Spitfire Photo-Recce Units of World War 2

Spitfire Photo-Recce Units of World War 2 PDF Author: Andrew Fletcher
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472854624
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 183

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Book Description
A fascinating exploration of the feats of the RAF's photographic reconnaissance aircraft. The photographic reconnaissance (PR) versions of the Supermarine Spitfire saw service against the Axis Tripartite throughout World War 2. Its superior performance even led to the USAAF adopting the type for the Eighth Air Force's reconnaissance needs in Europe. PR Spitfires were responsible for some of the most significant intelligence finds of the war – from low-level oblique photographs of new German radars in France to locating the battleship Bismarck off the Norwegian coast before it attempted to sortie into the Atlantic. It has been estimated that as much as 80 per cent of Allied intelligence was gathered from aerial photographs, many of which were taken by cameras installed in PR Spitfires. In this volume, RAF PR specialist Andrew Fletcher details the important part played by the small number of 'photo-recce' Spitfires in the key theatres of World War 2. His detailed text, which includes numerous first-hand accounts, chronicles operations from the first months of the conflict through to VJ Day.

Spitfire Photo-Recce Units of World War 2

Spitfire Photo-Recce Units of World War 2 PDF Author: Andrew Fletcher
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472854624
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 183

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Book Description
A fascinating exploration of the feats of the RAF's photographic reconnaissance aircraft. The photographic reconnaissance (PR) versions of the Supermarine Spitfire saw service against the Axis Tripartite throughout World War 2. Its superior performance even led to the USAAF adopting the type for the Eighth Air Force's reconnaissance needs in Europe. PR Spitfires were responsible for some of the most significant intelligence finds of the war – from low-level oblique photographs of new German radars in France to locating the battleship Bismarck off the Norwegian coast before it attempted to sortie into the Atlantic. It has been estimated that as much as 80 per cent of Allied intelligence was gathered from aerial photographs, many of which were taken by cameras installed in PR Spitfires. In this volume, RAF PR specialist Andrew Fletcher details the important part played by the small number of 'photo-recce' Spitfires in the key theatres of World War 2. His detailed text, which includes numerous first-hand accounts, chronicles operations from the first months of the conflict through to VJ Day.

Spitfire Photo-Recce Units of World War 2

Spitfire Photo-Recce Units of World War 2 PDF Author: Andrew Fletcher
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472854594
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 97

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Book Description
A fascinating exploration of the feats of the RAF's photographic reconnaissance aircraft. The photographic reconnaissance (PR) versions of the Supermarine Spitfire saw service against the Axis Tripartite throughout World War 2. Its superior performance even led to the USAAF adopting the type for the Eighth Air Force's reconnaissance needs in Europe. PR Spitfires were responsible for some of the most significant intelligence finds of the war – from low-level oblique photographs of new German radars in France to locating the battleship Bismarck off the Norwegian coast before it attempted to sortie into the Atlantic. It has been estimated that as much as 80 per cent of Allied intelligence was gathered from aerial photographs, many of which were taken by cameras installed in PR Spitfires. In this volume, RAF PR specialist Andrew Fletcher details the important part played by the small number of 'photo-recce' Spitfires in the key theatres of World War 2. His detailed text, which includes numerous first-hand accounts, chronicles operations from the first months of the conflict through to VJ Day.

A Spy in the Sky

A Spy in the Sky PDF Author: Kenneth B. Johnson
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1526761572
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
“An enjoyable ramble . . . the memoir of an unassuming, self-doubting aviator who, despite himself, proved to be pretty bloody good.” —Aircrew Book Review Many stories abound of the daring exploits of the RAF’s young fighter pilots defying the might of Hitler’s Luftwaffe, yet little has been written about the pilots who provided the key evidence that guided the RAF planners—the aerial photographers. Ken Johnson joined No.1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit as an eighteen-year-old. In this lighthearted reminiscence, he relives his training and transfer to an operational unit, but not the one he had expected. He had asked if he could fly Spitfires. He was granted that request, only to find himself joining a rare band of flyers who took to the skies alone, and who flew in broad daylight to photograph enemy installations with no radios and no armament. Unlike the fighter pilots who sought out enemy aircraft, the pilots of the PRU endeavored to avoid all contact; returning safely with their vital photographs was their sole objective. As well as flying in northern Europe, Ken Johnson was sent to North Africa, where his squadron became part of the United States Army Air Force North West African Photographic Wing (NAPRW). In this role, he flew across southern Europe, photographing targets in France and Italy. The Spy in the Sky fills a much-needed gap in the history of the RAF and, uniquely, the USAAF during the latter stages of the Second World War. “The sorties he flew are nothing less than heroic . . . his writing style is very good, and very humorous at that!” —Flyin’ and Ridin’ Blog

World War II Photo Intelligence

World War II Photo Intelligence PDF Author: Roy M. Stanley (II.)
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description


One Flight Too Many

One Flight Too Many PDF Author: Jimmy Taylor
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780957221000
Category : Aerial photography
Languages : en
Pages : 748

