Download or read book Bomber Pilot on the Eastern Front written by Vasily Reshetnikov and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2008-09-22 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Soviet bomber pilot who flew more than 300 missions behind enemy lines offers a rare firsthand account of life on the Eastern Front in this WWII memoir. Soviet bombers played a vital role in defeating the Germans on the Eastern Front, yet their contribution is often forgotten. This graphic memoir should help to set the record straight. Vasily Reshetnikov, a leading Soviet bomber pilot who flew throughout the conflict, tells his story from the desperate days of the German assault in 1941 through the Russian offensive and the race to Berlin. For his heroism in combat, Reshetnikov was named a Hero oft he Soviet Union, the highest honor awarded in the Soviet military. In Bomber Pilot on the Eastern Front, he shares a vivid account of his experiences during more than three hundred bombing missions in the dangerous skies over Russia, the Ukraine, Poland and Germany.

Download or read book Alarmstart East written by Patrick G. Eriksson and published by Amberley Publishing Limited. This book was released on 2018-10-15 with total page 567 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The experiences of the German fighter pilots in the Second World War, based on extensive recollections of veterans as well as primary documents, and diary and flying log book extracts, with photographs from the veterans themselves, many never previously published.

Download or read book Beyond The Call written by Lee Trimble and published by Dutton Caliber. This book was released on 2016-02-02 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Near the end of World War II, thousands of Allied ex-POWs were abandoned to wander the war-torn Eastern Front, modern day Ukraine. With no food, shelter, or supplies, they were an army of dying men. The Red Army had pushed the Nazis out of Russia. As they advanced across Poland, the prison camps of the Third Reich were discovered and liberated. In defiance of humanity, the freed Allied prisoners were discarded without aid. The Soviets viewed POWs as cowards, and regarded all refugees as potential spies or partisans. The United States repeatedly offered to help recover their POWs, but were refused. With relations between the allies strained, a plan was conceived for an undercover rescue mission. In total secrecy, the OSS chose an obscure American air force detachment stationed at a Ukrainian airfield; it would provide the base and the cover for the operation. The man they picked to undertake it was veteran 8th Air Force bomber pilot Captain Robert Trimble. With little covert training, already scarred by the trials of combat, Trimble took the mission. He would survive by wit, courage, and a determination to do some good in a terrible war. Alone he faced up to the terrifying Soviet secret police, saving hundreds of lives. At the same time he battled to come to terms with the trauma of war and find his own way home to his wife and child. One ordinary man. One extraordinary mission. A thousand lives at stake. This is the compelling, inspiring true story of an American hero who laid his life on the line to bring his fellow men home to safety and freedom. Include photos"--

