Download or read book Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States 1941 1945 written by Anthony J. Mireles and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2006-05-23 with total page 442 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During World War II, the air over the continental United States was a virtual third front. The little-known statistics are alarming: the Army Air Forces lost more than 4,500 aircraft in combat against Japanese army and naval air forces in the war. During the same time, the AAF lost more than 7,100 aircraft in the United States to accidents in training and transportation. Such accidents claimed the lives of more than 15,530 pilots, crewmembers and ground personnel, and the stories of their deaths are largely forgotten. This work chronicles the 6,350 known fatal AAF aircraft accidents that occurred in the continental United States from January 1941 through December 1945. Each crash summary, based on official records, provides details such as crash location and cause, the people involved and the type and number of aircraft. An aircraft serial number index, a record of AAF aircraft still listed as missing, crash statistics and a directory of AAF stations in the United States are included.
Download or read book Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States 1941 1945 July 1943 July 1944 written by Anthony J. Mireles and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States 1941 1945 August 1944 December 1945 appendices indexes written by Anthony J. Mireles and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During World War II, the air over the continental United States was a virtual third front. The little-known statistics are alarming: the Army Air Forces lost more than 4,500 aircraft in combat against Japanese army and naval air forces in the war. During the same time, the AAF lost more than 7,100 aircraft in the United States to accidents in training and transportation. Such accidents claimed the lives of more than 15,530 pilots, crewmembers and ground personnel, and the stories of their deaths are largely forgotten. This work chronicles the 6,350 known fatal AAF aircraft accidents that occurred in the continental United States from January 1941 through December 1945. Each crash summary, based on official records, provides details such as crash location and cause, the people involved and the type and number of aircraft. An aircraft serial number index, a record of AAF aircraft still listed as missing, crash statistics and a directory of AAF stations in the United States are included.
Download or read book Fatal Army Air Forces Aviation Accidents in the United States 1941 1945 August 1944 December 1945 appendices indexes written by Anthony J. Mireles and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During World War II, the air over the continental United States was a virtual third front. The little-known statistics are alarming: the Army Air Forces lost more than 4,500 aircraft in combat against Japanese army and naval air forces in the war. During the same time, the AAF lost more than 7,100 aircraft in the United States to accidents in training and transportation. Such accidents claimed the lives of more than 15,530 pilots, crewmembers and ground personnel, and the stories of their deaths are largely forgotten. This work chronicles the 6,350 known fatal AAF aircraft accidents that occurred in the continental United States from January 1941 through December 1945. Each crash summary, based on official records, provides details such as crash location and cause, the people involved and the type and number of aircraft. An aircraft serial number index, a record of AAF aircraft still listed as missing, crash statistics and a directory of AAF stations in the United States are included.
Download or read book Historic Aircraft Wrecks of San Diego County written by G. Pat Macha and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2016 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Clear weather and a natural harbor made San Diego an early aviation hub, but success in flight came with devastating tragedies. The remains of more than four hundred aircrafts lie scattered across the county's deserts and mountains. Experts estimate that dozens more are on the ocean floor off the coast. In 1922, army pilot Charles F. Webber's DeHavilland biplane went missing over Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. In 1978, Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 178 collided midair over San Diego and crashed in the residential North Park neighborhood, claiming the lives of 144 people in what was the worst airline disaster of the era. Author and aircraft accident research specialist G. Pat Macha recounts these and other stories of astonishing survival, heroism and heartbreaking fatality.
Download or read book Historic Aircraft Wrecks of Los Angeles County written by G. Pat Macha and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2014-11-18 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A century of aviation research and military flights over Los Angeles County has left the San Gabriel Mountains, Mojave Desert and the near-shore Pacific Ocean strewn with more than 1,500 aircraft crash sites. Barnstormers and test pilots too often made unexpected final landings. Accidents occurred on a nearly daily basis during World War II training maneuvers. Private planes, a sign of 1950s prosperity, also met tragic ends. These epic incidents include the 1971 tragedy of Flight 706 in which an airliner collided with a marine fighter jet above Mount Bliss, killing fifty people. Renowned aircraft crash search specialist G. Pat Macha recounts dozens of sorrowful, triumphant and surprising true stories of those who lived through these ordeals while offering touching tributes to those who did not.
