Beaufighter and Mosquito Operations in WWII

Beaufighter and Mosquito Operations in WWII PDF Author: Zbyšek Ne?as-Pemberton
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1526789604
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 271

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Book Description
Zbyšek Ne?as was just 18, and still a high school student, when he escaped from the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia a month before the outbreak of war in 1939. He managed to make his way to Britain where he had a cousin. Ne?as enlisted in the RAF in 1940, initially being posted as an interpreter at the Czech Depot. Some of his early duties involved the interrogation of captured German aircrew. He was, however, determined to fly. That wish came not as a pilot, but as a radar operator. In time, Ne?as was posted to 68 Squadron, which throughout the war had a large number of Czech exiles on its strength – one flight was entirely Czech-manned. In this moving memoir, he details just what it was like to serve as part of an RAF night fighter crew during the second half of the Second World War. From the organization of squadron and operations, to the directing of night fighters in the bomber stream, problems of maintaining contact with the target, the duration of patrols to interception tactics, all, and more, is revealed in this book. Having trained on the Blenheim Mk.IV, Ne?as’ operational patrols began on Bristol Beaufighters, the squadron subsequently converting to de Havilland Mosquitoes. There are of course, the graphic accounts of victory in the air. This includes combat with a Heinkel He 177 Grief over North Sea, or the explosion of a Dornier Do 217 after another successful interception. As well as nighttime intruder operations over Europe, from the summer of 1944, 68 Squadron, Ne?as included, found itself drawn into the battle against Hitler’s V-weapons, particularly the V1. Ne?as’ crew ended the war with three confirmed kills, one probable, and two damaged. After the war, Ne?as returned to his homeland where he received the tragic news that that none of his immediate family had survived the German occupation This is Zbyšek Ne?as’ story of his part in the defense of Britain’s skies and the final victory against the Third Reich.

Beaufighter and Mosquito Operations in WWII

Beaufighter and Mosquito Operations in WWII PDF Author: Zbyšek Ne?as-Pemberton
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1526789604
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 271

Get Book Here

Book Description
Zbyšek Ne?as was just 18, and still a high school student, when he escaped from the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia a month before the outbreak of war in 1939. He managed to make his way to Britain where he had a cousin. Ne?as enlisted in the RAF in 1940, initially being posted as an interpreter at the Czech Depot. Some of his early duties involved the interrogation of captured German aircrew. He was, however, determined to fly. That wish came not as a pilot, but as a radar operator. In time, Ne?as was posted to 68 Squadron, which throughout the war had a large number of Czech exiles on its strength – one flight was entirely Czech-manned. In this moving memoir, he details just what it was like to serve as part of an RAF night fighter crew during the second half of the Second World War. From the organization of squadron and operations, to the directing of night fighters in the bomber stream, problems of maintaining contact with the target, the duration of patrols to interception tactics, all, and more, is revealed in this book. Having trained on the Blenheim Mk.IV, Ne?as’ operational patrols began on Bristol Beaufighters, the squadron subsequently converting to de Havilland Mosquitoes. There are of course, the graphic accounts of victory in the air. This includes combat with a Heinkel He 177 Grief over North Sea, or the explosion of a Dornier Do 217 after another successful interception. As well as nighttime intruder operations over Europe, from the summer of 1944, 68 Squadron, Ne?as included, found itself drawn into the battle against Hitler’s V-weapons, particularly the V1. Ne?as’ crew ended the war with three confirmed kills, one probable, and two damaged. After the war, Ne?as returned to his homeland where he received the tragic news that that none of his immediate family had survived the German occupation This is Zbyšek Ne?as’ story of his part in the defense of Britain’s skies and the final victory against the Third Reich.

