Wellington Squadrons in Focus

Wellington Squadrons in Focus PDF Author: Paul Freer
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780955473548
Category : Vickers Wellington (Bomber)
Languages : en
Pages : 96

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Book Description
A visual history of the Wellington bomber, focussing on the squadrons that operated it rather than a nuts and bolts view of the aircraft.

Wellington Squadrons in Focus

Wellington Squadrons in Focus PDF Author: Paul Freer
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780955473548
Category : Vickers Wellington (Bomber)
Languages : en
Pages : 96

Get Book Here

Book Description
A visual history of the Wellington bomber, focussing on the squadrons that operated it rather than a nuts and bolts view of the aircraft.

The Official Illustrated History of RAF Search and Rescue

The Official Illustrated History of RAF Search and Rescue PDF Author: Paul E Eden
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472960912
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
In February 2016 the RAF's Search and Rescue Force (SARF) celebrated its 75th anniversary. In June that year the world-renowned and universally admired service was officially disbanded, despite attempts from many, including HRH Prince William, to save it as part of the RAF. This book is an official, fully illustrated, in-depth account of the SARF's rich and glorious history, from its origins in World War II through to its recent withdrawal. The book contains a foreword by HRH Prince William himself, plus action-packed and awe-inspiring photographs from the RAF's archive of photographs and exclusive interviews with former crewmembers, telling their own dramatic stories of derring-do. Officially endorsed by the RAF, An Illustrated History of the RAF Search and Rescue Force is the first, and probably the only, major book of its kind written on this subject. It is an essential purchase for anyone with an interest in military history, British history, the Royal Family and those who love stories of extreme and daring rescue missions.

Vickers Wellington Units of Bomber Command

Vickers Wellington Units of Bomber Command PDF Author: Michael Napier
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472840739
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 97

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Book Description
The Vickers Wellington was one of very few aircraft types to have been in production and frontline service throughout World War II, and more than 10,000 Wellingtons were built in the period. They took part in the first RAF bombing mission of the conflict when, on 4 September 1939, 14 examples from Nos 9 and 149 Sqns undertook a daring daylight attack on the Kiel Canal. However, after suffering high losses on follow-up raids, Wellingtons were withdrawn from daytime missions and began to operate at night from May 1940. They subsequently took part in raids against the Italian port city of Genoa in July 1940, and against Berlin the following month, followed by key missions in the 'Battle of the Barges' in September and October, as the RAF targeted the Germany's invasion fleet being assembled in French Channel ports. When RAF's strike force expanded the next year following the introduction of the improved Wellington II, the 21 squadrons equipped with the Vickers aircraft, which included Polish-, Canadian- and Australian-manned units, formed the backbone of the Bomber Command night bombing force. Over the next two years Wellingtons participated in all the major operations by Bomber Command, including the daylight raid against German battleships in Brest harbour in July 1942 and the first three 'Thousand Bomber' raids in the summer of 1942. This illustrated study explores the design, development, and deployment of the Vickers-Wellington type, charting its role in World War II from its earliest missions to its use in training after its withdrawal from frontline bomber missions in 1943. The text is supported by stunning full-colour artwork.

RAF On the Offensive

RAF On the Offensive PDF Author: Greg Baughen
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1526735164
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 428

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Book Description
Long before the start of the Second World War it had been believed that strategic bombing would be the deciding factor in any future conflict. Then Hitler launched the Blitzkrieg upon France and the Low Countries in 1940, and the much-vaunted French Army and the British Expeditionary Force were swept away in just six weeks.This new form of warfare shook the Air Ministry, but the expected invasion never came and the Battle of Britain was fought in the air. It seemed that air forces operating independently could determine the course of the war. An Army scarcely seemed necessary for the defence of the UK and no British army could ever be powerful enough to mount an invasion of Europe on its own. Bombing Germany into defeat seemed Britain's only option. In North Africa, however, Commonwealth armies and air forces were demonstrating that they too could use blitzkrieg tactics to crush opponents. Britain was also no longer alone; Greece and then the Soviet Union joined the fight.RAF on the Offensive describes how British air power developed after the Battle of Britain. Attitudes were beginning to change – the fighter, rather than the bomber, was re-emerging as the principal means of gaining air superiority. As 1941 drew to a close, the strategic air offensive appeared to be achieving little and conventional land warfare seemed poised to replace it as the way to defeat the enemy. Which direction, then, would the war take?