Download or read book Silent Invaders written by Gary A. Best and published by Fonthill Media. This book was released on 2017-05-17 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘The guys would come into the glider like a bunch of piss-ants, skittering around, real cocky like. But they settled down in the glider. Some got airsick and they began thinking about what was ahead. One time we were fired on just as we were landing and exiting the glider and one of the boys was hit. His friends dragged him to cover beneath a tree. He looked up at me and said, “Take my rifle, I’m dying.” I reached down and took his weapon, and he slumped back and died. That was pretty tough...’ Combat gliders were called by some as ‘Death Crates’, ‘Purple Heart Boxes’, ‘Flying Coffins’ and ‘Tow Targets’. They were not pretty and had no graceful lines. Viewed from the front, they had a pug nose and a sloping Neanderthal forehead. Their wings looked like the heavily-starched ears of a jackrabbit placed at right angles on a canvas-covered frame. Twice the length of the body, these wings were eighty-four feet in length, 70 per cent as long as the Wright Brothers’ first powered flight at Kitty Hawk. They could not become airborne, let alone fly, unless assisted by an engine-powered tow plane. And for those riding in the back, it was like flying ‘through the gates of hell’. The men who were trained and assigned to guide gliders into battle were said to be the only pilots who had no motors, armament, parachutes and no second chances. Like the aircraft they commanded, they were called inglorious names such as The Bastards Nobody Wanted, Glider Gladiators in Wooden Chariots; Hybrid Jackasses and Glory Boys. Beautifully written, profoundly illustrated and researched, Silent Invaders: Combat Gliders of the Second World War is a work that is dedicated to those brave men under impossible odds from the British and American servicemen on D-Day, the doomed Operation Market Garden in Holland and Hitler’s radical commando raid to rescue Mussolini. Illustrations: 80 black-and-white photographs
Download or read book Searching for Lost Warbirds in Florida volume 1 written by Robert Widner and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2012-02-19 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "For wreckchasers and aviation archaeologists in the southern states, Bob Widner's Searching for Lost Warbirds in Florida is a goldmine of information. This unique book has done the research on more than 50 World War II aircraft crashes, providing the details along with aerial maps of the area then, and aerial maps showing the crash site today. Searching for Lost Warbirds in Florida puts you in the field, this weekend, visiting historic aircraft crash sites." - Nicholas A. Veronico author of Wreckchasing 101: A Guide to Finding Aircraft Crash Sites
Download or read book The Army Air Forces in World War II Men and planes written by and published by . This book was released on 1948 with total page 920 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Freckleton England Air Disaster written by James R. Hedtke and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2014-06-24 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Freckleton catastrophe of August 23, 1944, occurred when an American B-24 Liberator crashed into the small village of Freckleton in northwest England. The plane was on a test flight when it encountered a rare and severe summer thunderstorm. Air traffic control at the American air base Warton recalled the bomber back to the base. When the pilot attempted to abort the landing because of poor visibility and high winds, a downdraft caught the plane and it crashed into the adjacent village of Freckleton. As the B-24 tumbled through the village, destroying three houses and a snack bar, flames erupted from wreckage and engulfed Holy Trinity grade school. Before the fire could be brought under control, the holocaust destroyed an entire generation of children in this village of fewer than 1,000 inhabitants. The village would never be the same. In a compelling account of sorrow, loss, hope and finally rebirth, the book looks at the history of the village, the establishment of the base at Warton, the crash, the funeral of the 61 victims, the official British inquest and the American investigation into the cause of the crash. The lives of the survivors, the servicemen and the villagers are followed through 2012.
Download or read book Hidden Warbirds written by Nicholas A. Veronico and published by Quarto Publishing Group USA. This book was released on 2013-06-15 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “If you only have room in your collection for one book on WWII-era warbird wreck histories and recoveries, then it should be this one. . . . Fascinating.” —Alan Griffith, author of Consolidated Mess Aviation historian Nicholas A. Veronico has been investigating and writing about aircraft wrecks for many years. His website, wreckchasing.com, is the go-to source for enthusiasts who want to know more about how to locate vintage airplane wrecks and then tell their stories. In this engaging new book, Veronico explores the romantic era of World War II Warbirds and the stories of some of its most famous wrecks, including the “Swamp Ghost” (a B-17E which crashed in New Guinea in the early days of World War II and which was only recently recovered), and “Glacier Girl” (a P-38, part of “The Lost Squadron,” which crashed in a large ice sheet in Greenland in 1942). Throughout, Veronico provides a history of the aircraft, as well as the unique story behind each discovery and recovery with ample illustrations. Hidden Warbirds is aviation history at its best.
Download or read book To Soar with the Tigers The Life and Diary of Flying Tiger Robert Brouk written by Jennifer Holik-Urban and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2010-12-08 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story of Flying Tiger Robert Brouk, a Flight Leader in the 3rd Squadron of the American Volunteer Group. In the months prior to Pearl Harbor, until the disbandment of the American Volunteer Group in July 1942, the Flying Tigers valiantly fought the Japanese over the skies of Burma and China. This story contains Robert's complete war diary. The diary outlines his dramatic experiences from the moment he enlisted in the American Volunteer Group to its disbandment. His story also contains snapshots of the life he led upon his return to his home in Cicero, Illinois; a graphic account of his untimely death; and accounts of how Robert has been remembered through the years.
