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Author: Philip Kaplan
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1510702636
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 492
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Book Description
Discover the wartime experiences of the bomber boys in World War II. Flying bombers during World War II was a harrowing ordeal. Unlike the fighter jocks, who pit their skill and wits against each other in agile aerial combat, the bomber boys had to endure the fear and savagery of the air war with grim acceptance—their only option to sit and take it. Manning lumbering machines that could not maneuver or defend themselves effectively, the aircrews had to rely on tight aircraft formations and their own bravery to survive the onslaught of enemy fighters and anti-aircraft artillery. Within these great planes, they developed bonds like no other; young men thrust together in a shared fate, risking their lives in slow-moving yet beautiful and powerful aircraft over the skies of numerous war zones, thousands of feet above the battlegrounds but no further away from the horrors. Fully illustrated with hundreds of color and black-and-white photographs, as well as dozens of interviews, Philip Kaplan’s The Bomber Aircrew Experience offers an intimate glimpse into the life and times of these wartime airmen. The bomber boys recount their harrowing missions over Germany’s industrial heartland, paving the way for Allied victory in the Second World War’s European Theatre. Discover what it was like to man such planes as the great Flying Fortress and the Liberator, and what it was like for the British and Commonwealth boys flying night missions in the Lancasters, Halifaxes, and Stirlings. And then finally, learn about the development of the modern stealth bombers: the F-117 Nighthawk and the B-2 Spirit. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
Author: Philip Kaplan
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1510702636
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 492
Get Book Here
Book Description
Discover the wartime experiences of the bomber boys in World War II. Flying bombers during World War II was a harrowing ordeal. Unlike the fighter jocks, who pit their skill and wits against each other in agile aerial combat, the bomber boys had to endure the fear and savagery of the air war with grim acceptance—their only option to sit and take it. Manning lumbering machines that could not maneuver or defend themselves effectively, the aircrews had to rely on tight aircraft formations and their own bravery to survive the onslaught of enemy fighters and anti-aircraft artillery. Within these great planes, they developed bonds like no other; young men thrust together in a shared fate, risking their lives in slow-moving yet beautiful and powerful aircraft over the skies of numerous war zones, thousands of feet above the battlegrounds but no further away from the horrors. Fully illustrated with hundreds of color and black-and-white photographs, as well as dozens of interviews, Philip Kaplan’s The Bomber Aircrew Experience offers an intimate glimpse into the life and times of these wartime airmen. The bomber boys recount their harrowing missions over Germany’s industrial heartland, paving the way for Allied victory in the Second World War’s European Theatre. Discover what it was like to man such planes as the great Flying Fortress and the Liberator, and what it was like for the British and Commonwealth boys flying night missions in the Lancasters, Halifaxes, and Stirlings. And then finally, learn about the development of the modern stealth bombers: the F-117 Nighthawk and the B-2 Spirit. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
Author: Mark K. Wells
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135204829
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 273
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Book Description
Colonel Wells investigates the nature of aerial warfare and the men who took part. The book analyzes aircrew selection, reaction to combat, adaptability to stress, morale, leadership and combat effectiveness, and compares the efforts of the US Eighth Air Force and RAF Bomber Command.
Author: Leonard Cheshire
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781999812867
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
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Book Description
Leonard Cheshire was one of the most highly decorated pilots of the Second World War. As the Royal Air Force's youngest Group Captain in 1943, he took a drop in rank and went on to command No. 617 Squadron and pioneer low level marking and precision bombing. For this, together with four years of fighting against the bitterest opposition during which he maintained a record of outstanding personal achievement, he was awarded the Victoria Cross. In 1945 he was an official observer of the dropping of the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Post-war his humanitarian work on behalf of the disabled resulted in the establishment of the Leonard Cheshire Foundation (now known as Leonard Cheshire), the world's leading disability care charity. First published in 1943, Bomber Pilot is Leonard Cheshire's contemporary account of his experiences during his first three years with Bomber Command. His light style captures the exuberance of youth, yet also brings out the growing realization of the responsibilities and dangers facing the young aircrew of Bomber Command. He describes his experience of operating Whitleys with No. 102 Squadron, first as a novice co-pilot and later as captain with his own crew, providing a vivid description of the action for which he was awarded his first DSO. Following a brief interlude in North America he returned to join No. 35 Squadron as it introduced the Halifax into service before moving on to command No. 76 Squadron. In this new edition, Leonard Cheshire's original text is supplemented with an additional commentary by Dr Robert Owen, aviation historian and Official Historian of No. 617 Squadron Association. Providing additional details of the events described by Cheshire, this commentary places them in the broader context of the Bomber Offensive and includes a full record of Leonard Cheshire's operations and wartime awards.
