Enemy Planes Above Us

Enemy Planes Above Us PDF Author: Anne DeLacey
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1450080537
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 125

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Book Description
England 1940. Amid the terrifying ruins, a brave young girl carries on through the horror unfolding all around her, as the full might of the Third Reich prepares it's assault upon her beloved island. This is the story of how an ordinary citizen was caught up in events beyond her youthful grasp. Yet she, her family, her neighbors, and her nation courageously faced these overwhelming challenges with perseverance. The moment was dark indeed, particularly for this school girl, and countless others, who watched as their homes, and nation, were systematically destroyed night and day by the ruthless foe from across the channel. Throughout these sleepless nights, Anne DeLacey carried the images of this destruction as her constant companion. Yet in spite of the carnage, she emerged steadfast from the rubble, and, with renewed vigor, lives on to tell her tale in Enemy Planes Above Us. Contact author: [email protected] Visit Author Website: www.annedelacey.com

Enemy Planes Above Us

Enemy Planes Above Us PDF Author: Anne DeLacey
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1450080537
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 125

Get Book Here

Book Description
England 1940. Amid the terrifying ruins, a brave young girl carries on through the horror unfolding all around her, as the full might of the Third Reich prepares it's assault upon her beloved island. This is the story of how an ordinary citizen was caught up in events beyond her youthful grasp. Yet she, her family, her neighbors, and her nation courageously faced these overwhelming challenges with perseverance. The moment was dark indeed, particularly for this school girl, and countless others, who watched as their homes, and nation, were systematically destroyed night and day by the ruthless foe from across the channel. Throughout these sleepless nights, Anne DeLacey carried the images of this destruction as her constant companion. Yet in spite of the carnage, she emerged steadfast from the rubble, and, with renewed vigor, lives on to tell her tale in Enemy Planes Above Us. Contact author: [email protected] Visit Author Website: www.annedelacey.com

My Enemy, My Friend

My Enemy, My Friend PDF Author: Dan Cherry
Publisher: Dan Cherry
ISBN: 9780692000076
Category : Fighter pilots
Languages : en
Pages : 116

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Book Description
A true story of reconciliation from the Vietnam War.

Richard Bong

Richard Bong PDF Author: Pete Barnes
Publisher: Wisconsin Historical Society
ISBN: 087020548X
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 122

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Book Description
Who would have imagined a farm boy from Wisconsin would be the greatest air hero of World War II? Richard Bong was an athletic and hard-working boy from northern Wisconsin who dreamed of flying from the first time a plane buzzed low over his family farm. When war broke out, he left behind a life of sports, deer hunting, and farm chores to fly the new P-38 Lightning for the Army Air Force. Stationed in New Guinea, Bong shot down a total of 40 Japanese flyers in under three years - beating the record of 26 set by Eddie Rickenbacker in World War I. His accomplishments won this modest pilot the title "Ace of Aces" and a Congressional Medal of Honor awarded by General MacArthur himself. Follow Bong as he navigates his way through basic training, flight school, and life on an overseas army base. Watch as he takes to the skies in his P-38 fighter jet, outflying Japanese aircraft with barrel rolls, dives, and turns. Celebrate as he meets and marries the love of his life back home in Wisconsin, and mourn as his life comes to a swift and unexpected end during an ill-fated training flight in California. Richard Bong: World War II Flying Ace is part of the Badger Biographies series for young readers. The engaging narrative is complemented by an accessible format that includes historic photographs, a glossary of terms, sidebars on life in the military, and suggestions for activities and discussion.

Flying Low

Flying Low PDF Author: Joseph Furbee Gordon
Publisher: Southfarm Press, Publisher
ISBN: 9780913337431
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
"Flying a Piper Cub aircraft for artillery fire direction at the front lines against German forces in World War II was hazardous. Shot down twice, Joe Gordon survived to tell what it was like being a pilot of such a plane in combat. The Piper Cub aircraft, flying at the leading edge of American armored divisions, was especially useful as a spotter plane. The advantage of the view a few hunded feet above the leading tanks often resulted in devastating artillery fire raining down upon the enemy just where and when it was needed the most. Joe Gordon fought with the 65th Armored Artillery Battalion in battles from the German border with the Netherlands to the Rhine River and from the Rhine to the Elbe River until almost the end of the European war in May 1945."--Inside back dust cover.

