With the development of the Wright Flyer in 1903, soon aircraft builders turned their thoughts to developing the new technology for military uses.The Wright Model A was commissioned by the US Army Signal Corps in 1908, and a German-built Etrich Taube reconnaissance plane was used in combat during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911, when an Italian pilot manually dropped an aerial bomb on Turkish troops in Libya.From these humble beginnings, the military aircraft was born.Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft offers a comprehensive guide to military aircraft of all types, from the early artillery spotters of World War I to the latest stealth aircraft stalking our skies today.Find out about the German Fokker Eindecker, the first purpose-built monoplane fighter and labelled the ‘Fokker scourge’ by Allied pilots because of its effectiveness; learn about the elegant Spitfire, an aircraft that gained mythic status because of its role in the Battle of Britain; discover the Boeing B-29, the aircraft that dropped the first nuclear bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima; learn about the vertical take-off and landing qualities of the Harrier, a type deployed since the 1970s by navies around the world; be amazed at the SR-71 Blackbird spy plane, which is able to fly at altitudes of 25,900m (85,000ft); and explore the Chengdu J-20 ‘Mighty Dragon’, China’s new stealth fighter.Each aircraft is illustrated with detailed, accurate artworks – some of them cutaways – a photograph, a concise account of the plane’s development, production and service history and a panel of essential specifications.Featuring more than 430 entries, Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft is a complete reference work on the most important fighters, bombers, interceptors, reconnaissance planes, seaplanes, helicopters and drones from the early 20th century to the present.