Aviation enthusiasts of the highly popular Duel series are in for a treat in 2025 as there are five titles to look forward to during the course of the year. There are of course some cracking aircraft-versus-aircraft volumes in the list, with B-26 Marauders duelling with Me 262s over Germany in the final months of World War 2 in Europe, Superfortresses being engaged by Japanese nightfighters over the Home Islands in 1944–45, and P-51 Mustangs defending the mighty Boeing bombers from enemy fighters during very long range missions.

The Duel series has regularly covered aircraft versus ground-to-air weaponry or ships in the recent past, and two of the books in next year’s programme feature such content. As a follow-on to his excellent UH-1 Huey Gunship vs NVA/VC forces title of 2021, Peter E Davies looks at the AH-1 Cobra vs NVA Armor in Vietnam. Similarly, Donald Nijboer has followed up his German Flak Defences vs Allied Heavy Bombers book from 2019 with Luftwaffe Bombers vs British AA Defences 1940–41

Each Duel volume typically includes more than 50 photographs, specially commissioned three-view, profile, armament and cockpit/turret artworks, a battlescene spread, maps and tactical diagrams.  

 

DUE 140 AH-1 Cobra Gunship vs NVA Armor: Vietnam 1967–73

By Peter E. Davies

Illustrated by Gareth Hector and Jim Laurier

16/01/2025

A new study of how the first purpose-built anti-tank helicopter gunship – the Bell AH-1 Cobra – engaged communist armour and well-armed irregular fighters in the war for control of Vietnam.

The Vietnam War was often dubbed ‘the helicopter war’ because it was the first conflict in which helicopters took a dominant role. As the only dedicated gunship to be fielded by US forces during the conflict, the AH-1 Cobra saw combat against North Vietnamese Army (NVA) tanks, armoured personnel carriers and heavy anti-aircraft weaponry while joining OH-6A ‘Loach’ scout helicopters on ‘Pink Team’ hunter-killer flights. There were more than 700 Cobras operational in Vietnam by 1972, and the helicopter proved such an effective weapon that the NVA often avoided shooting at it, fearing massive and instant retribution.

In this action-packed new study, Vietnam War expert Peter E. Davies examines the development and deployment of the Cobra, its engagements with Soviet- and Chinese-supplied tanks and heavy machine guns, and how it was adapted to counter devastating surface-to-air missile attacks in 1972. Numerous key clashes – including the Tet Offensive and actions at Loc Ninh and An Loc – are explored in detail, with first-hand accounts, newly commissioned artwork and more than 50 photographs bringing the operations of this iconic helicopter to life.

 

DUE 142 B-26 Marauder vs Me 262: Europe 1945

By Robert Forsyth

Illustrated by Gareth Hector and Jim Laurier

27/02/2025

An illustrated account of the clashes between the Luftwaffe’s Me 262, the first operational jet fighter, and the USAAF’s B-26 Marauder bomber during the final months of the war in Europe.

As the world’s first jet-engined fighter aircraft, the Luftwaffe’s Messerschmitt Me 262 heralded a new dawn in design, performance, and combat capability upon its operational debut in 1944, outclassing its Allied counterparts for both speed and firepower. The skies over Austria and southern Germany saw the Me 262 enter savage aerial clashes as JV 44, led by legendary fighter ace Generalleutnant Adolf Galland, engaged three USAAF medium bomber groups, targeting their formidable – but ill-prepared – Martin B-26 Marauders with often devastating results.

In this dramatic new study, Luftwaffe historian Robert Forsyth examines how USAAF crews in twin-engined Marauders endeavoured to fulfil their bombing missions while jet pilots in Me 262s attacked with 30 mm MK 108 nose-mounted cannon and, eventually, 55 mm R4M air-to-air rockets. First-hand accounts, newly commissioned artwork and archive photography enhance the fascinating and action-packed story of these two aircraft and the fearsome combat that was waged between them.

