This is the third volume of the illustrated history of the 20th century aviation, covering the period 1939 to 1945. Beginning in 1939-40 with the German blitzkrieg and the Battle of Britain, aircraft repeatedly turned the tide of war. Their worth was proved in many roles besides bombing and airborne assault, including air defense, ground and transport support, maritime patrol, shipping strikes, and reconnaissance. Warplanes became indispensable and revolutionized the character of war. In this book, stunning images of preserved and restored wartime aircraft are combined with archival photographs of the world's first well-photographed war to tell an unprecedented visual story of World War II.