From St Vith to Victory

From St Vith to Victory PDF Author: Stephen C. Smith
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473855284
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 488

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Book Description
Compiled from a variety of sources and first-hand accounts, this book is an authoritative record of the part played by No.218 (Gold Coast) Squadron during the bomber offensives of World War II. The squadron's activities are described in detail offering a unique insight into the lives of those involved and saluting the important role that No.3 Group and No.218 Squadron played in Bomber Command's ultimate victory.No.218 Squadron was formed a few months before the Armistice which brought to a conclusion the Great War. Disbandment soon followed, rendering the squadron number plate dormant until the rise of National Socialism in Germany. The squadron was reformed in 1936 and spent the remaining peace time years honing its skills, skills that would be tested from the very first day of the bomber offensive against Germany to the very last.

Churchill's Eagles

Churchill's Eagles PDF Author: Richard Mead
Publisher: Pen and Sword Aviation
ISBN: 1036104176
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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Book Description
An in-depth overview of the role of the Royal Air Force's leaders during World War II. The RAF did not come of age until the Second World War. The role of its forerunners in the Great War, the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service, although important, was peripheral to that of the ground forces. The founding father of the RAF, Lord Trenchard, was determined that it should become a fully-fledged third service, equal in status to the Royal Navy and British Army, and this he succeeded in doing between the wars, firstly by setting up the RAF College at Cranwell, and Staff College at Andover, and secondly by providing a cost-effective policeman of the more rebellious parts of the British Empire. By 1939 the RAF had grown substantially, but, of the three best aircraft of the coming War, only the Supermarine Spitfire was in service, as neither the Avro Lancaster nor the De Havilland Mosquito would be available until early 1942. Aircraft, however, were not enough. It was the leaders of the RAF, the subjects of this book, who would take the battle to the enemy and who, after six long years, would prevail.

311 Squadron

311 Squadron PDF Author: Pavel Vančata
Publisher: MMP
ISBN: 9788361421436
Category : Airmen
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A history of the successful Czechoslovak bomber squadron in the RAF during WW2. No. 311 (Czechoslovak) Bomber Squadron was established as the second Czechoslovak combat squadron within the Royal Air Force during the summer of 1940, and became the only wholly Czechoslovak bomber squadron in the RAF. The Czechoslovak pilots flew Wellingtons and B-24 Liberators on operations, and returned to their homeland with the latter at the end of the war. The book contains: Superb color illustrations of camouflage and markings, rare black and white archive photographs. It is essential reading for aviation enthusiasts, historians and scale aeromodelers.

Wellington Wings

Wellington Wings PDF Author: F. Roy Chappell
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 308

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Book Description
Based on the Diaries of an RAF inteligence officer in the Western Desert, Wellington Wings presents a vivid picture of life and death in a desert bomber group between 1942 and 1945.

Britain and Wellington's Army

Britain and Wellington's Army PDF Author: K. Linch
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230316751
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 231

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Book Description
Britain was France's most implacable enemy during the Napoleonic Wars yet was able to resist the need for conscription to fill the ranks of its army and sustain Wellington's campaigns in Portugal and Spain. This new study explains how the men were found to replenish Wellington's army, and the consequences on Britain's government, army and society.

Wellington's Mongrel Regiment

Wellington's Mongrel Regiment PDF Author: Alistair Nichols
Publisher: Spellmount, Limited Publishers
ISBN: 9781862272750
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
The Chasseurs Britanniques Regiment was formed around a core of Frenchmen who had gone into exile for their king, and who, with their comrades, went on to serve Britain in Egypt and the Mediterranean, before joining Wellington's army in the Peninsula to fight in many of the momentous battles of the war. The first comprehensive history of this unique Regiment of the British Army. A story that begins with an account of the struggles endured by the Army of Conde. Eyewitness accounts are used to describe life and actions with the Chasseurs Britanniques. The deployments and movements of the Regiment are put into strategic and political context. Appendices provide biographical and service details for officers and men of the Regiment. Accepted views of the Regiment are challenged to provide a balanced view of its service.