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Author: Bryn Evans
Publisher: Pen and Sword Aviation
ISBN: 1526761734
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 419
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Book Description
Harrowing true stories of WWII Allied airmen who were shot down and survived, with maps and photos included. Allied air power made a major, arguably decisive, contribution to victory in the Second World War both in the European and Pacific theaters. But the cost in men and machines was horrific, with Bomber Command suffering 50% aircrew casualties. While many perished, others—shot down over enemy territory or water—survived only after overcoming extraordinary danger and hardship. Their experiences often remained untold, not just for the duration of the war but for many years. In this book, Bryn Evans has gathered together a wealth of unpublished stories from airmen of many nationalities, be they British, Commonwealth, or American. Some involve avoiding or escaping from capture, others surviving against all the odds, braving extreme elements and dodging death from wounds, drowning, or starvation. Importantly, the accounts of those who survived the battle in the skies cheating the enemy and the grim reaper give us a chilling insight into the fate of the many thousands of brave young men who were not so fortunate. The result is an inspiring and gripping read which bears testimony to human courage and resilience.
Author: Bryn Evans
Publisher: Pen and Sword Aviation
ISBN: 1526761734
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 419
Get Book Here
Book Description
Harrowing true stories of WWII Allied airmen who were shot down and survived, with maps and photos included. Allied air power made a major, arguably decisive, contribution to victory in the Second World War both in the European and Pacific theaters. But the cost in men and machines was horrific, with Bomber Command suffering 50% aircrew casualties. While many perished, others—shot down over enemy territory or water—survived only after overcoming extraordinary danger and hardship. Their experiences often remained untold, not just for the duration of the war but for many years. In this book, Bryn Evans has gathered together a wealth of unpublished stories from airmen of many nationalities, be they British, Commonwealth, or American. Some involve avoiding or escaping from capture, others surviving against all the odds, braving extreme elements and dodging death from wounds, drowning, or starvation. Importantly, the accounts of those who survived the battle in the skies cheating the enemy and the grim reaper give us a chilling insight into the fate of the many thousands of brave young men who were not so fortunate. The result is an inspiring and gripping read which bears testimony to human courage and resilience.
Author: Bryn Evans
Publisher: Pen and Sword Aviation
ISBN: 9781399004688
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Allied air power made a major, arguably decisive, contribution to victory in The Second World War both in the European and Pacific theaters. The cost in men and machines was horrific with Bomber Command suffering 50% air crew casualties. While many perished, others shot down over enemy territory or water survived only after overcoming extraordinary danger and hardship. Their experiences often remained untold not just for the duration of the War but for many years. The author has gathered together a wealth of unpublished stories from airmen of many nationalities, be they British, Commonwealth or American. Some involve avoiding or escaping from capture, others surviving against all the odds, braving extreme elements and defying death from wounds, drowning or starvation. Importantly the accounts of those who survived the battle in the skies cheating the enemy and the grim reaper give the reader a chilling insight into the fate of the many thousands of brave young men who were not so fortunate. The result is an inspiring and gripping read which bears testimony to human courage and resilience.
Author: Michael Lee Lanning
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0811769720
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 365
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Book Description
During World War II, some 10,000 American bombers and fighters were shot down over Europe. Of the crews aboard, 26,000 men were killed, while 30,000 survived being shot down only to be captured and made prisoners of war. Against the longest of odds, nearly 3,000 airmen made it to the ground alive, evaded capture, and escaped to safety. These men proudly called themselves the Blister Club. Drawing on tens of thousands of pages of mostly untapped documents in the National Archives, Michael Lee Lanning tells the story of these courageous airmen. They had received escape-and-evasion (E & E) training, and some were lucky enough to land with their E-&-E kits—but all bets were off once they hit the ground. They landed after an air catastrophe. The geography was usually unfamiliar. Civilians might or might not be trustworthy. German soldiers and Gestapo agents hunted down airmen as well as civilians who dared help them. If an airman abandoned his uniform for civilian garb, he forfeited Geneva Convention protections. Most faced the daunting task of escaping on foot across hundreds of miles. The fortunate connected with one of the established escape routes to Spain or Switzerland or across the English Channel, or they hooked up with the underground resistance or friendly civilians. Upon return to friendly lines, these men were often able to provide valuable intelligence about enemy troop dispositions and civilian morale. Many volunteered to fly again even though regulations prohibited it. The Blister Club is history with a punch. With a historian’s eye, Lanning covers the hows and whys of escape-and-evasion and aerial combat in the European theater, but the book also vividly captures the stories of the airmen who did the escaping and evading, including that of a young pilot named Chuck Yeager, who, during his own escape, aided the French Resistance and helped another downed airman to safety—and then begged to fly again, eventually securing Eisenhower’s approval to return to the air, where he achieved ace status. Stories of escape are popular, especially those set during World War II, as are stories of the war in the air. Combining both of these, The Blister Club should find an enthusiastic audience.
