Croatian Aces of World War 2

Croatian Aces of World War 2 PDF Author: Boris Ciglic
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 147280046X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Book Description
Initially flying Italian-supplied Fiat G.50s, the Croat forces suffered heavy losses during 1942 whilst flying alongside JG 52 in the southern sector of the Russian front. Despite this, a significant number of kills fell to future aces such as Cvitan Galic and Mato Dubovak during this time, and when the units re-equipped with Bf 109G-10s in 1943, battle-seasoned Croat pilots started to rack up impressive scores. This book reveals how, by 1944, Croat air groups were defending Yugoslavia from British and American air raids, and in the final months of the war a handful of surviving pilots fought on until final defeat in May 1945.

Croatian Aces of World War 2

Croatian Aces of World War 2 PDF Author: Boris Ciglic
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 147280046X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Book Description
Initially flying Italian-supplied Fiat G.50s, the Croat forces suffered heavy losses during 1942 whilst flying alongside JG 52 in the southern sector of the Russian front. Despite this, a significant number of kills fell to future aces such as Cvitan Galic and Mato Dubovak during this time, and when the units re-equipped with Bf 109G-10s in 1943, battle-seasoned Croat pilots started to rack up impressive scores. This book reveals how, by 1944, Croat air groups were defending Yugoslavia from British and American air raids, and in the final months of the war a handful of surviving pilots fought on until final defeat in May 1945.

Croatian Aces of World War 2

Croatian Aces of World War 2 PDF Author: Boris Ciglic
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472800842
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 97

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Book Description
Initially flying Italian-supplied Fiat G.50s, the Croat forces suffered heavy losses during 1942 whilst flying alongside JG 52 in the southern sector of the Russian front. Despite this, a significant number of kills fell to future aces such as Cvitan Galic and Mato Dubovak during this time, and when the units re-equipped with Bf 109G-10s in 1943, battle-seasoned Croat pilots started to rack up impressive scores. This book reveals how, by 1944, Croat air groups were defending Yugoslavia from British and American air raids, and in the final months of the war a handful of surviving pilots fought on until final defeat in May 1945.

Slovakian and Bulgarian Aces of World War 2

Slovakian and Bulgarian Aces of World War 2 PDF Author: Jiri Rajlich
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782008527
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 149

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Book Description
In 1939, Slovakia signed a protection agreement with the German Reich and joined the attack on Poland, where its Avia B-534-equipped fighter squadrons claimed their first kills. In October 1942, having made do with obsolete aircraft, the Slovaks were equipped with Bf 109Es and eventually acquired 43 Messerschmitt fighters. The Slovaks would claim over 215 kills. Although it supported German efforts in Yugoslavia and Greece, Bulgaria did not declare war on Russia. First seeing action in August 1943, Bulgarian fighter pilots used their Bf 109Gs to good effect. From late 1943 through to mid-1944, the Bulgarian pilots attempted to defend the country from American bombers, and Stoyanov and Bochev made ace during this period.

World War II Croatian Legionaries

World War II Croatian Legionaries PDF Author: Vladimir Brnardic
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472817699
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Book Description
As Europe descended into war the newly formed state of Croatia found itself an ally in Nazi Germany. Tens of thousands of Croatians volunteered for the German Wehrmacht, with Croatian-badged units created within the Army, Navy, Luftwaffe, Waffen-SS and Police force. When Hitler turned his attention to Stalin's Soviet Union many of these men found themselves thrown into the fray, with Croatian soldiers serving at Stalingrad, fighting Tito's Partisans in the Balkans and battling against the advancing Red Army in Hungary. Aided by detailed illustrations, author Vladimir Brnardic explores the uniforms and equipment of World War II Croatian Legionaries.

A Question of Honor

A Question of Honor PDF Author: Lynne Olson
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307424502
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 514

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Book Description
A Question of Honor is the gripping, little-known story of the refugee Polish pilots who joined the RAF and played an essential role in saving Britain from the Nazis, only to be betrayed by the Allies after the war. After Poland fell to the Nazis, thousands of Polish pilots, soldiers, and sailors escaped to England. Devoted to liberating their homeland, some would form the RAF’s 303 squadron, known as the Kosciuszko Squadron, after the elite unit in which many had flown back home. Their thrilling exploits and fearless flying made them celebrities in Britain, where they were “adopted” by socialites and seduced by countless women, even as they yearned for news from home. During the Battle of Britain, they downed more German aircraft than any other squadron, but in a stunning twist at the war’s end, the Allies rewarded their valor by abandoning Poland to Joseph Stalin. This moving, fascinating book uncovers a crucial forgotten chapter in World War II–and Polish–history.