Download or read book Over Fields of Fire written by Timofeeva-Egoro and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the 1930s the Soviet Union launched a major effort to create a modern Air Force. That process required training tens of thousands of pilots. Among those pilots were larger numbers of young women, training shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts. A common training program of the day involved studying in ''flying clubs'' during leisure hours, first using gliders and then training planes. Following this, the best graduates could enter military schools to become professional combat pilots or flight navigators. The author of this book passed through all of those stages and had become an experienced training pilot when the USSR entered the war.Volunteering for frontline duty, the author flew 130 combat missions piloting the U2 biplane in a liaison squadron. In the initial period of the war, the German Luftwaffe dominated the sky. Daily combat sorties demanded bravery and skill from the pilots of the liaison squadron operating obsolete, unarmed planes. Over the course of a year the author was shot down by German fighters three times but kept flying nevertheless.In late 1942 Anna Egorova became the first female pilot to fly the famous Sturmovik (ground attack) plane that played a major role in the ground battles of the Eastern Front. Earning the respect of her fellow male pilots, the author became not just a mature combat pilot, but a commanding officer. Over the course of two years the author advanced from ordinary pilot to the executive officer of the Squadron, and then was appointed Regimental navigator, in the process flying approximately 270 combat missions over the southern sector of the Eastern Front initially (Taman, the Crimea) before switching to the 1st Belorussian Front, and seeing action over White Russia and Poland.Flying on a mission over Poland in 1944 the author was shot down over a target by German flak. Severely burned, she was taken prisoner. After surviving in a German POW camp for 5 months, she was liberated by Soviet troops. After experiencing numerous humiliations as an ''ex-POW'' in 1965 the author finally received a top military award, a long-delayed ''Golden Star'' with the honorary title of ''Hero of the Soviet Union''. This is a quite unique story of courage, determination and bravery in the face of tremendous personal adversity. The many obstacles Anna had to cross before she could fly first the Po-2, then the Sturmovik, are recounted in detail, including her tough work helping to build the Moscow Metro before the outbreak of war. Above all, Over Fields of Fire is a very human story - sometimes sad, sometimes angry, filled with hope, at other times with near-despair, abundant in comradeship and professionalism - and never less than a large dose of determination! ABOUT THE AUTHORAnna Alexandrovna Timofeeva-Egorova was born on 23 September 1916. After attending school she had hoped to learn to fly but this wish was delayed due to one of her brother''s becoming a victim of the Communist security system, which deemed him an ''enemy of the people''. After a number of setbacks Anna learned to fly, and during the first part of the Great Patriotic War flew Po-2 biplanes for the 130th Aviation Signals Squadron, being shot down three times. She then switched to flying the fearsome Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik ground-attack aircraft with the 805th Ground Attack Regiment (805 ShAP), 197th Ground Attack Division. Anna flew approximately 270 combat missions before being shot down in the summer of 1944, being severely injured and taken prisoner by the Germans. Thanks to her determination, and the skill, dedication, care and kindness of numerous individuals, she made a remarkable recovery and was liberated when the Soviets overran her POW camp near K�strin in 1945. However, her troubles were not over, as the Soviet authorities initially believed her to be a traitor and collaborator and subjected her to 11 days of continuous interrogations. She was released, although her injuries were such that was medically discharged from the Air Force in 1945. She continued to fight to clear her name after the war - she was eventually reinstated into the Communist Party and in 1965 finally received the award of ''Hero of the Soviet Union''. She died in October 2009.

Download or read book Women in Air War written by Kazimiera Janina Cottam and published by New York ; Ottawa : Legas. This book was released on 1997 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Barbarossa and the Retreat to Moscow written by Artem Drabkin and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2007-07-19 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The onset of war in the summer of 1941 was a disaster for the Soviet Air Force. In a few weeks, faced by the onslaught of the Luftwaffe, most of the Soviet frontline aircraft were destroyed, and the casualty rate among the pilots was cripplingly high. Yet the surviving few gained precious battle experience and they formed the core of the fighter force that turned the tables on the Germans and eventually won air superiority over the Eastern Front. Many of these Soviet pilots are still alive today and in this book they vividly recall the air battles of 60 years ago.

Download or read book Luftwaffe Fighter Ace written by Norbert Hanning and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2009-09-17 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Action-packed memoir of aerial combat. Inside the cockpits of Bf 109, Fw 190, and Me 262 fighters. Candid photos taken by the author himself.