Download or read book Aircraft Accidents in Florida written by Robert Widner and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2009-05-01 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over 1,000 documented accidents compiled from news releases, official accident reports and interviews with survivors.
Download or read book Hidden Warbirds II written by Nicholas A. Veronico and published by Quarto Publishing Group USA. This book was released on 2014-06-15 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The continuation of World War II’s most intriguing new aviation series. In Hidden Warbirds II, the engaging follow-up to the critically acclaimed Hidden Warbirds, aviation historian Nicholas A. Veronico further explores the romantic era of World War II warbirds and the stories of some of its most famous wrecks and recoveries. The long-long aircraft featured in this much-anticipated sequel include the Dotty Mae, a P-47 rescued from a lake in Austria; a Hawker Tempest being restored in Texas; and a Junker 88 recovered from the icy waters of Norway. Throughout the book, Veronico provides a history of each aircraft, as well as the unique story behind each discovery and recovery, all accompanied by incredible documentary photographs. With over 150 of these photographs, depicting more than 20 warbird stories spanning the world, Hidden Warbirds II triumphantly continues a nonfiction series that renowned military author Alan Griffith calls “a fascinating joy to read.”
Download or read book Final Flight written by Peter Stekel and published by Wilderness Press. This book was released on 2010-09-14 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In October 2005, two mountaineers climbing above Mendel Glacier in the High Sierra found the mummified remains of a man in a WWII uniform, entombed in the ice. The "Frozen Airman" discovery created a media storm and a mystery that drew author Peter Stekel to investigate. What did happen to the four-man crew who perished on a routine navigation training flight in 1942, 150 miles off-course from its reported destination?..."--P. 4 of cover.
Download or read book Beneath Haunted Waters written by Peter Stekel and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2017-09-30 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drama. Tragedy. Irony. Unsolved mysteries. And throw in a little greed. Beneath Haunted Waters is not a ghost story; it’s not that kind of “haunted” at all. These are waters haunted by generations of people who cannot forget the story of how two B-24 Liberator bombers disappeared in 1943 and what happened to the boys on board. During the World War II years, the convention was to call young men in their late teens to their late 20s, “boys.” The boys who piloted bombers and fighter aircraft during World War II were 19 or 20 years old - barely out of their childhood. Imagine boarding a 737 today and seeing a teenager at the controls instead of a person with greying temples. That was the situation during the war. Beneath Haunted Waters is a story about that era, when children flew large airplanes equipped with enough firepower to destroy cities. And yet, boys they were, and boys they will always be. But it’s primarily a story of how they died, not in combat, but by accident. During World War II the USA lost 7100 combat aircraft and 5300 trainers, along with 15,530 pilots, crew members, and ground personnel in over 52,000 domestic accidents. These statistics don’t compare to the huge numbers of RAF, 8th Air Force, and Luftwaffe losses during the European air war but the numbers are still frightening: Between 1942-1945, US aviation losses to accidents (12,400) exceeded combat losses (4500) to the Japanese. For every plane shot down in the South Pacific there were three lost to accidents within the United States. While memoirs of those who served, histories of military and political leaders, and books about combat abound, very little has been written about the terrible toll of aviation training accidents during the war. Beneath Haunted Waters is unique because it tells this hardly known and little appreciated story. Most information on this subject is covered in official reports. It appears in a casual way in many memoirs. There are a few histories of the air war during World War II that mention aviation accidents during training or once the boys were in theater. There has been no popular, academic, or comprehensive book on the subject. I propose to cover this subject within the more personal story of what happened to the two Liberators that wound up in Huntington Lake and Hester Lake. Usually, pilots and crews of World War II aircraft were neither old enough to vote nor to drink. Many had never driven a car or taken a train ride much less been in an airplane. Nine months after enlistment they were flying the most technologically advanced, high performance, machines ever built. The same could be said for their navigation equipment and radio gear. But aviation had been around for only 40 years! Aircraft design was still in its infancy. Engines failed, pilots flew into mountains, navigators got lost, radios broke, and weather forecasts were frequently and fatally wrong.
Download or read book Historic Aircraft Wrecks of San Bernardino County written by G. Pat Macha and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2013-09-24 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Weather, darkness and twists of fate have contributed to more than three hundred airplane crashes in San Bernardino County, California. Many of these accidents occurred in the vast Mojave Desert, others on the cloud-shrouded, snow-capped mountains of the largest county in the lower forty-eight states. Searches often were labored yet fruitless, even for the privileged: Frank Sinatra's mother perished here in a downed plane. The quest for an aircraft containing $5,000 in cash has become the stuff of legend. Tales of survival in uninhabited, rugged landscapes have been especially harrowing. Join renowned aircraft-crash search specialist G. Pat Macha for dozens of sorrowful, triumphant, touching and surprising true stories of those who lived through the ordeals of plane crashes--and others who didn't.
