The Desert Air War 1939 – 1945

The Desert Air War 1939 – 1945 PDF Author: Richard Bickers
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 0850522161
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 205

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Book Description
In the face of the massive publicity accorded to General Montgomery and his adversary, General Erwin Rommel, and bearing in mind the endless controversy that has raged over the dismissal by Mr Churchill of Generals Wavell and Auchinleck, it is easy to forget that the war in North Africa would have run a very different course had it not been for the part played by the Royal Air Force. During those long months when the men on the ground went back and forth across the desert in a dizzying succession of triumphs and reverses the men of the Royal Air Force, often woefully under-equipped, struggled valiantly to deep possession of the skies under which the troops were fighting. Richard Bickers, author of several books on the history of the aerial warfare, saw the war in North Africa and Italy from both the ground and the air, and uses his own experiences, interwoven with the recollections of numerous contemporaries, to create a vivid picture of what it was like to fly, to fight and to control operations over the desert at that time. He also gives the usually ignored ground crews the full measure of the recognition due to them - ground gunners, armourers, motor transport drivers and others.

The Decisive Campaigns of the Desert Air Force 1942-1945

The Decisive Campaigns of the Desert Air Force 1942-1945 PDF Author: Bryn Evans
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1783462604
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
Compared to the RAF's Fighter and Bomber Commands, the Desert Air Force (DAF) is far less well known, yet its achievements were spectacular.??DAF led the way in North Africa and Italy in pioneering new tactics in close Army-Air Force co-operation on the battlefield, DAF and Allied air forces gave Allied armies in North Africa and Italy a decisive cutting edge.??While the Axis forces used the many rivers and mountains of Tunisia and Italy to slow the Allies' advance, DAF was there to provide that extra mobile firepower _ the artillery from the sky. They were the first multi-national air force, and the first to introduce air controllers in the front lines of the battlefield.??With first-hand accounts by veteran airmen form Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA, this book reveals the decisive victories with which DAF won the war over North Africa, the Mediterranean and Italy in 1942-45.

The Desert Air War 1939 – 1945

The Desert Air War 1939 – 1945 PDF Author: Richard Bickers
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 0850522161
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 205

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Book Description
In the face of the massive publicity accorded to General Montgomery and his adversary, General Erwin Rommel, and bearing in mind the endless controversy that has raged over the dismissal by Mr Churchill of Generals Wavell and Auchinleck, it is easy to forget that the war in North Africa would have run a very different course had it not been for the part played by the Royal Air Force. During those long months when the men on the ground went back and forth across the desert in a dizzying succession of triumphs and reverses the men of the Royal Air Force, often woefully under-equipped, struggled valiantly to deep possession of the skies under which the troops were fighting. Richard Bickers, author of several books on the history of the aerial warfare, saw the war in North Africa and Italy from both the ground and the air, and uses his own experiences, interwoven with the recollections of numerous contemporaries, to create a vivid picture of what it was like to fly, to fight and to control operations over the desert at that time. He also gives the usually ignored ground crews the full measure of the recognition due to them - ground gunners, armourers, motor transport drivers and others.

The Desert Air Force in World War II

The Desert Air Force in World War II PDF Author: Ken Delve
Publisher: Pen and Sword Aviation
ISBN: 9781399083263
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
This is a comprehensive reference to the structure, operation, aircraft and men of the 1st Tactical Air Force, or Desert Air Force as it became known. It was formed in North Africa to support the 8th Army and included squadrons from the RAF, SAAF, RAAF and eventually the USAAF. The book includes descriptions of many notable defensive and offensive campaigns, the many types of aircraft used, weapons and the airfields that played host to these events. The five main sections of the book include a general historical introduction and overview, operations, operational groups, aircrew training and technical details of each aircraft type. Lengthy annexes cover personnel, the squadrons in World War II, accuracy of attacks, orders of battle for each wartime year, maps of airfield locations and numbers of enemy aircraft downed.

