Author: Andy Saunders
Publisher: Grub Street Publishing
ISBN: 1909166545
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 241
Book Description
During the early hours of 8 August 1940 over twenty merchant ships set sail in Convoy CW9 “Peewit” and edged past Dover, hugging the shore in complete darkness. Whilst unseen to human eyes, the Germans had picked up the large convoy on its Freya radar at Cap Gris Nez and flashed warning messages to the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe. At Boulogne E-Boats were readied and left port in the early hours to take up station off Beachy Head to watch and wait for the inevitable convoy. With horrendous suddenness, the E-Boat Flotilla was amongst the convoy as it passed Newhaven. Like a pack of wolves into a flock of sheep, the German boats scattered the convoy and mayhem ensued until the E-Boats called off the attack in the gathering light. The rest would be left to the Luftwaffe. What ensued was recorded in history as the first day of the Battle of Britain. It was the commencement of all-out attacks on channel convoys and resulted in the heaviest losses witnessed in the war so far. After sustaining massive damage, RAF fighters scrambled from Tangmere to defend the convoy and clashed with attacking Me 109s and Ju 87s in a vicious battle over the channel. Andy Saunders gives a blow by blow account from the perspective of the RAF, Luftwaffe, Merchant Navy, Royal Navy and Kriegsmarine on this milestone day. Using personal accounts of the action, official diaries, logbooks and contemporary records, 'Convoy Peewit 1940' gives a chronological breakdown of events on land, sea and air, successfully setting them into context against the wider picture that was the Battle of Britain. Published to coincide with the screening of a BBC program, based on the author’s research and writings.
Convoy Peewit
Author: Andy Saunders
Publisher: Grub Street Publishing
ISBN: 1909166545
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 241
Book Description
During the early hours of 8 August 1940 over twenty merchant ships set sail in Convoy CW9 “Peewit” and edged past Dover, hugging the shore in complete darkness. Whilst unseen to human eyes, the Germans had picked up the large convoy on its Freya radar at Cap Gris Nez and flashed warning messages to the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe. At Boulogne E-Boats were readied and left port in the early hours to take up station off Beachy Head to watch and wait for the inevitable convoy. With horrendous suddenness, the E-Boat Flotilla was amongst the convoy as it passed Newhaven. Like a pack of wolves into a flock of sheep, the German boats scattered the convoy and mayhem ensued until the E-Boats called off the attack in the gathering light. The rest would be left to the Luftwaffe. What ensued was recorded in history as the first day of the Battle of Britain. It was the commencement of all-out attacks on channel convoys and resulted in the heaviest losses witnessed in the war so far. After sustaining massive damage, RAF fighters scrambled from Tangmere to defend the convoy and clashed with attacking Me 109s and Ju 87s in a vicious battle over the channel. Andy Saunders gives a blow by blow account from the perspective of the RAF, Luftwaffe, Merchant Navy, Royal Navy and Kriegsmarine on this milestone day. Using personal accounts of the action, official diaries, logbooks and contemporary records, 'Convoy Peewit 1940' gives a chronological breakdown of events on land, sea and air, successfully setting them into context against the wider picture that was the Battle of Britain. Published to coincide with the screening of a BBC program, based on the author’s research and writings.
Publisher: Grub Street Publishing
ISBN: 1909166545
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 241
Book Description
During the early hours of 8 August 1940 over twenty merchant ships set sail in Convoy CW9 “Peewit” and edged past Dover, hugging the shore in complete darkness. Whilst unseen to human eyes, the Germans had picked up the large convoy on its Freya radar at Cap Gris Nez and flashed warning messages to the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe. At Boulogne E-Boats were readied and left port in the early hours to take up station off Beachy Head to watch and wait for the inevitable convoy. With horrendous suddenness, the E-Boat Flotilla was amongst the convoy as it passed Newhaven. Like a pack of wolves into a flock of sheep, the German boats scattered the convoy and mayhem ensued until the E-Boats called off the attack in the gathering light. The rest would be left to the Luftwaffe. What ensued was recorded in history as the first day of the Battle of Britain. It was the commencement of all-out attacks on channel convoys and resulted in the heaviest losses witnessed in the war so far. After sustaining massive damage, RAF fighters scrambled from Tangmere to defend the convoy and clashed with attacking Me 109s and Ju 87s in a vicious battle over the channel. Andy Saunders gives a blow by blow account from the perspective of the RAF, Luftwaffe, Merchant Navy, Royal Navy and Kriegsmarine on this milestone day. Using personal accounts of the action, official diaries, logbooks and contemporary records, 'Convoy Peewit 1940' gives a chronological breakdown of events on land, sea and air, successfully setting them into context against the wider picture that was the Battle of Britain. Published to coincide with the screening of a BBC program, based on the author’s research and writings.
