Background and History from Wikipedia

The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin - engine, variable - sweep wing multirole combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and West Germany. There are three primary Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS (interdictor/strike) fighter - bomber, the suppression of enemy air defenses Tornado ECR (electronic combat/reconnaissance) and the Tornado ADV (air defense variant) interceptor aircraft.

This is the second volume of two published by Hellion covering the history of the Israeli Air Force from its founding to the present. As with other Hellion volumes, it follows an established format. Using a chronological format, the narrative begins where the last volume left off. The text begins with the end of the Yom Kippur War and ends in 2023 with a little bit of forecasting into the immediate future. The book is heavily illustrated with black and white photos. As with previous volumes, it has a series of color profiles of aircraft and a slim selection of color photographs. They also have an extensive bibliography and foot notes for those of you who would like to continue reading on the topic.

The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey had a checkered development history and near cancellation of the project. However, persistence paid off and this unique and versatile hybrid aircraft has seen great success in the US Marine Corp (MV-22B) and US Airforce (CV-22). It is also being integrated into the US Navy (CMV-22B) to replace the aging Grumman C-2 Greyhound’s, as well as a Presidential (Marine MV-22B – VIP) transport. The only export customer so far is the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (MV-22B). There are several other countries who have or are considering the Osprey.

The Battle of Britain (BOB) brings to mind Spitfires and Hurricanes in swirling dogfights with the Luftwaffe's Messerschmitt's, Dornier's and Heinkel's in the summer skies over England in 1940. One of the lesser-known participants in the battle was the Regia Aeronautica (RA) or the Italian Air Force. In fact, the RA had participated in the invasion of France providing escort to bombing forces until France surrendered. From September to November 1940 the RA stationed two squadrons, the 85^th and 95^th of the 18^th fighter group at Ursel Belgium. Here the CR 42 would prove unsuited to the task. Lacking the performance of modern fighters, the Falco's took a beating at the hands of the RAF. More critical was lack of firepower and the open cockpit that froze pilots operating in the cold air over the English Channel. One of the 95^th squadron aircraft, serial 95-13 was shot down and landed virtually unharmed on English soil.

This book covers the many captured foreign aircraft that were put into service and tested by the Luftwaffe. The book has twelve chapters.

Chapter one has many pictures of aircraft taken from Czechoslovakia and absorbed from Austria. Many Fiat, Avia, Letov are featured in the accompanying photos.

. Chapter two has great photo coverage of planes from Poland, Norway, the Netherlands. Many of these were put into Luftwaffe service especially in the training role.

Chapter three covers the aircraft taken with the fall of France. These included all types of home manufactured aircraft such as Bloch, Dewoitine, LeO and Morane as well as American made aircraft used by the French such as Hawk 75 (P-36) and North American models 57 and 64 trainers. Also included are the many British aircraft, both those serving with the French as well those left behind by the British when forced to retreat.