No one presents aviation history better than the team of Dennis R. Jenkins and Tony R. Landis. Few authors match the scope and breadth of their research, their painstaking accuracy and their meticulous attention to detail. Virtually none match their ability to unearth previously unpublished information on interesting aircraft. "Experimental & Prototype U.S. Air Force Jet Fighters" is an outstanding example of Jenkins and Landis at their best. Very much in the tradition of their earlier works "Valkyrie" and "Hypersonic," this latest book covers some of the most fascinating aircraft ever built. There are no "paper airplanes" here. All of them reached the hardware stage.

The decade just after the end of World War II saw a bumper crop of experimental and prototype aircraft, as the U.S. Air Force, faced with the nuclear challenge of the Soviet Union in the Cold War, tried to tame the relatively new jet engine technology for its fighters and bombers. This was the time when the famous "Century Series" fighters--the North American F-100, McDonnell F-101, Convair F-102, Lockheed F-104, Republic F-105 and Convair F-106--first flew, and when other even-more-advanced concepts, such as the Republic XF-103 and North American XF-108, were on the drawing boards.

The first eight chapters of "Experimental & Prototype U.S. Air Force Jet Fighters" (about 75 per cent of the book) cover this period, separated into logical, bite-sized chunks such as "The First Jets," "All-Weather Fighters," "Point-Defense Interceptors" and "Penetration Fighters." Chapters 9 through 12 look at later aircraft, such as the Lockheed YF-12, General Dynamics F-111 and F-16, Lockheed F-117 and the Boeing and Lockheed Martin prototypes that led to today's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).

Exquisitely printed on thick, glossy paper, "Experimental & Prototype U.S. Air Force Jet Fighters" is filled with crisp, sharp, well-captioned photographs and drawings (some of them in stunning full-color) that perfectly complement the authoritative, comprehensive, informative text. The balance of illustrations and text is perfect. Jenkins and Landis did a superb job of digging up rare photographs from government and private archives, and of unearthing hidden details about the aircraft of this period. Their efforts make this volume an exceptional addition to any aviation enthusiast's bookshelf. As an added bonus, you'll find an appendix with historical summaries of the companies that built these aircraft. Most of them eventually succumbed to the frenzy of takeovers and mergers that created the three mega-firms that today dominate America's aerospace industry (Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman). But true aviation "buffs" will never forget storied names, now vanished, such as Bell, Chance Vought, Seversky and Vultee. Here you'll find out what happened to them. Most highly recommended.

This is another outstanding aviation book from Specialty Press and is a fitting companion to their U.S. NAVAL SUPERIORITY: DEVELOPMENT OF SHIPBORNE JET FIGHTERS - 1943-1962. The quality of the writing is excellent and authoritative, and the protographs are of high quality and illustrate the subject matter very well. More color would have been welcomed; however, the quality of the black and white photos in the book is probably far superior to most surviving color photos from the 1940s and early 1950s.

Coverage of the topic is comprehensive and begins with some of the last propeller-driven designs that were developed in an attempt to squeeze out the last bit of performance prior to the transition to jets. It finishes with the JSF prototypes, which brings the book right up to the present.

I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in military aircraft development.

Join Larry Bell and Robert Woods in their "special secret" Bell Design Center -- on top the Ford dealership in Buffalo, NY -- where America's first jet fighter, the Bell XP-59A was developed.

Witness the design, construction, and spectacular crash of Jack Northrup's futuristic XP-79 flying wing fighter back in 1942.

Read in disbelief how McDonnell designers really pushed the envelope developing their XP-85 Goblin parasite fighter to be carried aboard the B-36 intercontinental bomber.

Of Course, Mr. Jenkins and Mr. Landis have included many successful designs as well. "Century Series Fighters" features the development of such famous aircraft series as the North American YF-100 Super Sabre, McDonnell F-101 Voodoo, Convair YF-102 Delta Dagger, Lockheed XF-104 Star Fighter, Republic YF-105, and the Convair F-106 Delta Dart. I found of special interest, the section on the little known North American F-107A Ultra Sabre -- The famous YF-105 Thunderchief's rival.

The authors have also featured the development of the hot new stealth fighters such as the Lockheed Martin YF-22, and Lockheed X-35 as well as their rivals: Northrop YF-23 and Boeing X-32.

For the curious, Mr. Jenkins and Mr. Landis reveal a rare dud from Kelly Johnson's famed Skunk works -- the Lockheed XF-90 penetration fighter. The authors explain, "the airplane looked every inch the modern, high-performance fighter, but produced disappointing results."

The authors learned, "The XF-90 was overbuilt, using thick skins and a robust structure, that unfortunately also added considerable weight." The penetration fighter design was doomed by the slow development of more powerful engines with afterburners -- the heavy XF-90 required rocket assist on every takeoff.

