buff -- Harrier : the original jump jet -- Lockheed C-130 : Hercules -- F-15 Eagle : big bird -- Boeing jet airliners : world shrinkers -- Rutan's originals : shapes for the future -- Lockheed F-117A : stealthy nighthawk -- Jack Northrop's dream : the B-2 Spirit -- F-35 Lightning II : joint strike fighter -- Photographer's acknowledgments -- Bibliographical note from the editor -- Index.
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