Download or read book Eyes of the RAF written by Roy Conyers Nesbit and published by Salamander Books. This book was released on 1996 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Photo-reconnaissance has come a long way from its faltering beginnings over the trenches of the Western Front during World War I, when unwieldy plate cameras were held over the cockpit sides of RFC BE2a biplanes. By the close of World War II, designated PR Spitfires could photograph Germany by day, while Mosquitoes could photograph by day or night with considerable success from heights of up to 36,000 feet. Following ten years of incredible advances in digital, optical and mechanical technology, the mid-1990s saw the RAF's Tornado GR1As using video-tape for PR, with a data link to relay pictures direct to interpreters on the ground, thus doing away altogether with wet film.
Download or read book Eyes of the RAF written by Roy Conyers Nesbit and published by Alan Sutton Publishing. This book was released on 1996 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive history including the Falklands and Gulf Wars, based on official and personal records.
Download or read book For RAF Eyes Only written by Jim Jenkinson and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Eyes of the Eighth written by Patricia Fussell Keen and published by CAVU Publishing. This book was released on 1996 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Eyes All Over the Sky written by James Streckfuss and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2016-05-19 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The impact of the unsung heroes of WWI—“a must for any aviation enthusiast to further complement work on aerial reconnaissance in modern warfare” (Roads to the Great War), Beyond the heroic deeds of the fighter pilots and bombers of World War I, the real value of military aviation lay elsewhere; aerial reconnaissance, observation, and photography impacted the fighting in many ways, but little has been written about it. Balloons and airplanes regulated artillery fire, infantry liaison aircraft followed attacking troops and the retreats of defenders, aerial photographers aided operational planners and provided the data for perpetually updated maps, and naval airplanes, airships, and balloons acted as aerial sentinels in a complex anti-submarine warfare organization. Reconnaissance crews at the Battles of the Marne and Tannenberg averted disaster. Eyes All Over the Sky fully explores all the aspects of aerial reconnaissance and its previously under-appreciated significance. Also included are the individual experiences of British, American, and German airmen—true pioneers of aviation warfare. “With an interesting selection of photos, the book is not only an excellent reference—it is historically important.” —Classic Wings “This well-researched history belongs on the shelf of anyone with a serious interest in the air war or the ground war of 1914-1918.” —Steve Suddaby, former president of the World War One Historical Association
Download or read book Royal Observer Corps written by Air Ministry Personnel and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2018-02-28 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The key roles played by the Royal Observer Corps in the Second World War have, all too often, been overshadowed by more glamourous arms of the defense forces. The teams in the Sector Stations, plotting the battles raging above, and the Spitfires and Hurricanes swooping upon the formations of enemy fighters and bombers, present easily imagined and dramatic scenes. Yet between the radar stations, detecting the German aircraft approaching over the Channel, and the Sector Controls were the little sandbagged posts of the Observer Corps that provided overland tracking of the enemy formations.The Royal Observer Corps (the Royal prefix being approved in 1941) proved a vital link in the communication chain in the defense of the UK, particularly in the Battle of Britain, as it provided the only means of tracking enemy aircraft once they had crossed the coastline. The highly skilled Observers were also able to identify and count the enemy aircraft, turning blips on a screen into actual types and numbers of German machines.Even after the threat from the Luftwaffe receded after the Battle of Britain and the Blitz, the ROC again came to the fore when the V1s opened a new reign of terror in 1944. Because these small, fast weapons were so hard to detect the RAFs fighter controllers moved into the ROCs operations rooms so that they could respond to the V-1 threat more rapidly.In this official history of the ROC written shortly after the war, the corps operations throughout the conflict are set out in great detail. This includes a section on the last flight of Rudolf Hess, as well as one detailing the work of those who were selected for employment as Seaborne Observers on ships during the D-Day landings, where their specialist identification skills were used to prevent the all-too prevalent instances of friendly fire.This history provides an account of the ROC which is just as important in understanding the operations of the corps as the Observers were in the defense of the United Kingdom during the Second War.
