Miranda, Justo Rocket Interceptors 1941-1947

During its short lifespan, the rocket interceptor, a concept that had matured towards the end of the Second World War, attracted the attention of leading scientists, designers and aeronautical engineers in Germany, the USSR, the United States and Japan. There was general consensus that an interceptor capable of flying 300 mph faster than any other aircraft would give its operator unassailable air superiority. However, this new technology could not be adapted to the realities of war. The complexity of the propulsion system and the need to develop new aerodynamic concepts posed too great a challenge for the aviation industry of the major powers at the time, which specialised in the mass production of piston-engine fighter aircraft. Even fighter pilots were unable to adapt to the high G-forces that occurred at speeds of nearly 900 mph; it was simply impossible for them to aim and shoot. In 280 technical drawings, each presented in its historical context and with complete performance specifications, Rocket Interceptors 19411947 presents 125 projects, prototypes and combat-ready rocket-powered aircraft developed in the 1940s by Germany, the United States, the USSR and Japan, with the earliest developments for some of them dating back to the 1920s. This is the definitive word on a technology that, had it been used properly, could have changed the course of the Second World War.