Product Description
The most authoritative and comprehensive history ofAmerica’s military aircraft ever published.

From World War I to Iraq.

Profusely illustrated with over 1700 photographs.

Each plane arranged by fighting purposeand appearance in history.

Vital facts on every plane - how powerful, how big, how heavyhow fast, how high, and how far.

American Combat Planes of the 20th Century is the only complete reference to all the airplanes that created American airpower. It tells the story of the marriage between aircraft and war. Every combat type built in the United States for the Air Force, Navy, or for foreign governments, is included, together with foreign aircraft bought for American fighting units. American Combat Planes of 20th Century is 758 pages, hardcover, printed on high quality coated stock, with a section of color photographs showing the history of military airplane color configurations.

All the planes designed to attack an enemy with guns, bombs, or rockets are described, along with armed reconnaissance aircraft, and those derived from fighter designs, providing a quick reference for each type. Along with famous mass-production types, like the Liberator, Mustang, and Hellcat, with their major modifications, all the little-known experimental projects are included and compared.

Ray Wagner’s definitive work arranges all those planes by their fighting purpose and appearance in history. Even by simply viewing their photographs page by page, the reader sees the story of combat plane design over the years. Below each picture are the vital facts of each type: the engine’s name and power, how big and how heavy that plane is, as well as how fast, how high, and how far it can go.

As the reader follows the text, he learns who made these planes and when. What could each plane do, how many were made, and where were they used? Why each combat plane was built is the most important question, and is best answered by placing each design in the historical context in which it was developed, from America’s entrance into World War One in 1917 to Operation Allied Force in 1999.World War Two is the center focus, along with insights on aircraft involved with conflicts in Nicaragua, China, Spain, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq.

The bibliography indicates this history’s primary sources and is a readers’ guide to the many books and publications to expand your interests. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Ray Wagner's magnum opus updated
It is the rare aviation book that appears in updated editions over nearly half a century. I well remember buying the first edition of this title back in 1961 when I was a high school senior fascinated with aviation. Wagner's book described a whole world of early aircraft about which I then knew very little. When updated versions appeared in 1968 and 1982, I snapped them up for my growing book collection--the 1982 edition has remained in my library until now (with purchase of the 2004 book, I'm passing on the last edition to a younger airplane fan). I am six years delayed in purchasing this ultimate fourth edition (which features a revised title), but that's not due to any lack of appreciation for what Wagner has accomplished in his five decades of effort. For this book is that rare achievement---a work of reference that is also readable.

Indeed, the completeness of this catalog of American military aircraft is impossible to match in any other publication. There have been numerous attempts at complete lists (without any description), and countless books about many of the better known fighters and bombers. But with this volume, Wagner has pulled it all together in one place, melding concise descriptions and excellent contextual discussion of how and why different aircraft were developed. Just organizing this mass of information was a huge undertaking. Thanks especially to this work, he belongs in the pantheon of distinguished aviation writers such as Bill Gunston, Robin Higham, and the late William Green, among others, who have each authored definitive military aviation books.

This new edition is by far the most handsome of the lot. Bound in full cloth (a rarity these days), with a handsome two-column layout that varies picture sizes and placement (as earlier editions did not), it is printed on semi-coated paper for the best picture reproduction of the four editions. (Doubleday, publisher of the first three versions, insisted on flat book paper which didn't do justice to picture details.) Color photos (new to this edition) creep in toward the end, illustrating Wagner's detailed listing of the sources he used.

Summing up, there is no single volume offering as much information on American military (including naval) aircraft as is found here. Wagner's book will stand for years as the definitive reference source. Add it to your own collection and you will be continually pleased that you did.

MAGNIFICENT! TRULY THE ULTIMATE REFERENCE
Words alone cannot express the true nature of this book, but for all you aviation buffs and general readers out there as well, if there is ANYTHING, anything at all that one would like to research on any given American warplane, past or present, whether it entailed the speed, armament, design, when it was built, how it performed, which branches of the U.S. services ordered it, right down to where it served, how it performed in combat, which foreign countries ordered it, whom it was exported to, the list goes on and on and on...well, this book is for you, and, for $40, it sure is well-worth the price!!!! Before purchasing at Amazon.com, I read the reviews on it, as I ordinarily do for any book I suddenly take an interest in and wish to buy. Despite the lack of 3-view drawings (as a draftsman, I love such technical data), as that is one of my basic criteria before buying a book of this type, reading all 7 reviews from fellow readers, however,convinced me that it was going to become a "perfect buy"...and I was right! I just cannot get enough of this book. It is obvious that author Ray Wagner, an extraordinary author, aviation enthusiast and respected veteran as well, has painstakingly navigated through various sources to obtain such a wealth of information; the black & white photography is spectacular--crisp and immaculate. Each aircrat is allowed at least two - five clear photographs and yes, to my surprise, there are some cutaway black & white drawings of certain aircraft as well. The text is meticulously informative, covering pieces of obscure history I was not aware about. I.E. Being of Spanish background, and the Spanish Civil War one of my main topics of interest alongside W.W.II, I was surprised to learn that the government of the then Republic of Spain, in January 1936, had placed an order for 50 Martin B-10B bombers, an aircraft already in frontline service with the U.S. Army Air Corps in the 1930s, for its own air force, but, as luck would have it, the latter order was promptly cancelled when the Popular Front had suddenly won the elections of February, only for the civil war to break out 5 months later; it would have been interesting how these aircraft, rugged,fast and nimble, would have performed and faired during the conflict--most would have wound up in Republican hands, parked in the airfields of Madrid and Barcelona. Would the civil war have ended quickly with the Republic prevailing by successfully stamping out General Franco's uprising?Interesting stuff indeed!!! Overall, I highly-recommend this beautifully-researched masterpiece of a book to anyone interested in aviation history, aircraft in particular or the avid general historian. A truly wonderful buy and a good read as well. Mr. Wagner, you have done an immensely impeccable job, sir. I salute you!