Download or read book Through These Eyes written by T/Sgt. James Lee Hutchinson, Ed.S. and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2005-10-05 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story of Eighth Air Force bombing missions leaving England to blast targets in Hitler's Third Reich in 1944–45. Each clear day, the skies filled with hundreds of B17 Flying Fortress bombers and their escorts crossing the English Channel toward enemy targets protected by anti-aircraft batteries and German fighters waiting to attack the heavy bombers. The skies over the target were filled with black flak appearing to be so thick you could walk on it! The exploding shells filled the space with flying chunks of iron as bombers started their bomb run on the target. We often could hear the flak pelting our plance like a "buckshot" on a tin roof. This flak would often strike a vital part of the plane or wound a member of the crew! Our waist gunner was wounded on our tenth mission!Some missions we could count hundreds of holes in our plane after we landed safely in England! Bombers receiving a direct hit were blown out of the sky and another ten man aircrew was lost. Planes severely damaged had to drop out of formation and face enemy fighters alone unless some of our P-51 or P-47 escort fighters protected them. Bombers disabled or on fire had no choice but to order the crews to bail out. Airmen who survived the parachute jump were captured and placed into German prisoner of war camps (POW). They were classified as "missing in action". Forty-eight photos, some sixty years old are included in this 350 page book to illustrate the story of the author's childhood in the Great Depression through the great air war of World War II. A description of each mission from a sixty year old diary is included. I think you will enjoy the story of a teenage Radio-Gunner's experiences in the Mighty Eighth Air Force.
Download or read book Eyewitness RAF written by James Goulty and published by Pen and Sword Aviation. This book was released on 2020-12-14 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Much has been written about the Royal Air Force during the Second World Warmemoirs, biographies, histories of Fighter and Bomber commands, technical studies of the aircraft, accounts of individual operations and exploits but few books have attempted to take the reader on a journey through basic training and active service as air or ground crew and eventual demobilization at the end of the war. That is the aim of James Goultys Eyewitness RAF. Using a vivid selection of testimony from men and women, he offers a direct insight into every aspect of wartime life in the service. Throughout the book the emphasis is on the individuals experience of the RAF the preparations for flying, flying itself, the daily routines of an air base, time on leave, and the issues of discipline, morale and motivation. A particularly graphic section describes, in the words of the men themselves, what it felt like to go on operations and the impact of casualties airmen who were killed, injured or taken prisoner. A fascinating varied inside view of the RAF emerges which is perhaps less heroic and glamorous than the image created by some postwar accounts, but it gives readers today a much more realistic appreciation of the whole gamut of life in the RAF seventy years ago.
Download or read book The Armed Rovers written by Roy Conyers Nesbit and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2014-07-19 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The little-known story of how the Royal Air Force kept supplies from reaching Rommel’s Afrika Korps, by an RAF veteran and renowned aviation historian. By far the most dangerous of the RAF operations during the Second World War were daylight attacks on enemy shipping, yet little has been written about this aerial campaign and the brave airmen who took part. In particular, the intense air-sea battles that were fought in the Mediterranean have been neglected in histories of the war in North Africa and Italy. Roy Nesbit, in this classic account, sets the record straight by describing in vivid detail how a few RAF squadrons were successful in destroying supplies vital to the Italian and German armies during the fighting in Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia. At critical moments during the land battles, during the dramatic advances and retreats that characterized the fighting in the desert, the failure of supplies to get through to Rommel’s Afrika Korps was decisive. But the casualties suffered by the airmen in these low-level attacks were daunting, as were those among the naval and merchant seamen whose vessels were targeted. This is their dramatic true story, by the author of The Royal Air Force: An Illustrated History From 1918 and Arctic Airmen.
