American Nightfighter Aces of World War 2

American Nightfighter Aces of World War 2 PDF Author: Warren Thompson
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 9781846033063
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The Americans lagged behind their European contemporaries in military aviation in the late 1930s, and it took the Battle of Britain to awaken an isolated America to the necessity of having aircraft that could defend targets against nighttime attack by bomber aircraft. With the help of the RAF, the importance of creating such a specialized fighter force was given top priority. This book examines the numerous aircraft types that were used by the US in this role, beginning with the early 'stop-gap' conversions like the TBM Avenger, Lockheed Ventura and the A-20 Havoc (P-70). It goes on to detail the combat history of the newer and radar equipped Hellcats, Corsairs and Black Widows that were designed to seek out enemy aircraft (both German and Japanese) in Europe, the Mediterranean and the Pacific. It was these aircraft that registered most of the kills made by the Navy, Marine Corps and USAAF in 1944-45. Finally there are additional accounts from the American pilots who spent time on the frontline on exchange tours with the RAF in the ETO/MTO, learning the intricacies of flying radar-equipped fighters like the Mosquito and Beaufighter at night, prior to the USAAF taking receipt of the much-delayed P-61. With full color profiles and rare photographs, this is an absorbing account of an often underestimated flying force: the American Nightfighters.

American Nightfighter Aces of World War 2

American Nightfighter Aces of World War 2 PDF Author: Warren Thompson
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 9781846033063
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The Americans lagged behind their European contemporaries in military aviation in the late 1930s, and it took the Battle of Britain to awaken an isolated America to the necessity of having aircraft that could defend targets against nighttime attack by bomber aircraft. With the help of the RAF, the importance of creating such a specialized fighter force was given top priority. This book examines the numerous aircraft types that were used by the US in this role, beginning with the early 'stop-gap' conversions like the TBM Avenger, Lockheed Ventura and the A-20 Havoc (P-70). It goes on to detail the combat history of the newer and radar equipped Hellcats, Corsairs and Black Widows that were designed to seek out enemy aircraft (both German and Japanese) in Europe, the Mediterranean and the Pacific. It was these aircraft that registered most of the kills made by the Navy, Marine Corps and USAAF in 1944-45. Finally there are additional accounts from the American pilots who spent time on the frontline on exchange tours with the RAF in the ETO/MTO, learning the intricacies of flying radar-equipped fighters like the Mosquito and Beaufighter at night, prior to the USAAF taking receipt of the much-delayed P-61. With full color profiles and rare photographs, this is an absorbing account of an often underestimated flying force: the American Nightfighters.

Night Fighter Ace

Night Fighter Ace PDF Author: Tony Spooner
Publisher: History Press
ISBN: 9780750934732
Category : Fighter pilots
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Bob Branham, the subject of this biography, was the most highly decorated RAF fighter pilot of World War II, being awarded three DSOs and three DFCs. From 1940 through to 1944, flying Beaufighters and then Mosquitoes, he became one of the highest scoring fighter aces with 22 night victories to his credit, before he was shot down shortly after D-Day. He spent the rest of the war as a POW. In his first posting, to No 29 Squadron, Bob served alongside the famous "dam-buster" bomber pilot Guy Gibson for a year or more (posted to a fighter squadron to advise on tactics). Bob contributed in a significant way to the development of nightfighting tactics and latterly to the successful introduction of offensive intruder operations into Germany when he was appointed to command the No 141 Squadron. As the squadron's CO, he was promoted to Wing Commander at the age of 23, at the time RAF's youngest. Tony Spooner was given unrestricted access, both by Bob's personal armourer and by his widow, to complete and detailed information covering every one of his successful operational sorties.

ACE!

ACE! PDF Author: R. Bruce Porter
Publisher: Motorbooks International
ISBN: 9780935553314
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
Ace! is the story of Bruce Porter's life as a Marine combat fighter pilot -- from his days as a naval aviation cadet prior to World War II, through his adventures guarding the United States' forward-most line of defense in the South Pacific. Follow Porter through his exacting night-fighter training and fly with him on his rare double-kill night mission over Okinawa. Includes an introduction by "Pappy" Boyington, the man portrayed by Robert Conrad in the hit television series Baa Baa Blacksheep.

Duel Under the Stars

Duel Under the Stars PDF Author: Wilhelm Johnen
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1784382604
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Book Description
"The enemy bomber grew larger in my sights and the rear gunner was sprayed by my guns just as he opened fire. The rest was merely a matter of seconds. The bomber fell like a stone out of the sky and exploded on the ground. The nightmare came to an end."In this enthralling memoir, the author recounts his experiences of the war years and traces the story of the ace fighter pilots from the German development of radar to the Battle of Britain.Johnen flew his first operational mission in July 1941, having completed his blind-flying training. In his first couple of years he brought down two enemy planes. The tally went up rapidly once the air war was escalated in spring 1943, when Air Marshal Arthur Harris of the RAF Bomber Command began the campaign dubbed the Battle of the Ruhr.During this phase of the war Johnens successes were achieved against a 710-strong force of bombers. Johnens further successes during Harriss subsequent Berlin offensive led to his promotion as Staffelkapitan (squadron leader) of Nachtjagdgeschwader and a move to Mainz. During a sortie from there, his Bf 110 was hit by return fire and he was forced to land in Switzerland. He and his crew were interned by the authorities. The Germans were deeply worried about leaving a sophisticatedly equipped night fighter and its important air crew in the hands of a foreign government, even if it was a neutral one. After negotiations involving Gring, the prisoners were released.Johnens unit moved to Hungary and by October 1944 his score was standing at 33 aerial kills. His final one came in March the following year, once Johnen had moved back to Germany.

