Dauntless Dive Bomber of World War II

Dauntless Dive Bomber of World War II PDF Author: Barrett Tillman
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
ISBN: 1612515436
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
Popularly known as the Douglas Dauntless, the U.S. Navy's SBD dive bomber was well named. Though considered obsolete at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Dauntless turned the tide of war in the Pacific with the destruction of four Japanese carriers at the Battle of Midway, making its mark in aviation history for sinking more enemy carriers than any other aircraft. Still in service at war's end, the Dauntless was the only U.S. carrier aircraft in operation from Pearl Harbor to V-J Day. The Dauntless was the only American Navy aircraft to fly in al five of the naval engagements fought exclusively by aircraft carriers and was credited with sinking the first Japanese fleet submarine and dropping the first bombs on Japanese-occupied soil during the war. The SBD was also active in the Atlantic, sinking Vichy French shipping at Casablanca and German vessels in Scandinavian waters. In between his authoritative accounts of these missions, Barrett Tillman tells the rousing story of the men who took the "slow but deadly" Dauntless into combat, loving her for her ruggedness and dependability while wishing for more speed and firepower. Among the people he describes is the pilot who nearly single-handedly knocked out a Japanese carrier and died in the process, and SBD squadron that flew unexpectedly into the Pearl Harbor attack. Filled with fascinating photographs, this book was widely acclaimed in 1976 when first published and is now available for the first time in paperback.

Dauntless Dive Bomber of World War II

Dauntless Dive Bomber of World War II PDF Author: Barrett Tillman
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
ISBN: 1612515436
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 248

Get Book Here

Book Description
Popularly known as the Douglas Dauntless, the U.S. Navy's SBD dive bomber was well named. Though considered obsolete at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Dauntless turned the tide of war in the Pacific with the destruction of four Japanese carriers at the Battle of Midway, making its mark in aviation history for sinking more enemy carriers than any other aircraft. Still in service at war's end, the Dauntless was the only U.S. carrier aircraft in operation from Pearl Harbor to V-J Day. The Dauntless was the only American Navy aircraft to fly in al five of the naval engagements fought exclusively by aircraft carriers and was credited with sinking the first Japanese fleet submarine and dropping the first bombs on Japanese-occupied soil during the war. The SBD was also active in the Atlantic, sinking Vichy French shipping at Casablanca and German vessels in Scandinavian waters. In between his authoritative accounts of these missions, Barrett Tillman tells the rousing story of the men who took the "slow but deadly" Dauntless into combat, loving her for her ruggedness and dependability while wishing for more speed and firepower. Among the people he describes is the pilot who nearly single-handedly knocked out a Japanese carrier and died in the process, and SBD squadron that flew unexpectedly into the Pearl Harbor attack. Filled with fascinating photographs, this book was widely acclaimed in 1976 when first published and is now available for the first time in paperback.

Dive Bomber!

Dive Bomber! PDF Author: Peter C. Smith
Publisher: Stackpole Books
ISBN: 0811734544
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 402

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Book Description
Details on planes like the German Stuka, the American Dauntless, the Japanese Aichi D3A1 "Val," the Soviet PE-2, and numerous others Riveting accounts of aerial combat Includes maps, diagrams, tables, and photos For many, it is a dive bomber that conjures the most dramatic, quintessential image of World War II: a screaming German Stuka hurtling toward the ground as part of the frightening blitzkrieg that opened the war. In this illustrated history of Allied and Axis dive bombers, Peter C. Smith traces these formidable aircraft from the earliest experiment, through the planes' first operation, to their emergence as devastatingly effective tools of aerial warfare in World War II.

Never Call Me a Hero

Never Call Me a Hero PDF Author: N. Jack Kleiss
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062692364
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 405

