P-47 Thunderbolt Aces of the Eighth Air Force PDF Download
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Author: Jerry Scutts
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 9781855327290
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
The US aviation industry produced three great fighter designs to equip its burgeoning army air force during World War 2, and of this trio, Republic's P-47 Thunderbolt was easily the heaviest. Powered, crucially, by a turbocharged Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine that produced 2000 hp, the first production fighters reached the 56th FG in June 1942, and six months later the group joined the Eight Air Force in Britain. The arrival of the first P-47Cs in mid-1943 addressed the problem of the aircraft's short combat radius, as this model could be fitted with an external tank. Slowly, as combat tactics evolved in units like the 56th and 78th FGs, pilots learnt how best to fly the Thunderbolt in order to effectively counter the more nimble Luftwaffe fighters.
Author: Jerry Scutts
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 9781855327290
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
The US aviation industry produced three great fighter designs to equip its burgeoning army air force during World War 2, and of this trio, Republic's P-47 Thunderbolt was easily the heaviest. Powered, crucially, by a turbocharged Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine that produced 2000 hp, the first production fighters reached the 56th FG in June 1942, and six months later the group joined the Eight Air Force in Britain. The arrival of the first P-47Cs in mid-1943 addressed the problem of the aircraft's short combat radius, as this model could be fitted with an external tank. Slowly, as combat tactics evolved in units like the 56th and 78th FGs, pilots learnt how best to fly the Thunderbolt in order to effectively counter the more nimble Luftwaffe fighters.
Author: Jerry Scutts
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 9781855329065
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
This book charts the story of the lesser known aces who flew the mighty Republic aircraft as a tactical fighter-bomber with the Ninth Air Force, rather than as a long-range escort. It also details the exploits of the Mediterranean-based 325th FG, which was the only P-47 group within the strategic Fifteenth Air Force. Thunderbolt aces within the Ninth Air Force, particularly, were rare, despite some 15 groups flying the fighter. Supporting troops on the ground rather than searching out aerial foes, was the name of the game for the men of the Ninth. However, with the Luftwaffe often opposing such sorties through to April 1945, more than 20 pilots had the opportunity to score five or more kills and 'make ace'.
Author: Jerry Scutts
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782006753
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 182
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Book Description
Unquestionably the best American fighter of World War 2, the North American P-51 Mustang served in large numbers with the USAAF's Eighth Air Force from late 1943 until VE Day, and was the mount of most aces in-theatre. Charged with the responsibility of escorting huge formations of B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator bombers on daylight raids deep into Germany, the P-51 pilots of the various fighter groups within the 'Mighty Eighth' went head to head with the cream of the Luftwaffe's fighter squadrons for control of the skies over the Third Reich. Aircraft of the Aces 1, 19 and 24 are also available in a single volume as 'Aces of the Mighty Eighth'.
Author: Jonathan Bernstein
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1780960379
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 234
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Book Description
The P-47 Thunderbolt, originally designed as a high-altitude interceptor, became the principal US fighter–bomber of World War II. First adapted to the ground attack role by units of the Twelfth Air Force in early 1944, the strength and durability of the P-47 airframe, along with its massive size, earned it the nickname 'Juggernaut', which was quickly shortened to 'Jug' throughout the MTO and ETO. By October 1943, with the creation of the Fifteenth Air Force, nearly half of the Twelfth's fighter groups would be retasked with strategic escort missions, leaving six groups to perform close air support and interdiction missions throughout the entire Mediterranean theatre. The groups inflicted incredible damage on the enemy's transport routes in particular, using rockets, bombs, napalm and machine-gun rounds to down bridges, blow up tunnels and strafe trains. Myriad first-hand accounts and period photography reveal the spectacular success enjoyed by the Thunderbolt in the MTO in the final year of the war.
