Air Battle of the Ruhr

Air Battle of the Ruhr PDF Author: Alan W. Cooper
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1783379936
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 342

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Book Description
First published to acclaim in 1992, this book deals with the exploits of Bomber Command during their offensive against German Industry in the Ruhr during World War II. The author begins by describing the role of Bomber Command and goes on to define the Ruhr area and its great importance in terms of industrial output to the Germans. The author provides the statistics for bombers dispatched, the number, which actually got to the targets and those, which never made it for one reason or another. Air Battle of the Ruhr is a complete overview of a major aspect of the air war against mainland Germany a subject that has rarely been dealt with in such depth. This book fills in an important gap in the history of the Royal Air Force.

Air Battle of the Ruhr

Air Battle of the Ruhr PDF Author: Alan W. Cooper
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1783379936
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 342

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Book Description
First published to acclaim in 1992, this book deals with the exploits of Bomber Command during their offensive against German Industry in the Ruhr during World War II. The author begins by describing the role of Bomber Command and goes on to define the Ruhr area and its great importance in terms of industrial output to the Germans. The author provides the statistics for bombers dispatched, the number, which actually got to the targets and those, which never made it for one reason or another. Air Battle of the Ruhr is a complete overview of a major aspect of the air war against mainland Germany a subject that has rarely been dealt with in such depth. This book fills in an important gap in the history of the Royal Air Force.

The Ruhr 1943

The Ruhr 1943 PDF Author: Richard Worrall
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472846567
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 97

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Book Description
This illustrated study explores, in detail, the RAF's first concentrated air campaign of World War II against one of the hardest and most important targets in Germany – the industrial heartland of the Ruhr that kept Hitler's war machine running. Between March and July 1943, RAF Bomber Command undertook its first concentrated bombing campaign, the Battle of the Ruhr, whose aim was nothing less than the complete destruction of the industry that powered the German war machine. Often overshadowed by the famous 'Dambusters' single-raid attack on the Ruhr dams, the Battle of the Ruhr proved much larger and much more complex. The mighty, industrial Ruhr region contained not only some of the most famous and important arms makers, such as the gunmakers Krupp of Essen, but also many other industries that the German war economy relied on, from steelmakers to synthetic oil plants. Being such a valuable target, the Ruhr was one of the most heavily defended regions in Europe. This book examines how the brutal Ruhr campaign was conceived and fought, and how Bomber Command's relentless pursuit of its objective drew it into raids on targets well beyond the Ruhr, from the nearby city of Cologne to the Skoda works in Czechoslovakia. Drawing on a wide-range of primary and secondary sources, this is the story of the first titanic struggle in the skies over Germany between RAF Bomber Command and the Luftwaffe.

Battle for the Ruhr

Battle for the Ruhr PDF Author: Derek S. Zumbro
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 464

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Book Description
"Derek Zumbro chronicles this key military campaign from a unique and fresh perspective - that of the defeated German soldiers and civilians caught in the final maelstrom of the war's western front." "Zumbro chronicles the relentless assault on the Ruhr Pocket through German eyes, as the Allied juggernaut battered the region's cities, villages, and homes into submission. He tells of children pressed into service by a desperate Nazi regime - and of even more desperate parents trying to save their sons from sacrifice at the eleventh hour. He also tells of unspeakable conditions suffered by foreign laborers, POWs, and political opponents in the Ruhr Valley and of the mass graves that gave Allied soldiers a grisly new understanding of their enemy." "Zumbro also recounts the story of Field Marshal Walter Model's final hours. His eventual suicide effectively ended the existence of the Wehrmacht's once-formidable Army Group B after being pursued, methodically encircled, and finally destroyed by U.S. and British forces. Through interviews with surviving members of Model's former staff, Zumbro has uncovered the attitudes of beleaguered officers that official records could never convey." "Other interviews with former soldiers reveal the extent to which Allied bombing contributed to the rapid deterioration of German combat effectiveness and tell of civilians begging soldiers to abandon the war. Zumbro's research reveals the identities of specific characters discussed in previous works but never identified, describes the final hours of German officers executed for the loss of the bridge at Remagen, and offers new insight into Model's acquiescence to Hitler in military affairs."--BOOK JACKET.

Strategy For Defeat: The Luftwaffe, 1933-1945 [Illustrated Edition]

Strategy For Defeat: The Luftwaffe, 1933-1945 [Illustrated Edition] PDF Author: Williamson Murray
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN: 178625770X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 883

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Book Description
Includes the Aerial Warfare In Europe During World War II illustrations pack with over 200 maps, plans, and photos. This book is a comprehensive analysis of an air force, the Luftwaffe, in World War II. It follows the Germans from their prewar preparations to their final defeat. There are many disturbing parallels with our current situation. I urge every student of military science to read it carefully. The lessons of the nature of warfare and the application of airpower can provide the guidance to develop our fighting forces and employment concepts to meet the significant challenges we are certain to face in the future.

