Skies of Fire

Twenty-two detailed accounts portray the multi-faceted nature of the air weapon...and show the many different ways aircraft are employed in time of war. They also give an insight on how the various operational roles fit together to give this aspect of military operations such a formidable capability. Aviation historian Alfred Price, author of Sky Battles and Sky Warriors among many other books, has once again roamed wartime skies to tell the story of different air actions. Together, they show how the air weapon has evolved over a period of nine decades. From the operations of the Italian air expeditionary force in Libya in 1911-12, to the shooting down in less than two minutes of two Yugoslav MiG fighters in 1999, this is an all-action history of the increasing power and versatility of air arms over the years. Price writes about the first successful air strike by carrier-borne aircraft in July 1918; the dramatic delivery of Spitfires to the hard-hit island of Malta in 1942; the highest air combat of the Second World War, a modified Mark IX Spitfire duelling a Junkers Ju 86R bomber at 42,000 feet over Southampton; the air blockade that kept the U-boats from engaging the Allied invasion fleet in 1944; and among others, actions from Vietnam, the Falklands and the Gulf. Price also, in the book’s appendix, provides brief technical data for each of the aircraft types involved in his narrative. Throughout the book, as the technology of air warfare advances at an exponential pace, it becomes apparent that aircrews respond instinctively to new and tougher challenges. But always unchanged, Price notes ‘is the bravery, the determination and the resourcefulness of those who make the sky their arena for battle’. Praise for Alfred Price “Pervaded with realism … an excellent contribution to the literature on tactical airpower.” — Benjamin S. Lambeth, The Rand Corporation Alfred Price served as an aircrew officer in the Royal Air Force and, during a flying career spanning fifteen years, he logged some 4,000 flying hours. While in the service he specialized and instructed in air fighting tactics. Now working full time as an author, he has written more than thirty books on aviation subjects including Battle of Target Berlin and One Day in a Long War on the hardest-fought action over North Vietnam. He holds a PhD in history from Loughborough University, is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and compiles aviation questions for the popular BBC programme Mastermind.