Astonishing example of a reference work!
As a young boy in the 1960's this was the book on combat planes to have.When it was updated in the 80's it retained its great format and quality of information.Now this has arrived and I was in tears at how fantastic this new edition is.The printing quality is now state of the art.Loads of photos have been enlarged and printed in all their glory.The book is up to date to the F-35 and retains all the great side articles on weapons and production that were so great in the original editions.This is a work of art and studious research and belongs at the top of the list of any collection of any reference library.I can do no justice in describing what a wonderful and thoughtful reference work this is.This book is what the rest in this field can be judged by.Unbelievable accomplishment for author and publisher and printer.

A good resource and a good read
Ray Wagner has produced his seminal work in "American Combat Planes of the 20th Century."Though unfortunately not containing the full color drawings of aircraft color schemes as do some lesser references, "American Combat Planes" is the rarest of resources -- a truly good read all on its own.Unlike encyclopedic reference books that mind numbingly describe "famous planes" one after another, or alphabetize an endless number of aircraft descriptions by manufacturer --and out of all historical context -- Wagner's book is organized both to be a comprehensive reference AND to tell a story.

As a reference book, its publishers take justifiable pride in the boast that Wagner's work includes every (not just every "famous" or "important") aircraft (and their variants) that America made or used that was "designed to attack an enemy with guns, bombs or rockets."Hence, though it discusses Grumman's XF5F "Skyrocket" that was never picked up by the Navy, it also informed me about an equally unproduced version of the same aircraft built for the Army as the XP-50.The book also provides the most recent scholarship concerning each American warplane.Apparently, and not surprisingly on thinking about it, a combat aircraft's actual characteristics or numbers produced were often misstated during war time or the procurement process and such false "data" took on a life of its own and continued to be cited in subsequent references on the subject.For example, the Bell Airacuda had a top speed that was over 45 mph less and a service ceiling almost 5,000 feet lower than was advertised.Finally, all this information is provided in a beautiful book filled with approximately 1700 photographs and the occasional illustration and table.My one nitpick on the photos is that though data on the characteristics of the plane represented are given in the caption, nothing is said about where and when the photo was taken and several of the photos simply cry out for such an explanation of the circumstances involved (e.g. why does the 1930's Keystone B-4A bomber depicted in a beautiful page-width in flight photo have the "gunner" operating a movie camera instead of a defensive weapon?Was the photo taken while filming a air war movie?There certainly is a story there somewhere!)

As an actual readable book, "American Combat Planes" also tells a story about the evolution of familiar and unfamiliar American combat planes and plane types - including those that became developmental dead ends (for example, again, the intended use of the Airacuda to attack unescorted enemy bombers far from American shores).It does so by first dividing up the epic of 20th Century American combat aircraft into four parts: "The Biplane Period" (1917-1932), "Monoplanes for World War II" (1931-1945), "Air Weapon for the Cold War" (1946-1962), and "An Awesome Generation since 1963" (1963-2001).Each part is introduced by a chapter giving a historical overview of the needs or threats, real or perceived, that led to the particular development of the aircraft types of that particular era and concluded by a chapter or two on a particular developmental trend of interest.In between, each era is broken down into sections correlating to various combat types.For example, the chapters in Part I are entitled: "Close Support for the Army" (1917-1923), "The First Fighters" (1915-1923), "Multi-engine Bombers" (1917-1932), "Army Pursuits" ((1920-1932), "Army Observation and Attack" (1922-1933), "Flying Boats for Navy Patrols" (1917-1934), "New Weapons for the Navy" (1918-1933); "Navy Observation Aircraft" (1917-1932), and "Adapting Fighters to Flight Decks."Within each of these sections the reader can views and read how each plane of that particular type evolved over time, what it replaced, and what it ultimately was replaced by -- allowing the reader to see how aircraft developed and learn about the reasons why.Along the way are wonderful tidbits of new information, at least for me (e.g. the first American pilot killed in a dogfight with the Japanese over China, and also the Japanese Navy's first aerial victory, was Robert Short in 1932 -- almost a decade before the attack on Pearl Harbor - when he was "demonstrating" a Boeing P-12 variant for the U.S. Army by defending Soochow against Japanese bombers from the carrier Kaga and was shot down by Type 3 fighter escorts).Also scattered throughout are interesting topics that I, at least, have never come across before -- such as the evolution of defensive weaponry for bombers and the development of the "attack" aircraft type as distinguished from the "fighter" and "bomber" types.

Ray Wagner's "American Combat Planes of the 20th Century" provides the reader not only the authoritative resource for beginning any research on any American combat aircraft, but an entertaining understanding of its importance in the larger scheme of history.

Indispensable
I own an earlier edition of this book, which I nearly wore out. It's hard to imagine, but the new version is even better. It is better organized and better printed on better paper, which improves the quality of the not-to-be-found-elsewhere pictures.
I can't imagine an aviation buff's library not including this book. ... Read more