Download or read book Air Battle Dunkirk written by Norman L. R. Franks and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Air Battle for Dunkirk 26 May 3 June 1940 written by Norman Franks and published by Grub Street. This book was released on 2006-07-19 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A gripping account of the Royal Air Force’s daring exploits during the heroic evacuation of Allied troops from France in World War II. “Where is the RAF?” was the oft-quoted question asked by soldiers waiting on the beach at Dunkirk, to where they had retreated following the German blitzkrieg through northern France, and where they were now being pounded by the Luftwaffe. The air forces were there, as Norman Franks proves, detailing the outstanding achievements of the Allied pilots who fought, using outmoded tactics, against enemy pilots who had earlier had easy victories over the Polish, Dutch and Belgian air forces. The RAF’s achievement reminds us just how close Britain came to disaster in June 1940. “An absorbing read, which vindicates the RAF.” —RAF Historical Journal “Leveraging mission logs and splicing firsthand written accounts, the narrative is both cohesive and seamless. The details are incredibly rich, yet not burdensome.” —Air & Space Power Journal “With the recent release of the blockbuster film on the same subject, Franks’ recounting of the air battle for Dunkirk is timely for those who left the movie theater wanting more . . . Air Battle for Dunkirk is recommended for those who loved the film and wanted more context. This book is especially recommended for those who are interested in aviation history.” —Nicole Granados, Picture This Post
Download or read book Air Battle Dunkirk written by Norman L. R. Franks and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The air battle of Dunkirk took place 60+ years ago and was the culmination of the RAF's first major confrontation with Hitler's Luftwaffe in WWII.
Download or read book Air Battle Dunkirk 26 May 3 June 1940 New Ed written by Norman L. r Franks and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Air Battle for Dunkirk written by Norman Franks and published by . This book was released on 2017-05-31 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the epic blockbuster film Dunkirk, to be released in July 2017, directed by Christopher Nolan and starring, amongst others, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hardy and Mark Rylance, this reissue has never been more timely. 'Where is the RAF?' was the oft-quoted question asked by soldiers waiting on the beach at Dunkirk, to where they had retreated following the German blitzkrieg through northern France, and where they were now being pounded by the Luftwaffe. The air forces were there, as Norman Franks proves, detailing the outstanding achievements of the Allied pilots who fought, using outmoded tactics, against enemy pilots who had earlier had easy victories over the Polish, Dutch and Belgian air forces. The RAF's achievement reminds us just how close Britain came to disaster in June 1940.
Download or read book Air Power and the Evacuation of Dunkirk written by Harry Raffal and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2021-07-15 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The evacuation of Dunkirk has been immortalised in books, prints and films, narrated as a story of an outnumbered, inexperienced RAF defeating the battle-hardened Luftwaffe and protecting the evacuation. This book revives the historiography by analysing the air operations during the evacuation. Raffal draws from German and English sources, many for the first time in the context of Operation DYNAMO, to argue that both sides suffered a defeat over Dunkirk. . This work examines the resources and tactics of both sides during DYNAMO and challenges the traditional view that the Luftwaffe held the advantage. The success that the Luftwaffe achieved during DYNAMO, including halting daylight evacuations on 1 June, is evaluated and the supporting role of RAF Bomber and Coastal Command is explored in detail for the first time. Concluding that the RAF was not responsible for the Luftwaffe's failure to prevent the evacuation, Raffal demonstrates that the reasons lay elsewhere.
Download or read book Air Power and the Evacuation of Dunkirk written by Harry Raffal and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Acknowledgements -- List of Figures and Tables -- Abbreviations Introduction -- 1. The Two Forces -- 2. The Luftwaffe's Attacks on Dynamo, 29 May and 1 June -- 3. German Artillery Fire and the Suspension of Daylight Evacuations -- 4. The Luftwaffe's Attacks on Dunkirk Before 29 May -- 5. The Luftwaffe's Attacks on Dunkirk on 30?31 May -- 6. Results, Limitations and Potential of Luftwaffe Night Attacks and Mine Operations -- 7. RAF and Luftwaffe Fighter Operations during Dynamo -- 8. The Operations of Coastal Command and the Fleet Air Arm -- 9. The Operations of Bomber Command -- Conclusions -- Bibliography -- Index.
