Download or read book 75 NZ Squadron written by Chris Newey and published by Mention the War Limited. This book was released on 2023-03-16 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This expanded and updated edition of Chris Ward's Profile of 75(NZ) Squadron is the definitive and comprehensive wartime account of this well-known and highly-regarded Bomber Command outfit. Produced with the full support and assistance of squadron veterans, the Royal New Zealand Air Force Association and the New Zealand Bomber Command Association, it is a testament to the duty and sacrifice of all those who served with this famous unit throughout the Second World War. Chris Ward's detailed narrative, based on the squadron's Second World War Operations Record Book, is complemented by several hundred photographs, many published for the first time.In 1938, the New Zealand government had ordered thirty Vickers Wellington Mk1 bombers. RNZAF aircrew were despatched to train on the new aircraft at RAF Marham, and then take them to their new home in the Southern Hemisphere. When war broke out, the New Zealand Government placed the aircraft and their crews at the disposal of the RAF to help fight the new enemy. Already known as 'The New Zealand Squadron', the unit was given the number 75 on 4 April 1940, the previous unit so numbered having been disbanded. This meant that the original nucleus of personnel remained together as an operational unit of the RAF.On 4 April 1940, The New Zealand Squadron was renamed 75(NZ) Squadron. Although often referred to as an RNZAF unit, it was wholly equipped and controlled by the RAF until the end of the conflict. It was a key component of No. 3 Group, Bomber Command, and was based initially at RAF Feltwell, then RAF Mildenhall, RAF Newmarket and RAF Mepal, in Cambridgeshire. The unit saw action over France, Norway, Belgium, Italy, Sweden and Germany, distinguishing itself in the process.The squadron operated with a strength of three Flights after receiving Short Stirling bombers. In line with the rest of No. 3 Group, the squadron re-equipped with the Avro Lancaster in 1944, the type seeing the unit through to August 1945. 75(NZ) Sqn operated against the Germans from 1940 to VE Day, flying more sorties than any other allied heavy bomber squadron, suffering the second highest number of casualties. A Victoria Cross was awarded to Sgt J A Ward for climbing out onto the wing of his Wellington on an operation over Europe, in an attempt to put out an engine fire. Although badly damaged by enemy fighters' cannon shells, the aircraft managed to return to its base.

Download or read book 75 NZ Squadron written by Chris Ward and published by Mention the War Limited. This book was released on 2018 with total page 475 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chris Ward's Profile of 75(NZ) Squadron is the long-awaited, definitive and comprehensive wartime account of this well-known and highly-regarded Bomber Command outfit. Produced with the full support and assistance of squadron veterans, the Royal New Zealand Air Force Association and the New Zealand Bomber Command Association, it is a testament to the duty and sacrifice of all those who served with this famous unit throughout the Second World War. Chris Ward's detailed narrative, based on the squadron's Second World War Operations Record Book, is complemented by several hundred photographs, many published for the first time. In 1938, the New Zealand government had ordered thirty Vickers Wellington Mk1 bombers. RNZAF aircrew were despatched to train on the new aircraft at RAF Marham, and then take them to their new home in the Southern Hemisphere. When war broke out, the New Zealand Government placed the aircraft and their crews at the disposal of the RAF to help fight the new enemy. Already known as 'The New Zealand Squadron', the unit was given the number 75 on 4 April 1940, the previous unit so numbered having been disbanded. This meant that the original nucleus of personnel remained together as an operational unit of the RAF. On 4 April 1940, The New Zealand Squadron was renamed 75(NZ) Squadron. Although often referred to as an RNZAF unit, it was wholly equipped and controlled by the RAF until the end of the conflict. It was a key component of No. 3 Group, Bomber Command, and was based initially at RAF Feltwell, then RAF Mildenhall, RAF Newmarket and RAF Mepal, in Cambridgeshire. The unit saw action over France, Norway, Belgium, Italy, Sweden and Germany, distinguishing itself in the process. The squadron operated with a strength of three Flights after receiving Short Stirling bombers. In line with the rest of No. 3 Group, the squadron re-equipped with the Avro Lancaster in 1944, the type seeing the unit through to August 1945. 75(NZ) Sqn operated against the Germans from 1940 to VE Day, flying more sorties than any other allied heavy bomber squadron, suffering the second highest number of casualties. A Victoria Cross was awarded to Sgt J A Ward for climbing out onto the wing of his Wellington on an operation over Europe, in an attempt to put out an engine fire. Although badly damaged by enemy fighters' cannon shells, the aircraft managed to return to its base.

