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Helion is a UK based company that produces books on many aspects of Military History from the Late Medieval period through to the present day. Helion was established in 1996, and since then they have published almost 1,200 books, with 100 or more new titles coming out every year for readers around the world.
I was not familiar with this series of books, so I was not sure what to expect. But being a fan of British aircraft, I couldn’t pass up the chance to review it. This book by author Chris Goss is just under 100 pages and measures 9.5” tall and 6.75” wide. There is a short forward by Air Marshal Philip Sturley and a one page introduction by the author. All of the photographs are from the collection of the late David Howley. The book contains one chapter covering the Jaguar and another covering the Harrier. There is also a short appendix listing the different variants of the two aircraft and units that operated them. The pictures are a mixture of black and white photos and color photos and are presented two on a page for the majority of the book.
Cross & Cockade International is a non-profit UK based group known as the First World War Aviation Historical Society that publishes their journal four times a year. They also provide a free newsletter (sign up on their website) and occasionally publish WWI themed books like the Sopwith Dolphin monograph I reviewed earlier for IPMS USA. This Journal is the sister of the US Journal, Over The Front.
The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is a guidance kit that converts unguided bombs, or "dumb bombs", into all-weather precision-guided munitions. JDAM-equipped bombs are guided by an integrated inertial guidance system coupled to a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, giving them a published range of up to 15 nautical miles. JDAM-equipped bombs range from 500 to 2,000 pounds . The JDAM's guidance system was jointly developed by the United States Air Force and United States Navy, hence the "joint" in JDAM. When installed on a bomb, the JDAM kit is given a GBU (Guided Bomb Unit) identifier, superseding the Mark 80 or BLU (Bomb, Live Unit) nomenclature of the bomb to which it is attached.
F-111 Fort Worth Swinger by Bob Archer (not to be confused with the underground sex club, Fort Worth Swingers) is a new publication from Key Publishing of England. This ninety-six page tome is a first rate collection of color images of each mark of the F-111 with concise and complete descriptions of those variants and the role that each type played within the U.S, Air Force. Mister Archer doesn't neglect the foreign operators of the F-111 either.
This 7”x10” soft cover book contains 180 images of the F-111 in all its guises. The book focuses on the operational history as well as the deployment of each type. Divided into ten chapters F-111 Fort Worth Swinger details each of the 'Aardvarks' iterations from the prototypes ( Air Force /Navy) to export versions.
