Download or read book Allied Strafing in World War II written by William B. Colgan and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2014-01-10 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Among the offensive aerial missions employed in World War II, air-to-ground gun fighting was one of the most valuable. Strafing, which involved the extensive damage of ground, air and naval forces by pilots flying in deadly, low-altitude skies, helped the Allies to their victory. This historical text examines the role of strafing in combat, particularly during World War II, but also during the Korea and Vietnam wars. The nature of gunnery, strafing and gunfighting are explored within the context of particular missions and actions. First-hand accounts and gun camera film evidence contribute to the exploration of this most dangerous form of combat and honor the courage of America's veterans who served as pilots or aerial crewmen.
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 Air Power at the Battlefront written by Ian Gooderson and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 1998 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ian Gooderson presents a study of close air support in World War II, with the analysis focusing on the use of tactical air power by British and American forces during the campaigns in Italy and northwestern Europe between 1943 and 1945.
Download or read book A Dawn Like Thunder written by Robert J. Mrazek and published by Little Brown. This book was released on 2008 with total page 562 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An account of the contributions of World War II's Torpedo Squadron Eight traces their role in key U.S. victories at Midway and Guadalcanal, citing the honors achieved, and losses suffered, by its thirty-five members.
Download or read book Air Force Magazine written by and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 612 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Jagged Edge of Duty written by Robert L. Richardson and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2017-04-15 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The World War II fighter-pilot story On the very first day of the invasion of Sicily, three months into his combat career, Allan Knepper flew his P-38 Lightning fighter in a squadron sent out to sweep the island and interdict German ground targets. Retreating German infantry unexpectedly pounded the American flyers. Knepper was one of two shot down; he was never found. Knepper’s story is the story-in-microcosm of thousands of American fighter pilots in World War II. Richardson recounts Knepper’s experiences from training through combat and uses them to discuss the aircraft, tactics and doctrine, training, base life, and aerial combat of the war. This is the intimate account of one pilot at war, but also the anatomy of the fighter-pilot experience in World War II.
Download or read book A Concise History of the Second World War Its Origin Battles and Consequences written by Richard Z. Freemann, Jr. and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2019-06-26 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Merriam Press World War 2 History Series. In the history of human existence, no conflict has cratered the earth, its people and their ways of living like World War II. The battles that blazed across the globe from the late 1930s until 1945 caused more than sixty million deaths. This writing aspires to present the tale of World War II in a concise yet digestible fashion, and to stimulate the reader to delve further into its history. In addition to the "What, Where and When" of war, it is appropriate to consider what forces and flaws contributed to the war's emergence. This book begins with a review of the events and circumstances that gave birth to the conflict. Then comes a discussion of the war's action in every significant theater of combat. The book closes with the human and economic costs of the conflict, an evaluation of the intended and unintended consequences of World War II, and ethical questions the war has brought to the surface. 19 photos, 16 maps, sources.
Download or read book Luftwaffe Fighter Bombers Over Britain written by Chris Goss and published by Crecy Pub. This book was released on 2013 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers over Britain analyses the campaign from March 1942-June 1943 using contemporary records and first-hand accounts from both the German and British sides.
Download or read book Flying against Fate written by S. P. MacKenzie and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2017-08-04 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During World War II, Allied casualty rates in the air were high. Of the roughly 125,000 who served as aircrew with Bomber Command, 59,423 were killed or missing and presumed killed—a fatality rate of 45.5%. With odds like that, it would be no surprise if there were as few atheists in cockpits as there were in foxholes; and indeed, many airmen faced their dangerous missions with beliefs and rituals ranging from the traditional to the outlandish. Military historian S. P. MacKenzie considers this phenomenon in Flying against Fate, a pioneering study of the important role that superstition played in combat flier morale among the Allies in World War II. Mining a wealth of documents as well as a trove of published and unpublished memoirs and diaries, MacKenzie examines the myriad forms combat fliers' superstitions assumed, from jinxes to premonitions. Most commonly, airmen carried amulets or talismans—lucky boots or a stuffed toy; a coin whose year numbers added up to thirteen; counterintuitively, a boomerang. Some performed rituals or avoided other acts, e.g., having a photo taken before a flight. Whatever seemed to work was worth sticking with, and a heightened risk often meant an upsurge in superstitious thought and behavior. MacKenzie delves into behavior analysis studies to help explain the psychology behind much of the behavior he documents—not slighting the large cohort of crew members and commanders who demurred. He also looks into the ways in which superstitious behavior was tolerated or even encouraged by those in command who saw it as a means of buttressing morale. The first in-depth exploration of just how varied and deeply felt superstitious beliefs were to tens of thousands of combat fliers, Flying against Fate expands our understanding of a major aspect of the psychology of war in the air and of World War II.
