Download or read book Defending Britain s Skies 1940 1945 written by John Grehan and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-08-18 with total page 407 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despatches in this volume include that on the Battle of Britain, and air fighting 1940-1941, by Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh C.T. Dowding, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Fighter Command, Air Operations by Fighter Command between November 1940 and the end of December 1941, the anti-aircraft defence of the United Kingdom between 1939 and 1945, and the report on air operations by Air Defence of Great Britain and Fighter Command in connection with the German flying bomb and rocket offensives, 1944-1945.This unique collection of original documents will prove to be an invaluable resource for historians, students and all those interested in what was one of the most significant periods in British military history.
Download or read book A Fighter Command Station at War written by Mark Hillier and published by Frontline Books. This book was released on 2015-08-31 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Situated close to the South Coast, on flat land to the north of Chichester in West Sussex, lies Goodwood Aerodrome. This pleasant rural airfield was once home to squadrons of Hurricanes, Spitfires and later Typhoons. RAF Westhampnett was at the forefront of the Battle of Britain as a satellite to the Sector (or controlling) Station of RAF Tangmere, part of 11 Group, which bore the brunt of the struggle for Britain's survival in 1940. It became the base of Wing Commander Douglas Bader until he was shot down over France, as Fighter Command took the war to the enemy with operational sweeps over Occupied Europe. Those operations included the infamous Channel Dash which saw the escape of the German warships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, and the Dieppe raid of 1942 which involved the largest aerial battle of the war up to that date. Westhampnett's squadrons also supported the D-Day landings and the subsequent Battle of Normandy. Packed with the largest collection of photographs of this airfield ever compiled, this illustrated publication provides a detailed history of the fighting as seen through the eyes of many of the pilots and ground crew. RAF Westhampnett brings to life those exciting but dangerous days of the Second World War through the words and photographs of those who were there.
Download or read book Terror From the Sky written by Igor Primoratz and published by Berghahn Books. This book was released on 2010-06-01 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this first interdisciplinary study of this contentious subject, leading experts in politics, history, and philosophy examine the complex aspects of the terror bombing of German cities during World War II. The contributors address the decision to embark on the bombing campaign, the moral issues raised by the bombing, and the main stages of the campaign and its effects on German civilians as well as on Germany’s war effort. The book places the bombing campaign within the context of the history of air warfare, presenting the bombing as the first stage of the particular type of state terrorism that led to Hiroshima and Nagasaki and brought about the Cold War era “balance of terror.” In doing so, it makes an important contribution to current debates about terrorism. It also analyzes the public debate in Germany about the historical, moral, and political significance of the deliberate killing of up to 600,000 German civilians by the British and American air forces. This pioneering collaboration provides a platform for a wide range of views—some of which are controversial—on a highly topical, painful, and morally challenging subject.
Download or read book Death from the Skies written by Dietmar Süss and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2014-02-06 with total page 726 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The German 'Blitz' that followed the Battle of Britain killed tens of thousands and laid waste to large areas of many British cities. And although the destruction of 1940-1 was never repeated on the same scale, fears that Hitler possessed a secret weapon of mass destruction never entirely died, and were partially realized in the VI and V2 raids of 1944-5. The British and American response to the 'Blitz', especially from 1943 onwards, was massive and incomparably more devastating - with apocalyptic consequences for German cities such as Hamburg, Dresden, and Berlin, to name but the most prominent. In this ground-breaking new book, German historian Dietmar Süss investigates the effects of the bombing on both Britain and Nazi Germany, showing how these two very different societies sought to withstand the onslaught and keep up morale amidst the material devastation and psychological trauma that was visited upon them. And, as he reflects in the conclusion, this is not a story that is safely confined to the past: the debate over the rights and the wrongs of the mass bombing of British and German cities during World War II remains a highly emotional subject even today.
Download or read book The British Defence of Egypt 1935 40 written by Steve Morewood and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2004-11-25 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive and challenging analysis of the British defence of Egypt, primarily against fascist Italy, in the critical lead-up period to the Second World War. Culminating in the decisive defeat of the Italian military threat at Sidi Barrani in December 1940, this is a fascinating new contribution to the field. The security of Egypt, a constant of British imperial strategy, is a curiously neglected dimension of the still burning appeasement debate. Steven Morewood adds to the originality of his interpretation by suggesting the old view should be reinstated: that Mussolini should and could have been stopped in his empire-building at the Abyssinian hurdle. Thereafter, as Nazi Germany tore the Versailles peace settlement to shreds, the drift to war accelerated as British resolve and credibility were brought into question. The fascist dictators in Rome and Berlin held no respect for weakness and Mussolini became the conduit through which Hitler could apply pressure to a sensitive British interest through reinforcing Libya at critical moments.