Author: William N Hess
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782008535
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 293
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Book Description
Like The Long Reach, Down to Earth is a message from the battle at its height, told in their own words by the men who fight' this is how Brig-Gen Francis Griswold, VIII Fighter Command, ends his introduction to this book. His official endorsement reveals just how important a document Down to Earth was to the teaching of tyro fighter pilots heading for action in the ETO. More leading aces were lost to flak whilst ground strafing than to German fighters. In this book William Hess has included biographies of all the pilots that originally contributed to this work back in 1943-44.
Author: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 9781780967158
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Eighth Air Force 78th FG flew P-38 Lightning, P-47 Thunderbolt, and P-51 Mustang fighters in air combat against German Luftwaffe Me-109, Fw-190, and Me-262 aircraft. The 78th FG was originally established as the fourth of the P-38 fighter groups that were expected to perform fighter escort in the newly formed Eighth Air Force. Arriving in England in November 1942, the group lost most of its personnel and all of its aircraft as attrition replacements to units in the North African theatre in February 1943. Left with no flying personnel other than flight leaders, and no aircraft, the group was re-equipped with the P-47 Thunderbolt and newly trained P-47 pilots in March 1943. The 78th flew its first sweep along the Dutch coast in April in company with the 4th FG. Along with the 56th FG, these groups would be the first units in VIII Fighter Command, and as such "wrote the book" on long range fighter escort in the ETO. The 78th FG would ultimately prove to be the only Eighth Air Force fighter group to have flown the P-38 Lightning, P-47 Thunderbolt, and P-51 Mustang in its operational career. Flying from Duxford, in Cambridgeshire, the group's pilots shot down 316 enemy aircraft in air combat, with a further 144 claimed as probables or damaged. Once turned loose in 1944 to attack German airfields, the 78th was also credited with the destruction of 320 aircraft by strafing. The story of the 78th FG will be researched through extensive first-person interviews with eight surviving pilots and ground personnel of the unit, and also using previously recorded interviews with two leading ace pilots who are no longer alive. Photos will be gathered from surviving group members where possible, with emphasis on never-before-published imagery, in addition to other photos from historical collections.
Author: Cory Graff
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781616732592
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 132
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Book Description
Author: Roger Freeman
Publisher: Classic Publications
ISBN: 9781903223185
Category : Fighter pilots
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
An essential reference guide to the P-47 Thunderbolts of the Eighth Air Force, profiling their service from the summer of 1942 to beyond D-Day. Details the progression of P-47 camouflage and markings, including photograph galleries of key Fighter Groups. Contains information on the bubble-top canopy Superbolts, plus biographies of the aces and combat reports.
Author: Warren Thompson
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1846037794
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 97
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Book Description
The Americans lagged behind their European contemporaries in military aviation in the late 1930s, and it took the Battle of Britain to awaken America to the necessity of having aircraft that could defend targets against night-time attack by bomber aircraft. This book examines the numerous aircraft types that were used by the US in this role, beginning with the early stop-gap conversions like the TBM Avenger, Lockheed Ventura and the A-20 Havoc (P-70). It goes on to detail the combat history of the newer, radar-equipped Hellcats, Corsairs and Black Widows that were designed to seek out enemy aircraft and which registered most of the kills made by the Navy, Marine Corps and USAAF in 1944–45. With full-colour profiles and rare photographs, this is an absorbing account of an underestimated flying force: the American Nightfighters.
Author: Jerry Scutts
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 9781855325838
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Although best remembered for its exploits with Eighth Air Force units, the Mustang, in its various marks, actually made its combat debut firstly with the Royal Air Force in the Army co-operation role, and then with the USAAF's tactically-optimised Ninth and Fifteenth Air Forces. Seeing action in Western Europe and the Mediterranean, pilots like Glenn T Eagleston, John J Voll and Samuel J Brown notched up impressive scores flying P-51Bs and Ds with the 354th, 31st and 52nd Fighter Groups. Rarely given the exposure enjoyed by their high-scoring brethren in the 'Mighty Eighth', this volume at last sets the record straight on Europe's remaining Mustang aces.
