Download or read book Gun Button to Fire written by Tom Neil and published by Amberley Publishing Limited. This book was released on 2010-03-15 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The amazing story of one of the 'Few', fighter ace Tom Neil who shot down 13 enemy aircraft during the Battle of Britain.

Download or read book This Book Isn t Safe written by Colin Furze and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2017-09-12 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Colin Furze, five-time Guinness World Record Holder and YouTube's undisputed king of crazy inventions, instructs fans and curious young inventors on how to build ten brand new wacky inventions at home with an affordable tool kit. Colin Furze's bonkers and brilliant inventions such as a homemade hoverbike, DIY Wolverine Claws, an alarm clock ejector bed, and Hoover shoes have earned him 4.5 million YouTube subscribers and more than 450 million video views. Now Colin is on a mission to inspire a new generation of budding inventors with This Book Isn't Safe! This Book Isn't Safe contains instructions on how to make ten brand new inventions with a basic at-home toolkit, alongside behind-the-scenes stories about some of Colin's greatest inventions and top secret tips and tricks straight from his invention bunker (aka a shed in his backyard in Stamford Lincolnshire).

Download or read book The Veterans Tale written by Frances Houghton and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-01-10 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a unique account of the ways in which British veterans of the Second World War remembered, understood, and recounted their experiences of battle throughout the post-war period. Focusing on themes of landscape, weaponry, the enemy, and comradeship, Frances Houghton examines the imagery and language used by war memoirists to reconstruct and review both their experiences of battle and their sense of wartime self. Houghton also identifies how veterans' memoirs became significant sites of contest as former servicemen sought to challenge what they saw as unsatisfactory official, scholarly, and cultural representations of the Second World War in Britain. Her findings show that these memoirs are equally important both for the new light they shed on the memory and meanings of wartime military experience among British veterans, and for what they tell us about the cultural identity of military life-writing in post-war British society.

Download or read book Bader s Spitfire Wing written by Dilip Sarkar and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2022-05-05 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Whether you have feelings about Bader or not, this is an excellent book to gain insight into the summer of 1941 when, ready or not, the RAF went on the offensive."—The Journal of the Air Force Historical Foundation On 30 August 1940, at the height of the Battle of Britain, the pilots of RAF Fighter Command’s No.12 Group were requested to reinforce 11 Group and intercept a Luftwaffe raid on an aircraft factory at Hatfield. The events that day led the swashbuckling, legless, fighter pilot Douglas Bader to submit a report arguing that the more fighters he had at his disposal, the greater would be the execution of the enemy that could be achieved. It was a concept that received support from 12 Group’s Air Officer Commanding, Air Vice-Marshal Leigh-Mallory. In Bader’s proposal, Leigh-Mallory saw an opportunity for 12 Group to play a greater part in what was clearly an historic battle. Leigh-Mallory authorised Bader to lead three, then five, squadrons – a controversial formation that came to be known as the ‘Duxford Wing’ or ‘Big Wing’. For the rest of 1940, Bader and the ‘Big Wing’, then based at Duxford, played its part in the defense of Britain’s skies. Then, in March 1941, the role of ‘Wing Commander (Flying)’ was created. This was the fighter pilot’s dream appointment because the Wing Leader’s sole responsibility was leading his wing in action, unfettered by tedious administration and logistical matters. Needless to say, Douglas Bader was amongst the first wing leaders. He was even given the choice of which Wing he preferred. He chose to take command of that based at Tangmere on the South Coast – right at the fore of the RAF’s battle against the Luftwaffe. In Bader’s Spitfire Wing, Dilip Sarkar not only explores the full story of the men and machines of the Tangmere Wing in 1941, as well as the controversy that surrounds their use, he also fully investigates the part that they played in the RAF’s efforts to take the offensive to the Luftwaffe on the opposite side of the English Channel. It was in one such sortie in August 1941 that the Tangmere Wing lost its famous leader. Bader went on to spend the rest of the war in captivity.