Air Force Combat Units of World War II

Air Force Combat Units of World War II PDF Author: Maurer Maurer
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1428915850
Category : United States
Languages : en
Pages : 520

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Book Description


Bombs Away!

Bombs Away! PDF Author: John R. Bruning
Publisher: Zenith Imprint
ISBN: 0760339902
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description
Bombs Away! covers strategic bombing in Europe during World War II, that is, all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature which took place between 1939 and 1945. In addition to American (U.S. Army Air Forces) and British (RAF Bomber Command) strategic aerial campaigns against Germany, this book covers German use of strategic bombing during the Nazi’s conquest of Europe: the Battle of Britain, Operation Barbarossa, and the V 1 and V 2, where the Luftwaffe targeted Warsaw and Rotterdam (known as the Rotterdam Blitz). In addition, the book covers the blitzes against London and the bombing of other British industrial and port cities, such as Birmingham, Liverpool, Southampton, Manchester, Bristol, Belfast, Cardiff, and Coventry bombed during the Battle of Britain. The twin Allied campaigns against Germany—the USAAF by day, the RAF by night—built up into massive bombing of German industrial areas, notably the Ruhr, followed by attacks directly on cities such as Hamburg, Kassel, Pforzheim, Mainz, Cologne, Bremen, Essen, Düsseldorf, Hanover, Dortmund, Frankfurt, and the still controversial fire-bombing of Hamburg and Dresden. In addition to obvious targets like aircraft and tank manufacturers, ball bearing factories and plants that manufactured abrasives and grinding wheels were high priority targets. Petroleum refineries were a key target with USAAF aircraft based in North Africa and later Italy, bombing the massive refinery complexes in and around Ploesti, Romania, until August 1944 when the Soviet Red Army captured the area. Other missions included industrial targets in southern Germany like Regensburg and Schweinfurt. Missions to the Nazi capital, Berlin, started in 1940 and continued through March 1945. Throughout the war there were 314 air raids on Berlin. All of this is covered in detail with authoritative text and hundreds of archival photographs, many rare or never before published.

Luftwaffe Night Fighter Combat Claims, 1939-1945

Luftwaffe Night Fighter Combat Claims, 1939-1945 PDF Author: John Foreman
Publisher: Red Kite / Air Research
ISBN: 9780953806140
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
A definitive list of nearly 7,000 claims submitted by Luftwaffe night fighter pilots for Allied aircraft shot down in WW2. These claims are listed with the following details; Date, Time, Location, Type of aircraft shot down, Claiming Pilot and his Unit. Entries feature claims against Russian, American as well as Bomber Command aircraft.

Bomber Offensive

Bomber Offensive PDF Author: Arthur Harris
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473812607
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 381

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Book Description
The Royal Air Force commander of bombing operations during WWII offers an insider’s view of his legendary career in this classic military memoir. Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur “Bomber” Harris remains a controversial figure in the history of the RAF. While many vilify him for his merciless carpet bombing of Germany, others believe that his contributions to Allied victory are grossly undervalued. In Bomber Offensive, Harris candidly describes how he led the men of Bomber Command in the face of appalling casualties, his fierce disagreements with higher authority, and the complicated relationship he had with Winston Churchill. Written soon after the close of the Second World War, Harris's memoirs reveals the man behind the Allied bombing offensive that destroyed the Nazi war machine, but also many beautiful and historic cities, such as Dresden. His defense of these total war tactics stands in stark contrast to modern military policy, which considers such indiscriminate killing a war crime.

The Strategic Air Offensive Against Germany

The Strategic Air Offensive Against Germany PDF Author: Sir Charles Kingsley Webster
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 388

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Book Description


Duel Under the Stars

Duel Under the Stars PDF Author: Wilhelm Johnen
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1784382604
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Book Description
"The enemy bomber grew larger in my sights and the rear gunner was sprayed by my guns just as he opened fire. The rest was merely a matter of seconds. The bomber fell like a stone out of the sky and exploded on the ground. The nightmare came to an end."In this enthralling memoir, the author recounts his experiences of the war years and traces the story of the ace fighter pilots from the German development of radar to the Battle of Britain.Johnen flew his first operational mission in July 1941, having completed his blind-flying training. In his first couple of years he brought down two enemy planes. The tally went up rapidly once the air war was escalated in spring 1943, when Air Marshal Arthur Harris of the RAF Bomber Command began the campaign dubbed the Battle of the Ruhr.During this phase of the war Johnens successes were achieved against a 710-strong force of bombers. Johnens further successes during Harriss subsequent Berlin offensive led to his promotion as Staffelkapitan (squadron leader) of Nachtjagdgeschwader and a move to Mainz. During a sortie from there, his Bf 110 was hit by return fire and he was forced to land in Switzerland. He and his crew were interned by the authorities. The Germans were deeply worried about leaving a sophisticatedly equipped night fighter and its important air crew in the hands of a foreign government, even if it was a neutral one. After negotiations involving Gring, the prisoners were released.Johnens unit moved to Hungary and by October 1944 his score was standing at 33 aerial kills. His final one came in March the following year, once Johnen had moved back to Germany.