The XF-90 was easily beaten out in competition by the McDonnell XF-88 -- the predecessor of the F-101 Voodoo. After cancellation, Johnson's XF-90 was exiled to the Nevada Test Site as a "nuclear weapon ground-test specimen during Operation Tumbler/Snapper."

In describing their book, the authors state, "This is not intended to be the ultimate or final history of experimental and prototype Air Force jet fighters. The project actually began as a photo scrapbook, intended to show seldom-seen photographs of these aircraft."

But, as their research continued they were able to uncover much new data, which is included, giving the reader the progress and outcome of each program including crucial Air Force decisions made along the way.

Where much new information was uncovered, the authors chose to include it instead of presenting data that has been already published in other works.

"Experimental & Prototype U.S. Air Force Jet Fighters" is a high quality, glossy, format book with a "jackpot" of intriguing photographs (many in color), instructive drawings and illustrations in 12 chapters. Many of the wonderful interior photographs, diagrams and engineering drawing were taken from U.S. Air Force documents. The graphics alone make this one of the finest aircraft books, I have ever seen. Mr. Jenkins and Mr. Landis have done a superior job of presenting all the prototype programs in great detail with a clear concise style.

They have meticulously researched and presented the development of dozens of Air Force jet fighters from conception through cancellation -- beginning with the Bell XP-59A Airacomet and ending with the Joint Strike Fighter. A Bonus is the excellent appendix of company histories.


About the authors

Dennis R. Jenkins is a consulting engineer in Florida who works on various aerospace projects, including over 20 years on NASA's space shuttle program.

Mr. Jenkins also authored "Magnesium Overcast: The Story of the Convair B-36", in addition to more than 30 other works on aerospace history, several on the subject of the X-15 program.

Tony R. Landis was born and raised in Southern California and joined the Air Force right out of high school. He has had a life-long interest in aerospace history, and images from his photo collection have been published in hundreds of publications.

He has been listed as a contributing photographer, editor, and artist in Wings/Airpower magazine and has worked at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center for several years. Mr. Landis has authored several aviation books for Specialty Press.

Join Larry Bell and Robert Woods in their "special secret" Bell Design Center -- on top the Ford dealership in Buffalo, NY -- where America's first jet fighter, the Bell XP-59A was developed.

Witness the design, construction, and spectacular crash of Jack Northrup's futuristic XP-79 flying wing fighter back in 1942.

Read in disbelief how McDonnell designers got really carried away developing their XP-85 Goblin parasite fighter for the B-36 intercontinental bomber.

Of Course, Mr. Jenkins and Mr. Landis have included many successful designs as well. "Century Series Fighters" features the development of such famous aircraft series as the North American YF-100 Super Sabre, McDonnell F-101 Voodoo, Lockheed XF-104 Star Fighter, and Republic YF-105. I found of special interest, the section on the little known North American F-107A Ultra Sabre.

The authors have also featured the development of stealth fighters such as the Lockheed Martin YF-22, and Lockheed X-35 as well as their rivals: Northrop YF-23 and Boeing X-32.

For the curious, Mr. Jenkins and Mr. Landis offer up a rare dud from Kelly Johnson's famed Skunk works -- the Lockheed XF-90 -- exceptionally clean looking, but underpowered.

In describing their book, the authors state, "This is not intended to be the ultimate or final history of experimental and prototype Air Force jet fighters. The project actually began as a photo scrapbook, intended to show seldom-seen photographs of these aircraft."

But, as their research continued they were able to uncover much new data, which is included, giving the reader the progress and outcome of each program including crucial Air Force decisions made along the way.

Where much new information was uncovered, the authors chose to include it instead of presenting data that has been already published in other works.

"Experimental & Prototype U.S. Air Force Jet Fighters" is a high quality, glossy, format book with a "jackpot" of intriguing photographs (many in color), instructive drawings and illustrations in 12 chapters. Many of the wonderful interior photographs, diagrams and engineering drawing were taken from U.S. Air Force documents. The graphics alone make this one of the finest aircraft books, I have ever seen. Mr. Jenkins and Mr. Landis have done a superior job of presenting all the prototype programs in great detail with a clear concise style.

They have meticulously researched and presented the development of dozens of Air Force jet fighters from conception through cancellation -- beginning with the Bell XP-59A Airacomet and ending with the Joint Strike Fighter. A Bonus is the excellent appendix of company histories.


About the authors

Dennis R. Jenkins is a consulting engineer in Florida who works on various aerospace projects, including over 20 years on NASA's space shuttle program.

Mr. Jenkins also authored "Space Shuttle: The History of the National Space Transportation System: The First 100 Missions", in addition to more than 30 other works on aerospace history, several on the subject of the X-15 program.

Tony R. Landis was born and raised in Souther California and joined the Air Force right out of high school. He has had a life-long interest in aerospace history, and images from his photo collection have been published in hundreds of publications.

He has been listed as a contributing photographer, editor, and artist in Wings/Airpower magazine and has worked at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center for several years. Mr. Landis has authored several aviation books for Specialty Press.