Beaufighter and Mosquito Operations in WWII

Beaufighter and Mosquito Operations in WWII PDF Author: Zbyšek Ne?as-Pemberton
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1526789582
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
Zbyšek Ne?as was just 18, and still a high school student, when he escaped from the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia a month before the outbreak of war in 1939. He managed to make his way to Britain where he had a cousin. Ne?as enlisted in the RAF in 1940, initially being posted as an interpreter at the Czech Depot. Some of his early duties involved the interrogation of captured German aircrew. He was, however, determined to fly. That wish came not as a pilot, but as a radar operator. In time, Ne?as was posted to 68 Squadron, which throughout the war had a large number of Czech exiles on its strength – one flight was entirely Czech-manned. In this moving memoir, he details just what it was like to serve as part of an RAF night fighter crew during the second half of the Second World War. From the organization of squadron and operations, to the directing of night fighters in the bomber stream, problems of maintaining contact with the target, the duration of patrols to interception tactics, all, and more, is revealed in this book. Having trained on the Blenheim Mk.IV, Ne?as’ operational patrols began on Bristol Beaufighters, the squadron subsequently converting to de Havilland Mosquitoes. There are of course, the graphic accounts of victory in the air. This includes combat with a Heinkel He 177 Grief over North Sea, or the explosion of a Dornier Do 217 after another successful interception. As well as nighttime intruder operations over Europe, from the summer of 1944, 68 Squadron, Ne?as included, found itself drawn into the battle against Hitler’s V-weapons, particularly the V1. Ne?as’ crew ended the war with three confirmed kills, one probable, and two damaged. After the war, Ne?as returned to his homeland where he received the tragic news that that none of his immediate family had survived the German occupation This is Zbyšek Ne?as’ story of his part in the defense of Britain’s skies and the final victory against the Third Reich.

Beaufighter Aces of World War 2

Beaufighter Aces of World War 2 PDF Author: Andrew Thomas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472801717
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 150

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Book Description
Entering service at the end of the Battle of Britain, the pugnacious Bristol Beaufighter was deployed in numbers by Fighter Command just in time for the start of the Luftwaffe's night 'Blitz' on Britain. Flown by specialised nightfighter squadrons – several of them elite pre-war Auxiliary Air Force units – it was the first nightfighter to be equipped with an airborne radar as standard. Thus equipped, it combined the ability to 'see' the enemy at night with the devastating hitting power of four cannon and six machine guns. This book covers the exploits of the men who made ace in the Beaufighter and includes stunning original artwork together with first hand accounts of the action.

Beaufighters in the Night

Beaufighters in the Night PDF Author: Braxton Eisel
Publisher: Pen and Sword Aviation
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
The 417th Night Fighter Squadron USAAF was only the fourth such unit to be formed. In the early days of WWII, the US sent observers to England to study how the latest form of air warfare would take shape and it very soon became apparent to them that a night fighting capability was of increasing importance. When they joined the battle against the Reich they found themselves without a suitable American aircraft and were forced to utilize RAF Beaufighters. Having 're-learned to fly' this British design the 417th were sent to North Africa. Most of the ex-RAF aircraft they had inherited were battle weary and no supplies of spares were available through the US supply chain. The squadron found an elderly B-25 bomber, nicknamed the "Strawberry Roan," and they ranged throughout the Mediterranean in search of Beaufighter parts. 417 soon built a healthy score of downed German and Italian aircraft and as the war progressed they were moved to Corsica to support the Italian invasion, After D-Day they were moved to Le Vallon from where they attacked the night-time movements of the German Army. Perhaps their most famous operation was to attack the low flying German Condor that ran the route from the Reich to Spain carrying Nazi gold and treasures.

On the Subject of "Java"

On the Subject of Author: John Pemberton
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 9780801499630
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
What are the limits of cultural critique? What are the horizons? What are the political implications? John Pemberton explores these questions in this far-reaching ethnographic and historical interpretation of cultural discourse in Indonesia since 1965. Pemberton considers in particular how the appearance of order under Soeharto's repressive New Order regime is an effect of an enigmatic politics founded upon routine appeals to cultural values. Through a richly textured ethnographic account of events ranging from national elections to weddings, Pemberton simultaneously elucidates and disturbs the contours of the New Order cultural imaginary. He pursues the fugitive signs of circumstances that might resist the powers of New Order rule through unexpected village practices, among graveyard spirits, and within ascetic refuges. Key to this study is a reexamination of the historical conditions under which a discourse of culture emerges. Providing a close reading of a number of Central Javanese manuscripts from the late eighteenth century on, Pemberton outlines the conditions of knowledge formation in Indonesia since the beginning of Dutch colonial control. As he overturns common assumptions concerning colonial encounters, he discloses the gradual emergence in these texts of a discursive figure inscribed in contrast to the increasingly invasive presence of the Dutch: a figuration of difference that came to be called "Java."

