Helicopters : an illustrated history of their impact

McGowen, Stanley S. 1947- (Author).

Summary: Helicopters: An Illustrated History of Their Impact covers the development of helicopters from a concept in Leonardo daVinci's mind to the first successful machines in the early 1900s to the latest tilt-rotor designs. Time and again, in a story of constant innovation, designers answered the concerns of military planners with more maneuverable, more capable rotorcraft. With expert analysis and specific details of every significant model ever used, Helicopters shows how these once denigrated machines became essential to a variety of missions (reconnaissance, transport, attack, support, evacuation, urban combat, quick strikes behind enemy lines, and more). In addition, the book looks at the impact of rotorcraft beyond the military, including their ever-widening role in emergency medical care, police work, traffic control, agriculture, news reporting, and more.

Record details

ISBN: 1851094687
ISBN: 9781851094684
ISBN: 1851094733
ISBN: 9781851094738
Physical Description: print
xiv, 351 pages : illustrations ; 27 cm.
Publisher: Santa Barbara, Calif. : ABC-CLIO, ©2005.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 301-305) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Early developments, 1900-1939 -- Historical background -- Limited successes -- Autogyros and gyroplanes -- The first successful helicopters in Europe -- Successes in the United States -- World War II, 1939-1945 -- Sikorsky XR-5 and XR-6 -- Frank Nicholas Piasecki -- From military to commercial helicopter -- Stanley Hiller, Jr. -- Charles Kaman -- Korea and the Cold War, 1946-1961 -- Bell helicopters -- Hiller helicopters -- Piasecki helicopter corporation -- The S-55 helicopter -- Westland helicopters -- Nicolai I. Kamov -- French Indochina -- Vietnam, the Middle East, and the face-off in Europe, 1961-1975 -- The United States in Vietnam -- NATO -- The Middle East -- Warsaw Pact -- Technological evolution, 1976-1990 -- NATO combat support helicopters -- Attack helicopters -- Combat service support helicopters -- Warsaw Pact -- Desert Shield/Storm and beyond, 1990-2003 -- Combat support : passenger helicopters -- Combat service support helicopters -- Attack helicopters -- Tilt rotor aircraft -- NOTAR -- Helicopter specifications.