Convoy Peewit
Author: A. D. Saunders
Publisher: Grub Street Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 224
Book Description
During the early hours of 8 August 1940 over twenty merchant ships set sail in Convoy CW9 "Peewit" and edged past Dover, hugging the shore in complete darkness. Whilst unseen to human eyes, the Germans had picked up the large convoy on its Freya radar at Cap Gris Nez and flashed warning messages to the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe. At Boulogne E-Boats were readied and left port in the early hours to take up station off Beachy Head to watch and wait for the inevitable convoy. With horrendous suddenness, the E-Boat Flotilla was amongst the convoy as it passed Newhaven. Like a pack of wolves into a flock of sheep, the German boats scattered the convoy and mayhem ensued until the E-Boats called off the attack in the gathering light. The rest would be left to the Luftwaffe. What ensued was recorded in history as the first day of the Battle of Britain. It was the commencement of all-out attacks on channel convoys and resulted in the heaviest losses witnessed in the war so far. After sustaining massive damage, RAF fighters scrambled from Tangmere to defend the convoy and clashed with attacking Me 109s and Ju 87s in a vicious battle over the channel. Andy Saunders gives a blow by blow account from the perspective of the RAF, Luftwaffe, Merchant Navy, Royal Navy and Kriegsmarine on this milestone day. Using personal accounts of the action, official diaries, logbooks and contemporary records, 'Convoy Peewit 1940' gives a chronological breakdown of events on land, sea and air, successfully setting them into context against the wider picture that was the Battle of Britain. Published to coincide with the screening of a BBC program, based on the author's research and writings.
Publisher: Grub Street Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 224
Book Description
During the early hours of 8 August 1940 over twenty merchant ships set sail in Convoy CW9 "Peewit" and edged past Dover, hugging the shore in complete darkness. Whilst unseen to human eyes, the Germans had picked up the large convoy on its Freya radar at Cap Gris Nez and flashed warning messages to the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe. At Boulogne E-Boats were readied and left port in the early hours to take up station off Beachy Head to watch and wait for the inevitable convoy. With horrendous suddenness, the E-Boat Flotilla was amongst the convoy as it passed Newhaven. Like a pack of wolves into a flock of sheep, the German boats scattered the convoy and mayhem ensued until the E-Boats called off the attack in the gathering light. The rest would be left to the Luftwaffe. What ensued was recorded in history as the first day of the Battle of Britain. It was the commencement of all-out attacks on channel convoys and resulted in the heaviest losses witnessed in the war so far. After sustaining massive damage, RAF fighters scrambled from Tangmere to defend the convoy and clashed with attacking Me 109s and Ju 87s in a vicious battle over the channel. Andy Saunders gives a blow by blow account from the perspective of the RAF, Luftwaffe, Merchant Navy, Royal Navy and Kriegsmarine on this milestone day. Using personal accounts of the action, official diaries, logbooks and contemporary records, 'Convoy Peewit 1940' gives a chronological breakdown of events on land, sea and air, successfully setting them into context against the wider picture that was the Battle of Britain. Published to coincide with the screening of a BBC program, based on the author's research and writings.
Air Officer Commanding
Author: John T. LaSaine, Jr.