Download or read book Unflinching Zeal written by Robin Higham and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2012-09-15 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This consequential work by a pioneer aviation historian fills a significant lacuna in the story of the defeat of France in May-June 1940 and more fully explains the Battle of Britain of July–October of that year and the influence it had on the Luftwaffe in the 1941 invasion of the USSR. Robin Higham approaches the subject by sketching the story and status of the three air forces--the Armée de l’Air, the Luftwaffe, and the Royal Air Force--their organization and preparation for their battles. He then dissects the the campaigns, their losses and replacement policies and abilities. He paints the struggles of France and Britain from both the background provided by his recent Two Roads to War: From Versailles to Dunkirk (NIP, 2012) and from the details of losses tabulated by After the Battle’s The Battle of Britain (1982, 2nd ed.) and Peter Cornwell’s The Battle of France Then and Now (2007), as well as in Paul Martin’s Invisible Vainqueurs (1990) and from the Luftwaffe summaries in the British National Archives Cabinet papers. One important finding is that the consumption and wastage was not nearly as high as claimed. The three air forces actually shot down only 19 percent of the number claimed. In the RAF case, in the summer of 1940, 44 percent of those shot down were readily repairable thanks to the salvage and repair organizations. This contrasted with the much lower 8 percent for the Germans and zero for the French. Brave as the aircrews may have been, the inescapable conclusion is that awareness of consumption, wastage, and sustainability were intimately connected to survival.
Download or read book Dunkirk written by Hugh Sebag-Montefiore and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2007-05-31 with total page 1005 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: * * * Special 75th Anniversary Edition * * * Hugh Sebag-Montefiore's Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man tells the story of the rescue in May 1940 of British soldiers fleeing capture and defeat by the Nazis at Dunkirk. Dunkirk was not just about what happened at sea and on the beaches. The evacuation would never have succeeded had it not been for the tenacity of the British soldiers who stayed behind to ensure they got away. Men like Sergeant Major Gus Jennings who died smothering a German stick bomb in the church at Esquelbecq in an effort to save his comrades, and Captain Marcus Ervine-Andrews VC who single-handedly held back a German attack on the Dunkirk perimeter thereby allowing the British line to form up behind him. Told to stand and fight to the last man, these brave few battalions fought in whatever manner they could to buy precious time for the evacuation. Outnumbered and outgunned, they launched spectacular and heroic attacks time and again, despite ferocious fighting and the knowledge that for many only capture or death would end their struggle. 'A searing story . . . both meticulous military history and a deeply moving testimony to the extraordinary personal bravery of individual soldiers' Tim Gardam, The Times 'Sebag-Montefiore tells [the story] with gusto, a remarkable attention to detail and an inexhaustible appetite for tracking down the evidence' Richard Ovary, Telegraph Hugh Sebag-Montefiore was a barrister before becoming a journalist and then an author. He wrote the best-selling Enigma: The Battle for the Code. One of his ancestors was evacuated from Dunkirk.
Download or read book The Evacuation of Dunkirk 28 May 3 June 1940 written by Hughes L. Ash and published by . This book was released on 1948 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Battle of Britain written by James Holland and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2011-03-15 with total page 736 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "First published in Great Britain by Bantam Press"--T.p. verso.
Download or read book Battle of Britain 1940 written by Dilip Sarkar and published by Air World. This book was released on 2020-05-30 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The summer of 1940 remains a pivotal moment in modern British history – still inspiring immense national pride and a global fascination. The Fall of France was catastrophic. Britain stood alone and within range of German air attack. America, with its vast resources was neutral, Hitler’s forces unbeaten, the outlook for Britain bleak. As Britain’s wartime leader, Winston Churchill, rightly predicted, ‘the Battle of Britain is about to begin’. Famously, Churchill mobilized the English language, emboldening the nation with rousing rhetoric. In this darkest of hours, Churchill told the people that this was, in fact, their ‘Finest Hour’, a time of unprecedented courage and defiance which defined the British people. Connecting the crucial battle with Shakespeare’s heroic Henry V and Agincourt, Churchill also immortalized Fighter Command’s young aircrew as the ‘Few’ – to whom so many owed everything. The Few comprised nearly 3,000 aircrew, 544 of which gave their lives during the Battle of Britain’s sixteen weeks of high drama. Arguably, however, the official dates of 10 July – 31 October 1940 are arbitrary, the fighting actually ongoing before and afterwards. Many gave their lives whose names are not included among the Few, as of course did civilians, seamen, and ground staff – which is not overlooked in this groundbreaking book. In this unique study, veteran historian and author Dilip Sarkar explores the individual stories of a wide selection of those who lost their lives during the ‘Finest Hour’, examining their all-too brief lives and sharing these tragic stories – told here, in full, for the first time. Also included is the story of a German fighter pilot, indicating the breadth of investigation involved. Researched with the full cooperation of the families concerned, this work is a crucial contribution to the Battle of Britain’s bibliography.
