{"title":"Books by Matthew Willis","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781472865106","title":"Swordfish Units of World War 2","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA fully illustrated account of the World War 2 combat career of the Fairey Swordfish torpedo-bomber, one of the Royal Navy's most resilient and effective aircraft of the period.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e During the 1930s, the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm sought an aircraft to combine the functions of torpedo attack, reconnaissance and gunnery spotting, eventually realising this goal with the Swordfish biplane. Despite competition from more modern types like the Blackburn Shark and Barracuda, the Swordfish made a key contribution to some of Britain’s greatest naval successes of World War 2, helping to tip the balance during operations such as the raid on the Italian battle fleet at Taranto in November 1940, and the attacks on the German battleship \u003ci\u003eBismarck\u003c\/i\u003e in May 1941. Elsewhere, it assumed an anti-submarine role both in the Battle of the Atlantic and when escorting Arctic convoys, and was used by the RAF for anti-shipping work during the D-Day landings and the final stages of the European war.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e With this fascinating study, historian Matthew Willis draws on Admiralty files, operational records and interviews with Fleet Air Arm aircrew to assemble a wide-ranging history of one of the Royal Navy’s most important aircraft. Archival photographs and 22 newly commissioned colour profiles help to chart the development of the Swordfish, detailing the aircraft’s resilience and adaptability through both its many victories and its equally eventful defeats.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55897386680693,"sku":"9781472865106","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781472865106_9bd37830-94d4-4884-9a16-49113a06da72.jpg?v=1786020394"},{"product_id":"9781472852489","title":"Royal Navy torpedo-bombers vs Axis warships","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDrawing on rare, historical photography and specially commissioned artwork, Matthew Willis explores the heroic feats of the few Royal Navy’s obsolescent biplanes that stood between the state-of-the-art Axis warships and their objectives.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFocusing on the technical specifications of both opponents, using original records, and detailed armament and cockpit views, this book explores the key attributes and drawbacks of the disadvantaged Royal Navy torpedo-bombers against the mighty \u003ci\u003eRegia Marina\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eKriegsmarine\u003c\/i\u003e destroyers and raiders, covering a wide range of sea battles, from the more famous attacks such as the strike on the \u003ci\u003eBismarck\u003c\/i\u003e, the tragic events of the Channel Dash or the clash with the Italian battle fleet at Taranto, to less covered sea battles such as the Battle of Matapan.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDespite their powerful weaponry and heavy armour protection, the Axis warships proved vulnerable to a skillfully and audaciously flown torpedo-bomber, thanks to innovative commanders exploiting every possible advantage. Including rare personal recollections from the airmen who flew the torpedo-bombers and historical accounts from the Axis warship crews, this book describes each and every facet of this dramatic duel.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56301266436469,"sku":"9781472852489","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781472852489_43e131b8-951d-4e8a-88c8-ddd60b80b97b.jpg?v=1786020977"},{"product_id":"9781913295899","title":"FAIREY FIREFLY","description":"\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback \/ softback","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56308716208501,"sku":"9781913295899","price":15.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781913295899_f89b9c1d-91ab-466d-84ff-10b4b316113f.jpg?v=1786030566"},{"product_id":"9781913295882","title":"Mustang: The Untold Story","description":"\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Hardback","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56313163514229,"sku":"9781913295882","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781913295882_ebf387d8-5303-4400-87bc-83094b8ef538.jpg?v=1786030565"},{"product_id":"9781472865984","title":"Beaufighter vs German Flak Ships","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn illustrated study of RAF Coastal Command’s deployment of the Beaufighter against German supply lines in 1941 and the long-running ‘arms race’ with Kriegsmarine Flak ships that followed.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCrucial German shipping lines faced a new threat in 1941 when RAF Coastal Command debuted the iconic long-range Beaufighter. The aircraft and its subsequent Mk VIC and Mk X versions gave the Allies a tough, relatively fast and very hard-hitting platform for air attack on German convoys, and so it became essential for the Kriegsmarine to fit ever-heavier anti-aircraft batteries to its escort vessels, and even to develop specialist Flak vessels. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this compelling study, naval aviation historian Matthew Willis chronicles the little-explored arms race that saw RAF Coastal Command and the Kriegsmarine engaged in a fierce battle of one-upmanship until war’s end. New artwork, rare archive photography and contemporary records of Beaufighter operations add depth to fascinating historical accounts, including the actions of the famous North Coates Strike Wing against shipping in the North Sea and the exploits of Beaufighter units tasked with severing Rommel’s all-important supply lines.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56368893821301,"sku":"9781472865984","price":15.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781472865984_6533fff2-2dc7-49d8-a9ce-3cd15808e65e.jpg?v=1786020416"},{"product_id":"fairey-fulmar","title":"Fairey Fulmar","description":"The remarkable story of how a make-do fighter proved itself indispensable in the harshest theatres of war Fairey Fulmar –The Fleet Air Arm’s Unlikely Hero charts, for the first time, the full history of the Fairey Fulmar naval fighter. A hastily converted light bomber, rejected by the RAF and increasingly obsolete against Messerschmitts and Zeroes, somehow the Fulmar became the top-scoring Royal Navy fighter aircraft of World War II. The Fairey Fulmar was the Fleet Air Arm’s top-scoring fighter of World War II. However, this simple fact belies the contradictions at the heart of the Fulmar’s story – how a hastily converted light bomber, rejected by the RAF and increasingly obsolete against Messerschmitts and Zeroes, held the line during the Royal Navy’s darkest hour. When it entered service in 1940, at the height of the Battle of Britain, the Fulmar seemed to put the Navy’s aviators on an equal footing with ‘The Few’, as it was the first naval fighter to share the eight-gun armament and the legendary Rolls-Royce Merlin engine of the RAF’s Spitfires and Hurricanes. However, the Fulmar was no nimble interceptor. Converted from a failed light bomber to fill a gap in the Fleet Air Arm’s hopelessly inadequate armoury, the Fulmar was big, heavy and no match for the best Axis fighters in a dogfight. Even so, it possessed hidden strengths that enabled naval pilots to turn the tables on the enemy when all seemed lost. From the battles of Taranto and Matapan to the cauldron of Malta in the Mediterranean, from the freezing wastes of the Arctic convoy routes to the Japanese thrust into the Indian Ocean and, later, making the first, faltering steps towards radar-guided night-fighting, the Fulmar rose above its unpromising origins to play a vital role in the Allied victory.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57499349254517,"sku":"9780719846847","price":30.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780719846847.jpg?v=1786694659"},{"product_id":"brewster-f2a-buffalo","title":"Brewster F2A Buffalo","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhen it first entered service with the US Navy in 1937, the Brewster F2A Buffalo was considered a modern aircraft with several advanced features. However, as this book shows, by the beginning of the Second World War, the Buffalo had several flaws that compromised its performance. The book shows how novel developments, such as wind-tunnel testing, helped to improve the aircraft. The Buffalo was delivered to several nations, including Britain, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Finland, and the author reveals some of the controversial methods used by the Brewster company that appeared to prioritize sales over quality.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe book covers the numerous operational deployments of the Brewster F2A Buffalo, including by British and Commonwealth and Dutch air forces over Singapore, Burma, Hong Kong and the East Indies as well as the defence of Midway by the US Marine Corps. The Buffalo proved to be outmatched by superior enemy fighters such as the Japanese Mitsubishi Zero. However, the book shows how the Buffalo was deployed successfully by the Finnish air force where it scored several successes against the aircraft of the USSR.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57680141058421,"sku":"9781398134119","price":15.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781398134119.jpg?v=1792423255"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-matthew-willis.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}