Download or read book Forgotten Bastards of the Eastern Front written by Serhii Plokhy and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2019 with total page 355 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The full story of the first and only time American and Soviets fought side-by-side in World War IIAt the conference held in Tehran November 1943, American officials proposed to their Soviet allies a new operation in the effort to defeat Nazi Germany. The Normandy Invasion was already in the works; what American officials were suggesting until then was a second air front: the US Air Force wouldestablish bases in Soviet-controlled territory. Though pushing relentlessly for the United States and Great Britain to do more to help the war effort - the Soviet body count was staggering - Stalin, recalling the presence of foreign troops during the Russian Revolution, balked. His concern was thatthe American presence would inflame regional and ideological differences. Eventually in early 1944, Stalin was persuaded to give in, and Operation Baseball and then Frantic were initiated. B-17 Superfortresses were flown from bases in Italy to the Poltova region (in what is today Ukraine).As Plokhy's fascinating and utterly original book shows, what happened on these airbases mirrors the fate of the Grand Alliance itself. While both sides were fighting for Germany's unconditional surrender, differences arose that no common purpose could overcome. Soviet secret policeman watched overthe Americans, shadowing every move, and eventually trying to prevent fraternization between American airmen and local women. A catastrophic air raid by the Germans revealed the limitations of Soviet air defenses. Relations soured and the operations went south. Based on previously inaccessiblearchives, Forgotten Bastards of the Eastern Front offers a bottom-up history of the Grand Alliance itself, showing how it first began to collapse on the airfields of World War II.

Download or read book Barbarossa the Retreat to Moscow written by Artem Drabkin and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2007-10-01 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The onset of war in the summer of 1941 was a disaster for the Soviet Air Force. In a few weeks, faced by the onslaught of the Luftwaffe, most of the Soviet frontline aircraft were destroyed, and the casualty rate among the pilots was cripplingly high. Yet the surviving few gained precious battle experience and they formed the core of the fighter force that turned the tables on the Germans and eventually won air superiority over the Eastern Front. Many of these Soviet pilots are still alive today and in this book they vividly recall the air battles of 60 years ago to offer a unique insight into the air war on the eastern front.

Download or read book A White Star in a Red Sky written by Chirs Berman and published by Fireship Press. This book was released on 2021-08-26 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two young women flying for their countries will form a lasting bond of friendship forged in the crucible of war! Angela Moretti is a 19 year old American WAFS ferry pilot, bringing Lend-Lease P-39 Airacobra fighters to Alaska for Russian pilots to fly into battle. Angela lives with a terrible pain in her soul. Her kid brother has been executed by the Nazi SS. No one understands her thirst for revenge except Katya Leonova, a Red Air Force fighter pilot her own age, whose own family was murdered by the Nazis. Their shared tragedies will bring these two women together in friendship, with a quirk of fate sending them together into battle over Russia. Concealing Angela’s true identity, the women will fight the Nazi invaders over Kursk, in the greatest land and air battle in history, and learn through an unexpected ally that forgiveness triumphs over hate and revenge. “Chris Berman has written an imaginative tale set against the backdrop of World War II. The world’s first women to fly military aircraft join forces in the skies above the Eastern Front culminating in a dramatic story of courage and comradeship.” —Amy Goodpaster Strebe, Author of Flying for Her Country: The American and Soviet Women Military Pilots of World War II

Download or read book Red Star Against The Swastika written by Vasily Emelianenko and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2005-12-01 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the extraordinary story of Vasily B. Emelianenko, the veteran pilot of one of the Soviet Union’s most contradictory planes of WWII – the I1-2. This heavily armoured aircraft was practically unrivalled in terms of fire power, but it was slow to manoeuvre and an easy target for fighters. I1–2 had to attack enemy flak columns at extremely low altitudes, which led to enormous tolls both in equipment and personnel.

Download or read book Day Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe 1943 45 written by Neil Page and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2020-08-31 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The second volume of this “excellent” overview of Germany’s World War II fighter pilots, filled with photos, maps, and aircraft profiles (Air Power History). This volume of Day Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe traces the story of the Luftwaffe’s day fighter arm from 1942 through to the end of the war in Europe, covering missions over Russia in 1943, over the West and the Reich, the Eastern Front and the Mediterranean. Organized campaign by campaign, this chronological account interweaves brief biographical details, newly translated personal accounts, and key moments in the careers of a host of notable and lesser known Luftwaffe aces. Fully illustrated with 200 contemporary photographs, maps, and profiles of the aircraft flown by these aces, this is a visual delight for anyone with an interest in the day fighter aces of the Luftwaffe.

