Presents photographs and detailed information about 101 great fighter planes, from the early twentieth-century biplanes to ultra-modern jet fighters.

Little more than ten years after the first powered flight, aircraft were pressed into service in World War I. The romance of aviation had a remarkable grip on the public imagination, propaganda focusing on gallant air 'aces' who become national heroes. The reality was horribly different. Some 50,000 aircrew died in World War I. Marked for Death explored the brutal truths of wartime aviation: of flimsy planes and unprotected pilots; of burning nineteen-year-olds...

Traces the history of fighter planes from the dogfights of World War I to the missions flown by modern stealth fighters.

"Aircraft designed to attack and destroy other aircraft have existed almost as long as military aviation. With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, aircraft designed specifically as fighters began to appear. This illustrated book of fighter aircraft traces the development of fighters from World War I to the present day, and highlights actions in which fighters played a crucial role. The book has two substantial A-Z sections which form a guide to over...