Defiant, Blenheim and Havoc Aces

Defiant, Blenheim and Havoc Aces PDF Author: Andrew Thomas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1780964382
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 223

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Book Description
An illustrated history of three pioneering fighters. The Defiant and the Blenheim enjoying early successes until they came up against the vastly superior Messerschmitt Bf 109, and the American-built Havoc. The Blenheim IF flew some of Fighter Command's early offensive operations, and the type soon proved vulnerable when pitted against single-seat fighters. However, for much of 1940 the Blenheim fighter squadrons provided the RAF's main long-range convoy escort and nightfighter capability. In the mid-1930s, in an attempt to capitalise on its expertise in power-operated gun turrets, the Boulton Paul Company developed the Defiant, a single-engined fighter in which all the armament was concentrated in the turret behind the pilot. Intended as a 'bomber destroyer', the Defiant had its combat debut over Dunkirk, and initially achieved some considerable success. A number of American-built aircraft called Douglas DB-7 light bombers (named Havoc by the RAF), were fitted with radar for nightfighter duties and others successfully replaced the Blenheim as night intruders. As this book outlines, a total of 11 pilots claimed five or more victories when flying these three types to become aces, whilst no fewer than 33 who became aces claimed at least part of their scores when flying the Blenheim, Defiant or Havoc.

Banff Strike Wing at War

Banff Strike Wing at War PDF Author: Les Taylor
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780857040725
Category : Banff (Scotland)
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description
This title is a photographic history of RAF Banff Strike Wing, 1944-1945, comprising 175 photographs, together with rare documents and other artefacts.

They Hosed Them Out

They Hosed Them Out PDF Author: John Bede Cusack
Publisher: Wakefield Press
ISBN: 1743051069
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description
A classic Australian war novel, inspired by the author's experiences as an airgunner in the Second World War. This new, revised and annotated edition includes chapters never before published, a fascinating biography of John Bede Cusack by his daughter, Kerry McCouat, and an informative introduction by editor Robert Brokenmouth.

Mosquito Pathfinder

Mosquito Pathfinder PDF Author: Albert Smith
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780907579786
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Having suffered the devastating effects of the Manchester blitz, sixteen-year-old Salford lad Albert Smith signed up to join the RAF not thinking he would be lucky enough to complete 90 operations. His first tour of 38 operations as a Wellington navigator over Germany and North Africa was soon continued when he volunteered for Pathfinder Mosquitoes with 109 squadron at Little Soughton. The Oboe navigation system was in its infancy and as one of only two Oboe squadrons, Smith was soon in the air illuminating bombing targets. Over 50 operations, Smith relives successes and failures with the new target marking system; triumphs and disappointments, mission aborts and successes, and all the fears and nervousness entailed in being the first aircraft over a heavily defended target. His narrative, interspersed with extracts from official Bomber Command records combines an official and personal view of the WWII air war.

Mosquito Aces of World War 2

Mosquito Aces of World War 2 PDF Author: Andrew Thomas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472801865
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 150

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Book Description
The Mosquito developed into one of the most versatile aircraft of World War 2, entering service with Fighter Command in early 1942. The 'Mossie' was soon defending raids on Britain's Cathedral cities and became an integral part of the country's night defences. Its airborne radar gave it the ability to 'see' the enemy at night, and its speed and devastating fire power made it the finest nightfighter deployed by any side during World War 2. This book examines the infamous Mosquito, the nightfighter that was used by many leading RAF, Commonwealth and American aces.