Download or read book Air Force Blue The RAF in World War Two Spearhead of Victory written by Patrick Bishop and published by HarperCollins UK. This book was released on 2017-09-21 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2018 the RAF is one hundred years old. In his new book, destined to be a classic, Patrick Bishop examines the high point of its existence – the Second World War, when the Air Force saved the nation from defeat then led the advance to victory. A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

Download or read book Air Force Blue the RAF in World War Two written by Patrick Bishop and published by William Collins. This book was released on 2018-03-08 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On 1 April 2018, the Royal Air Force will be a hundred years old - a short life by military standards but an extraordinarily important and eventful one. From the start it was special, standing sometimes awkwardly but always proudly a little apart from the existing services. It was a product of the modern age, whose fortunes depended on ever-more sophisticated machines and the right calibre of men to fly them and to keep them airborne. Its achievements between 1939 and 1945 - when it was Britain's last line of defence and the spearhead of its counter-attack, were central to the entire war effort. During these years, one in four of those in uniform wore air force blue and the ethos of the RAF was indistinguishable from the spirit of the nation. "Air Force Blue" tells personal stories of those who served, using the letters, diaries and memoirs of the participants to create a true picture of what it was like to be a pilot, a navigator, a gunner, a fitter or a WAAF ops room clerk.

Download or read book The Right of the Line written by John Terraine and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2010-04-06 with total page 861 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traditionally, the right of the line is the vanguard, the place of honour and greatest danger in battle. In this history of the Royal Air Force during the European War of 1939-45, John Terraine shows how the RAF, which in 1939 was small and inadequate for the task it was called upon to perform had, by the end of the war, taken up its proper position. He describes the build-up to war, the early tests in France and at Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, the Battle of the Atlantic, the RAF in North Africa and the Mediterranean, the strategic air offensive over Germany and eventual victory in Europe.His best book yet The TimesJohn Terraine is a fine historian but he also believes that history should be exciting and readable The Listener

Download or read book Women in Air Force Blue written by Beryl E. Escott and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Operation Jubilee written by Patrick Bishop and published by Signal. This book was released on 2021-10-19 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the tradition of Ben Macintyre, Tim Cook, and other bestselling World War Two historians, a riveting and updated telling of the tragic Dieppe raid of 1942. On the moonless night of August 18th 1942 a flotilla pushes out into the flat water of the Channel. They are to seize the German-held port of Dieppe and hold it for at least twenty-four hours, showing the Soviets the Allies were serious about a second front and to get experience ahead of a full-scale invasion. But confidence turned to carnage with nearly two thirds of the attackers dead, wounded or captured. The raid - the Royal Air Force's biggest battle since 1940- was both a disaster and a milestone in the narrative of the war. It was cited as essential to D-Day, but the tragedy was all too predictable. Using first-hand testimony and highlighting recently declassified source material from archives across several countries, bestselling author Patrick Bishop's account of this doomed endeavour reveals the big picture and unearths telling details that fully bring Operation Jubilee to life for the first time.

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 Rearming the RAF for the Second World War written by Adrian Phillips and published by Pen and Sword History. This book was released on 2022-07-28 with total page 483 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the RAF rearmed to meet the growing threat from Nazi Germany's remorseless expansion in the late 1930s, it faced immense challenges. It had to manage a huge increase in size as well as mastering rapid advances in aviation technology. To protect Britain from attack, the RAF's commanders had to choose the right strategy and the right balance in its forces. The choices had to be made in peacetime with no guidance from combat experience. These visions then had to be translated into practical reality. A shifting cast of government ministers, civil servants and industrialists with their own financial, political and military agendas brought further dynamics into play. The RAF's readiness for war was crucial to Britain's ability to respond to Nazi aggression before war broke out and when it did, the RAF's rearmament was put to the acid test of battle. Adrian Phillips uses the penetrating grasp of how top level decisions are made that he honed in his inside accounts of the abdication crisis and appeasement, to dissect the process which shaped the RAF of 1940. He looks beyond the familiar legends of the Battle of Britain and explores in depth the successes and failures of a vital element in British preparations for war.

Download or read book Sisters in Arms written by Jeremy A. Crang and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-09-03 with total page 355 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the Second World War some 600,000 women were absorbed into the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, the Auxiliary Territorial Service, and the Women's Royal Naval Service. These women performed important military functions for the armed forces, both at home and overseas, and the jobs they undertook ranged from cooking, typing and telephony to stripping down torpedoes, overhauling aircraft engines, and operating the fire control instruments in anti-aircraft gun batteries. In this wide-ranging study, which draws on a multitude of sources and combines organisational history with the personal experiences of servicewomen, Jeremy Crang traces the wartime history of the WAAF, ATS and WRNS and the integration of women into the British armed forces. Servicewomen came to play such an integral wartime role that the military authorities established permanent regular post-war women's services and, in so doing, opened up for the first time a military career for women.