Publisher: University Press of New England
ISBN: 1611689384
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 274
Book Description
Hugh Dowding may be described as the prime architect of British victory in the battle of Britain, and thus as one of a handful of officers and men most responsible for ensuring that Hitler's planned invasion of England never occurred. Dowding was born in 1882 at the apex of British imperial power and had an early career as a gunner on the fabled North-West Frontier of the British Indian Empire. During the first year of World War I, he served with distinction as a combat pilot in France, but his real test would come in 1936, when he was assigned the critical task of reorganizing the Air Defense of Great Britain as the first air officer commanding-in-chief of the new RAF Fighter Command. In that capacity he stood up to senior staff--and Winston Churchill--by preventing the dismantling of British air defenses during the Battle of France in the spring of 1940, defying pressure from the British Army, Britain's French allies, and His Majesty's Government to send the bulk of the RAF's front-line fighters to the Continent in what Dowding predicted would be a futile effort to stem the German onslaught. While holding back as many of his best fighter aircraft as he could, in June Dowding deployed 11 Group under his hand-picked lieutenant, Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, to repulse the Luftwaffe over Dunkirk, covering the evacuation of some 338,000 British and French troops from the Continent. During the three months of fighting known as the Battle of Britain, the integrated air defense system organized and trained by Dowding fought the vaunted Luftwaffe to a standstill in daylight air-to-air combat. In October, the Germans abandoned their attempt to win a decisive battle for air superiority over England, turning instead to the protracted campaign of attrition by nighttime area bombing known as the Blitz. In building, defending, and overseeing the operations of Fighter Command, Dowding was thus not only one of the master builders of air power, but also the only airman to have been the winning commander in one of history's decisive battles.
Publisher: University Press of New England
ISBN: 1611689384
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 274
Book Description
Hugh Dowding may be described as the prime architect of British victory in the battle of Britain, and thus as one of a handful of officers and men most responsible for ensuring that Hitler's planned invasion of England never occurred. Dowding was born in 1882 at the apex of British imperial power and had an early career as a gunner on the fabled North-West Frontier of the British Indian Empire. During the first year of World War I, he served with distinction as a combat pilot in France, but his real test would come in 1936, when he was assigned the critical task of reorganizing the Air Defense of Great Britain as the first air officer commanding-in-chief of the new RAF Fighter Command. In that capacity he stood up to senior staff--and Winston Churchill--by preventing the dismantling of British air defenses during the Battle of France in the spring of 1940, defying pressure from the British Army, Britain's French allies, and His Majesty's Government to send the bulk of the RAF's front-line fighters to the Continent in what Dowding predicted would be a futile effort to stem the German onslaught. While holding back as many of his best fighter aircraft as he could, in June Dowding deployed 11 Group under his hand-picked lieutenant, Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, to repulse the Luftwaffe over Dunkirk, covering the evacuation of some 338,000 British and French troops from the Continent. During the three months of fighting known as the Battle of Britain, the integrated air defense system organized and trained by Dowding fought the vaunted Luftwaffe to a standstill in daylight air-to-air combat. In October, the Germans abandoned their attempt to win a decisive battle for air superiority over England, turning instead to the protracted campaign of attrition by nighttime area bombing known as the Blitz. In building, defending, and overseeing the operations of Fighter Command, Dowding was thus not only one of the master builders of air power, but also the only airman to have been the winning commander in one of history's decisive battles.
Churchill’s Channel War
Author: Robert Jackson
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472800672
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 164
Book Description
From the Battle of Britain to D-Day, this book uncovers the history of the Channel War. From the beaches of Dunkirk to the launch of Operation Overlord, the Channel saw continuous action during World War II, and was the world's most fought-over waterway. In this fascinating account, Robert Jackson offers a study of the Channel War from 1939–45, detailing the German threats to British shipping, the use of convoys and the extensive minelaying operations, as well as the Battle of Britain, the use of long-range artillery and everything in between. As well as offering a study of the furious Channel War battles, Jackson also reveals how the Channel was essential for the launch of Churchill's famed special forces Commandos, who, under the cover of darkness, launched raids on Occupied France as well as the Channel Islands. The Channel War bought together the Royal Navy and Air Force, as they both battled to defend England and prevent a much feared German invasion.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472800672
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 164
Book Description
From the Battle of Britain to D-Day, this book uncovers the history of the Channel War. From the beaches of Dunkirk to the launch of Operation Overlord, the Channel saw continuous action during World War II, and was the world's most fought-over waterway. In this fascinating account, Robert Jackson offers a study of the Channel War from 1939–45, detailing the German threats to British shipping, the use of convoys and the extensive minelaying operations, as well as the Battle of Britain, the use of long-range artillery and everything in between. As well as offering a study of the furious Channel War battles, Jackson also reveals how the Channel was essential for the launch of Churchill's famed special forces Commandos, who, under the cover of darkness, launched raids on Occupied France as well as the Channel Islands. The Channel War bought together the Royal Navy and Air Force, as they both battled to defend England and prevent a much feared German invasion.