Download or read book Royal Observer Corps written by Pen & Sword Books Limited and published by Frontline Books. This book was released on 2018-02 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The key roles played by the Royal Observer Corps in the Second World War have, all too often, been overshadowed by more glamourous arms of the defense forces. The teams in the Sector Stations, plotting the battles raging above, and the Spitfires and Hurricanes swooping upon the formations of enemy fighters and bombers, present easily imagined and dramatic scenes. Yet between the radar stations, detecting the German aircraft approaching over the Channel, and the Sector Controls were the little sandbagged posts of the Observer Corps that provided overland tracking of the enemy formations. The Royal Observer Corps (the 'Royal' prefix being approved in 1941) proved a vital link in the communication chain in the defense of the UK, particularly in the Battle of Britain, as it provided the only means of tracking enemy aircraft once they had crossed the coastline. The highly skilled Observers were also able to identify and count the enemy aircraft, turning blips on a screen into actual types and numbers of German machines. Even after the threat from the Luftwaffe receded after the Battle of Britain and the Blitz, the ROC again came to the fore when the V1s opened a new reign of terror in 1944. Because these small, fast weapons were so hard to detect the RAF's fighter controllers moved into the ROC's operations rooms so that they could respond to the V-1 threat more rapidly. In this official history of the ROC written shortly after the war, the corps' operations throughout the conflict are set out in great detail. This includes a section on the last flight of Rudolf Hess, as well as one detailing the work of those who were selected for employment as Seaborne Observers on ships during the D-Day landings, where their specialist identification skills were used to prevent the all-too prevalent instances of 'friendly fire'. This history provides an account of the ROC which is just as important in understanding the operations of the corps as the Observers were in the defense of the United Kingdom during the Second War.
Download or read book Through Eyes of Blue written by A. E. Ross and published by Airlife Publishing. This book was released on 2002 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume contains 193 personal memoirs of life in the Royal Air Force, spanning the years from its formation in 1918 to operations in the Balkans in the 21st century. Contributions come from all ranks, from WAAFs to Air Chief Marshals, and together they paint a vivid picture of RAF history.
Download or read book The Eye of Intelligence written by Ursula Powys-Lybbe and published by . This book was released on 1983 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Razor Eyes written by Richard Hough and published by Heinemann Educational Publishers. This book was released on 1981 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mick Boyd dreaded his eighteenth birthday in September 1940. Now he has old enough to enlist. Lacking the blasé courage of his friend Bruno or the reckless bravery of his sister Jo, Mick can't explain to them how he feels. Caught up at times with the romantic image of diving out of the sun in a Hurricane, the reality of injury and death always dominate his thoughts of war. Unexceptional in all things, his one asset is remarkable eyesight and it is as 'Razor eyes' that Mick survives the war.
Download or read book Life in the RAF written by Geoff Dann (Cartoonist) and published by Anchor Books. This book was released on 2010 with total page 91 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book ANZACs written by Casemate Publishers and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2011-04-01 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An updated and extended version of the now out-of-print CW volume on ANZAC Spitfire pilots, this new book in the highly acclaimed "Classic Warbirds" series tells the stories of ten Australian and New Zealand pilots in WW2, flying Spitfires and Hurricanes based in Britain, the Middle East and the CBI theater. Based on interviews with the pilots and their written memoirs, this is a fascinating look at the personalities inside the fighter planes. Profusely illustrated with photos (many from the pilots' own collections) and Malcolm Laird's superb artwork, this is essential reading for students of WW2 air warfare, enthusiasts, and modelers.Malcolm Laird has been producing books, decal sheets and model kits for many years, and his "Ventura" products are highly regarded all over the world. Co-author Steve Mackenzie is an aviation historian.
Download or read book Through My Eyes written by Owen Hardy and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2005 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book RAF written by Roy Conyers Nesbit and published by Sutton Pub Limited. This book was released on 2007 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covering all the main campaigns and historical events, this narrative relates the history of the RAF from its formation on 1 April 1918, through the testing years of the interwar period, followed by the desperate struggle of the Second World War, into the precarious peace of the nuclear age, and concludes with today's hi-tech RAF. Previous ed.: 199.