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Book Description
Hailed as "the single most effective pilot at Midway" (World War II magazine), Dusty Kleiss struck and sank three Japanese warships at the Battle of Midway, including two aircraft carriers, helping turn the tide of the Second World War. This is his extraordinary memoir. NATIONAL BESTSELLER • "AN INSTANT CLASSIC" —Dallas Morning News On the morning of June 4, 1942, high above the tiny Pacific atoll of Midway, Lt. (j.g.) "Dusty" Kleiss burst out of the clouds and piloted his SBD Dauntless into a near-vertical dive aimed at the heart of Japan’s Imperial Navy, which six months earlier had ruthlessly struck Pearl Harbor. The greatest naval battle in history raged around him, its outcome hanging in the balance as the U.S. desperately searched for its first major victory of the Second World War. Then, in a matter of seconds, Dusty Kleiss’s daring 20,000-foot dive helped forever alter the war’s trajectory. Plummeting through the air at 240 knots amid blistering anti-aircraft fire, the twenty-six-year-old pilot from USS Enterprise’s elite Scouting Squadron Six fixed on an invaluable target—the aircraft carrier Kaga, one of Japan’s most important capital ships. He released three bombs at the last possible instant, then desperately pulled out of his gut-wrenching 9-g dive. As his plane leveled out just above the roiling Pacific Ocean, Dusty’s perfectly placed bombs struck the carrier’s deck, and Kaga erupted into an inferno from which it would never recover. Arriving safely back at Enterprise, Dusty was met with heartbreaking news: his best friend was missing and presumed dead along with two dozen of their fellow naval aviators. Unbowed, Dusty returned to the air that same afternoon and, remarkably, would fatally strike another enemy carrier, Hiryu. Two days later, his deadeye aim contributed to the destruction of a third Japanese warship, the cruiser Mikuma, thereby making Dusty the only pilot from either side to land hits on three different ships, all of which sank—losses that crippled the once-fearsome Japanese fleet. By battle’s end, the humble young sailor from Kansas had earned his place in history—and yet he stayed silent for decades, living quietly with his children and his wife, Jean, whom he married less than a month after Midway. Now his extraordinary and long-awaited memoir, Never Call Me a Hero, tells the Navy Cross recipient’s full story for the first time, offering an unprecedentedly intimate look at the "the decisive contest for control of the Pacific in World War II" (New York Times)—and one man’s essential role in helping secure its outcome. Dusty worked on this book for years with naval historians Timothy and Laura Orr, aiming to publish Never Call Me a Hero for Midway’s seventy-fifth anniversary in June 2017. Sadly, as the book neared completion in 2016, Dusty Kleiss passed away at age 100, one of the last surviving dive-bomber pilots to have fought at Midway. And yet the publication of Never Call Me a Hero is a cause for celebration: these pages are Dusty’s remarkable legacy, providing a riveting eyewitness account of the Battle of Midway, and an inspiring testimony to the brave men who fought, died, and shaped history during those four extraordinary days in June, seventy-five years ago.

Hell Divers

Hell Divers PDF Author: John F. Forsyth
Publisher: Stillwater, MN : Motorbook International
ISBN: 9780879384937
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
The author, the pilot of a dive bomber during World War II, describes his experiences at Coron Bay, Formosa, Leyte, Luzon, and other naval air battles

Stuka Attack!

Stuka Attack! PDF Author: Andy Saunders
Publisher: Grub Street Publishing
ISBN: 9781908117359
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The Junkers 87 Stuka was an iconic weapon of World War Two and an aircraft name that was, and still is, instantly recognized worldwide. Its roles in Poland and the Battles of France and the Low Countries are almost legendary, but in the UK its import during the Battle of Britain is one that has never been covered in any specific detail. Here, Andy Saunders takes a critical look at every operation by Ju87s against British targets in 1940 - including those on land and at sea. Each raid is charted, covering all aspects of the attacks including participants, defending RAF fighters and those on the receiving end. Myth and reality and truth and legend are all examined and analyzed in this highly illustrated new book, which adds to our knowledge of one of the most significant periods in the whole of British history. Foreword by Dr Hans Migeod, Ju87 Stuka pilot during Battle of Britain.

SBD Dauntless vs A6M Zero-sen

SBD Dauntless vs A6M Zero-sen PDF Author: Donald Nijboer
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472846346
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 81