The Few
Author: Alex Kershaw
Publisher: Da Capo Press
ISBN: 0306815907
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 330
Book Description
From the author of national bestsellers The Bedford Boys and The Longest Winter comes "a rousing tale of little-known heroes" (Booklist). The Few tells the dramatic and unforgettable story of eight young Americans who joined Britain's Royal Air Force, defying their country's neutrality laws and risking their U.S. citizenship to fight side-by-side with England's finest pilots in the summer of 1940-over a year before America entered the war. Flying the lethal and elegant Spitfire, they became "knights of the air" and with minimal training but plenty of guts, they dueled the skilled and fearsome pilots of Germany's Luftwaffe. By October 1940, they had helped England win the greatest air battle in the history of aviation. Winston Churchill once said of all those who fought in the Battle of Britain, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." These daring Americans were the few among the "few." Now, with the narrative drive and human drama that made The Bedford Boys and The Longest Winter national bestsellers, Alex Kershaw tells their story for the first time.
Publisher: Da Capo Press
ISBN: 0306815907
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 330
Book Description
From the author of national bestsellers The Bedford Boys and The Longest Winter comes "a rousing tale of little-known heroes" (Booklist). The Few tells the dramatic and unforgettable story of eight young Americans who joined Britain's Royal Air Force, defying their country's neutrality laws and risking their U.S. citizenship to fight side-by-side with England's finest pilots in the summer of 1940-over a year before America entered the war. Flying the lethal and elegant Spitfire, they became "knights of the air" and with minimal training but plenty of guts, they dueled the skilled and fearsome pilots of Germany's Luftwaffe. By October 1940, they had helped England win the greatest air battle in the history of aviation. Winston Churchill once said of all those who fought in the Battle of Britain, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." These daring Americans were the few among the "few." Now, with the narrative drive and human drama that made The Bedford Boys and The Longest Winter national bestsellers, Alex Kershaw tells their story for the first time.
To Defeat the Few
Author: Douglas C. Dildy
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 147283917X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 384
Book Description
Over the past 80 years, histories of the Battle of Britain have consistently portrayed the feats of 'The Few' (as they were immortalized in Churchill's famous speech) as being responsible for the RAF's victory in the epic battle. However, this is only part of the story. The results of an air campaign cannot be measured in terms of territory captured, cities occupied or armies defeated, routed or annihilated. Successful air campaigns are those that achieve their intended aims or stated objectives. Victory in the Battle of Britain was determined by whether the Luftwaffe achieved its objectives. The Luftwaffe, of course, did not, and this detailed and rigorous study explains why. Analysing the battle in its entirety in the context of what it was – history's first independent offensive counter-air campaign against the world's first integrated air defence system – Douglas C. Dildy and Paul F. Crickmore set out to re-examine this remarkable conflict. Presenting the events of the Battle of Britain in the context of the Luftwaffe's campaign and RAF Fighter Command's battles against it, this title is a new and innovative history of the battle that kept alive the Allies' chances of defeating Nazi Germany.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 147283917X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 384
Book Description
Over the past 80 years, histories of the Battle of Britain have consistently portrayed the feats of 'The Few' (as they were immortalized in Churchill's famous speech) as being responsible for the RAF's victory in the epic battle. However, this is only part of the story. The results of an air campaign cannot be measured in terms of territory captured, cities occupied or armies defeated, routed or annihilated. Successful air campaigns are those that achieve their intended aims or stated objectives. Victory in the Battle of Britain was determined by whether the Luftwaffe achieved its objectives. The Luftwaffe, of course, did not, and this detailed and rigorous study explains why. Analysing the battle in its entirety in the context of what it was – history's first independent offensive counter-air campaign against the world's first integrated air defence system – Douglas C. Dildy and Paul F. Crickmore set out to re-examine this remarkable conflict. Presenting the events of the Battle of Britain in the context of the Luftwaffe's campaign and RAF Fighter Command's battles against it, this title is a new and innovative history of the battle that kept alive the Allies' chances of defeating Nazi Germany.