Download or read book Flying Fighting and Reflection written by Peter Jacobs and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2018-09-30 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the thrilling account of the last remaining Battle of Britain ace fighter pilot, Tom Ginger Neil. Neil was one of an elite band, nicknamed The Few by Winston Churchill, he flew Hurricanes during 141 combat missions in that battle and went on to command the first Spitfire XII squadron during 1942/43 as the RAF went on the offensive in north-west Europe.In this, the only full account of Neil's life to be published in collaboration with his family, we learn how he became a poster boy for the war effort and how he credits his sixth sense for keeping him alive during the Second World War.There was, however, one terrifyingly close brush with death, when in 1940 he had a mid-air collision with another Hurricane. With the rear section of his aircraft gone, the plane was out of control and hurtling to the ground, yet somehow he managed to bail out and miraculously survived with only a minor leg injury.As well as RAF service during the Siege of Malta, Wing Commander Neil, who is now in his late nineties, also served with the Americans during the D-Day landings.During his career, Neil was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses for the destruction of at least fourteen enemy aircraft, and was a successful test pilot after the war before commanding a jet fighter-reconnaissance squadron in Egypt's troubled Canal Zone during the 1950s for which he was awarded the Air Force Cross.With contributions from the man himself, this book also looks at his life after the RAF and his career as a successful author. For military buffs and novices alike, it is a must-read account of a true war hero.

Download or read book Clydesiders at War written by Margaret Thomson Davis and published by Black & White Publishing. This book was released on 2002-02-20 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the summer of 1939, as the storm clouds of war gather over Glasgow, the Gourlays and the Cartwrights are preparing themselves for the challenges of an uncertain future. The hard working Gourlays in their modest tenement, and the prosperous Cartwrights in their luxurious West End home, are about to face the consequences of a shattering revelation. As the secrets and lies of the past are uncovered, these two very different families discover that they have far more in common than any of them ever suspected. But private conflicts and personal traumas are soon overshadowed by the tragedy of total war. Like thousands of others, the Gourlays and the Cartwrights experienced the full horror of the First World War. Now they must face that horror again - Richard Cartwright as a fighter pilot in the Battle of Britain; the Gourlay girls' husbands, Joe, Pete and Malcy, as ordinary soldiers caught up in the chaos of Dunkirk; and Virginia Cartwright as a Red Cross Nurse on the Home Front in Glasgow. Clydesiders At War is the final part of Margaret Thomson Davies' epic Clydesiders trilogy - a tale of two Glasgow families that began amid the dying embers of the Edwardian era and reaches its conclusion at the end of the Second World War.

Download or read book Heinkel He 177 Units of World War 2 written by Robert Forsyth and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-07-26 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In many ways, the Heinkel He 177 'Greif' (Griffon) was Nazi Germany's 'lost' strategic bomber. With some fundamental creases ironed out, and built in large numbers, the He 177 would have offered the Luftwaffe the means with which to carry out long-range, mass bombing attacks against targets of a strategic nature. Although competing interests and personalities served to prevent this from happening, from mid-1943 the aircraft nevertheless saw service over England, the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and in Russia. The He 177 flew to the end of the war, with some machines undertaking extremely hazardous low-level missions against Soviet armour in Poland in late 1944-45. This fascinating book, filled with detailed artwork and contemporary photographs, tells the story of this aircraft, including the political infighting at the top of the Luftwaffe's hierarchy that stymied its development, its radical technical design and its state-of-the-art weaponry.

Download or read book Day Of Vengeance written by Johnny O'Brien and published by Bonnier Publishing Fiction Ltd.. This book was released on 2011-09-01 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jack Christie is back with an explosive mission - can a teenage time-traveller stop the Second World War going nuclear? Travelling back to the 1940s, Jack finds the world at a crucial turning point as the Nazis threaten world domination. Risking everything, Jack must protect the past to the save the world as we know it. High octane and high speed - the third of the JACK CHRISTIE ADVENTURES takes Jack on the ride of his life.

Download or read book Hurricane Squadron Ace written by Nick Thomas and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-11-30 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The story of one of the most heroic fighter aces of the Second World War . . . has been brought to life in this gripping new book.” —Lancashire Living Magazine Air Commodore Peter Malam “Pete” Brothers CBE, DSO, DFC, and Bar (1917-2008) was one of the most highly praised pilots of the Second World War. Decorated extensively, he secured a total of 16 “kills” over the course of the conflict, with 10 of these occurring during the Battle of Britain. Pivotal moments in his career include the time, in August 1940, when his flight encountered around a hundred enemy aircraft, including Messerschmitt 110s; he led the flight in attack against them, and soon found himself in a stalled position, out of which he spun, only to be confronted by a Dornier 215, which he shot down, before later destroying a Messerschmitt 109. Scores of these kind of risky maneuvers and winning victories punctuated a career defined by great courage, leadership and initiative in the face of fierce opposition. This new and engaging biography profiles a pilot who, until now, hasn’t been the subject of such a thorough book-length study. The story of his career is incredibly entertaining, featuring a number of hair-raising episodes, and is sure to appeal to fans of aviation history as well as the more general reader seeking out an action-packed biography offering fresh insights into one of the most pivotal conflicts of the twentieth century. “An engaging story of one of The Few . . . This is a book that entertains, inspires, moves, amuses, surprises—what more could any reader ask for.” —FIRE Project