Author: Clay Blair, Jr.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781951682781
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Beyond Courage recounts several inspiring feats of escape and evasion by downed airmen during the Korean conflict. The airmen endured incredible hardships, first at the hands of their captors, then as they managed, by one means or another, to make their way back to the safety of U.N. lines. As preparation for the book, author Clay Blair researched the military's incident records, then interviewed the survivors themselves to fill in any gaps in the accounts told to Air Force officers shortly after their rescue, and to recapture their personal reactions to their arduous adventures. The stories include members of the U.N. forces in Korea-not solely Americans-but also Turks and Greeks and 'ROK's (Republic of Korea soldiers), and friendly North Korean Christians, who risked their lives to help downed airmen. In addition to enemy soldiers, the terrain and climate posed terrible challenges to men without adequate food, clothing, or shelter. In the story Cold, for example, one can feel the sub-zero temperatures as the escapee struggles to walk for miles with frozen feet (doctors would later be forced to amputate both feet to save the airman's life). Challenges were also psychological, as portrayed in the first story, Robinson Crusoe of MiG Alley. There, a downed airman recounts his shattering loneliness of a month spent on a deserted island-with friendly planes flying over almost daily but ignorant of the plight of the stranded airman below them. Despite the passage of nearly 70 years since the cessation of this 'forgotten war, ' the stories in Beyond Courage remain a testament to the power of human endurance and will in the face of extreme, life-threatening challenges.
Author: Clay Blair
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN: 1786251132
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 365
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Book Description
Includes ten illustrations and one map. Clay Blair, Jr., close to Air Force headquarters during the Korean war, heard, as did everyone there, fascinating stories of Air Force pilots who had crashed or been shot down behind enemy lines and then managed, by one means or another, often enduring incredible hardships, to make their way back to U.N. lines. However, at the time, these stories were highly classified and not available for publication. Now Mr. Blair has been allowed to go through these secret files and has studied the full details of these dramatic escapes. The most exciting of these he presents in this book. In addition he has interviewed the men themselves to fill in any missing links in the stories they gave to Air Force officers shortly after their rescue, and to recapture their own personal reactions to their amazing adventures. Here are unbelievable accounts of the U.N. forces in Korea—for the stories are peopled, not just with Americans, but with Turks and Greeks and ROK’s and friendly North Korean Christians, who often risked their lives to help downed airmen. You can feel the cold and agony of walking forty miles over mountains in temperatures of thirty degrees below with your feet frozen; the horror of spending more than a month in holes dug in the ground only slightly larger than a coffin; the torture of treatment— or lack of it—in a Communist POW hospital; the shattering loneliness of a month on a deserted island — with friendly planes flying over almost every day and ignoring you. How did one man survive when another failed? What gives some men a courage that surpasses comprehension? How is it possible to live through such experiences and be willing to risk them again? All these questions and many more are answered by Mr. Blair, himself a veteran of Navy submarine warfare, in this startling, thrilling account of Americans at their heroic best.
Author: Martin W. Bowman
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1473863244
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 508
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Book Description
This thrilling new volume from Martin Bowman focusses on British, Canadian, Australian and German soldiers and airmen who were captured during the First World War. Determined that they wouldnt spend the rest of the conflict incarcerated uselessly behind bars, they endeavored to escape. These are their stories.All aspects of prison life are covered here, and the author examines the various escape tactics that were employed by British soldiers and airmen held in PoW camps all over Germany and Turkey. In order to provide a balanced account, the author has also uncovered stories of German navy and army escapees who attempted to flee from England.Each chapter is preceded by an account which explains the types of camps used in Britain and Germany, the numbers involved, the food, the camp money system for worker prisoners and a general appreciation of the conditions and chronology. Firsthand accounts from the prisoners themselves are then woven into the picture, creating an authentic sense of the PoW experience.The emphasis of this unique book is placed on the human story of the main characters, the unparalleled action on the Western Front and the interaction and camaraderie experienced between soldiers and airmen held in prison camps in England, Germany and Turkey during the Second World War.
Author: Air Forces Escape and Evasion Society
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
ISBN: 9781563110344
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 132
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Book Description
A history of the brave American men who flew and were shot down in Europe during World War II, but were able to escape imprisonment due to the efforts of those who aided them. A source of information on the European underground resistance groups of World War II. The book contains rare photographs, maps, and war documents.
Author: Thomas G. Gunning
Publisher: Dodd Mead
ISBN: 9780396083245
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 116
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Book Description
Presents nine tales of escape and survival against great odds including escapes from a great white shark, a volcanic eruption, and a fall through a thunderstorm.
Author: Seth Meyerowitz
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1592409296
Category : Airmen
Languages : en
Pages : 334
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Book Description
Documents the story of a World War II American Air Force turret-gunner who was one of two escapees when his team's plane was shot down near Cognac in 1943, tracing his harrowing six-month flight to safety across the Pyrenees under constant pursuit by the Gestapo.
Author: Eoin Colfer
Publisher: Disney Electronic Content
ISBN: 1423132084
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 415
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Book Description
Conor Broekhart was born to fly. It is the 1890s, and Conor and his family live on the sovereign Saltee Islands, off the Irish coast. Conor spends his days studying the science of flight with his tutor and exploring the castle with the king's daughter, Princess Isabella. But the boy's idyllic life changes forever the day he discovers a deadly conspiracy against the king.