Ground attack aircraft of World War II / Christopher Shores.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [187]).and index

The specialized ground attack aircraft was born out of combat necessity during World War I but, apart from some progress in the USA and the Soviet Union, the evolution of this new weapon lay dormant until the Spanish Civil War. With the outbreak of World War II the initially spectacular successes of German dive bombers overshadowed the need for close support aircraft but as the war continued ground attack began to play an increasingly more vital role in every military operation. Machines used for this purpose ranged from ground-strafing fighters and fighter-bombers to specially-designed armoured ground attack aircraft represented by the formidable Ilyushin `Shturmovik' series and Henschel Hs 129B; improvised but highly successful anti-tank adaptations such as the Hurricane 11D and Junkers Ju 87G; and the devastatingly effective rocket-firing Typhoons over Western Europe. Ground attack also became an important part of campaigns in the South-West Pacific and in Burma, culminating in the use of Napalm. `Ground Attack Aircraft` is the first comprehensive and well-illustrated study tracing the evolution of these aircraft and providing a detailed account of their armament and operational use in the general context of World War II