Download or read book Luck and a Lancaster written by Harry Yates and published by Crowood Press UK. This book was released on 2005-04-09 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book takes you, raid by raid, through the author's tour of operational duty over the last five months of 1944. It is a bomber pilot's story, but it is also about the grinding operational pressure, the brotherhood of the crew and fears of injury and death. It is about a squadron of Bomber Command that bore a barely-equaled burden in operational effort and losses. It is about young airmen the author knew, who lived and too often died amid the turmoil in enemy skies.

Download or read book Courage Aflame written by Bob Moore and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This story has been compiled from individual recollections as well as letters and other documents, both official and private. The personal recollections and contributions of the Ward family, as well as interviews with surviving members of Jimmy's crew, provided a sound basis for the manuscript enabling the inclusion of quotes and first-hand impressions from those who knew him well. The inclusion of Jimmy's own words (and those of his immediate family) was vital. Original documents and quotes have been included wherever possible.

Download or read book My Name Is Henry Fanshaw written by Gillian Torckler and published by . This book was released on 2021-03-15 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Henry Fanshaw is no ordinary teddy bear. In fact, he travelled the world with the Royal New Zealand Air Force's No. 75 Squadron - one of New Zealand's most famous air force squadrons - which served around the world, in places like Malaysia, Singapore and Australia. Before that, they had fought in the Second World War. Join Henry as he remembers the brave airmen who risked their lives for their country, including the famous Kiwi pilot Jimmy Ward who received the Victoria Cross for climbing out on the wing of a plane in mid-flight to put out a fire. Today Henry resides at the Air Force Museum of New Zealand.

Download or read book The Nuremberg Raid written by Martin Middlebrook and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2009-06-25 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A thorough history of the RAF Bomber Command attack on the German city during World War II, by the author of The First Day on the Somme. This book describes one twenty-four-hour period in the Allied Strategic Bomber Offensive in the greatest possible detail. Author Martin Middlebrook sets the scene by outlining the course of the bombing war from 1939 to the night of the Nuremberg raid, the characters and aims of the British bombing leaders, and the composition of the opposing Bomber Command and German night fighter forces. The aim of the Nuremberg raid was not unlike many hundreds of other Royal Air Force missions but, due to the difficulties and dangers of the enemy defenses and weather plus bad luck, it went horribly wrong. The result was so notorious that it became a turning point in the campaign. The target, the symbolic Nazi rally city of Nuremberg, was only lightly damaged, and 96 out of 779 bombers went missing. Middlebrook recreates the events of the fateful night in astonishing detail. The result is a meticulous, dramatic, and often controversial account. It is also a moving tribute to the bravery of the RAF bomber crews and their adversaries. Praise for The Nuremberg Raid “Employing hundreds of eyewitness accounts, he shows the raid from the point of view of the German defenses and the civilians on the ground. Factual and analytical, this is a portrait of mechanized warfare at the level of personal experience.” —Simon Mawer, Wall Street Journal

Download or read book No 75 Squadron RNZAF written by and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Forever Strong written by Norman Franks and published by Random House (UK). This book was released on 1992-01 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Details the complete history of 75 Squadron, from its beginnings in 1916 right up to the present day. It is full of personal accounts from squadron members who survived the war and from current members, including the daring Kiwi Red aerobatic display team.

Download or read book The Mallon Crew written by Vic Jay and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2016-10-04 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'The Mallon crew' is the extraordinary result of four years of research. My decision in 2012 to write a blog about my father's war-time experiences as the Flight Engineer of a Lancaster bomber, took me on an incredible voyage of discovery, and unearthed some remarkable stories of courage, sacrifice and betrayal. As a child growing up in the 1950s, I never tired of asking my dad about what he did in the war. I wanted to know all about his role, what flak was like, and even how aircraft were able to fly. By the time I left primary school, my interest had started to wane and, when he died in 1974 at the age of just 55, I thought I had lost any chance of discovering more about his life. I couldn't have been more mistaken. Nearly forty years later, with just a handful of photographs, his flying log book and the name of his New Zealand pilot, Bill Mallon, my modest research project into 'Bob Jay's war' uncovered more tragedies than I could have imagined possible, and connected me with the families of all but one of my dad's crew. It even gave me the opportunity to talk to a man of 94 who had flown with my dad, and to find a photograph of my dad's aircraft flying to his last target. This book is not about a squadron, nor is it about individual acts of heroism, it is about the Mallon crew, a small group of unremarkable men thrown together briefly during the last few months of the war, and the amazing way in which their stories have unfolded seventy years later. I defy anyone not to be moved by their experiences, nor to marvel at the power of the internet to bring people together.

