North American Aircraft: Illustrated History Books & Guides

North American T-6 Texan

At the beginning of the 1930s, North American Aviation designed one of the most popular aircraft of all time, the T-6 Texan. Over 24,404 planes in 260 versions and variants were produced. This WWII vintage, propeller-driven aircraft is covered in its various forms and uses, including combat and training. Detailed specifications, unit insignia, and historical and present-day photographs are provided.

Product details

Pilot Maker - The Incredible T6

Nort American Harvard, Texan, J-Bird, T-6, whatever name you gave the aircraft, it was the right plane, in the right place, at the right time. One of the most important aircraft to emerge from the 1930s, it proved to be an excellent training machine for fledgling pilots throughout the world.

So adaptable was the design that it was used to teach carrier landings, aerial fixed gunnery, glide bombing, flexible hand-held gunnery, aerial photography, instrument flying & advanced military flying. It was safe, reliable, challenging and a perfect machine for transition from elementary trainers to the front-line P-40s, P-51s & similar "hot ships" of the period.

For more than twenty years it taught American military pilots to fly & it still serves today with the air forces of several nations. "Pilot Maker" by Jeff Ethell & Walt Ohlrich documents for the first time, the fascinating story of this important aircraft.

Product details

A-5 Vigilante (Pilot's Flight Operation Instructions)

North American's A-5 Vigilante served for nearly two decades as an all-weather supersonic strike aircraft and reconnaissance platform. An outgrowth of studies begun in 1953, the prototype first flew in 1958.
Originally designed to operate as a nuclear delivery system, the Vigilante was at the time of its introduction the largest and most complex aircraft to operate from a carrier.

Carrying a crew of two, the Vigilante was equipped with two General Electric J-79 turbojets, and utilized a single tailfin. It featured a high-mounted swept wing with aluminum-lithium alloy skins and no ailerons.
The Vigilante featured cutting-edge technology and was one of the first aircraft to use fly-by-wire systems and a heads-up display, as well as inertial navigation among other advanced systems. As a result of shifts within the Navy's nuclear strategy brought on by the advent of the nuclear ballistic missile submarine, the A-5 never served in a strategic role. Instead most were converted to the RA-5C reconnaissance platform.

Beginning in 1964, Vigilantes flew missions in Vietnam. Although extremely fast and maneuverable, the RA-5C's combat record was far from stellar. Difficult and expensive to maintain in the field, the Vigilante also compiled a dubious loss record. Out of 156 built, 18 aircraft were lost in combat and nine more succumbed to accidents during the Vietnam conflict.

After 1974, a phase out of the Vigilante began with smaller, less complex fighter aircraft taking on the recon role. The RA-5C was deployed for the last time in 1979.

Originally printed by the U.S. Air Force, this A-5A Vigilante flight operating manual taught pilots everything they needed to know before entering the cockpit. Originally classified "Restricted", this manual was declassified long ago and is here reprinted in book form.

Product details

North American Aviation in the Jet Age (Vol. 1) - The California Years, 1945-1997

In the final days of World War II, U.S. and Soviet forces raced to capture advanced German weapons technology. Over the next 25 years, North American Aviation (NAA) transformed these innovations into powerful weapons for the U.S. military.
The F-86 Sabre, with its swept-wing design, became the only Allied fighter capable of outmaneuvering the Soviet MiG-15 in the Korean War. The X-15 rocket plane pushed the limits of human flight, reaching the edge of space and setting speed and altitude records that still stand.
This book explores the development of these groundbreaking aircraft and the engineers behind them, offering insight into NAA's role in shaping U.S. aviation and space history.

Product details

North American Aviation in the Jet Age (Vol. 2) - The Columbus Years, 1941-1988

In 1941, as World War II threatened U.S. shores, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called for an "Arsenal of Democracy, " demanding the production of 50.000 warplanes per year. To meet this goal, large aircraft factories were needed, and Columbus, Ohio, became a key location.
The Columbus plant first housed Curtiss-Wright, producing thousands of SB2C Helldivers. During the Korean War, North American Aviation (NAA) took over, manufacturing advanced aircraft, including the T-28 Trojan and T-2 trainers. The Navy's FJ Fury series complemented the F-86 Sabre in air combat, while the OV-10 Bronco was built for close support in Vietnam. The supersonic Vigilante showcased advanced technology.
Production ended in 1988 with major subassemblies for the Rockwell B-1B Lancer strategic bomber. This book traces the history of the Columbus plant from its construction in 1941 to its closure in 1988.

Product details

North American T-28 Trojan (Pilot's Flight Operation Instructions)

Designed as a replacement for the T-6 Texan, North American's T-28 Trojan first flew in 1949 and remained in production until 1957. The T-28A was initially adopted as primary trainer by the U.S. Air Force, but it served in this capacity for less than a decade.
The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps found the T-28B/C model aircraft well suited to their needs, and continued to use it up until 1984, when it was replaced by the T-34C turboprop.

Despite its training designation, the T-28 flew in a combat role, perhaps most famously during the Vietnam conflict where Trojans performed close air support and counter-insurgency missions for the C.I.A. Modified attack trainer T-28D "Nomads" also flew for the French in Algeria.

Originally created by the U.S. Navy in 1962, this T-28B/C pilot's flight operating manual was required reading for pilots and trainees.
This high quality reproduction includes the original manual in its entirety, including information on carrier landing training and emergency procedures. It's a fascinating reference that puts you right in the cockpit of one of history's great planes.

Product details

The B-45 Tornado - An Operational History of the First American Jet Bomber

The North American B-45 Tornado was America's first jet bomber and was used in a number of vital missions for nearly a decade. Drawing from declassified secret documents, this history explains the bomber's use in strategic reconnaissance and atomic-weapon strike missions from its 1944 development to its role in the Cold War.
The book includes numerous photographs and more than 100 interviews with pilots, navigators, and ground personnel.

Product details

Twin Mustang: North American's P-82, F-82, and XP-82 Fighters (Legends of Warfare)

Developed during the Second World War, but too late to see combat, the Twin Mustang was created by the engineering team at North American Aviation to provide long-range escort for larger, slow bombers.
With the outbreak of the Korean Conflict, the Twin Mustangs were fortuitously positioned to provide immediate impact to the advantage of United Nations forces in the opening stages of the action.

Later, a record-breaking long-distance flight was accomplished by a single aircraft, and the type was found useful for testing numerous experimental designs, from ramjet bodies to the first air-to-air missile concepts. The plane was effective as a radar-toting night fighter, and it could also carry large bombs, rockets, extended-range fuel tanks, and an eight-gun nacelle, providing a substantial increase in machine gun firepower.

This book also details the amazing story of XP-82 44-83887, from test bed use, to a landing accident and disposal, to its discovery and restoration to flying status.

Product details

Twin Mustang: the North America F-82 at War - Rare photographs from Wartime Archives (Images of War)

One of the most unusual and remarkable American fighter aircraft, the F-82 Twin Mustang was the last mass production propeller-driven fighter acquired by the U.S. Air Force. Originally intended as a very long-range fighter escort for the Boeing B-29 Superfortress during World War II, it arrived too late to see combat and evolved into a night and all-weather fighter during the post-war years. Combat operations in the Korean War followed, along with a host of other dynamic episodes of deployment.
This work traces the developmental, operational, and combat history of this unique American fighter and features 120 photographs and illustrations, many of which have never been published before.

Seven chapters, all extensively illustrated, cover the aircraft's development, descriptions of the variants and sub-types, details of initial entry into service, three chapters covering the F-82's service in the Korean War, and a final chapter detailing the type's removal from the Korean War Theatre in February 1952, to see out its operational days in the Alaskan Air Defence Command.
An appendix section follows, featuring tables of the different variants, an illustrated list of known nose art applied to F-82s, and an entry of losses suffered in the Korean War.

Product details