Download or read book The Swallow and the Hummingbird written by Santa Montefiore and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-01-02 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: FROM THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING AUTHOR A sweeping story of love that stretches across the years The war has ended and Rita Fairweather is waiting for George Bolton, her childhood sweetheart, to return home to Devon. She wants their future to be a continuing reassurance of their past. But George comes back as a man changed by the horrors he has experienced. Unable to settle back into a small-town life, George decides to travel to Argentina. And Rita promises to wait. But George faces irresistible temptation and an agonising choice. As the years pass, Rita keeps her word, but how long should she wait for the love of the life? ***PRAISE FOR SANTA MONTEFIORE*** ‘Nobody does epic romance like Santa Montefiore’ JOJO MOYES ‘An enchanting read overflowing with deliciously poignant moments’ DINAH JEFFERIES on Songs of Love and War ‘Santa Montefiore hits the spot for my like few other writers’ SARRA MANNING ‘One of our personal favourites’ THE TIMES on The Last Secret of the Deverills ‘Accomplished and poetic’ Daily Mail ‘Santa Montefiore is a marvel’ Sunday Express

Download or read book The Gun written by Paul Langan and published by Townsend Press. This book was released on 2002 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tyray Hobbs wants revenge. Weeks ago he was one of the most feared students in Bluford High. But then Darrell Mercer publicly humiliated him, and Tyray lost his reputation. To get it back, he must take down Darrell. But how? With a broken hand, a troubled family, and no friends in sight, Tyray's options are limited. And when the kids he once bullied start threatening him his world completely unravels. Desperate to settle the score and regain respect, Tyray see only ones solution to his problems-- a gun.

Download or read book Beaufighter Ace written by Richard Pike and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2004-09-30 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tom Pike joined the Royal Air Force on 17 January 1924 as a Flight Cadet at Cranwell. During a long and varied career in peace and war he held a wide variety of RAF appointments around the world and when he eventually retired he had held the ultimate post in the RAF, that of Chief of Air Staff and also that of Deputy Supreme Commander Allied Powers Europe. This book, written by his son, is an account of his leadership of No. 219 Night Fighter Squadron based at Tangmere in 1941.

Download or read book Carrier Clash written by Eric Hammel and published by Daniel Hammel. This book was released on 2020-12-06 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: CARRIER CLASH The Invasion of Guadalcanal & the Battle of the Eastern Solomons August 1942 Eric Hammel The Battle of the Eastern Solomons was history’s third carrier clash. A collision of U.S. Navy and Imperial Navy carriers in the wake of the invasion of Guadalcanal—whose airfield the United States desperately needed and the Japanese desperately wanted back—the battle was waged at sea and over Guadalcanal’s besieged Marine-held Lunga Perimeter on August 24, 1942. Based upon the first half of Eric Hammel’s acclaimed 1987 battle narrative, Guadalcanal: The Carrier Battles, and in large part upon important new information obtained from both Japanese and American sources, Carrier Clash unravels many of the mysteries and misconceptions that have veiled this complex battle for more than a half century. Beginning with detailed descriptions of the history of the aircraft carrier, the development of carrier-air tactics, the training of carrier pilots, and numerous operational considerations that defined the way carrier battles had to be fought, Carrier Clash takes the reader into the air with brave U.S. Navy fighter pilots as they protect their ships and the Guadalcanal invasion fleet against determined Japanese air attacks on August 7 and 8, 1942. After he sets the stage for the August 24 Battle of the Eastern Solomons, author Hammel puts the reader right into the cockpits of U.S. Navy Dauntless dive-bombers as they dive on the Imperial Navy light carrier Ryujo—and hit the ship with 500-pound bombs! Once again, in this strange tit-for-tat battle, U.S. Navy Wildcat fighter pilots must defend their ships against an onslaught by Imperial Navy Val dive-bomber pilots determined to sink the U.S. carriers, or die trying. Hammel’s coverage of the bomb damage to the USS Enterprise and subsequent fire-fighting and rescue efforts by her crew are especially compelling. Carrier Clash is the definitive combat history of the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, history’s third battle (of only five) between American and Japanese aircraft carriers. Eric Hammel is the author of forty combat history books. “Acclaimed military historian Eric Hammel presents a landmark history of the Battle of the Eastern Solomons.” –—— Seapower Magazine Critical Acclaim for Eric Hammel’s earlier books about the Guadalcanal Campaign: Kirkus Reviews says: “Hammel is as adept at conveying the terrors of fighting fire on a ship . . . as he is at providing concise evaluations of top commanders. “Official histories apart, [Guadalcanal: The Carrier Battles is] the most thorough appreciation yet of Guadalcanal’s turning-point carrier battles; praiseworthy.” Lansing State Journal says: “For the military buff, [Guadalcanal: Starvation Island] is an excellent resource. For the casual reader, it is a well-written account of one of the most crucial times in the history of the United States.” ALA Booklist says: [Eric Hammel] “effectively utilizes the accounts of the battle participants to provide a vivid dimension to the fighting . . . ” Library Journal says: “Hammel does not write dry history. His battle sequences are masterfully portrayed.” Canadian Military History says: Hammel’s descriptions of engagements on land, air and sea are fast-paced and engagingly written, and he has a knack for weaving together character and circumstance into a very readable story.” Book World says: [Guadalcanal: Starvation Island] is stark, naked, and brutal. . . . It is an excellent, toughly drawn account of the awesomeness of war and is worthy many times over of being in any library worthy of the name.”

