Osprey Aircraft of the Aces SC (1994) comic books 1997

Volume 13 - 1st printing. "Japanese Army Air Force Aces 1937-45!" Written by Henry Sakaida. Art by Grant Race. Little has been published in English on the Japanese Army Air Force (JAAF), let alone its most successful fighter pilots - no less than 150 of them achieved ace status during eight years of near-constant war, and they are all listed in this volume. From the arid plains of the Mongolian border region to the lush jungles of New Guinea, the JAAF was more than a match for the many opponents it fought against for control of the skies. Indeed, even when the mighty Allied war machine proved almost overwhelming from early 1944 onwards, the elite fighter pilots of the various sentais within the JAAF fought on with near-fanatical loyalty in defence of the Home Islands. Aircraft of the Aces 13 and 22 are also available in a single volume as ‘Aces of the Rising Sun 1937-1945'. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $22.95.

Volume 13 - 2nd and later printings. "Japanese Army Air Force Aces 1937-45!" Written by Henry Sakaida. Art by Grant Race. Little has been published in English on the Japanese Army Air Force (JAAF), let alone its most successful fighter pilots - no less than 150 of them achieved ace status during eight years of near-constant war, and they are all listed in this volume. From the arid plains of the Mongolian border region to the lush jungles of New Guinea, the JAAF was more than a match for the many opponents it fought against for control of the skies. Indeed, even when the mighty Allied war machine proved almost overwhelming from early 1944 onwards, the elite fighter pilots of the various sentais within the JAAF fought on with near-fanatical loyalty in defence of the Home Islands. Aircraft of the Aces 13 and 22 are also available in a single volume as ‘Aces of the Rising Sun 1937-1945'. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $22.95.

Volume 14 - 1st printing. "P-38 Lightning Aces of the Pacific and CBI!" Written by John Stanaway. Art by Tom Tullis. The P-38 was used on virtually every front to which the USAAF were committed, but enjoyed its greatest successes in the Pacific and China-Burma-India (CBI) theatres. The speed, range and firepower of the P-38 made it the favourite of nearly all aircrew fighting in the Solomons, New Guinea and the Philippines, and over 1800 Japanese aircraft fell to its guns. From the first encounters at the end of 1942 until the Lightning scored the final Fifth Air force victories in August 1945, these pilots made the Pacific skies very much their own battleground. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $22.95.

Volume 14 - 2nd and later printings. "P-38 Lightning Aces of the Pacific and CBI!" Written by John Stanaway. Art by Tom Tullis. The P-38 was used on virtually every front to which the USAAF were committed, but enjoyed its greatest successes in the Pacific and China-Burma-India (CBI) theatres. The speed, range and firepower of the P-38 made it the favourite of nearly all aircrew fighting in the Solomons, New Guinea and the Philippines, and over 1800 Japanese aircraft fell to its guns. From the first encounters at the end of 1942 until the Lightning scored the final Fifth Air force victories in August 1945, these pilots made the Pacific skies very much their own battleground. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $22.95.

Volume 15 - 1st printing. "Soviet Aces of World War 2!" Written by Hugh Morgan. Art by John Weal. No single volume in English has ever appeared in the West dealing with this intriguing subject area, but now that restrictions have relaxed in the former Soviet Union, records of the deeds of the elite pilots of the various Soviet Air Forces are coming to light. Although initially equipped with very poor aircraft, and robbed of effective leadership thanks as much to Stalin's purges in the late 1930s as to the efforts of the Luftwaffe, Soviet fighter pilots soon turned the tables through the use of both lend-lease aircraft like the Hurricane, Spitfire, P-39 and P-40, and home-grown machines like the MiG-3, LaGG-3/5, Lavochkin La-5/7/9 and the Yak-1/3. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $22.95.

Add to cart Near Mint $12.00

Add to cart Near Mint $12.00

Volume 15 - 2nd and later printings. "Soviet Aces of World War 2!" Written by Hugh Morgan. Art by John Weal. No single volume in English has ever appeared in the West dealing with this intriguing subject area, but now that restrictions have relaxed in the former Soviet Union, records of the deeds of the elite pilots of the various Soviet Air Forces are coming to light. Although initially equipped with very poor aircraft, and robbed of effective leadership thanks as much to Stalin's purges in the late 1930s as to the efforts of the Luftwaffe, Soviet fighter pilots soon turned the tables through the use of both lend-lease aircraft like the Hurricane, Spitfire, P-39 and P-40, and home-grown machines like the MiG-3, LaGG-3/5, Lavochkin La-5/7/9 and the Yak-1/3. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $22.95.

Volume 16 - 1st printing. "Spitfire Mark V Aces 1941-45!" Written by Alfred Price. Art by Keith Fretwell. As the first Spitfire variant to see extensive service outside of Britain, the Mk V fought the Axis alliance over the deserts of North Africa, the waters of the Mediterranean and the vast expanses of the Indian Ocean off the northern coast of Australia. Initially produced in haste to combat the arrival of new German fighters (the Bf 109F and the Fw 190) on the Channel front, the Mk V had been created simply by pairing a Mk I or II fuselage with the new Merlin 45 engine - so successfully that some 6479 airframes were eventually built. Although often outclassed (particularly on the Channel front by the Fw 190) by later generation fighters, the Mk V nevertheless proved to be a worthy opponent when flown by pilots of the calibre of Malan, Tuck, Johnson, Beurling, Caldwell and Duke, who all enjoyed success with it thanks to its agility and increased armament. Softcover, 96 pages, PC/PB&W. Cover price $22.95.