Author: Kevin Wilson
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1643130994
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 610
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Book Description
Bomber combat crews faced a wide array of perils as they flew over German territory. Bursts of heavy flak could tear the wings from their planes in a split second. Flaming bullets from German fighter planes could explode their fuel tanks, cut their oxygen supplies, destroy their engines. Thousands of young men were shot, blown up, or thrown from their planes five miles above the earth; and even those who returned faced the subtler dangers of ice and fog as they tried to land their battered aircraft back home.The winter of 1944 was the most dangerous time to be a combat airman in RAF Bomber Command. The chances of surviving a tour were as low as one in five, and morale had finally hit rock bottom. In this comprehensive history of the air war that year, Kevin Wilson describes the most dangerous period of the Battle of Berlin, and the unparalleled losses over Magdeburg, Leipzig and Nuremberg.Men of Air reveals how these ordinary men coped with the extraordinary pressure of flying, the loss of their colleagues, and the threat of death or capture. Brilliantly placing these stories within the context of The Great Escape, D-Day, the defeat of the V1 menace, and more, Wilson shows how the sheer grit and determination of these "Men of Air" finally turned the tide against the Germans.
Author: Bruce Barrymore Halpenny
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1844150666
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 241
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Book Description
Aircrew on a bomber in World War II experienced a cold, tiring and perilous existence. The RAF flew at night, when the human spirit is at its lowest ebb and for many it did not seem prudent to think further ahead than the target, and then hope for a safe return. Daytime raids brought the fear of defending fighters preying on the massed formations of heavily laden aircraft as they struggled over enemy territory. The ground crew saw their aircraft heave themselves into the air and their imagination filled the silent hours until they counted in the returning aircraft and saw the ravages of the enemy defenses and the hazards of foul weather. This is their story.
Author: Arthur Harris
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1844152103
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 288
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Book Description
Sir Arthur Harris - Bomber Harris - remains the target of criticism and vilification by many, while others believe the contribution he and his men made to victory is grossly undervalued. He led the men of Bomber Command in the face of appalling casualties, had fierce disagreements with higher authority and enjoyed a complicated relationship with Winston Churchill. Written soon after the close of World War 2, this collection of Sir Arthur Harris's memoirs reveals the man behind the Allied bombing offensive that culminated in the destruction of the Nazi war machine but also many beautiful cities, including Dresden.
Author: Tom Faulkner
Publisher: University of North Texas Press
ISBN: 1574417428
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 265
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Book Description
In 1944 and 1945, Tom Faulkner was a B-24 pilot flying out of San Giovanni airfield in Italy as a member of the 15th Air Force of the U.S. Army Air Forces. Only 19 years old when he completed his 28th and last mission, Tom was one of the youngest bomber pilots to serve in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. Between September 1944 and the end of February 1945, he flew against targets in Hungary, Germany, Italy, Austria, and Yugoslavia. On Tom’s last mission against the marshalling yards at Augsburg, Germany, his plane was severely damaged, and he had to fly to Switzerland where he and his crew were interned. The 15th Air Force generally has been overshadowed by works on the 8th Air Force based in England. Faulkner’s memoir helps fill an important void by providing a first-hand account of a pilot and his crew during the waning months of the war, as well as a description of his experiences before his military service. David L. Snead has edited the memoir and provided annotations and corroboration for the various missions.