RAF Fighter Command
Author: Ron Mackay
Publisher: Fonthill Media
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 601
Book Description
Royal Air Force Fighter Command's brief was to provide an effective aerial barrier to any attempt at domination of British skies. The aircraft and technical resources on hand between 1936 and WWII's initiation were thankfully improved to a level that was barely sufficient to withstand the hitherto unchallengeable Luftwaffe's advance across Western Europe. Between 1940 and 1942 the Command generally found itself on the back-foot in terms of overall success. The introduction of aircraft designs that would change the situation, however costly, in its ultimate favour, featured prominently from the mid-point of WWII. The Luftwaffe found itself being challenged and regularly bested 'round the clock'; by the advent of D-Day the Command's efforts had materially contributed to the Allied on-surge that had placed its adversary on a permanent downward spiral towards total extinction.
Publisher: Fonthill Media
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 601
Book Description
Royal Air Force Fighter Command's brief was to provide an effective aerial barrier to any attempt at domination of British skies. The aircraft and technical resources on hand between 1936 and WWII's initiation were thankfully improved to a level that was barely sufficient to withstand the hitherto unchallengeable Luftwaffe's advance across Western Europe. Between 1940 and 1942 the Command generally found itself on the back-foot in terms of overall success. The introduction of aircraft designs that would change the situation, however costly, in its ultimate favour, featured prominently from the mid-point of WWII. The Luftwaffe found itself being challenged and regularly bested 'round the clock'; by the advent of D-Day the Command's efforts had materially contributed to the Allied on-surge that had placed its adversary on a permanent downward spiral towards total extinction.
The Many Not The Few
Author: Richard North
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1620401010
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 499
Book Description
Immortalized in Churchill's often quoted assertion that never before "was so much owed by so few," the top-down narrative of the Battle of Britain has been firmly established in British legend: Britain was saved from German invasion by the gallant band of Fighter Command Pilots in their Spitfires and Hurricanes, and the public owed them their freedom. Richard North's radical re-evaluation of the Battle of Britain dismantles this mythical retelling of events. Taking a wider perspective than the much-discussed air war, North takes a fresh look at the conflict as a whole to show that the civilian experience, far from being separate and distinct, was integral to the Battle. This recovery of the people's stolen history demonstrates that Hitler's aim was not the military conquest of England, and that his unattained target was the hearts and minds of British people.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1620401010
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 499
Book Description
Immortalized in Churchill's often quoted assertion that never before "was so much owed by so few," the top-down narrative of the Battle of Britain has been firmly established in British legend: Britain was saved from German invasion by the gallant band of Fighter Command Pilots in their Spitfires and Hurricanes, and the public owed them their freedom. Richard North's radical re-evaluation of the Battle of Britain dismantles this mythical retelling of events. Taking a wider perspective than the much-discussed air war, North takes a fresh look at the conflict as a whole to show that the civilian experience, far from being separate and distinct, was integral to the Battle. This recovery of the people's stolen history demonstrates that Hitler's aim was not the military conquest of England, and that his unattained target was the hearts and minds of British people.
