The Corsair no doubt appears at the top of the list of mythical aircraft which have left their mark on aviation history. As the author is predominantly an illustrator he has given priority to the illustrations and iconography following with explanations that are deliberately concise but as thorough as possible. His aim was to tell the thirty year story of the Corsair’s extraordinary career from its baptism of fire in the Pacific to the African skies, passing through the Far-East and a less martial, but nonetheless virile, interlude in the colourful and exhilarating world of the Pylon Races. This book, substantially larger than the previous edition published in 2003, does not claim to be exhaustive and is destined as much to the enlightened amateur as to the neophyte, in whom perhaps will appear a new love for the fabulous Bent Wing Bird.

After the war the Jeep, a small military vehicle then mostly unknown to the general public, suddenly became central to the vision of the postwar period. Made famous in magazines and newspapers world-wide, the Jeep was on everything from writing paper, matchboxes and playing cards, and seemed to invade America before conquering the world. This fabulous new book from Histoire et Collections perfectly captures the mood of that period immediately after the war with its lavish full colour illustrations. About the AuthorThe author, Jerome Hadacek is known for both his 1 / 48 and 1 / 10 scale models, and is passionate about tanks and jeeps. He has published extensively as a freelance writer on 4x4 vehicles.

The Mirage 2000N program was launched in 1978 to accomplish intercept missions and medium-range air to surface nuclear attacks in order to eventually replace the Mirage IVP which was terminated in 1990. Based off of the Mirage 2000B, it is equipped with a weapons system organised around an Antilope radar system, enabling automatic navigation and field monitoring, all while maintaining its in-flight auto-defense capabilities. While the first models were only capable of carrying nuclear missiles, beginning with the 2000N-K2, the aircraft is now able to undertake conventional ground attack missions, with a large array of traditional bombs. The line of Mirage 2000N aircraft are a key element at the very heart of the French Strategic Air Command.French Language

Derived from the Breguet 690 which was built at the beginning of 1936, the Breguet 693 had its baptism by fire in May 1940: eleven aircraft of the GBA 1/54 were engaged in the region of Maastricht against the Germans. Unfortunately the ground assault tactic utilised proved to be disastrous, rendering the aircraft particularly vulnerable and ten among them, decimated by the flak, never returned. The Breguet 693, a two-seat twin-engine bomber carrying a pilot and a machine gun back-to-back, was also one of the first French aircraft to be equipped with radio communication. Like many units however, the assault groups were eventually pulled out of North Africa, and due the German occupation, this particular model saw no other future developments.French Language

From 1800 to 1900, many craftsmen invested in building simple animal-drawn farming tools like ploughs, harrows and rollers. Certain workshops remained modest affairs and disappeared; others encouraged by shrewd bosses or inspired inventors developed and went beyond the craftsman stage to become factories. This was the destiny of a very modest local Aubois workshop, run by a talented man who above all devoted himself to developing a machine for threshing cereals and other crops. A century later the company had achieved national prominence and its reputation stretched beyond the boundaries of France; this firm was the Etablissements de Contructions Mécaniques de Vendeuvre (Institution of Mechanical Construction) which during the 1950s strengthened its well established reputation by adding the production of farming tractors to its traditional activities. When the period of excitement caused by the advent of motorisation died down at the end of the 1950s and 1960s, the Etablissements de Construction Mécaniques de Vendeuvre which were second among France’s agricultural machine producers, suffered financial problems and were swallowed up by a manufacturer from the other side of the Atlantic before fading away forever.Text written in French language.

The FNH Minimi light machine gun was initially developed to respond to the technological leap forward made by the Soviet PKM whose lightness was due to the way it was made, by stamping.Ever since 1974, because of its limited weight and firepower, FN Hestal’s light machine gun has illustrated how sound the concept of the direct infantry support weapon is and has been selected by more than 45 user countries and used in fifteen or so conflicts including two major ones: Iraq and Afghanistan. Like the German MG34/42 which founded the concept of the polyvalent machine gun and was given the nickname “Hitler’s saw”, in 2010 the FNH Minimi is still the archetypal light machine gun and has earned the nickname “the free world’s saw”.

The Romans had been at odds with the Gauls for a very long time indeed. Somewhere between 390 and 386 BC, a Senoni warchief called Brennus managed to capture Rome and ransom the city with his famous Vae Victis.The Urbs was then a city whose authority was only relative. Nonetheless, the sack of Latium’s capital, highlighted by Livy in his History of Rome, helped to forge a centuries old loathing between the Romans, ashamed of being forced to capitulate to Brennus, and the Gauls, insolently proud of their triumph.The next step was part of the competition between the ‘Great Powers’ of that period. Independent Gaul was implicated in the global expansionist process of Roman might, which took place throughout the whole of the Mediterranean basin. Finally more pragmatically, Gaul merely became a political pawn in the hands of the triumvirs Pompey, Crassus and Caesar after they took over control of the Republic at the end of its decline, from the 60s BC onwards. It was therefore as a victim of what was at stake quite outside its control that Gaul so dramatically became part of Julius Caesar’s political strategy. Alesia was the final manifestation of this deep mistrust between two peoples.

This book invites you to discover the history of the aircraft, with their often spectacular liveries, of jet-equipped display teams which have today disappeared, or those still flying, be it the most famous, such as the American Blue Angels, or the Thunderbirds, the British Red Arrows, the Italian Frecce Tricolori and, of course, the Patrouille de France, or those not often seen in our skies, such as the Indian Surya Kiran or the Singapore Black Nights.

A multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force, the F-16 has been in service for an incredible 36 years, with no sign of retiring. At a time when other planes retire to museums, General Dynamics’ fighter bomber is still a formidable foe in international combat against so-called “fifth generation” planes.The first prototype flew for the first time in 1974 and the operational career of the last aircraft built will continue well into the 2040s - almost 75 years and still going strong! Meanwhile, this light fighter was optimised for daylight missions and became a formidable fighter-bomber; more than 4,400 were built and used by more than 25 countries.Two volumes will be devoted to the F-16, this first will deal with it’s development and the F-16A and B.

The Battle of Bull Run took place in July 1861 and although when all was said and done, its impact was relatively limited, it did have a far-reaching effect on the American Civil War itself. The psychological impact of the battle on the combatants was indeed unquestionable, particularly for the North, and increased general consciousness of the reality of war and the challenges that lay ahead. The first Battle of Manassas was special because it was the first large-scale engagement in which troops were brought to the battle area by train, which enabled the Confederates to overthrow the fewer Federals. About the AuthorPascal le Pautremat has a doctorate in contemporary history; he is a lecturer in geopolitics and is a specialist of modern conflicts and crisis.

The year is 1428, and the war between England and France has been raging for nearly one hundred years. The English control territory to the north of the Loire, but have no control of regions beyond the river. During the summer, the Duke of Bedford decides to eliminate his enemy and besieges Orléans. From October 1428 to May 1429, fierce fighting continues around the town. The situation seems to be lost for the besieged, until the arrival of a young peasant girl named Joan. The exploits of the Maid of Orléans, considered France’s national heroine, lead to the making of her legend. She gained prominence when she overcame the dismissive attitude of veteran commanders and lifted the siege in only nine days, although she was later bunt at the stake for heresy at only nineteen years old.Inspired by her, the French rekindle their taste for victory and go from one success to another, until the decisive battle at Patay. This is an detailed, animated and richly illustrated book which enables the reader to relive these moments of great endeavour.

At the beginning of the Great War, assault units did not exist. If one was to compare the Caslow assault detachment (Sturmabteilung Caslow) with the Rohr assault detachment then battalion (Sturmbattalion) which succeeded it, it is easy to maintain that the former - an experimental detachment - gave rise a year later to the latter, a remarkable combat and training unit.The book supplements existing works on the subject of the Sturmbatallion Nr 5 (Rohr) and offers among other things an exceptional number of illustrations in a small format, which has never previously been available. Indeed, it allows a closer look at this assault unit, showing different aspects over a period of about three years. The text is drawn from the account written by Schwerin and a number of other sources. It particularly studies the circumstances in which the unit's fighting took place.

Jean Restayn presents the legendary tank’s participation in the fighting in North Africa ,Italy and North-West Europe. A wide selection of this period photos, and 48 color plates of individual and identified tanks, provides historians and modellers with a throng of details on the units and machines pitted against the Allies.

From the Battle of the Marne to the end of the Vietnam War, this “first half” of the 20th Century must undeniably be considered as the period of greatest development for aerial warfare. With the 400 profiles and illustrations contained in this book, Bruno Pautigny, the world famous illustrator, presents the technical portraits of the most famous fighters and bombers of all the great conflicts of the previous century; the First and Second World Wars, Indochina, Korea and Suez, Algeria, Vietnam, and beyond.

In 1944 George Grod, a strip cartoon, modeling and aviation enthusiast, discovered with amazement some American magazines which an MP billeted near his village lent him. What he liked best were the gleaming advertisements scattered throughout the pages.In the eighties, during an “old papers” fair, George came across some old numbers of Life Magazine and from there he started an unbridled search for original magazines dating back to between 1942 and 1945. Now presented in this single volume, we see the return of all his great themes - aviation, kits, cartoon strips, the love of art and even the cinema. The book is not just a collection of beautiful pictures all strung together or a sample from a huge collection; it is above all the testimonial of a period, the reflection of that immense war effort the American people made during the last World War, seen through the kaleidoscope of publicity and propoganda. It is also a tribute to the most glamorous of our liberators.George Grod worked alongside great film-makers like Verneuil, Minnelli, Zinnemann, Lumet and Zanuck before working on the television series les Dossiers Noirs with his friend Jean-Michel Charlier who took part later in the Grands Maïtres de la BD (Grand Masters of the Cartoon Strip) which he created for the Visiteurs de Mercredi (Wednesday’s visitors). This book is a must for anyone interested in art, history or World War II; an impressive edition to anyone’s collection.

The Central Intelligence Agency was created by Congress with the passage of the National Security Act of 1947, signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. A civilian intelligence agency of the United States government responsible for providing national security intelligence to senior United States policymakers, the CIA also engages in covert activities at the request of the President of the United States of America. The CIA's primary function is to collect information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and to advise public policymakers. The agency conducts covert operations and paramilitary actions, and exerts foreign political influence through its Special Activities Division. For the first time in French, here are the CIA's secret operations, illustrated with hundreds of photographs and documents. From the end of World War II to the operations tracking Bin Laden in Pakistan in 2008, via the Cold War, the activities of the famous American secret service are analysed in this work. CIA agents have been present for more than 60 years in all the operational theatres and the world's trouble spots. There is not a single war, not a coup d'etat where America's men in the shadows have not played a part. Never has a secret service been so powerful: its representatives in posts in a number of capitals dealt directly with the most highly placed politicians.