A History of the Mediterranean Air War, 1940–1945. Volume 2

A History of the Mediterranean Air War, 1940–1945. Volume 2 PDF Author: Christopher Shores
Publisher: Grub Street Publishing
ISBN: 191069097X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 736

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Book Description
This second volume in the seminal series on aerial combat, pilots, and tactics in Libya and Egypt in the middle of World War II. In volume two of this series, historian Christopher Shores begins by exploring the 8th Army’s movements after Operation Crusader when they were forced back to the Gazala area in northeastern Libya, as well as their defeat in June, 1942, the loss of Tobruk, and the efforts of Allied air forces to protect their retreating troops. Shores continues with the heavy fighting that followed in the El Alamein region. This features the Western Desert Air Force and the arrival of the first Spitfires. The buildup of both army and air forces and the addition of new commanders on the ground aided the defeat of Rommel’s Deutsche Afrika Korps at Alam el Halfa, after which came the Second Battle of El Alamein. With the arrival of the United States Army Air Force, the Allied air forces gained dominance over the Axis. Shores recounts the lengthy pursuit of the Italo-German forces right across Libya, including the capture of Tripoli and the breakthrough into Southern Tunisia. This allowed a linkup with other Allied forces in Tunisia (whose story appears in Volume 3). Included with the action are stories of some of the great fighter aces of the Desert campaign such as Jochen Marseille and Otto Schulz of the Luftwaffe, Franco Bordoni-Bisleri of the Regia Aeronautica and Neville Duke, Billy Drake, and “Eddie” Edwards of the Commonwealth air forces. Finally, Shores touches on the Allied and Axis night bombing offensives and the activities of the squadrons cooperating with the naval forces in the Mediterranean.

The Desert Air War 1940-1943

The Desert Air War 1940-1943 PDF Author: Anthony Tucker-Jones
Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
ISBN: 9781526711083
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The war in air over North Africa and the Mediterranean during the Second World War has long been overshadowed by the battle on the ground. Between 1940 and 1943 Italy's Regia Aeronautica and then Germany's Luftwaffe waged a concerted aerial campaign against the British, yet apart from the bitter fight for Malta, this aspect of the conflict is rarely given the attention it deserves. Anthony Tucker-Jones, in this vivid photographic history, provides a fascinating introduction to it. The wartime photographs, and the concise text, cover the entire course of the struggle in the air. The Regia Aeronautica at first met weak British opposition when Mussolini launched his ill-advised offensive against British-controlled Egypt, but the obsolete Italian aircraft proved to be no match for the Allied fighters once the strength of the Royal Air Force built up. Then, when Hitler stepped in to help his hapless ally, the aerial struggle intensified, and the air forces of both sides were locked in deadly combat in the skies over Egypt, Libya, the Mediterranean and Tunisia. The wide range of Italian, British, German and American aircraft involved, the air and ground crews from all sides, and the conditions in which they operated and fought are all shown in this varied selection of photographs.

The Desert Air War 1940-1943

The Desert Air War 1940-1943 PDF Author: Anthony Tucker-Jones
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781526711090
Category : HISTORY
Languages : en
Pages : 118

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Book Description
"The war in air over North Africa and the Mediterranean during the Second World War has long been overshadowed by the battle on the ground. Between 1940 and 1943 Italy's Regia Aeronautica and then Germany's Luftwaffe waged a concerted aerial campaign against the British, yet apart from the bitter fight for Malta, this aspect of the conflict is rarely given the attention it deserves. Anthony Tucker-Jones, in this vivid photographic history, provides a fascinating introduction to it. The wartime photographs, and the concise text, cover the entire course of the struggle in the air. The Regia Aeronautica at first met weak British opposition when Mussolini launched his ill-advised offensive against British-controlled Egypt, but the obsolete Italian aircraft proved to be no match for the Allied fighters once the strength of the Royal Air Force built up. Then, when Hitler stepped in to help his hapless ally, the aerial struggle intensified, and the air forces of both sides were locked in deadly combat in the skies over Egypt, Libya, the Mediterranean and Tunisia. The wide range of Italian, British, German and American aircraft involved, the air and ground crews from all sides, and the conditions in which they operated and fought are all shown in this varied selection of photographs"--Back cover.

Fighters Over the Desert

Fighters Over the Desert PDF Author: Christopher F. Shores
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description


The Air War in the West, September, 1939 to May, 1941 and June, 1941 to April 1945

The Air War in the West, September, 1939 to May, 1941 and June, 1941 to April 1945 PDF Author: Trevor Nevitt Dupuy
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781258497064
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
The Military History Of World War II Is In Eighteen Volumes.

The Desert Air War 1940-1943

The Desert Air War 1940-1943 PDF Author: Anthony Tucker-Jones
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781526711113
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 129

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Book Description


A History of the Mediterranean Air War 1940-1945

A History of the Mediterranean Air War 1940-1945 PDF Author: Christopher Shores
Publisher: Grub Street Publishing
ISBN: 9781909166127
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Volume I of this series dealt with the 19 months of the air war over the Western Desert of North Africa. This volume picks up as the 8th Army was forced back midway between the Cyrenaican/Tripolitanian border of Libya and the frontier with Egypt. It covers the lull prior to the defeat of the 8th Army in June 1942 and the loss of the important port