{"title":"Books by Martin Derry","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781399067997","title":"The Focke-wulf Fw 190","description":"The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 was arguably the Luftwaffe’s most outstanding piston-engine fighter of the Second World War, virtually dominating the skies over Europe for more than a year after its initial introduction into service in the summer of 1941. Continual development and improvements then kept it at the forefront of operations in the theaters of Northern Europe, the Mediterranean and the Eastern Front for the remainder of the war, while maintaining a competitive edge over many other types as well as gaining and retaining the grudging respect of those Allied pilots who faced it in combat.Despite being designed as a fighter, the BMW 801-powered Fw 190 sub-types performed practically every role possible for a single-engine, single-seat aircraft – including offensive and defensive day fighter, day and night fighter-bomber, ground attack, reconnaissance platform, night-fighter and trainer.The Fw 190A also served in the Hungarian Air Force during the later stages of the Second World War, the Turkish Air Force from mid-1942 to 1948, and post-war with the French, where the SNCAC aircraft company rebuilt over fifty Fw 190A-5\/A-6s under the designation NC 900 for service with the new Armée de l’Air.Despite having standard factory-applied camouflage and markings schemes, many Fw 190s were also finished in a variety of ‘on unit’ and ‘seasonal’ and\/or operational theater schemes which add to the aircraft’s story.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56298759160181,"sku":"9781399067997","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781399067997_32738bbb-ed8e-485e-8356-86375fc0ee4d.jpg?v=1786019527"},{"product_id":"9781473862630","title":"Avro Shackleton","description":"Initially projected as a maritime reconnaissance version of the Lincoln bomber, itself a development of the famous wartime Lancaster which saw post-war service in a General\/Maritime Reconnaissance role, (see Flight Craft No 4), the Avro Shackleton, (named after the polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton) was a completely new design, powered by four Rolls Royce Griffon 57 engines driving six blade contra-rotating propellers.Split into three main sections, this latest Flight Craft title, perfectly timed to coincide with the release of the first examples of the eagerly awaited new tool 1\/72 scale Airfix kit, offers a concise history of the Shackleton's development and operational career from the prototype and initial entry in to RAF service in 1951, and its use with the South African Air Force, the only other operator of the type. Section 1 chronicles its design, ongoing improvements and development through the three main Marks, in both the Maritime Reconnaissance and Airborne Early Warning roles, until its retirement after four decades of RAF service in 1991, which includes scores of contemporary photographs with detailed captions, many of which have never been seen in print before.This is followed by a 16-page color illustration section featuring profiles and 2-views of the color schemes and markings carried by the type in RAF and SAAF service. The final section lists all the plastic model kits, accessories and decal sheets produced of the Shackleton in all scales. As with the other books in the Flight Craft series, whilst published primarily with the scale aircraft modeler in mind, it is hoped that those readers who might perhaps describe themselves as 'occasional' modelers may also find that this colorful and informative work offers something to provoke their interests too.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56301012255093,"sku":"9781473862630","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781473862630_b68d4522-9b84-4ee1-b92f-b09ab28965af.jpg?v=1786020490"},{"product_id":"9781526702623","title":"Flight Craft 12: The Junkers Ju87","description":"The Junkers Ju 87  Stuka  (a contraction of the German word Sturzkampfflugzeug, ie dive bomber) was arguably the Luftwaffe s most recognisable aeroplane, with its inverted gull wings and fixed spatted undercarriage.  Designed by Hermann Pohlmann as a dedicated dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft, the prototype first flew in 1935, and made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War. After several design changes in the light of operational experiences, the  Stuka  went on to serve the Luftwaffe and Axis forces, from the invasion of Poland in 1939, through the Battles of France and Britain in 1940, over the North African desert and the across Mediterranean, the invasion of Russia and the subsequent bitter fighting in that vast area, and following several more design changes and upgrades, continued to serve through to the end of World War Two.  This latest addition to the growing Flight Craft range, follows the previous well established format, in that it is split in to three main sections.   The first section, after offering a concise design and development history, continues with coverage of the various sub-types, from  Anton  to  Gustav  and their operational use from the Spanish Civil War to the end of World War Two.  This is followed by a 16-page full colour illustration section featuring detailed profiles and 2-views of the colour schemes and markings carried by the type in Luftwaffe and Axis service. The final section lists as many of the injection-moulded plastic model kits produced of the Junkers Ju 87 in all the major scales that the authors could find details of, including the brand new Airfix 1\/72 and 1\/48 scale kits which were released while this book was being written, with photos of many finished models made by some of the world s best modellers.  As with all the other books in the Flight Craft range, whilst published primarily with the scale aircraft modeller in mind, it is hoped that those readers who might perhaps describe themselves as 'occasional' modellers, or even simply aviation enthusiasts, may also find that this colourful and informative work offers something to provoke their interests too.