Special Duties Pilot

Special Duties Pilot PDF Author: John M. Billings
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1526786273
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
If there was ever a man who was born to fly, it is John M. Billings. He took his first plane ride in 1926, began taking piloting lessons in 1938, and joined the US Army Air Force in July 1942. After training he was assigned to fly Consolidated B-24 Liberator long-range bombers. He joined the 825th Bombardment Squadron of the 484th Bombardment Group. After flying fifteen daylight strategic bombing missions, Billings was selected for assignment to the 885th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) (Special). As its designation suggests, the 885th was no regular bombing unit. The 885th specialized in flying top secret, low-altitude missions at night in support of the clandestine operations of the OSS and the Special Operations Executive. The unit’s covert missions included parachuting OSS and SOE agents and supplies deep inside German territory. The most eventful and dangerous of Billings’ thirty-nine secret missions with the 885th was his assignment in February 1945 to clandestinely insert a three-man OSS team, code-named Greenup, into Austria. The drop zone selected for the Greenup insertion was located on a glacier in a valley surrounded by mountains in the middle of the snow-covered Alps. Billings and his crew finally found the weather in the Alps clear enough to spot the drop zone, slip their unwieldy B-24 between the mountain peaks and descend to an altitude just a few hundred feet above the moonlit snow. On Billings’ signal, the OSS agents parachuted right on target. The insertion of this OSS team was the inspiration for the feature film Inglorious Bastards. However, Brad Pitt’s vengeful character was far removed from the leader of the Greenup team, Fred Mayer, who achieved success by infiltrating enemy ranks to gain vital intelligence. After the war, John Billings flew with Trans World Airlines and Eastern Airlines. He also flew more than 300 ‘Angel Flight’ airlift missions which involve the specialized aerial transportation of critically ill medical patients. This is one man’s story of a remarkable lifetime of flying, both in peace and in war.

Relentless Pursuit

Relentless Pursuit PDF Author: Ken Dooley
Publisher: PiKen Production
ISBN: 0578165422
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 436

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Book Description
On December 7, 1941, the United States was pathetically unprepared for war. The battle fleet intended to keep the Pacific Ocean an American lake lay in smoking ruins at Pearl Harbor. Ironically, the devastating Japanese surprise attack revealed the path to victory: above the sea, not on it. At the time, U.S. air power was inferior even to our now-crippled sea power. Somehow thousands of men, many of them too young to vote, were selected and trained to defeat an enemy who flew faster, more maneuverable airplanes. They fought under General George C. Kenney who commanded “The Forgotten Fifth Air Force,” a name resulting from the priority assigned to the war in Europe. Even today, books focusing on the European war far outnumber those devoted to the Pacific war. This book is about one group of men, the 39th Fighter Squadron of the Fifth Air Force. Rushed through training and flying planes greatly inferior to those flown by experienced Japanese pilots, they held their own with raw courage, determination and unflinching patriotism. As they received better airplanes, they pushed the Japanese back, but always at terrible cost. It took great courage to climb into those cockpits. Pilots lost over the sea and jungles were rarely found. Those captured by the Japanese were routinely tortured and beheaded. The war ended, but searing questions remained. Would justice ever be served for those pilots executed by the enemy? Until now that question was never fully addressed. With this book we explore the air war, crimes, investigations and punishments.

Southern California's World War II Aircraft

Southern California's World War II Aircraft PDF Author: Cory Graff
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 146712446X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description
"The cities of Los Angeles and San Diego were boomtowns during World War II. California aviation companies designed many of the greatest combat aircraft of the era, and bustling armies of women and men helped quickly churn them out by the thousands. An astounding 41 percent of all US warplanes came from California drawing boards during the war. These planes saw combat service everywhere-from the deserts of North Africa to the frozen tundra of Alaska. Southern California planes were the first to bomb Japan. They turned the tide of the Battle of Midway and dropped paratroopers behind enemy lines on D-Day. They flew tons of fuel, ammunition, and supplies over the treacherous Himalayan Mountains, relentlessly hounded enemy submarines and ships, and helped smash Nazi Germany's war-making industry with "thousand plane raids."' -- From cover.

