num_pages: 304
description: The years 1939-45 saw rapid and unprecedented development in all spheres of aviation as the warring nations vied to gain a technological edge over their opponents, win mastery of the skies, and thereby secure ultimate victory. Designers, engineers and scientists in industry and in research institutions laboured to improve the aeroplane and enhance its capabilities and equipment. By the end of the Second World War enormous strides had been made not only in weaponry and destructive power, but in all of the essential technologies that would revolutionise air transport in the years ahead. In these pages some of the most prominent specialist aviation writers have come together to present an authoritative account of this dramatic era in the history of aviation technology. This is not just another account of the aeroplane's use in warfare, full of valiant needs and heroism. It is a combined study of an outstanding era to the evolution of the flying machine, an era when it attained its maturity and achieved new significance in world affairs.
language: English
title: Aircraft of the Second World War: The Development of the Warplane 1939-45
titlecomplete: Aircraft of the Second World War: The Development of the Warplane 1939-45 (Putnam's History of Aircraft)
ratings_count: 4
publisher: Not our Pub / Old Publisher