Battle of Britain, 1940
Author: Dilip Sarkar
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1526775964
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 394
Book Description
The summer of 1940 remains a pivotal moment in modern British history – still inspiring immense national pride and a global fascination. The Fall of France was catastrophic. Britain stood alone and within range of German air attack. America, with its vast resources was neutral, Hitler’s forces unbeaten, the outlook for Britain bleak. As Britain’s wartime leader, Winston Churchill, rightly predicted, ‘the Battle of Britain is about to begin’. Famously, Churchill mobilized the English language, emboldening the nation with rousing rhetoric. In this darkest of hours, Churchill told the people that this was, in fact, their ‘Finest Hour’, a time of unprecedented courage and defiance which defined the British people. Connecting the crucial battle with Shakespeare’s heroic Henry V and Agincourt, Churchill also immortalized Fighter Command’s young aircrew as the ‘Few’ – to whom so many owed everything. The Few comprised nearly 3,000 aircrew, 544 of which gave their lives during the Battle of Britain’s sixteen weeks of high drama. Arguably, however, the official dates of 10 July – 31 October 1940 are arbitrary, the fighting actually ongoing before and afterwards. Many gave their lives whose names are not included among the Few, as of course did civilians, seamen, and ground staff – which is not overlooked in this groundbreaking book. In this unique study, veteran historian and author Dilip Sarkar explores the individual stories of a wide selection of those who lost their lives during the ‘Finest Hour’, examining their all-too brief lives and sharing these tragic stories – told here, in full, for the first time. Also included is the story of a German fighter pilot, indicating the breadth of investigation involved. Researched with the full cooperation of the families concerned, this work is a crucial contribution to the Battle of Britain’s bibliography.
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1526775964
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 394
Book Description
The summer of 1940 remains a pivotal moment in modern British history – still inspiring immense national pride and a global fascination. The Fall of France was catastrophic. Britain stood alone and within range of German air attack. America, with its vast resources was neutral, Hitler’s forces unbeaten, the outlook for Britain bleak. As Britain’s wartime leader, Winston Churchill, rightly predicted, ‘the Battle of Britain is about to begin’. Famously, Churchill mobilized the English language, emboldening the nation with rousing rhetoric. In this darkest of hours, Churchill told the people that this was, in fact, their ‘Finest Hour’, a time of unprecedented courage and defiance which defined the British people. Connecting the crucial battle with Shakespeare’s heroic Henry V and Agincourt, Churchill also immortalized Fighter Command’s young aircrew as the ‘Few’ – to whom so many owed everything. The Few comprised nearly 3,000 aircrew, 544 of which gave their lives during the Battle of Britain’s sixteen weeks of high drama. Arguably, however, the official dates of 10 July – 31 October 1940 are arbitrary, the fighting actually ongoing before and afterwards. Many gave their lives whose names are not included among the Few, as of course did civilians, seamen, and ground staff – which is not overlooked in this groundbreaking book. In this unique study, veteran historian and author Dilip Sarkar explores the individual stories of a wide selection of those who lost their lives during the ‘Finest Hour’, examining their all-too brief lives and sharing these tragic stories – told here, in full, for the first time. Also included is the story of a German fighter pilot, indicating the breadth of investigation involved. Researched with the full cooperation of the families concerned, this work is a crucial contribution to the Battle of Britain’s bibliography.
RAF Southend
Author: Peter C. Brown
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752477013
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 363
Book Description
RAF Southend focuses on the airport's role in the Second World War, between October 1940 and August 1944, from when it became a fighter station in its own right, until it became an armament practice camp later in the war. It describes the manning and maintenance of the forward fighter station, often under attack, and follows the varying fortunes of the staff and personnel who were posted there, and the highs and lows of the events, occasionally tragic, that occurred on and around the aerodrome. It also gives in-depth details of the numerous defensive and offensive operations carried out by the various RAF fighter squadrons during their time based at Southend. Through interviews with ex-staff and eyewitnesses, and the meticulous cross-referencing of original material, this book makes will make a fascinating read for anyone with an interest in local, aviation or military history. Author Peter Brown is an established local historian, with many years of research in the Southend area.
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752477013
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 363
Book Description
RAF Southend focuses on the airport's role in the Second World War, between October 1940 and August 1944, from when it became a fighter station in its own right, until it became an armament practice camp later in the war. It describes the manning and maintenance of the forward fighter station, often under attack, and follows the varying fortunes of the staff and personnel who were posted there, and the highs and lows of the events, occasionally tragic, that occurred on and around the aerodrome. It also gives in-depth details of the numerous defensive and offensive operations carried out by the various RAF fighter squadrons during their time based at Southend. Through interviews with ex-staff and eyewitnesses, and the meticulous cross-referencing of original material, this book makes will make a fascinating read for anyone with an interest in local, aviation or military history. Author Peter Brown is an established local historian, with many years of research in the Southend area.