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Book Description
The SBD Dauntless dive-bomber was a key cog in the US Navy's aerial arsenal throughout the Pacific War. Although a product of aviation design in the mid to late 1930s, the type soldiered on even as more advanced aircraft were appearing from American factories as the war progressed. Despite its classification as a dive-bomber and rather dated appearance, the SBD Dauntless could more than handle its own against the feared A6M Zero-sen – a regular opponent, especially during the first 18 months of the campaign in the Pacific. The SBD was credited with 138 victories in aerial combat (principally in 1942), 107 of which were fighters and the rest bombers. Seven SBD units claimed five or more aerial victories, with future ace Lt(jg) John Leppla of VS-2 being credited with four victories while flying from the carrier USS Lexington during the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942. The Zero-sen came to symbolise Japan's military prowess during the early stages of the war in the Pacific, and it quickly became the world's premier carrier-based fighter – a title it would hold well into 1943. The psychological impact of the Zero-sen was so great that all Allied fighters were judged by the standards set by it. The aviators flying the A6M in 1941-42 were amongst the most experienced fighter pilots in the world, and they claimed a significant number of the SBDs destroyed while trying to defend their carriers from attack during the Battles of Coral Sea, Midway and Santa Cruz in 1942. While one was a dive-bomber and the other a nimble fighter, both met in combat many times, with the Dauntless proving an elusive and deadly target thanks to the tenacity and skill of the pilots and gunners manning the Douglas aircraft. While the Zero-sen was credited with shooting down many SBDs, the rugged dive-bomber gave as good as it got and emerged, not surprisingly, victorious on many occasions. This book examines these aircraft in detail, exploring their history and development and contains accurate descriptions of the combats between the SBD Dauntless and Zero-sen throughout the first four carrier battles of 1942 and the Solomons Campaign.

Manoeuvres, Shots and Drops - Dive Bomber Pilot Richard Halsey Best In World War 2

Manoeuvres, Shots and Drops - Dive Bomber Pilot Richard Halsey Best In World War 2 PDF Author: Edgar Wollstone
Publisher: AJS
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 34

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Book Description
Richard H. Best, or simply Dick as known among his comrades was an American dive bomber who managed to sink two Japanese aircraft carriers, including the flagship Akagi on a single day during the Battle of Midway. The Battle of Midway was one of the most decisive battles that turned the tables for the United States of America in the Second World War. Best was in his best as he shot one Japanese carrier after the other. He was the recipient of the Navy Cross and the Distinguished Flying Cross awards. Though Best was posthumously recommended for Medal of Honor, it didn’t see fruition. It is incredulous that one man was able to turn the tides of the World War II in just one day. With all four carriers decimated, the Japanese navy was in tatters. If its fleet wasn’t annihilated by the American dive bombers, Japan would have continued its belligerence unabated and with impunity. Born in Bayonne, Best always aspired to be a pilot someday. He grew up listening to the legends of air veterans of World War One. It is no wonder that Best came out to be the best dive bomber during World War 2.

Dauntless Marine

Dauntless Marine PDF Author: Alexander S. White
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description


The Petlyakov Pe-2

The Petlyakov Pe-2 PDF Author: Peter C. Smith
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1526759314
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 534

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Book Description
The definitive book on the development and deployment of the Soviet Union’s supreme dive-bomber—with rare archival and private photos. During the Second World War, the Petlyakov Pe-2 Peshka was the Soviet Union’s main dive- and light-bomber in operations across the Eastern Front. It became a mainstay of the Soviet counteroffensive that led to the fall of Berlin. They also led the way in the brief but annihilating Manchurian campaign against Japan in the closing days of the war in 1945. Conceived by a team of top aircraft designers whom Stalin had incarcerated on political charges, the Peshka had originally been designed as a high-altitude twin-engine fighter plane. But due to the outstanding success of the German Stukas in the Blitzkrieg, it was quickly transformed into the fastest dive-bomber in the skies. Only a handful had reached front lines by the start of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941. But by 1945, more than 11,000 of the type were built, including many variants. Many of these remained in service with the air forces of Yugoslavia and the Warsaw Pact countries into the 1950s. Using official sources, including the official Pe-2 handbook, as well as rare color and black-and-white photographs from both official and private collections, this is the definitive record of the Pe-2.

Junkers Ju 87

Junkers Ju 87 PDF Author: Eddie J. Creek
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781906537289
Category : Airplanes, Military
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This large format hardback is packed with information on the Ju87 Stuka. Highly illustrated, it represents a comprehensive, detailed reference work to be used by enthusiasts and modelers for one-stop ease of access to information to one of the most well-known aircrafts of World War II. Unquestionably, the Junkers Ju 87 was one of the most devastatingly effective and psychologically terrifying weapons of war ever produced. The howl of its sirens during a dive-bombing attack struck fear into those on the ground. Spearheading the German advances in Poland, Norway, the Low Countries, the Mediterranean, and Russia between 1939 and 1943, the Luftwaffe's Ju 87 Stuka became synonymous with the art of Blitzkrieg warfare. Next to the fighter aces, it was perhaps the Stuka crews who were held in the highest esteem by both German commanders and the German people and their accomplishments became legendary. This will be the book sought after by aviation enthusiasts and modelers.