 

DUE 144 B-29 Superfortress vs Japanese Nightfighter: Japan 1944–45

By Mark Lardas

Illustrated by Gareth Hector and Jim Laurier

27/03/2025

An illustrated study of the clashes between B-29s conducting night raids on Japan and the Japanese nightfighters protecting the Home Islands in 1944–45.

The USAAF’s B-29-led strategic bombing offensive against Japan succeeded when the Twentieth Air Force’s XXI Bomber Command switched from high-level daylight precision bombing to low-level night area bombing. The latter tactic required barely armed Superfortresses to attack their target individually, without a formation or escorting fighters for protection. Despite this, Japanese nightfighters proved unable to stop the B-29s.

In this study, Mark Lardas examines the capabilities of the aircraft involved, and reveals the conditions under which both sides fought. He details the cutting-edge technology fielded by both sides and evaluates how it affected the outcome of the battle. Maps, tactical diagrams, photographs and specially commissioned artwork bring the action to life as individual USAAF heavy bombers and Japanese nightfighters fight a classic military duel.

 

DUE 145 Luftwaffe Bombers vs British AA Defences: Britain 1940–41

By Donald Nijboer

Illustrated by Gareth Hector and Jim Laurier

24/04/2025

A highly illustrated study of the performance of the British Army’s Anti-Aircraft (AA) Command against the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain and the Blitz.

When the Battle of Britain commenced in July 1940, the Luftwaffe committed more than 1,200 medium bombers, 300 Ju 87 Stukas and 760 Bf 109 and Bf 110 fighters to the campaign. To meet the Luftwaffe’s high-altitude threat, AA Command had 359 4.5in. guns, 666 3.7in. guns and 226 3in. guns, as well as 3,538 light and medium anti-aircraft guns to counter low-level Luftwaffe raiders.

Despite such a quantity of weapons, AA Command was under-gunned, leaving it hard pressed to provide enough weapons for every site deemed important, especially the key airfields of Nos. 10 and 11 Group in southern England. Yet, from 10 July through to the end of the Battle of Britain on 31 October, AA Command overoptimistically claimed approximately 300 German aircraft destroyed, with this figure rising to 578 by the end of the Blitz on 11 May 1941. However, AA Command’s contribution was far greater than just in the numbers of aircraft shot down. During the Battle of Britain, the Air Ministry estimated (again incorrectly) that 48 per cent of all German bombers heading to Britain turned back because of heavy AA. Bombers were also forced higher, decreasing bombing accuracy, and formations were broken up, causing ordnance to be scattered widely and leaving individual aircraft vulnerable to enemy fighters. AA also killed and wounded, and the casualties suffered by the Luftwaffe’s bomber units reduced their combat efficiency and sapped the morale of their crews.

Donald Nijboer examines the capabilities of both sides, and through maps, tactical diagrams, photographs and specially commissioned artwork he brings the struggle in the skies over England to life.

 

VLR P-51 Mustang vs Japanese Fighter: Japan 1945

By Carl Molesworth

Illustrated by Gareth Hector and Jim Laurier

20/11/2025

An illustrated account of the fierce aerial battles that raged above Tokyo as USAAF P-51D/K Mustang pilots brought their weapons to bear against Japanese fighters during the final months of the Pacific War.

For four months in 1945, the skies over Tokyo saw USAAF P-51D/K Mustang pilots clash with Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF) and Imperial Japanese Naval Air Force (IJNAF) fighters in some of the most intense aerial battles of the Pacific War. The Japanese marshalled ten different fighter types to defend relatively small and well-defined target area, but the already iconic Merlin-engined P-51D/K Mustang, with its game-changing Very Long-Range (VLR) capabilities, would prove more than a match for their combined forces.

In this engaging new study, respected Pacific War historian Carl Molesworth employs combat reports and first-hand accounts to tell the story of how VII Fighter Command’s Mustang pilots went from escorting B-29 bombers to actively seeking out enemy aircraft to attack. Newly commissioned armament, cockpit and battlescene illustrations, as well as a wealth of archive photos, bring the narrative to life, giving a vivid and illuminating sense of what it was like to be a fighter pilot in the air war over Japan in the final months of the Pacific War.