Download or read book Vanished Hero written by Jay A. Stout and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2016-09-30 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A superb, edge-of-the-seat account of [Elwyn] Righetti’s stellar combat career during the final months of the air war against Germany” (Eric Hammel, author of Two Flags over Iwo Jima). A hell-bent-for-leather fighter pilot, Elwyn G. Righetti remains one of the most unknown, yet most compelling, colorful and controversial commanders of World War II. Arriving late to the war, he led the England-based 55th Fighter Group against the Nazis during the closing months of the fight with a no-holds-barred aggressiveness that transformed the group from a middling organization of no reputation into a headline-grabbing team that made excuses to no one. Indeed, Righetti’s boldness paid off, as he quickly achieved ace status and scored more strafing victories—twenty-seven—than any other Eighth Air Force pilot. Ultimately, Righetti’s calculated recklessness ran full speed into the odds. His aircraft was hit while strafing an enemy airfield only four days before the 55th flew its last mission. Almost farcically aggressive to the end, he coaxed his crippled fighter through one more firing pass before making a successful crash landing. Immediately, he radioed his men that he was fine and asked that they reassure his family. Righetti was never heard from again. Vanished Hero tells a story “worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster . . . It is a fitting tribute to both Righetti and the man who collected his life’s journey” (Military Heritage). “An excellent biography of a true American hero . . . a worthy contribution to an understanding of the application of air power in the Second World War.” —History News Network
Download or read book Private Prisoner written by Robert Gayler and published by . This book was released on 1984 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Army Air Forces in World War II Plans and early operations January 1939 to August 1942 written by and published by . This book was released on 1948 with total page 874 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book MISSING written by Kenneth D. Evans and published by Starhaven Publishing, LLC. This book was released on 2019-03-01 with total page 513 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Don was an all-American boy who went to war for his country… …but he never expected to end up in a Nazi POW camp. Student-body president with all-state sports honors, Don was destined for a bright future. His plans included college and marrying the love of his life, Laura Jeanne. Then fate stepped in. Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and America entered World War II. At age 19, Don joined the United States Army Air Force and flew in the 368th Fighter Group of the Ninth Air Force. That is, until he was shot down behind enemy lines in the Battle of the Bulge. Lost, cold, and hungry, Don spent Christmas Eve wondering if he’d ever see his family again. Don’s story gives an extraordinary account of WWII, detailing capture by Nazi SS Troops, a 200-mile forced march, near starvation, and internment in a German POW camp. Using excerpts from his parent’s personal letters, journals, and actual images from their experiences, Kenneth D. Evan creates a heartfelt narrative founded on historical accuracy. You’ll love MISSING for the story of survival, true love, and an American hero overcoming insurmountable odds.
Download or read book Yukikaze s War written by Brett L. Walker and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2024-06-06 with total page 331 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Only one elite Imperial Japanese Navy destroyer survived the ocean battlefields of the Pacific War. This is her remarkable story.
Download or read book Allied Strafing in World War II written by Bill Colgan and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2010 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This history of Allied aerial combat strafing in World War II draws from research, interviews, and the author's own experience as an attack pilot. The text is supported by numerous gun camera stills from the war"--Provided by publisher.
Download or read book Hell Above Earth written by Stephen Frater and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2012-03-13 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "After the twists and turns in Goering's many missions, Frater finishes with a stunning revelation . . . the author delivers an exciting read full of little-known facts about the war. A WWII thrill ride." - Kirkus Reviews The U.S. air battle over Nazi Germany in WWII was hell above earth. For bomber crews, every day they flew was like D-Day, exacting a terrible physical and emotional toll. Twenty-year-old U.S. Captain Werner Goering, accepted this, even thrived on and welcomed the adrenaline rush. He was an exceptional pilot—and the nephew of Hermann Göring, leading member of the Nazi party and commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe. The FBI and the American military would not prevent Werner from serving his American homeland, but neither would they risk the propaganda coup that his desertion or capture would represent for Nazi Germany. J. Edgar Hoover issued a top-secret order that if Captain Goering's plane was downed for any reason over Nazi-occupied Europe, someone would be there in the cockpit to shoot Goering dead. FBI agents found a man capable of accomplishing the task in Jack Rencher, a tough, insular B-17 instructor who also happened to be one of the Army's best pistol shots. That Jack and Werner became unlikely friends is just one more twist in one of the most incredible untold tales of WWII.
Download or read book Commanding the Red Army s Sherman Tanks written by Dmitri? Fedorovich Loza and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 1996-01-01 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hero of the Soviet Union Dmitriy Loza has carefully crafted his World War II experiences with U.S.-provided Sherman tanks into a highly readable memoir. Between the fall of 1943 and August 1945, Loza fought in the Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Austria. He commanded a tank battalion during much of this period and had three Shermans shot out from under him. Loza's unit participated in such well-known combat actions as the Korsun-Shevchenkovskiy Operation, the Jassy-Kishenev Operation, and the battles for Budapest, Vienna, and Prague. Following the German surrender, Loza's unit was sent to Mongolia, where it participated in the arduous trek across the Gobi Desert to attack the Japanese Kwantung Army in Manchuria. This is the first available detailed examination of the Red Army's exploitation of U.S. war matiriel during World War II and one of the first genuine memoirs available from the Russian front. Loza also provides firsthand testimony on tactical command decisions, group objectives and how they were accomplished, and Soviet use of combat equipment and intelligence. Only after the collapse of the USSR and concomitant relaxing of prohibitions against publication of materials related to the Lend-Lease Program there could this account be made available Dmitriy Loza served as an instructor at the Frunze Academy after the war, retiring in 1967 with the rank of colonel. He resides in Moscow. James F. Gebhardt, now a defense contractor at Fort Leavenworth, is a Vietnam veteran. He is the author of Blood on the Shores: Soviet Naval Commandos in World War II.