German Night Fighter Aces of World War 2

German Night Fighter Aces of World War 2 PDF Author: Jerry Scutts
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 9781855326965
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
When the Luftwaffe entered World War 2, its nightfighter force was virtually nonexistent thanks to its leader, Reichmarschall Hermann Göring, who boasted that bombs would never fall on Germany. By mid-1940 his folly was evident; the first night fighter wing was hastily formed with Bf 110s. Initially capable of detecting targets by visual acquisition only, the force greatly improved its effectiveness with the creation of the 'Giant Würzburg' radar chain. By the end of 1942, the night fighter force controlled some 389 fighters and had destroyed 1,291 RAF bombers in that year alone. Complete with first-hand accounts and detailed colour illustrations, this book profiles the many variations of night fighters, and the men who made ace flying them.

Luftwaffe Aces

Luftwaffe Aces PDF Author: Franz Kurowski
Publisher: Stackpole Books
ISBN: 9780811731775
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 412

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Book Description
World War II air war companion to Panzer Aces and Panzer Aces II In-the-cockpit accounts of aerial dogfights by some of Germany's deadliest pilots ever to take to the skies This exciting book tells the combat biographies of seven Luftwaffe aces: three day-fighter pilots, one night-fighter pilot, one close-support pilot, and two bomber pilots. This mix of well-known and less famous pilots includes Heinz Bär, who had 221 victories and was an ME 262 ace; Otto Kittel, the fourth-highest Luftwaffe ace with 267 kills; Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer, a leading night-fighter ace with 121 kills; Wilhelm Batz, whose two-year combat career ended with 237 kills in the elite JG 52; Otto Weiss, a close-support pilot in the Hs 123 and Hs 129; Joachim Helbig, who flew the Ju 88 bomber over Malta; and Ludwig Havighorst, who served first with the infantry and then the Luftwaffe, where he flew fifty bombing missions over Stalingrad.

Princes of Darkness

Princes of Darkness PDF Author: Claire Rose Knott
Publisher: Ian Allan Publishing
ISBN: 9781903223956
Category : Fighter pilots
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Both a guide for modellers and a basic introduction to the working practices of the steam railway, this is an in-depth look at the nature of passenger train operation on Britain's railways. Topics discussed include working practices and train formations, non-passenger coaching stock on passenger trains, locomotive types developed specifically for passenger services and station design. c200 b/w photos. c96 pages. Softback. This title has not yet been published. Your order will be recorded and the book will be supplied as soon as it becomes available. Your credit/debit card will not be charged until the book is available for despatch

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.

The Fields of Normandy

The Fields of Normandy PDF Author: Mike Lambo
Publisher: Independently Published
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Book Description
The Fields of Normandy is an accessible, portable, solitaire "hex and counter" style wargame in a book. Instructions and colour game maps are included; you just need to bring a pencil, 2 standard six-sided dice and an eraser. Nothing else is needed to play. Your task is to order your rifle squads, machine gun teams, mortar teams and PIAT teams across the map to achieve your objectives, countering any enemy threat which is found along the way. The game rules reveal, position and attack with enemy units whilst you focus on your objectives. Clear rules, 15 missions across varied maps with varied enemies provides plenty of replayability as you re-create the Allied push into Normandy in World War II. Good luck, your troops await your orders... Complexity: 2/5 Players: 1 Time: 10 to 40 minutes per mission

Nachtjager, Volume One

Nachtjager, Volume One PDF Author: David P. Williams
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781903223536
Category : Airplanes
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
To be produced in the same style as the 'Jagdwaffe' series (which concentrated on German day fighters), this is the first of a two-part history of the German Nachtjager - the nightfighter force - in World War 2. The Luftwaffe used many aircraft in the nightfighter role, primarily to combat RAF Bomber Command's nocturnal heavy bombing raids against German targets from 1940/1 onwards and a 'cat and mouse' development of aircraft enhancement, weapons, guidance systems and radar took place. The book contains a wide variety of aircraft. This volume, for example, concentrates on the single-seat Me109 fighter adapted as a nightfighter, early versions of the Me110 and the Ju88. The text will be accompanied by a wide range of photographs - many being published for the first time - together with the usual colour profiles, biographies of top nightfighter aces such as Falck, Schnaufer, Lent, Jabs and others. Furthermore, there will be pilot accounts and text boxes offering details of the Schrage Musik upward-firing, FuG202 Lichtenstein and SN-2 radar sets, etc.With the great importance attached by the Royal Air Force to its nocturnal bombing raids, the importance to the defence of Germany of the nightfighter squadrons cannot be overstated. This volume and its companion will provide the modeller and historian with a detailed examination of the Nachtjager forces deployed by the Luftwaffe during the war and will be required reading for all interested in the subject of the nightly battles over the skies of the Reich during World War 2.