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Book Description
Photographic Reconnaissance (PR) has recently caught public interest and this book, written by a former PR Spitfire pilot, gives a very clear description of what he had to do, the aircraft and cameras he was given, how he planned and took his photographs, and how he navigated his way, alone and unarmed under constant observation by enemy radar, to his distant targets in Occupied Europe and Germany, often in difficult weather conditions, and returned safely with the films containing information of vital importance to the photo-interpreters at RAF Medmenham and to the Allied commanders. This is also Jimmy Taylor's autobiography, so the reader has access to his frank contemporary diary of autumn 1944 and goes with him on his exciting sorties, including when he was chased by a then-unknown German jet, and his last one, when his engine blewup and forced him to parachute into a part of eastern Holland and led to his eventual capture. It also set in train a heart-rending German atrocity, which still calls him back every year to the families of the victims.It led to his meeting many historians, both Dutch and English, and so to his discovering the remarkable activities of his 16 Squadron during Operation 'Market Garden', the experiences, both cheerful and tragic, of his friends and colleagues in the RAF, and the heroic behaviour of the Dutch Resistance. Jimmy Taylor's progress through his training in Britain and America, his wartime flying and treatment as a prisoner, his post-war career and subsequent involvement with gliding, with his wartime colleagues and their later successors flying modern aircraft, and with the media, is told with humour and modesty and makes for fascinating reading, and is enhanced with hundreds of photographs taken at the time, including some of his own sorties. This is a great book in every sense: it will enlighten readers who are curious about the work of the PR squadrons and will fascinate aviation enthusiasts of all ages. It has appeared at the right moment and may well become a classic. The Cover Picture This was one of several taken in 1943 by the distinguished aviation photographer Charles E. Brown of Spitfire XI EN654.This served on 16 Squadron from June 1943, and Jimmy Taylor flew it from A12 airstrip in Normandy to B48 Amiens-Glisy on 9th September1944 when the Squadron moved its base. Two days later it was badly damaged in an accident, was sent to the UK for repair, and never returned to the Squadron. Photo: the Charles E. Brown Collection

Flight Artworks

Flight Artworks PDF Author: Gary Eason
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781320369176
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Collected in book form for the first time – and also available as an ebook – are some of Gary Eason's acclaimed Flight Artworks: carefully researched and crafted photorealistic pictures of historical air combat. This first volume presents images of WWII scenes, selected from artworks created since 2011."From my point of view as a pilot for the last 43 years and an RAF fighter pilot for 30 years, the realism he captures is uncanny ...". - Squadron Leader Clive Rowley MBE RAF (Retd)Third edition, September 2015

Spitfires & Yellow Tail Mustangs

Spitfires & Yellow Tail Mustangs PDF Author: Tom Ivie
Publisher: Stackpole Books
ISBN: 1461751713
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Book Description
Story of one of the best fighter units in the Mediterranean theater, which earned two Distinguished Unit Citations and produced 21 aces Vivid episodes of aerial combat during the key campaigns for Tunisia, Sicily, Italy, and more Nicknamed "Yellow Tails" for the color markings on their aircraft The unit flew British Spitfires before switching to P-51 Mustangs Includes rare photos and color artwork

Queen of the Midnight Skies

Queen of the Midnight Skies PDF Author: Garry R. Pape
Publisher: Schiffer Pub Limited
ISBN: 9780887404153
Category : Night fighter planes
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
This new book chronicles not only the aptly named P-61 "Black Widow", but also the Douglas P-70 series, the P-38 night fighter variants, the Bristol Beaufighter, B-25s and the DeHavilland Mosquito - the proposed XA-26A and the P-39 nightfighters are also discussed. Historical accounts of American night fighter pilots, as well as the complets history of all night fighter squadrons formed during World War II are included, as is the development of radar and modern air defenses. This book is the product of over twenty years of study and research. Its sources include the National Archives, Northrop Aircraft archived, the U.S. Air Force Museum, the Imperial War Museum, the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum and interviews with P-61 test pilots, designers and engineers. Garry Pape's previous works include books on the P-61 and the P-38 night-fighter versions. He is currently employed by Northrop, after years with Hughes and Lockheed, and lives in California. Brig. Gen. Ronald Harrison is an F-16 Wing Commander in the Air Force Reserves, and lives in Georgia as an attorney.

Spitfire

Spitfire PDF Author: John Vader
Publisher: Pan
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description


Eyes in the Sky

Eyes in the Sky PDF Author: Theresa B Tabak
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
ISBN: 1612510140
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 517

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Book Description
Dino A. Brugioni, author of the best-selling account of the Cuban Missile crisis, Eyeball to Eyeball, draws on his long CIA career as one of the world's premier experts on aerial reconnaissance to provide the inside story of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's efforts to use spy planes and satellites to gather intelligence. He reveals Eisenhower to be a hands-on president who, contrary to popular belief, took an active role in assuring that the latest technology was used to gather aerial intelligence. This previously untold story of the secret Cold War program makes full use of the author's firsthand knowledge of the program and of information he gained from interviews with important participants. As a founder and senior officer of the CIA's National Photographic Interpretation Center, Brugioni was a key player in keeping Eisenhower informed of developments, and he sheds new light on the president's contributions toward building an effective and technologically advanced intelligence organization. The book provides details of the president's backing of the U-2's development and its use to dispel the bomber gap and to provide data on Soviet missile and nuclear efforts and to deal with crises in the Suez, Lebanon, Chinese Off Shore Islands, Tibet, Indonesia, East Germany, and elsewhere. Brugioni offers new information about Eisenhower's order of U-2 flights over Malta, Cyprus, Toulon, and Israel and subsequent warnings to the British, French, and Israelis that the U.S. would not support an invasion of Egypt. He notes that the president also backed the development of the CORONA photographic satellite, which eventually proved the missile gap with the Soviet Union didn't exist, and a variety of other satellite systems that detected and monitored problems around the world. The unsung reconnaissance roles played by Jimmy Doolittle and Edwin Land are also highlighted in this revealing study of Cold War espionage.