Topgun

Topgun PDF Author: Dan Pedersen
Publisher: Hachette Books
ISBN: 0316416274
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 303

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Book Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER "If you loved the movie, you will love the real story in the book." -- Fox & Friends On the 50th anniversary of the creation of the "Topgun" Navy Fighter School, its founder shares the remarkable inside story of how he and eight other risk-takers revolutionized the art of aerial combat. When American fighter jets were being downed at an unprecedented rate during the Vietnam War, the U.S. Navy turned to a young lieutenant commander, Dan Pedersen, to figure out a way to reverse their dark fortune. On a shoestring budget and with little support, Pedersen picked eight of the finest pilots to help train a new generation to bend jets like the F-4 Phantom to their will and learn how to dogfight all over again. What resulted was nothing short of a revolution -- one that took young American pilots from the crucible of combat training in the California desert to the blistering skies of Vietnam, in the process raising America's Navy combat kill ratio from two enemy planes downed for every American plane lost to more than 22 to 1. Topgun emerged not only as an icon of America's military dominance immortalized by Hollywood but as a vital institution that would shape the nation's military strategy for generations to come. Pedersen takes readers on a colorful and thrilling ride -- from Miramar to Area 51 to the decks of aircraft carriers in war and peace-through a historic moment in air warfare. He helped establish a legacy that was built by him and his "Original Eight" -- the best of the best -- and carried on for six decades by some of America's greatest leaders. Topgun is a heartfelt and personal testimony to patriotism, sacrifice, and American innovation and daring.

To Fly and Fight

To Fly and Fight PDF Author: Clarence E. "Bud" Anderson
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1524563420
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 576

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Book Description
Bud Anderson is a flyers flyer. The Californians enduring love of flying began in the 1920s with the planes that flew over his fathers farm. In January 1942, he entered the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Program. Later after he received his wings and flew P-39s, he was chosen as one of the original flight leaders of the new 357th Fighter Group. Equipped with the new and deadly P-51 Mustang, the group shot down five enemy aircraft for each one it lost while escorting bombers to targets deep inside Germany. But the price was high. Half of its pilots were killed or imprisoned, including some of Buds closest friends. In February 1944, Bud Anderson, entered the uncertain, exhilarating, and deadly world of aerial combat. He flew two tours of combat against the Luftwaffe in less than a year. In battles sometimes involving hundreds of airplanes, he ranked among the groups leading aces with 16 aerial victories. He flew 116 missions in his old crow without ever being hit by enemy aircraft or turning back for any reason, despite one life or death confrontation after another. His friend Chuck Yeager, who flew with Anderson in the 357th, says, In an airplane, the guy was a mongoosethe best fighter pilot I ever saw. Buds years as a test pilot were at least as risky. In one bizarre experiment, he repeatedly linked up in midair with a B-29 bomber, wingtip to wingtip. In other tests, he flew a jet fighter that was launched and retrieved from a giant B-36 bomber. As in combat, he lost many friends flying tests such as these. Bud commanded a squadron of F-86 jet fighters in postwar Korea, and a wing of F-105s on Okinawa during the mid-1960s. In 1970 at age 48, he flew combat strikes as a wing commander against communist supply lines. To Fly and Fight is about flying, plain and simple: the joys and dangers and the very special skills it demands. Touching, thoughtful, and dead honest, it is the story of a boy who grew up living his dream.

Mustang the Inspiration

Mustang the Inspiration PDF Author: Philip Kaplan
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1783830077
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
If it looks right, it will probably fly righta tired old saying among airmen, but one that persists. Think if you will of the handful of aeroplanes that most people would probably agree are the best-looking examples of all. The list is short but distinguished and the proof is in the enthusiastic common view of most pilots who have flown themfor nearly all, it was love at first sight and first flight. For most that little list includes the Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire, the Douglas DC-3, the Hawker Hunter, the Lockheed Constellation, the Concord, and the North American Mustang. Of these, the Spitfire and Mustang stand out and remain extra special to the majority of pilots who have been privileged to fly them. One common thread exists among those who have experienced both of these fine machines; an opinion that seems to hold up even after a lifetime of flying the best the aviation design community has created. While the Spitfire may have a slight edge in light-touch handling, if I have to go to war in one type, Ill take theMustang every time.This comprehensive account of the Mustang aircraft charts the operational history of the craft and also relays a the personal stories and experiences of the men who flew the 'Cadillac of the skies' as it has been described. A vivid and enthralling history set to appeal to aviation enthusiasts looking for more than just a mere operational history of the Mustang's exploits.