Dive Bomber!: Aircraft, Technology, and Tactics in World War II

by Peter C. Smith

Overview

• Details on planes like the German Stuka, the American Dauntless, the Japanese Aichi D3A1 "Val," the Soviet PE-2, and numerous others • Riveting accounts of aerial combat • Includes maps, diagrams, tables, and photos For many, it is a dive bomber that conjures the most dramatic, quintessential image of World War II: a screaming German Stuka hurtling toward the ground as part of the frightening blitzkrieg that opened the war. In this illustrated history of Allied and Axis dive bombers, Peter C. Smith traces these formidable aircraft from the earliest experiment, through the planes' first operation, to their emergence as devastatingly effective tools of aerial warfare in World War II.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780811734547
Publisher:	Stackpole Books
Publication date:	03/10/2008
Series:	Stackpole Military History Series
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Peter C. Smith is a well-known authority on the history of dive-bombing and is the author of over sixty naval history books that are published on four continents. He currently lives with his wife and two Labradors in Bedfordshire, England.

Table of Contents

Early Experiments     1
Birth of the Dive Bomber     9
The Momentum Falters     19
Re-forging the Weapon     29
Emergence of the Helldivers     39
Doubts and Hesitancy     49
Perfecting the Skill     59
A Willful Blindness     77
Against All Odds     99
Achtung-Stuka!     113
The Rising Sun     131
Conversion to Accuracy     143
The Warbirds Prepare     161
Blitzkrieg!     181
A Muted Riposte     197
Death from the Sky     215
War in Whitehall     233
Clash of Giants     249
Dive Bomber Arena     263
Full Circle     283
The Secret Success     301
Triumph of the Leathernecks     313
On to Berlin!     331
The Final Vindication     351
Bibliography     363
Index     369