Author: Max Hastings
Publisher: Quarto Publishing Group USA
ISBN: 1610588630
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 410
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Book Description
This award-winning classic of WWII military history chronicles the Royal Air Force’s bombing campaign against Germany. RAF Bomber Command’s air offensive against the cities of Nazi Germany was one of the most epic campaigns of World War II. The struggle began meekly in 1939 with only a few aircraft—Whitleys, Hampdens, and Wellingtons—flying blindly through the night on their ill-conceived bombing runs. It ended six years later with 1,600 Lancasters, Halifaxes, and Mosquitoes, equipped with the best of British wartime technology, blazing whole German cities in a single night. In Bomber Command, originally published to critical acclaim in the UK, famed British military historian Sir Max Hastings offers a captivating analysis of the strategy and decision-making behind one of World War II’s most violent episodes. With firsthand descriptions of the experiences of aircrew from 1939 to 1945—based on one hundred interviews with veterans—and a harrowing narrative of the experiences of Germans on the ground during the September 1944 bombing of Darmstadt, Bomber Command is widely recognized as a classic account of one of the bloodiest campaigns in World War II history. Winner of the Somerset Maugham Prize
Author: Martyn R. Ford-Jones
Publisher: Fonthill Media
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 438
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Book Description
— Previously unpublished personal diaries reveal the day-to-day life of British aircrews during the Second World War, based on their personal diaries, which were written at the time — Revisiting a revised look at a popular out of print publication with fresh material such as new characters and chapters — Historically rich in detail with previously unpublished photographs of many of the characters involved — A welcome return of an updated version of a book first published over thirty years During the Second World War, thousands of young men volunteered for service with the RAF. Some became fighter pilots, but a great many more were destined to be trained as bomber aircrew – pilots, navigators, wireless operators, bomb aimers, gunners and flight engineers. On completion of their training, a number of these recruits were posted to XV Squadron, a highly-regarded frontline bomber squadron, which had been formed during the First World War. Bomber Squadron: Men Who Flew with XV Squadron relates the personal stories of a small number of these men, giving an insight to their anxious moments when flying on operational sorties, staring death in the face in the form of prowling night-fighters and ground fire, and relaxing during their off-duty hours. The book also reveals the motivations, emotions and personal attitudes of these men who flew into combat on an almost nightly basis. Their stories encompass the whole six years of the war where XV Squadron flew various bomber types, including Fairey Battles, Bristol Blenheims, Vickers Wellingtons, Short Stirlings and Avro Lancasters.
Author: Harry H. Crosby
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 1504067320
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 366
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Book Description
“A compelling account of the air war against Germany” written by the navigator portrayed by Anthony Boyle in Apple TV’s Masters of the Air (Publishers Weekly). They began operations out of England in the spring of ’43. They flew their Flying Fortresses almost daily against strategic targets in Europe in the name of freedom. Their astonishing courage and appalling losses earned them the name that resounds in the annals of aerial warfare and made the “Bloody Hundredth” a legend. Harry H. Crosby—depicted in the miniseries Masters of the Air developed by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg—arrived with the very first crews, and left with the very last. After dealing with his fear and gaining in skill and confidence, he was promoted to Group Navigator, surviving hairbreadth escapes and eluding death while leading thirty-seven missions, some of them involving two thousand aircraft. Now, in a breathtaking and often humorous account, he takes us into the hearts and minds of these intrepid airmen to experience both the triumph and the white-knuckle terror of the war in the skies. “Affecting . . . A vivid account . . . Uncommonly thoughtful recollections that address the moral ambiguities of a great cause without in any way denigrating the selfless valor or camaraderie that helped ennoble it.” —Kirkus Reviews “Re-creates for us the sense of how it was when European skies were filled with noise and danger, when the fate of millions hung in the balance. An evocative and excellent memoir.” —Library Journal “The acrid stench of fear and cordite, the coal burning stoves, the heroics, the losses . . . This has to be the best memoir I have read, bar none.” —George Hicks, director of the Airmen Memorial Museum