Download or read book The Women Behind the Few written by Sarah-Louise Miller and published by Biteback Publishing. This book was released on 2023-03-09 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The courageous pilots of the Royal Air Force who faced the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain, affectionately known as 'the Few', are rightly hailed as heroes. Recently, efforts have been made to recognise the thousands who supported RAF operations behind the scenes. And yet one group remains missing from the narrative: the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. WAAFs worked within the Dowding System, the world's most sophisticated air defence network. Throughout the Blitz, they used radar to aid Fighter and Bomber Commands in protecting Britain's civilians. WAAFs were also behind the discovery of the terrifying German V-weapons. Their work was critical ahead of the Normandy landings and they were present in their hundreds at Bletchley Park. In this thrilling book, Sarah-Louise Miller celebrates their wartime contribution to British military intelligence. Hidden behind the Few but vital to their success, WAAFs supplied the RAF with life-saving information. Here, for the first time, is their story.

Download or read book The Flyer written by Martin Francis and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2011-05-19 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Between 1939 and 1945, the British public was spellbound by the martial endeavours and dashing style of the young men of the RAF, especially those with silvery fabric wings sewn above the breast pocket of their glamorous slate-blue uniform. Martin Francis provides the first scholarly study of the place of 'the flyer' in British culture during the Second World War. Examining the lives of RAF personnel, and their popular representation in literary and cinematic texts, he illuminates broader issues of gender, social class, national and racial identities, emotional life, and the creation of a national myth in twentieth-century Britain. In particular, Francis argues that the flyer's relationship to fear, aggression, loss of his comrades, bodily dismemberment, and psychological breakdown reveals broader ambiguities surrounding the dominant understandings of masculinity in the middle decades of the century. Despite his star appeal, cultural representations of the flyer encompassed both the gentle, chivalrous warrior and the uncompromising agent of destruction. Paying particular attention to the romantic universe of wartime aircrew, Francis reveals the extraordinary contrasts of their daily lives: dicing with death in the sky one moment, before sitting down to lunch with wives and children in the next. Male and female experiences during the war were not polarized and antithetical, but were complementary and interrelated, a conclusion which has implications for the history of gender in modern Britain that reach well beyond either the specialized military culture of the wartime RAF or the chronological parameters of the Second World War.

Download or read book The Forgotten Air Force written by Henry Probert and published by Potomac Books. This book was released on 1995 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 2. Verdenskrig. Beretning om RAF's deltagelse i krigen i Sydøstasien og i Stillehavet.

Download or read book Big Week written by James Holland and published by Atlantic Monthly Press. This book was released on 2018-11-06 with total page 529 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A history of World War II’s Operation Argument in which US and British air forces led a series of raids against Nazi Germany in 1944. During the third week of February 1944, the combined Allied air forces based in Britain and Italy launched their first round-the-clock bomber offensive against Germany. Their goal: to smash the main factories and production centers of the Luftwaffe while also drawing German planes into an aerial battle of attrition to neutralize the Luftwaffe as a fighting force prior to the cross-channel invasion, planned for a few months later. Officially called Operation Argument, this aerial offensive quickly became known as “Big Week,” and it was one of the turning-point engagements of World War II. In Big Week, acclaimed World War II historian James Holland chronicles the massive air battle through the experiences of those who lived and died during it. Prior to Big Week, the air forces on both sides were in crisis. Allied raids into Germany were being decimated, but German resources—fuel and pilots—were strained to the breaking point. Ultimately new Allied aircraft—especially the American long-range P-51 Mustang—and superior tactics won out during Big Week. Through interviews, oral histories, diaries, and official records, Holland follows the fortunes of pilots, crew, and civilians on both sides, taking readers from command headquarters to fighter cockpits to anti-aircraft positions and civilian chaos on the ground, vividly recreating the campaign as it was conceived and unfolded. In the end, the six days of intense air battles largely cleared the skies of enemy aircraft when the invasion took place on June 6, 1944—D-Day. Big Week is both an original contribution to WWII literature and a brilliant piece of narrative history, recapturing a largely forgotten campaign that was one of the most critically important periods of the entire war. Praise for Big Week An Amazon Best Book of the Year “With the aid of diaries, memoirs and his own interviews, Mr. Holland gives a detailed, crewman’s-eye view of combat from inside the British, American and German aircraft during the months leading up to Big Week and during the week itself. For those hoping for war-movie stuff, rest assured that the enemy fighters do come in at 6 o’clock, the guns do hammer, the sun does glint and the ‘chutes do blossom in the sky. Still it’s a serious and important story as well as a dramatic one, and Mr. Holland tells it with verve and authority.” —David A. Price, Wall Street Journal “Highly detailed. . . . The interplay of personal stories with the broader strategic picture makes this book especially illuminating. . . . A fascinating must-read for World War II aficionados.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Download or read book Combat Squadrons of the Air Force World War II written by Maurer Maurer and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 856 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of squadron histories has been prepared by the USAF Historical Division to complement the Division's book, Air Force Combat Units of World War II. The 1,226 units covered by this volume are the combat (tactical) squadrons that were active between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945. Each squadron is traced from its beginning through 5 March 1963, the fiftieth anniversary of the organization of the 1st Aero (later Bombardment) Squadron, the first Army unit to be equipped with aircraft for tactical operations. For each squadron there is a statement of the official lineage and data on the unit's assignments, stations, aircraft and missiles, operations, service streamers, campaign participation, decorations, and emblem.

