Airforces

F-15I Ra’am

in IAF service:

Aircraft in

Detail 9

The latest volume in the Aircraft

in Detail series looks again at the

Israeli Air Force’s F-15I Ra’am

(Thunder). IsraDecal published

its first book on the F-15I ten

years ago, and it is now long out

of print. Over the intervening

years the strike aircraft has

gained a fearsome reputation

based on its impressive combat

experience. In this time, it

has also received technology

upgrades and new weaponry.

This updated title includes

more than 530 photos

including a comprehensive

360-degree walk-around

section. It illustrates the

indigenous upgrades made to

the airframe, making it ideal

for model aircraft enthusiasts

and defence analysts alike.

Surprisingly, given the

intensive security of the Israeli

Air Force, internal cockpit

features are also included

and reveal the matt black

colour used throughout these

areas to aid the crew when

using night-vision goggles.

Although these titles are aimed

at the aircraft model maker, they

include plenty of information

for the aviation enthusiast.

For fans of the type, this

softback book provides

one of the best insights

into the F-15I and how it

operates. Glenn Sands

Publisher: IsraDecal Publications

Author: Ra’anan Weiss

and Ofer Bar-Shalom

Pages: 81

Price: £24.99

ISBN: 9789657220214

Wave-Off! A History of LSOs and

Ship-Board Landings

Naval aviators view themselves

as part of an elite club. They’re

expected to do everything an air

force pilot does, but at the end of

the sortie they must land aboard

a moving ship in the middle of

the ocean. The experience has

been described as ‘like trying

to thread a needle in the dark’.

Modern naval fliers undergo an

extensive training programme

developed from years of

experience. Until now, no

author has documented in

detail the historical progress

of the training procedures and

the vital role that landing signal

officers (LSOs) play in the final

few seconds before the pilot

engages the arrester cable.

A former US naval aviator who

saw combat in Vietnam, the

author is ideally suited to explain

the job of the LSO and the

development of carrier landing

procedures. The main portion

of this book focuses on

US Navy procedures

beginning in the early

days of 1911. The author

interweaves carrier

landing techniques with

pilots’ personal accounts

of ‘white knuckle

landings’ aboard carriers

in bad weather and

at night. Charting US

Navy developments

through World War Two,

Korea and Vietnam

to the present day,

it’s clear that while technology

has moved on it is still the

communication between the

pilot and the calming words

of the LSO that ensure a safe

landing aboard the carrier.

The extensive text is

accompanied by personal and

official USN images, many of

which never previously published.

These illustrate changes made

to carrier flight decks along with

the close-calls and accidents

that are inevitable in this high-

risk environment. Glenn Sands

Publisher: Specialty Press

Author: Robert R ‘Boom’

Powell, Cdr USN (Ret )

Pages: 192

Price: £23.95

ISBN: 9781580072359

Nuclear Weapons: 1945 onwards (strategic and

tactical delivery systems)

Since the development of nuclear
devices during World War Two,
atomic and later thermonuclear
bombs have been a primary
strategic weapon and a deadly
deterrent for those ‘in the
club’. During the Cold War,
many flashpoints came close to
triggering Armageddon – some

of these incidents are

widely known, while

others have only recently

been declassified.

Author David Baker, a

former NASA scientist

and defence editor, is

well placed to describe

the complexities of

the related physics in

everyday language.

Beginning with the first

principles of nuclear

fission, the reader is

guided through the

significant early scientific

discoveries. These

ultimately led Albert

Einstein to make the

connection between

matter and energy, which

formed the basis for the

physics of nuclear energy and

of bomb-making technologies.

The race between the United

States and Germany to develop

an atomic bomb during World

War Two is explained in an

easy-to-read format with all the

key developments included.

However, the book focuses on

the Cold War strategic arms

race. The huge number of air

and ground tests performed in

the Pacific by the US and UK

are included, as are Soviet tests,

which took place deep within

its borders. The accompanying

stories and anecdotes raise this

book above previous titles on

this topic with spies, secret deals

and political gamesmanship

described in great detail, some

for the first time in print.

As far as possible, given the

secrecy that surrounds these

‘special’ weapons, the author

outlines current procedures

and delivery methods of the

nine nations that are equipped

with nuclear weapons today.

This is a fascinating read

delivered with the gravitas of a

subject specialist’s knowledge on

the most devastating weapons

developed by man. Glenn Sands

it’s clear that while technology to carrier flight decks along with

Publisher: Haynes

Author: David Baker

Pages: 195

Price: £22.99

ISBN: 9781785211393

32 // MAY 2018 #362 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

Book

Reviews

These titles are available from: The Aviation Bookshop, 31-33 Vale Road, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent,

TN1 1BS, United Kingdom. Telephone: +44(0)1892 539284 Website: http://www.aviation-bookshop.com