Download or read book Air Force Combat Units of World War II written by Maurer Maurer and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1961 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Second World War Dunkirk and the Fall of France written by Geoffrey Stewart and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2009-04-17 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For sixty years the dramatic story of the Dunkirk evacuation and the defeat of France—the story of the German conquest of northwest Europe—has been the focus of historical study and dispute, yet myths and misconceptions about this extraordinary event persist. The ruthless efficiency of the German assault, the 'miracle' of Dunkirk, the feeble French defense—these still common assumptions are questioned in Geoffrey Stewart's highly readable and concise account of the campaign. The German victory was not inevitable
Download or read book Battle of Britain The Gathering Storm written by Dilip Sarkar and published by Air World. This book was released on 2023-07-31 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dilip Sarkar has studied the Battle of Britain period for a lifetime and is renowned for his meticulous research and evidence-based approach, setting events within the broadest possible context. In doing so, he has helped enrich our appreciation and understanding of the past. In this, the first of a new seven volume series on the Battle of Britain, we have the background to the aerial conflict of the summer of 1940 revealed in great detail and told comprehensively as never before. No stone has been left unturned, no angle unexplored. This meticulous approach the research, combined with the human stories and events, many revealed for the first time, tells what Dilip calls ‘the Big Story’. The development of air power, the creation of Britain’s defenses, the German side, the Home Front and political events are all covered – and much more. After considering the background threads prior to the outbreak of war in 1939, this book then describes the developing conflict on land, sea and in the air. The German invasion of Norway, the Fall of France and the air fighting over Dunkirk are all explored, along with Hitler’s actual preferred policy towards Britain, which at first was one of blockade – not invasion. The author, with justification, questions the validity of the Battle of Britain’s official start-date being 10 July 1940, evidencing the fact that the fighting actually began eight days earlier. From that date onwards, a day-by-day, hour-by-hour, account of the fighting is provided, giving due recognition to those aircrew lost or wounded before 10 July 1940, and whose names are not, therefore, found amongst ‘The Few’. Due accord is also given to the Royal Navy, and efforts of both Bomber and Coastal commands, emphasizing just what a ‘big’ story this actually is – far from simply concerning a handful of Spitfire and Hurricane pilots. Through diligent research with crucial official primary sources and personal papers, Dilip unravels many myths, often challenging the accepted narrative. This is not, however, simply another dull record of combat losses and claims, far from it. Drawing upon unique first-hand accounts from a wide-range of combatants and eyewitnesses, along with the daily Home Intelligence Reports and the papers of politicians such as Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano, this really is an unprecedented approach to understanding the build-up to and times of the Battle of Britain.
Download or read book The Great Escaper written by Simon Pearson and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-05-04 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Sunday Times bestseller, the real story behind the mastermind of the most famous breakout in history—The Great Escape. While the most famous images from the 1963 film The Great Escape include either a motorcycle or a ball—but definitely Steve McQueen—Richard Attenborough played the part of “Big X,” the British mastermind behind the greatest escape in history. Like the subject of the film, “Big X” was a real person. Roger Bushell was the mastermind of the mass breakout from Stalag Luft III in March 1944. Very little was known about Bushell until 2011, when his family donated his private papers to the Imperial War Museum. Through exclusive access to this material, as well as new research from other sources, Simon Pearson has written the first biography of this iconic figure. Born in South Africa in 1910, Roger Bushell was the son of a British mining engineer. On May 23, 1940, his Spitfire was shot down during a dogfight over Boulogne after destroying two German fighters. Over the next four years he made three escapes, coming within one hundred yards of the Swiss border during his first attempt. His third (and last escape) destabilized the Nazi leadership and captured the imagination of the world, forever immortalized by Hollywood. Simon Pearson's revealing biography is a vivid account of war and love, triumph and tragedy—and one man's attempt to challenge remorseless tyranny in the face of impossible odds.
Download or read book Dunkirk Nine Days That Saved An Army written by John Grehan and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2018-03-30 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The epic of Dunkirk has been told many times, but the numerous accounts from surviving soldiers and sailors were often a blur of fear and fighting with the days mingling into each other, leaving what is, at times, a confusing picture. In this book, adopting a day by day approach, the author provides a clear portrayal of the unfolding drama on the perimeter around Dunkirk, in the port itself and along the beaches to La Panne and the Belgian border.Reports from many of the captains of the vessels which took part in the great evacuation were submitted to the Admiralty immediately after the conclusion of Operation Dynamo. With access to these, and supported by the various records maintained by the Army and RAF, the author has been able to finally piece together the movements and actions of the many of the squadrons, units and ships involved.With the Admiralty reports and a mass of other firsthand accounts, many of which have never been published before, the true tale of the heroism of the rescued and the rescuers is laid bare. Operation Dynamo saw civilian volunteers and Royal Navy personnel manning every type of craft from the antiaircraft cruiser HMS Calcutta to the cockle boats of the Thames Estuary. The accounts of the men who crewed these vessels tell of being bombed and strafed by the Luftwaffe or shelled from the shore. There are stories of collisions in the dark, chaos on the beaches and tragic losses as ships went down. Similar tales are told by the men waiting on the beaches, defending the perimeter or flying in the skies overhead in a valiant effort to hold the German Army and Luftwaffe at bay.Yet this is ultimately a story, as Churchill described it, of deliverance, for against all the predictions, the BEF was saved to fight again another day. With civilians and servicemen working without respite for days and nights on end under almost continual attack to rescue the army, the nation pulled together as never before. It truly was Britains finest hour.