Download or read book The RAF in the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain written by Greg Baughen and published by Fonthill Media. This book was released on 2017-09-15 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In May 1940, the opposing German and Allied forces seemed reasonably well matched. On the ground, the four allied nations had more troops, artillery and tanks. Even in the air, the German advantage in numbers was slight. Yet two months later, the Allied armies had been crushed. The Netherlands, Belgium and France had all surrendered and Britain stood on her own, facing imminent defeat. Subsequent accounts of the campaign have tended to see this outcome as predetermined, with the seeds of defeat sown long before the fighting began. Was it so inevitable? Should the RAF have done more to help the Allied armies? Why was such a small proportion of the RAF's frontline strength committed to the crucial battle on the ground? Could Fighter Command have done more to protect the British and French troops being evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk? This study looks at the operations flown and takes a fresh look at the fatal decisions made behind the scenes, decisions that unnecessarily condemned RAF aircrews to an unequal struggle and ultimately ensured Allied defeat. What followed became the RAF's finest hour with victory achieved by the narrowest of margins. Or was it, as some now suggest, a victory that was always inevitable? If so, how was the German military juggernaut that had conquered most of Europe so suddenly halted? This study looks at the decisions and mistakes made by both sides. It explains how the British obsession with bomber attacks on cities had led to the development of the wrong type of fighter force and how only a fortuitous sequence of events enabled Fighter Command to prevail. It also looks at how ready the RAF was to deal with an invasion. How much air support could the British Army have expected? Why were hundreds of American combat planes and experienced Polish and Czech pilots left on the sidelines? And when the Blitz began, and Britain finally got the war it was expecting, what did this campaign tell us about the theories on air power that had so dominated pre-war air policy? All these questions and more are answered in Greg Baughen's third book. Baughen describes the furious battles between the RAF and the Luftwaffe and the equally bitter struggle between the Air Ministry and the War Office - and explains how close Britain really came to defeat in the summer of 1940.

Download or read book Re living Britain in the 1940s written by Robin Wichard and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2023-01-24 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 1940s remains an iconic period in world history and retains a fascination for so many. Re-enacting the 40s is becoming increasingly popular but there is little available information explaining how to start in the hobby. This book is the first to offer enthusiasts of the 40s a way to advance their interest whether it be military or civilian. Each chapter deals with a different aspect of re-enacting from civilian roles (including children) to military roles with many different potential impressions explored for each area. Each chapter is lavishly illustrated with many previously unseen color photographs of contemporary re-enactors and events. There are further chapters introducing those people who portray wartime political and military leaders as well as those who bring back to life some of the most iconic musicians and performers of the period. For those choosing to enter the hobby through ownership of a civilian or military vehicle, that is also covered with many examples of some of the most well-known vehicles. Each chapter offers a brief contextual history with detailed notes on where to obtain uniform and equipment, some of the best groups to join as well as links to related sites and recommendations for wider reading. No book can cover every single possible role but this offers an excellent starting point for further research and involvement while stressing the need to always remain respectful of those we seek to commemorate.

Download or read book Air Battle of the Ruhr written by Alan W. Cooper and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2013-06-19 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published to acclaim in 1992, this book deals with the exploits of Bomber Command during their offensive against German Industry in the Ruhr during World War II. The author begins by describing the role of Bomber Command and goes on to define the Ruhr area and its great importance in terms of industrial output to the Germans. The author provides the statistics for bombers dispatched, the number, which actually got to the targets and those, which never made it for one reason or another. Air Battle of the Ruhr is a complete overview of a major aspect of the air war against mainland Germany a subject that has rarely been dealt with in such depth. This book fills in an important gap in the history of the Royal Air Force.

Download or read book Paris 44 written by Patrick Bishop and published by Signal. This book was released on 2024-07-09 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Celebrating the eightieth anniversary of the liberation of Paris, a heart-stopping countdown narrative recreating the liberation of Paris in 1944, one of the great hinge moments of WW2. The fall of Paris to the Nazis in June 1940 seemed like the darkest day of the Second World War; and the liberation of the city in August 1944 felt like the brightest. The liberation was a hinge moment of immense significance for the twentieth century, heralding the final victory of light over darkness and opening the door to a future free from fear. It was also the party of the century: champagne flowed freely, total strangers embraced - it was a celebration of life renewed against the backdrop of the world's favourite city, seen in by the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Lee Miller, JD Salinger, Picasso, and Robert Capa. This happy ending has come to feel as if it was pre-ordained. But there was nothing inevitable about it. Had things gone differently Paris might have gone down as a ghastly monument to Nazi nihilism, reduced to a rubble-strewn graveyard. This book, timed for the eightieth anniversary of the liberation of Paris, tells the story of those iridescent days in a startling new way. In a countdown narrative, packed with drama, heroism, joy—and heart-thumping suspense—the City of Lights' fate hangs in the balance.