Great American Combat Aircraft, No. 02

Volume 1: F-16 - Fighting Falcon A + B

Lert Frederic

A multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force, the F-16 has been in service for an incredible 36 years, with no sign of retiring. At a time when other planes retire to museums, General Dynamics' fighter bomber is still a formidable foe in international combat against so-called "fifth generation" planes.

The first prototype flew for the first time in 1974 and the operational career of the last aircraft built will continue well into the 2040s – almost 75 years and still going strong!

Meanwhile, this light fighter was optimised for daylight missions and became a formidable fighter-bomber; more than 4,400 were built and used by more than 25 countries.

Two volumes will be devoted to the F-16, this first will deal with it's development and the F-16 A and B.

About the Author

Frédéric Lert, professional aviation journalist, travels extensively through the two hemispheres in search of the most adventurous reportages. Already author of recognized works ("The Wings of the CIA, the B-52"), he covers, in the context of this series, a role of specialist for the years 1960-1980.

Reviews

"A well written, detailed and interesting story is told by the author, covering the development prototypes and the first in-service models, the A and B... All of it extensively illustrated with some high quality photographs, all of which are well captioned. Add some equally excellent colour profiles and not only do you get a good story about the development of the F-16, but for modellers there is just so much reference material this is one I think any F-16 fan will want to have it on their bookshelf" – Military Model Scene

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