The Axis Air Forces

The Axis Air Forces PDF Author: Frank Joseph
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 422

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Book Description
This comprehensive volume tells the rarely recounted stories of the numerous foreign air forces that supported the German Luftwaffe as part of the Axis' quest to dominate the European and Pacific theaters—a highly compelling and often overlooked chapter of World War II history. The Axis Air Forces: Flying in Support of the German Luftwaffe presents an untold history of that global conflict's little-known combatants, who nonetheless contributed significantly to the war's outcome. While most other books only attempt to address this subject in passing, author Frank Joseph provides not only an extremely comprehensive account of the "unsung heroes" of the Axis fliers, but also describes the efforts of Axis air forces such as those of the Iraqi, Manchurian, Thai or Chinese—specific groups of wartime aviators that have never been discussed before at length. This book examines the distinct but allied Axis air forces of Western Europe, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. An extensive introduction provides coverage of Luftwaffe volunteers from Greece, Lithuania, Holland, Denmark, Norway and even the United States. Detailed descriptions of the personnel themselves and the aircraft they operated are portrayed against the broader scope of combat missions, field operations, and military campaigns, supplying invaluable historical perspective on the importance of their sorties.

Soviet Hurricane Aces of World War 2

Soviet Hurricane Aces of World War 2 PDF Author: Yuriy Rybin
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 178096885X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 155

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Book Description
Following the destruction wrought on the Red Army Air Forces during the first days of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, the Soviet Union found itself desperately short of fighter aircraft. Premier Josef Stalin duly appealed directly to Prime Minister Winston Churchill for replacement aircraft, and in late 1941 the British delivered the first of 3360 Hurricanes that would be supplied to the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease agreement. Specifically requested by the USSR, the Hurricanes were quickly thrown into action in early 1942 – the Soviet Air Forces' most difficult year in their opposition to the Luftwaffe. Virtually all the Hurricanes were issued to Soviet fighter regiments in the northern sector of the front, where pilots were initially trained to fly the aircraft by RAF personnel that had accompanied the early Hawker fighters to the USSR. The Hurricane proved to be an easy aircraft to master, even for the poorly trained young Soviet pilots, allowing the Red Army to form a large number of new fighter regiments quickly in the polar area. In spite of a relatively poor top speed, and only a modest rate-of-climb, the Hurricane was the mount of at least 17 Soviet aces.

RAF Mustang and Thunderbolt Aces

RAF Mustang and Thunderbolt Aces PDF Author: Andrew Thomas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1846039800
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 97

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Book Description
The P-51 Mustang and P-47 Thunderbolt were the finest American fighters of World War 2, and both saw service with the RAF in substantial numbers. The RAF began flying the Mustang in 1944, using it to fly bomber escort missions, and deploying to support the ground campaigns in Italy and the Balkans. It was also flown by a number of Polish units in the RAF. The P-47 Thunderbolt was the best fighter available in CBI theatre, where it was flown by a number of aces against the Japanese, mainly in a ground support role. Although these two fighter types are most associated with the Americans, they performed an important role serving in the RAF.

Dangerous Liaisons

Dangerous Liaisons PDF Author: Peter Davies
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317868609
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 301

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Book Description
The Nazi regime in Germany was terrible enough without even accounting for the policy of collaboration. So what extra does collaboration say about Hitler and his plans for Europe? Peter Davies explores the mindset and political attitudes of Hitler and also many other controversial pro-Nazi leaders in Western Europe, Scandanavia, Central and Eastern Europe, and also beyond. Delving into four different "types" of collaboration: political, financial, the Holocaust, and collaboration at a social level, he asks some difficult questions. The story of collaboration is brought up to date, assessing both the legacy and its contemporary parallels.

German Jet Aces of World War 2

German Jet Aces of World War 2 PDF Author: Hugh Morgan
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 9781855326347
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 104

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Book Description
The Third Reich's last ditch efforts to sweep the massed Allied bomber formations from the skies of Germany centred around the new crop of jet 'wonder weapons' that were issued to the Jagdwaffe from mid-1944 onwards. Far in advance of anything the Allies had even in the experimental phase, types like the Me 262, He 162, Me 163 and the Ar 234 could perform their combat sorties with relative impunity. However, paucity in numbers and unreliable jet engines eventually cancelled out any technological edge that these aircraft offered.