Download or read book The War Seen from Britain 1939 1945 written by Great Britain. Ministry of Information and published by . This book was released on 1945 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The First Day of the Blitz written by Peter Stansky and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2007-01-01 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On September 7, 1940, the Blitz began. The bombing of London, by over one thousand planes on that night alone, was recognised at the time as being a direct measure to break the country's resistance. This book tells of the impact that this terror from the skies had on British people and the course of war.
Download or read book The Home Front 1939 1945 in 100 Objects written by Austin J. Ruddy and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2020-02-19 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A colorful catalogue of objects that illustrate what everyday life was like in wartime Britain. A lifesaving gas mask. A ration book, essential for the supply of food. A shelter stove that kept a family warm while they huddled in their Anderson shelter. A leaflet dropped by the Luftwaffe that was designed to intimidate Britain’s populace during the threat of invasion. A civilian identity card over-stamped with the swastika eagle from the occupied Channel Islands. A rare, previously unpublished, snapshot of legendary bandleader Glenn Miller playing at a UK air base. A twisted remnant of German V2 rocket that went to space and back before exploding over London, the result of equally twisted military science. Colorful flag bunting that saw the VE celebrations in 1945. These disparate objects and many more together tell the moving and important story of Britain’s home front during the Second World War. The ordinary objects featured in this book, supplemented with facts, figures, dates, stories, and statistics, portray the highs and lows the British people experienced during six years of war—from the deprivations of rationing and the bombing of the Blitz, to the cheery songs, elegant fashions, and “Dig For Victory” spirit.
Download or read book Fist From the Sky written by Peter C. Smith and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2006-09-27 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fascinating look from the Japanese side at Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway Fully authorized account including contemporary interviews with those that flew with Lt. Cdr. Egusa Lieutenant Commander Takashige Egusa was one of the Imperial Japanese Navy's most skillful and influential dive-bomber pilots. He led an attack force against Pearl Harbor, calmly circling his special flame-red Aichi dive bomber before selecting his target. Assaults on the deadly gun batteries of Wake Island followed, as well as air support for the invasion of Ambon. Badly burned at Midway, Egusa returned to duty, only to be killed on his final mission. As one Japanese officer said, "He was the 'God of Dive-Bombing.'" Fully placed in historical context and backed by a wealth of detail from archives, family records, photographs, and memories of contemporaries, the full story of Egusa's bravery, leadership qualities, and illustrious career comes to life.
Download or read book When Men Fell from the Sky written by Claire Andrieu and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2023-03-31 with total page 373 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating comparative history of the treatment of fallen airmen in Second World War Europe.
Download or read book Aircraft of WWII written by Instinctive Product Development and published by . This book was released on 2013-08 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This title looks at some of the aviation legends of World War II. From R.J. Mitchell's Supermarine Spitfire, to Handley Page Hampton and the Hurricane.
Download or read book The British Empire and the Second World War written by Ashley Jackson and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2006-03-09 with total page 639 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1939 Hitler went to war not just with Great Britain; he also went to war with the whole of the British Empire, the greatest empire that there had ever been. In the years since 1945 that empire has disappeared, and the crucial fact that the British Empire fought together as a whole during the war has been forgotten. All the parts of the empire joined the struggle and were involved in it from the beginning, undergoing huge changes and sometimes suffering great losses as a result. The war in the desert, the defence of Malta and the Malayan campaign, and the contribution of the empire as a whole in terms of supplies, communications and troops, all reflect the strategic importance of Britain's imperial status. Men and women not only from Australia, New Zealand and India but from many parts of Africa and the Middle East all played their part. Winston Churchill saw the war throughout in imperial terms. The British Empire and the Second World War emphasises a central fact about the Second World War that is often forgotten.