Download or read book Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War Aircraft and crew losses 1941 written by W. R. Chorley and published by Midland. This book was released on 1992 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the second volume in the series which deals with the losses sustained by the RAF Bomber Command during the 2nd World War. It has already found favour with historians, and those friends and relatives affected by the loss.

Download or read book Return at Dawn written by Hilary Aidan St. George Saunders and published by . This book was released on 1942 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Escape written by Frank Gatland and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Arthur Gatland is a pilot. His father Frank Gatland DFM mid was also a pilot. Frank joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1941 and following his flying training he became a Short Stirling captain with No. 214 Squadron, RAF Bomber Command . Following several operations with the squadron, including a very low level attack he made on Genoa, Italy, in October 1942 that earned him the Distinguished Flying Medal, his luck ran out. He and his crew were shot down/collided with a fighter over France on the night of 28/29 November 1942. Frank survived the parachute jump and he set off on foot in an attempt to evade capture. After covering many miles he was eventually taken prisoner and placed into Stalag VIIIB POW camp. He was not there long before he was planning an escape, the first of many to come. Including the initial evasion, Frank would be officially credited with five escapes by war's end. He was a genuine thorn in the side to the Germans, continually planning and scheming ways to get away and try to get back to Britain and safety. He loved every minute of it! In later years Frank wrote his memoirs of his wartime experiences, both as a bomber pilot and as an evader, escaper and a POW. Now, ten years after Frank's death, his son Arthur has published those memoirs as a book.

Download or read book Eagles of the RAF written by Philip D. Caine and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1994-07 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: U.S. citizens fought and died in WW II long before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Among them were the pilots of the Eagle Squadrons, three fighter squadrons of Britain's Royal Air Force manned by young U.S. flyers. This book tells how the Eagle squadrons were formed and summarizes the history of the units and evaluates their deeds, motivations, and contributions. Draws on interviews from more than 35 surviving Eagles, their letters and memoirs, and official records. Depicts their daily lives along with special heroes and amazing sacrifices. "An important contribution to the study of American involvement in WWII. Highly recommended."

Download or read book Bomber Offensive written by Arthur Harris and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2005-03-01 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book I Flew for the Fuhrer written by Heinz Knocke and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2012-03-19 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Reading like a novel, this primary source is a valuable look at the ‘other side’ of World War II aviation.”—Gazette665 Heinz Knoke was one of the outstanding German fighter pilots of World War II and this vivid first-hand record of his experiences has become a classic among aviation memoirs, a bestselling counterbalance to the numerous accounts written by Allied pilots. Knoke joined the Luftwaffe on the outbreak of war, and eventually became commanding officer of a fighter wing. An outstandingly brave and skillful fighter, he logged over two thousand flights, and shot down fifty-two enemy aircraft. He had flown over four hundred operational missions before being crippled by wounds in an astonishing ‘last stand’ towards the end of the war. He was awarded the Knight’s Cross for his achievements. In a text that reveals his intense patriotism and discipline, he describes being brought up in the strict Prussian tradition, the impact of the coming of the Nazi regime, and his own wartime career set against a fascinating study of everyday life in the Luftwaffe, and of the high morale of the force until its disintegration. In a postscript provided for this edition, Heinz Knoke writes of the struggle to survive after the war in Germany, and his building of a new life. Now that the Berlin Wall has been torn down, his memoirs are set in a new perspective, both a valuable contribution to aviation literature and a moving human story.

Download or read book Kiwis Do Fly written by Peter John Wheeler and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Some six thousand New Zealanders volunteered during WWII to serve as Aircrew with RAF Bomber Command. Over two thousand killed. Many more were injured or became prisoners of war, yet the survivors still recall that 'these were the best days of our lives'. Kiwis Do Fly is a highly-illustrated collection of veterans experiences during training and on operations. They recall times on leave, friendships and tragedies and for some the women they met and brought home as wives. These are first-hand accounts from forty-two veterans.

Download or read book For Your Tomorrow written by Errol W. Martyn and published by . This book was released on 1999-08-01 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: