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American Combat Planes of the 20th Century is an incredible reference for anyone who is interested in any American Combat Plane History.   There are 758 pages and 1700 b/w photos in this substantial labor of love by Ray Wagner, who has been passionately researching and writing about aircraft for over 50 years.   Whether you are already familiar with his past works, or just discovering this accomplished author for the first time... This is the book that you've been waiting for!

If you'd like to see the book's   Table of Contents ... Click here.   You can also browse the entire   Index Section   to get an idea of the extensive amount of information that is covered within this book.

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A- 1 Eaton     A- 4 Skyhawk     A- 6 & A- 7     Air Weapons     AV- 8 to A- 10     A- 20 Havoc     A- 22 Martin Maryland     A- 23 Martin Baltimore     A- 24 Douglas     A- 26 Douglas Invader     Attack Planes     B- 2A, F-111, F-117 Stealth    B- 17 Flying Fortress     B- 24 Liberator     B- 25 North American     B- 26 Marauder     B- 29 Superfortress     B- 32 Dominator     B- 35 Flying Wing     B- 36     B- 47 Stratojet     B- 50 Boeing     B- 52 Stratofortress     B- 57 Canberra     B- 58 Hustler     Biplanes     Biplanes, Army Pursuits     Bombers, B- 70 to Stealth     Bombers, First Big     Curtiss Falcon     CO- 1     DH- 4 De Havilland     F3D- Douglas Skyknight    F3H- McDonnell Demon    F4D- 1 Skyray    F4F Grumman Wildcats    F- 4U Corsair    F6F Grumman    F7F Grumman    F7U Vought    F9F G. Cougar    F9F G. Panther    F- 16 Fighting Falcon    F- 84     F- 86 Sabre    F- 89 to F-94    F- 100 to F-108    First Fighters    Flying Boats    GAX    Iraq to Afghanistan    Martin Bombers    Missile Era Fighters    Navy Fighers    Navy Flying Boats    O- 2 Douglas     P- 35 Seversky     P- 36 to 42 Curtiss     P- 38 Lightning    P- 39 Airacobra    P- 40 Line    P- 47 Thunderbolt    P- 51 Mustang Fighter    P- 61 Black Widow    P- 63 Kingcobra    P- 79 to P-81    P- 82 Twin Mustang    SB2C Helldiver    TBF-TBM Avenger    Thomas-Morse    Torpedo Planes    V- 11 Vultee    XB -28    XP -48 / 77   



The following Table of Contents is from the book
"American Combat Planes of the 20th Century"
by Ray Wagner.
.

Table of Contents

introduction     ix

PART ONE:
The Biplane Period, 1917 to 1932     1

  1. The Role of the Combat Plane: The First Generation     2
  2. Close Support for the Army, 1917-1923     17
  3. The First Fighters, 1915-1920     25
  4. Multi-Engine Bombers, 1917-1932     37
  5. Army Pursuits; The Biplane Period, 1920-1932    53
  6. Army Observation and Attack Aircraft, 1922-1933     77
  7. Flying Boats for Navy Patrols, 1917-1934     99
  8. New Weapons for the Navy, 1918-1933     115
  9. Navy Observation Aircraft, 1917-1932     129
10. Adapting Fighters to Flight Decks     145

PART TWO:
Monoplanes and World War II, 1932-1945     163

11. Background of World War II Development    164
12. Army Observation Aircraft,1930-1942     175
13. Army Attack Monoplanes from A-7 to A-41    185
14. Bomber Monoplanes, 1931-1939     221
15. Bombers for World War II, 1939-1945     237
16. Fighter Monoplanes, from the P-24 to the P-37    269
17. Warhawks to Mustangs     295
18. Crisis-Born Fighter Projects, XP-48 to XP-77    341
19. Navy Patrol Bombers, 1935-1945     361
20. Navy Scout and Observation Aircraft, 1932-46    393
21. Navy Attack Planes, 1931-1945     415
22. Navy Fighters, 1931-1939     443
23. Navy Fighters Against Japan 455
24. Very Heavy Bombers End the War     479

PART THREE:
Cold War Warriors, 1946-1962     489

25. Air Weapons for the Cold War     490
26. Strategic Command’s First Bombers    507
27. Air Force Fighters, from XP-79 to XF-96    519
28. Jet Bombers, 1946-1962     551
29. Supersonic fighters, F-100 to F-108     571
30. Navy Patrol Planes, from Neptune to Orion     587
31. Navy Attack planes from A-1 to A-6    601
32. Navy fighters, from the Phantom I to the Crusader    617
33. ASW: Search and Attack     643

PART FOUR:
An Awesome Generation since 1963    649

34. The Cold War, 1963-1991     650
35. Tactical Attack Planes for Small Wars, 1963-1991    661
36. Fighters for the Missile Era     679
37. Bombers from the B-70 to Stealth     703
38. From Iraq to Afghanistan     713

Bibliography and readers’ guide     719
Including notes on sources and photo credits

INDEX     737

LIST OF TABLES
  1. Comparison of Allied and Enemy Airplane Strengths,
      November 11, 1918     4
  2. Army Air Corps/Force Combat Type Designations    14
  3.Code letters assigned to combat type manufacturers    16
  4. American Aircraft Guns     174
  5. AAF Bombers in the European War, 1942-1945     243
  6. B-24 Liberator Production from 1940 to 1945     249
  7. AAF Fighters in the European War, 1942-1945     337
  8. USAF Combat Wings, 1951-1957     494
  9. Major Nuclear Air Weapons of 1945-1962     501
10. American Aircraft Guns After 1945     503
11. Air-to-Air Guided Missiles Deployed in 1956-1962    503
12. F-5 International Deliveries to 1986     688
13. F-16s for 18 Foreign Nations     700
14. USAF Active Combat Type Inventory, 1991–2000







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