Download or read book The Man Who Took the Rap written by Peter John Dye and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2018-10-15 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first biography of Sir Robert Brooke-Popham, a key figure in the early development of airpower, whose significant and varied achievements have been overlooked because of his subsequent involvement in the fall of Singapore. It highlights Brooke-Popham’s role in developing the first modern military logistic system, the creation of the Royal Air Force Staff College and the organizational arrangements that underpinned Fighter Command’s success in the Battle of Britain. Peter Dye challenges longstanding views about performance as Commander-in-Chief Far East and, based on new evidence, offers a more nuanced narrative that sheds light on British and Allied preparations for the Pacific War, inter-service relations and the reasons for the disastrous loss of air and naval superiority that followed the Japanese attack. “The Man Who Took the Rap” highlights the misguided attempts at deterrence, in the absence of a coordinated information campaign, and the unprecedented security lapse that betrayed the parlous state of the Allied defenses.
Download or read book The Battle of Britain written by Alan Allport and published by Facts On File. This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the summer of 1940, the fate of the world hung in the balance as Adolf Hitler's powerful air force, the Luftwaffe, contested the skies above southern England with Britain's Royal Air Force. A handful of brave but outnumbered RAF pilots, many hailing from outside the United Kingdom, fought desperately to hold the Nazi juggernaut back and, in doing so, defend Britain from invasion. In Prime Minister Winston Churchill's immortal words, those brave RAF pilots were ""the few"" on whom so much depended. The brand-new The Battle of Britain traces the origins and course of the Battle of Britain, examining the reasons why Great Britain found itself in such a desperate situation in the summer of 1940, and why, for all their advantages, the Germans were confounded at what seemed to be the brink of victory.
Download or read book Honour Restored written by Peter Brown and published by Spellmount, Limited Publishers. This book was released on 2005 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Peter Brown, a Spitfire pilot at readiness throughout the Battle of Britain, who has previously in lectures, seminars and television interviews, expressed his own challenging views on the Battle, has now written a book mainly directed at the generations who have no memories or knowledge of the momentous events of 1940. His words remind us of the great achievement of victory and its crucial impact on our lives today, and on all the European countries which were ultimately saved. He writes with a still vivid memory of the threat of invasion, with the addition of the research he has now been able to carry out for many years on official documents, and with acknowledged help from authors of standing. The book is divided into two parts. There is a presentation of the Battle over the skies of Britain in 1940, a battle without precedent and in which Peter encountered combat-hardened Luftwaffe pilots in Messerschmitts, Heinkels and Dorniers. There is recognition of the bravery of our fighter pilots and the courage of the people of Britain who endured the hardships of war and the terror bombing from the air. The second part gives an analysis of the factors which determined victory, with finally a vigorous defence of Dowding himself, who was unjustly and peremptorily removed from office without due recognition for his great achievement.
Download or read book The Battle of Britain in the Modern Age 1965 2020 written by Garry Campion and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2019-09-26 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Battle of Britain has held an enchanted place in British popular history and memory throughout the modern era. Its transition from history to heritage since 1965 confirms that the 1940 narrative shaped by the State has been sustained by historians, the media, popular culture, and through non-governmental heritage sites, often with financing from the National Lottery Heritage Lottery Fund. Garry Campion evaluates the Battle’s revered place in British society and its influence on national identity, considering its historiography and revisionism; the postwar lives of the Few, their leaders and memorialization; its depictions on screen and in commercial products; the RAF Museum’s Battle of Britain Hall; third-sector heritage attractions; and finally, fighter airfields, including RAF Hawkinge as a case study. A follow-up to Campion’s The Battle of Britain, 1945–1965 (Palgrave, 2015), this book offers an engaging, accessible study of the Battle’s afterlives in scholarship, memorialization, and popular culture.
Download or read book Spitfire written by Jon E. Lewis and published by Robinson Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A celebration of the machine and the men who took to the skies in defence of Britain. It is also the dramatic illustration of a little understood truth: the Spitfire did more than win the Battle of Britain - it won the war. It was not Stalingrad which turned the corner of the war against Hitler, it was the Spitfire in the summer of 1940 when RAF Fighter Command destroyed the myth of Nazi invincibility. Praise for his previous books: London: The Autobiography: 'Fascinating ...brings the story of London to life' Good Book guide The English Soldier: The Autobiography: 'A triumph' Saul David, author of Victoria's Army 'Harrowing, funny and often unbelievable book.' Daily Express '[A] compelling tommy's eye view of war from Agincourt to Iraq' Daily Telegraph