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56302517584245,"sku":"9781526702623","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781526702623_44ba9ac3-a6df-4727-b92f-ef32b28a7b3a.jpg?v=1786022162"},{"product_id":"9781526742490","title":"Flight Craft 16: The Hawker Hunter in British Service","description":"The Hawker Hunter is one of Britain's classic post-war jet aircraft. Initially introduced in 1954 as a swept-wing, transonic, single-seat day interceptor, it rapidly succeeded the first-generation jet fighters in RAF service such as the Gloster Meteor (see Flight Craft 13) and the de Havilland Venom. Powered by the then newly developed Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet, the Hunter's performance transformed the RAF's day fighter squadrons from the mid-1950s until the advent of the English Electric Lightning from the early 1960s (see Flight Craft 11).   Even then, as successively improved variants of the type were produced with increasingly more capable engines and expanded fuel capacity, the Hunter successfully transitioned into a strike\/ground attack fighter-bomber and fighter reconnaissance platform. Two-seat variants were developed for training and other secondary roles with the RAF and the Royal Navy and a few remained in use until 2001, albeit with specialised MoD Test and Evaluation units - well over forty years after the type's initial introduction. Hunters were also famously used by two RAF display teams, the 'Black Arrows', who looped a record-breaking twenty-two Hunters in formation, and later the 'Blue Diamonds' as well as the Royal Navy's 'Blue Herons'.   The Hunter saw combat service with the RAF in a range of conflicts including the Suez Crisis as well as various emergencies in the Middle East and Far East. The Hunter was also widely exported, serving with many foreign air forces, in which it also saw active service, which unfortunately lies outside the scope of this particular publication. Almost 2,000 Hunters were manufactured by Hawker Siddeley Aviation, as well as being produced under licence overseas and will remain one of the UK's most iconic aircraft designs of all time.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56302805156213,"sku":"9781526742490","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781526742490_18cedf00-3f4c-477f-85ca-894474e5ba33.jpg?v=1786022401"},{"product_id":"9781526786180","title":"Flight Craft Special 3: RAF Fighters Before the Storm","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhen the First World War ended the then recently established Royal Air Force was awash with aircraft of all descriptions. More surprising, perhaps, was the fact that despite an ongoing cull of obsolescing types, on the last day of 1919, the RAF still possessed 9,122 non-obsolete aircraft , with a further 1,100 more assigned to the Fleet Air Arm. Whilst the famous SE.5A and Sopwith Camel had by this time largely been consigned to history, the RAF possessed no less than 1,860 Sopwith Snipes which, from 1920, would become the RAF’s standard single-seat fighter for years to come. Other core types on charge on 31 December 1919 included some 1,650 Bristol F.2B fighters and 1,250 de Havilland DH.9As, which, together with the Snipe, accounted for over fifty per cent of the RAF’s inventory at that time. Avro 504 training aircraft accounted for a further 2,700 airframes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this Flight Craft Special, the authors provide a detailed and informative pictorial history of those scout\/fighter aircraft that served in an operational capacity with the RAF from January 1920 until the last day of 1939 – a period in which Britain once again moved from an era of peace to war with an old enemy, albeit this time Hitler’s totalitarian National Socialist Germany as opposed to the Imperial Germany of old. As well as covering each of the fighter types used during the inter-war period, and featuring most of the squadrons, the photographs themselves convey the sense of the technical advances that rapidly took root within Britain’s aero industries from the mid-1930s onwards, moving from the brightly-marked overall silver wood and linen biplanes to the dull camouflaged metal-skinned monoplanes. The progression of machine-gun development – from the Lewis and Vickers of the First World War to the later Browning – is covered, spanning the days of the biplanes’ two fixed synchronised Lewis or Vickers .303-inch machine-guns mounted in the forward fuselage to eight wing-mounted .303-inch Browning machine-guns in the ‘new’ monoplane fighters. There is also a small, but fascinating, section on the monoplane ‘also rans’ – the monoplane fighters that were designed and had prototypes built but failed to reach the finishing post!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56303371583861,"sku":"9781526786180","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781526786180_a267dea2-cc2f-4467-9e8c-1645c623a14d.jpg?v=1786021941"},{"product_id":"9781905414123","title":"DH Hornet and Sea Hornet","description":"Renowned aviation author Tony Buttler, with co-authors Collins and Derry, presents a detailed and fully illustrated account of the de Havilland Hornet and Sea Hornet in service, from the prototypes to the last surviving fragments. It includes 38 specially commissioned and highly accurate colour illustrations, as well as more than 220 black and white and colour photographs. A listing of airframes is also included.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56308288979317,"sku":"9781905414123","price":24.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781905414123_2a143745-8ec1-408c-982f-11d828dba971.jpg?v=1786029075"},{"product_id":"9781905414130","title":"Avro Lancaster Lincoln and York","description":"\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback \/ softback","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56308992967029,"sku":"9781905414130","price":19.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781905414130_f8ee87d4-f655-4238-ae5b-25df550c055c.jpg?v=1786029076"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-martin-derry.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}