Download or read book Australia s Few and the Battle of Britain written by Kristen Alexander and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2015-04-30 with total page 441 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the summer and autumn of 1940, the Germans launched their Luftwaffe campaign to gain superiority over the RAF, especially Fighter Command. They were not successful, and this defeat marked a turning point in the Allies' favour. This is the story of eight Australian fighter pilots engaged in the Battle of Britain, the first major battle of World War II (or any war) fought entirely in the air. Jack Kennedy, Stuart Walch, Dick Glyde, Ken Holland, Pat Hughes, Bill Millington, John Crossman and Des Sheen Ð only one of them came home.??A story we take for granted, here told afresh with insight and empathy.?Professor Peter Stanley, UNSW Canberra??In telling the stories of some of the Australians who flew in the Battle of Britain, Kristen Alexander has combined academic rigour with compelling personal detail. She has demonstrated that the ÒunknownsÓ of the Battle are as fascinating as those who gained celebrity status. This is a book for those who know much about what happened in 1940 and those who don't.... Geoff Simpson, Trustee, Battle of Britain Memorial Trust??The lives of eight Australian fighter pilots, from backyard to cockpit and beyond, lovingly and expertly told.... Andy Wright, Aircrew Book Review

Download or read book The Attack from Space written by Capt Sp Meek and published by eStar Books. This book was released on 2010-10-01 with total page 11 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The exciting Sequel to Heaviside Layer, Jim Cartpenter was captured by Giant Beetles!

Download or read book First Light written by Geoffrey Wellum and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2018-05-17 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two months before the outbreak of the Second World War, eighteen-year-old Geoffrey Wellum becomes a fighter pilot with the RAF . . . Desperate to get in the air, he makes it through basic training to become the youngest Spitfire pilot in the prestigious 92 Squadron. Thrust into combat almost immediately, Wellum finds himself flying several sorties a day, caught up in terrifying dogfights with German Me 109s. Over the coming months he and his fellow pilots play a crucial role in the Battle of Britain. But of the friends that take to the air alongside Wellum many never return.

Download or read book The Gun written by C. J. Chivers and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-09-06 with total page 496 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author, a New York Times reporter, traces the invention and mass distribution of the AK-47 assault rifle, and its effects on war. He traces the invention of the assault rifle, following the miniaturization of rapid-fire arms from the American Civil War, through World War I and Vietnam, to present-day Afghanistan, where Kalashnikovs and their knockoffs number as many as 100 million, one for every seventy persons on earth. It is the weapon of state repression, as well as revolution, civil war, genocide, drug wars, and religious wars; and it is the arms of terrorists, guerrillas, boy soldiers, and thugs. From its inception to its use by more than fifty national armies around the world, to its role in modern-day Afghanistan, he discusses how the deadly weapon has helped alter world history.