Download or read book A Luftwaffe Bomber Pilot Remembers written by Klaus Häberlen and published by Schiffer Pub Limited. This book was released on 2001 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Luftwaffe Bomber Pilot Remembers is a bomber pilot's story from his early life prior to the ascension of the Nazi Party to power in Germany, his education and rise through the ranks of the Luftwaffe as a decorated bomber pilot, and even through his demotion at the hands of G�ring late in the war. Also covered are Haeberlen's tribulations in a prisoner of war camp run by the Allies, and his success in post war Germany as a businessman. This book offers a unique first person perspective on the development of the war and its effect on those that were not in the highest realms of power.

Download or read book Bf 109E F vs Yak 1 7 written by Dmitriy Khazanov and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2015-06-20 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Step into the cockpits of the Luftwaffe's Bf 109 and the Red Air Force's Yaks 1-7, two fighters which were involved in some of the largest, fiercest aerial battles in history. The Iconic Messerschmitt fighter and its combat hardened pilots inflicted a fearful beating on the Yaks in the beginning of the war. Some of the highest scoring aces in history benefitted from the Bf 109's technical superiority over the overweight and underpowered Yak 1, racking up incredible successes against their poorly trained and equipped adversaries. And yet, as the Soviets accumulated combat experience, their tactics improved, as did their mounts in the upgraded Yak 1B and gradually, the Red Force eroded the Jagdwaffe's dominance of the skies in the eastern front, though with the 109G they would never lose qualitative superiority. Featuring first-hand accounts from veteran pilots, rare archival photographs and expert analysis, this volume brings to life the vicious dogfights that took place between the Bf 109 and the Yak as they vied for mastery of the frozen skies of the Eastern Front.

Download or read book Stuka Pilot written by Hans-Ulrich Rudel and published by . This book was released on 2021-02-08 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: World War II was the largest conflict in history. Huge formations of tanks are deployed across fronts that stretch thousands of miles. Badly outnumbered on the ground, Germany looks to a new class of aircraft, the tank-hunter, to even the odds. The most accomplished tank-hunter pilot was Hans-Ulrich Rudel. Rudel, an aerial reconnaissance pilot turned decorated dive-bomber, spearheaded the development of these new weapons and tactics. His extreme skill and courage allowed him to destroy over 500 tanks throughout the war. Rudel saw nearly every stage of World War II, from the initial advance into Poland and the Russian heartland to the desperate fighting withdrawal back into Germany. His memoirs, available once again in budget paperback form, offer students of history a unique, enlightening perspective on the most significant conflict of the modern era.

Download or read book The Defeat of the Luftwaffe written by Jonathan Trigg and published by Amberley Publishing Limited. This book was released on 2016-04-15 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1941 the Luftwaffe was the most powerful air force in the world. This is the story of how it was utterly defeated on the Eastern Front

Download or read book Russian Aces of World War 1 written by Victor Kulikov and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-04-20 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although the Russian Imperial Army Air Service consisted of no more than four BAGs (Boevaya Aviatsionniy Gruppa – battle aviation groups), each controlling three or four smaller AOIs (Aviatsionniy Otryad Istrebitelei – fighter aviation detachments) equipped with a variety of aircraft types, its fighter pilots nevertheless gave a good account of themselves. Indeed, during three years of war they claimed more than 200 Austro-Hungarian and German aircraft shot down, creating 13 aces – these elite aviators accounted for around half of the victories claimed on the Eastern Front. Pilots flew a variety of fighter types, with French Nieuport scouts and SPAD VIIs proving to be the most popular, and effective, aeroplanes to see service on this front. The exploits of these aces are detailed here, with information based on material newly sourced by the author from Russian military and private archives. Many previously unpublished photographs are used to illustrate this book, supported by full-colour profiles that reveal how striking some of the aces' fighters were in this often-forgotten theatre of World War 1.