Andrew Bird

Developed in the late 1930s, the Bristol Blenheim was the first RAF aircraft to carry out a reconnaissance over occupied Europe and the first to carry out a bombing raid. This book tells the story of this important aircraft which, although it often missed the limelight, performed valuable roles as bomber, reconnaissance aircraft and night fighter throughout the war. The first Mk I Blenheims entered service with No.114 Squadron in March 1937 and 1,552 were built before the Mk IV came into production, with an extended nose for reconnaissance. Most of the Blenheim squadrons were equipped with the Mk IV by September 1939. Although it outperformed the biplanes of the 1930s, the Blenheim was soon overtaken by single-engine fighters and its role was changed accordingly. In this fascinating and well-researched book, the author shows how the Blenheim adapted to various roles in different theatres of war. Apart from its reconnaissance role, it was also a pioneering night-fighter, taking advantage of the dark to reduce its vulnerability, and it also served as a long-range maritime patrol aircraft with Coastal Command. The Mk IF (Fighter) version was also developed with a gun pack of four .303 machine guns over the bomb bay. Some of these aircraft took part in the Battle of France, Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain. Blenheim operations were then largely moved to North Africa and the Middle East and then the Far East. Written by an authority on RAF aircraft, this book provides new insights into this adaptable and dependable aircraft.

‘The definitive account of the Vulcan raids… taught me something new on every page’- Rowland White, author of the bestselling Vulcan 607A newly researched, fully illustrated account of how RAF Vulcan bombers flew a series of the world's longest air raids in 1982 against Port Stanley airfield, in a daring, hastily improvised strike against the Argentinian invaders. The RAF's opening shots of the Falklands War were among the most remarkable airstrikes in history. The idea was simple: to destroy the runway at Port Stanley, and prevent Argentinian fast jets using it against the Royal Navy task force. But the nearest British-owned airfield was Ascension Island — 3,900 miles away from the Falklands.Researcher and historian Andrew D. Bird has uncovered new detail of what really made these extraordinary raids possible, including never-before-published information and photos demonstrating the discreet support provided by the United States. Packed with spectacular original artwork and rare photos, this book explains how these hugely complex, yet completely improvised raids were launched. This is also the story of how the last of the Vulcans, only a few months away from the scrapyard, had to be hastily re-equipped to carry conventional bombs, with bombsights, electronics and navigation systems 'borrowed' from other aircraft. Yet they managed to fly what were the longest-range air attacks in history, and struck a severe blow to the occupying Argentinians.

Gain proficiency, productivity, and power by working on projects and kick-starting your career in Python with this comprehensive, hands-on guide.Key FeaturesUnderstand and utilize Python syntax, objects, methods, and best practicesExplore Python's many features and libraries through real-world problems and big dataUse your newly acquired Python skills in machine learning as well as web and software developmentBook DescriptionPython is among the most popular programming languages in the world. It's ideal for beginners because it's easy to read and write, and for developers, because it's widely available with a strong support community, extensive documentation, and phenomenal libraries – both built-in and user-contributed.This project-based course has been designed by a team of expert authors to get you up and running with Python. You'll work though engaging projects that'll enable you to leverage your newfound Python skills efficiently in technical jobs, personal projects, and job interviews. The book will help you gain an edge in data science, web development, and software development, preparing you to tackle real-world challenges in Python and pursue advanced topics on your own. Throughout the chapters, each component has been explicitly designed to engage and stimulate different parts of the brain so that you can retain and apply what you learn in the practical context with maximum impact.By completing the course from start to finish, you'll walk away feeling capable of tackling any real-world Python development problem.What you will learnWrite efficient and concise functions using core Python methods and librariesBuild classes to address different business needsCreate visual graphs to communicate key data insightsOrganize big data and use machine learning to make regression and classification predictionsDevelop web pages and programs with Python tools and packagesAutomate essential tasks using Python scripts in real-time executionWho this book is forThis book is for professionals, students, and hobbyists who want to learn Python and apply it to solve challenging real-world problems. Although this is a beginner's course, you'll learn more easily if you already have an understanding of standard programming topics like variables, if-else statements, and functions. Experience with another object-oriented program, though not essential, will also be beneficial. If Python is your first attempt at computer programming, this book will help you understand the basics with adequate detail for a motivated student.

Do you want to develop reliable and secure applications which stand out from the crowd, rather than spending hours on boilerplate code? Then the Django framework is where you should begin. Often referred to as a 'batteries included' web development framework, Django comes with all the core features needed to build a standalone application. Web Development with Django takes this philosophy and equips you with the knowledge and confidence to build real-world applications using Python. Starting with the essential concepts of Django, you'll cover its major features by building a website called Bookr – a repository for book reviews. This end-to-end case study is split into a series of bitesize projects that are presented as exercises and activities, allowing you to challenge yourself in an enjoyable and attainable way. As you progress, you'll learn various practical skills, including how to serve static files to add CSS, JavaScript, and images to your application, how to implement forms to accept user input, and how to manage sessions to ensure a reliable user experience. Throughout this book, you'll cover key daily tasks that are part of the development cycle of a real-world web application. By the end of this book, you'll have the skills and confidence to creatively tackle your own ambitious projects with Django.Key Features Understand Django functionality and the Model-View-Template (MVT) paradigm Create and iteratively build a book review website, adding features as you build your knowledge Explore advanced concepts such as REST API implementation and third-party module integration What you will learnCreate a new application and add models to describe your data Use views and templates to control behavior and appearance Implement access control through authentication and permissions Develop practical web forms to add features such as file uploads Develop a RESTful API and JavaScript code that communicates with it Connect to a database such as PostgreSQL Who this book is forWeb Development with Django is designed for programmers who want to gain web development skills with the Django framework. To fully understand the concepts explained in this book, you must have basic knowledge of Python programming, as well as familiarity with JavaScript, HTML, and CSS.

Learn the fundamentals of clean, effective Python coding and build the practical skills to tackle your own software development or data science projectsKey FeaturesBuild key Python skills with engaging development tasks and challenging activitiesImplement useful algorithms and write programs to solve real-world problemsApply Python in realistic data science projects and create simple machine learning modelsBook DescriptionHave you always wanted to learn Python, but never quite known how to start? More applications than we realize are being developed using Python because it is easy to learn, read, and write. You can now start learning the language quickly and effectively with the help of this interactive tutorial. The Python Workshop starts by showing you how to correctly apply Python syntax to write simple programs, and how to use appropriate Python structures to store and retrieve data. You'll see how to handle files, deal with errors, and use classes and methods to write concise, reusable, and efficient code. As you advance, you'll understand how to use the standard library, debug code to troubleshoot problems, and write unit tests to validate application behavior. You'll gain insights into using the pandas and NumPy libraries for analyzing data, and the graphical libraries of Matplotlib and Seaborn to create impactful data visualizations. By focusing on entry-level data science, you'll build your practical Python skills in a way that mirrors real-world development. Finally, you'll discover the key steps in building and using simple machine learning algorithms. By the end of this Python book, you'll have the knowledge, skills and confidence to creatively tackle your own ambitious projects with Python.What you will learnWrite clean and well-commented code that is easy to maintainAutomate essential day-to-day tasks with Python scriptsDebug logical errors and handle exceptions in your programsExplore data science fundamentals and create engaging visualizationsGet started with predictive machine learningKeep your development process bug-free with automated testingWho this book is forThis book is designed for anyone who is new to the Python programming language. Whether you're an aspiring software engineer or data scientist, or are just curious about learning how to code with Python, this book is for you. No prior programming experience is required.