Download or read book I Worked on Spitfires written by Ronald L Chapman and published by Air World. This book was released on 2024-08-30 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ron Chapman's life changed on 7 September 1940, leading him to join the RAF and serve in various significant squadrons. It was the night of 7 September 1940 which changed Ron Chapman’s life. It was the start of Hitler’s Blitz on London. The death and destruction the German bombers wreaked across Islington and the East End so shocked and appalled Ron, that three days later he presented himself to the RAF recruiting office near Euston station. After basic training, and a few days before his twentieth birthday, he received a posting to 485 (New Zealand) Squadron – Ron was at last with an operational Spitfire squadron. After just three weeks with 485 (NZ) Squadron, he was posted to 341 (Free French) Squadron. Operating as part of the RAF’s 145 Wing in 84 Group, the squadron was led by the renowned Commandant René Mouchotte DFC, while 145 Wing itself was commanded by the Battle of Britain fighter ace Group Captain ‘Sailor’ Malan. There was also 340 Squadron, known as ‘Churchill’s Own’, and Nos. 329 and 345 squadrons. As a member of 341 Squadron’s groundcrew, Ron Chapman’s memoirs provide a unique insight into the functioning of a fighter unit from the perspective of fitters, riggers, and armorers. But, in addition, his service with the Free French fighter squadrons adds greatly to our knowledge of this important part of the RAF’s history. As an element of the 2nd Tactical Air Force, 84 Group was continually moved from airfield to airfield across the South Coast. The idea was to get the squadrons accustomed to nomadic conditions. After the D-Day invasion plans were finally unveiled, the squadron’s groundcrew and support staff were eventually trucked to Gosport where they boarded the landing craft that would transport them across the Channel as part of Operation Overlord. They landed at Arromanches-les-Bains in August. Ron’s story then follows the actions of 145 Wing, as it battled the Luftwaffe across Europe. As the Allied forces moved eastwards, so Ron and the groundcrew moved with them through France, Belgium and finally into Germany. Ron remained with 341 Squadron until the end of the war. This book is far more than a personal memoir, it is the largely neglected story of the French fighter wing throughout the years when the 2nd Tactical Air Force moved on to the offensive against the Luftwaffe. It will undoubtedly become recognized as an important addition to the history of the RAF.
Download or read book Malloch s Spitfire written by Nick Meikle and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2014-04-19 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of one of history’s greatest fighter aircraft from WWII to its remarkable restoration in 1980 Rhodesia: “an aviation classic-in-waiting” (Airscape). In 1977, the Rhodesian Air Force retrieved a World War II–era Supermarine Spitfire F Mk 22. But while the RAF was embroiled in the Bush War, the dream of restoring the aircraft was frustrated by international sanctions. That’s when legendary pilot John “Jack” McVicar Malloch took control of the project. Not only had Jack flown Spitfires during World War II, he was also uniquely positioned to circumvent sanctions through his airfreight company, Air Trans Africa. With ingenuity, passion, and a team of trusted engineers, Jack realized the dream of putting Spitfire PK350 back in the air on March 29, 1980. In Malloch’s Spitfire, author Nick Meikle tells the full story of this remarkable restoration and reveals some fascinating insights about the aircraft. The reader is taken on a journey through the Spitfire’s life, beginning with her first test flight in 1945. The project’s lead engineer and many of the surviving pilots who flew her also share their memories. For two years, PK350 delighted those fortunate enough to see her fly. Then, on what was planned to be her last flight, Malloch’s Spitfire never returned to base.
Download or read book Spitfire written by Jonathan Glancey and published by Atlantic Books Ltd. This book was released on 2014-08-07 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Updated edition to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. It is difficult to overestimate the excitement that accompanied the birth of the Spitfire. An aircraft imbued with balletic grace and extraordinary versatility, it was powered by a piston engine and a propeller, yet came tantalisingly close to breaking the sound barrier. First flown in 1936, the Spitfire soon came to symbolize Britain's defiance of Nazi Germany in the summer of 1940. Spitfire: The Biography is a celebration of a great British invention, of the men and women who flew it and supported its development, and of the industry that manufactured both the aircraft and the Rolls-Royce engines that powered it. It is also about the ways in which the sight, sound and fury of this lithe and legendary fighter continue to stir the public imagination worldwide more than eighty years on.
Download or read book The Spitfire Kids written by Alasdair Cross and published by Headline. This book was released on 2021-05-13 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'An inspirational read celebrating the incredible young people who gave so much for this iconic British aircraft'. John Nichol, bestselling author of Spitfire: A Very British Love Story Despite the many films and television programmes over the decades since the end of the Second World War that portrays our allied heroes as grown-up men and women, the Battle of Britain was in the main actually fought and won by teenagers. The average age of an RAF fighter pilot was just twenty years old. Many of the men and women who designed and built their planes were even younger. Based on the hit BBC World Service podcast Spitfire: The People's Story, we use contemporary diaries and memoirs, many of them previously unpublished, to tell the story of the Spitfire through the voices of the teenagers who risked everything to design, build and fly her. This isn't a story of stiff-upper lips, stoical moustaches and aerial heroics; it's a story of love and loss, a story of young people tested to the very limits of their endurance. Young people who won a battle that turned a war.
Download or read book Secret Spitfires written by Howman and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2020-06-15 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: September 1940: In the midst of the Second World War, The Luftwaffe unleashed a series of devastating raids on Southampton, all but destroying its Spitfire factories. But production didn't stop. Instead, manufacturing of this iconic fighter moved underground, to secret locations staffed by women, children and non-combatant men. With little engineering experience between them, they built a fleet of one of the greatest war planes that has ever existed. This is their story.
Download or read book Spitfire Stories written by Jacky Hyams and published by Michael O'Mara Books. This book was released on 2017-10-19 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Published in association with the Imperial War Museum, this is a fascinating anthology of first-hand stories from Spitfire heroes and heroines of World War II. Using documents, letters, stories, photographs and articles from the Museum's unparalleled archive, this is a tribute to the most iconic plane in aviation history - and the people behind it.
Download or read book The Decisive Duel written by David Isby and published by Abacus. This book was released on 2012-07-26 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: London, 15 September 1940. The air battle over Britain on that day saw two of the most advanced fighter planes, the British Supermarine Spitfire and the German Messerschmitt Bf 109, battle for supremacy of the skies. The Decisive Duel tells the stories of these iconic, classic aircraft and the people that created them: Willy Messerschmitt, the German designer with a love for gliders and admiration for Hitler; R.J. Mitchell, his brilliant British counterpart, who struggled against illness to complete the design of the Spitfire. In fascinating detail, David Isby describes the crucial role the two opposed planes played, from the drawing boards to Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain to the final battles over Germany.
Download or read book SIGH FOR A MERLIN written by ALEX HENSHAW. and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Spitfire Girl written by Lily Baxter and published by Random House. This book was released on 2011-07-07 with total page 452 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ___________________________ 1940. The height of the Blitz. In London, eighteen-year-old Susan Banks longs to do her duty in the war. Her secret ambition is to learn to fly - to serve her country and realise her dream. But she knows it is out of the question for a girl like her; a foundling, unwanted and unloved and dependent on strangers for her welfare. Just as she fears she will be trapped forever in a life of servitude and loneliness, she meets Tony Richards, a flying instructor based in Hampshire. And when she is forced to flee London, she heads out into the country. She is taken in by the kindly landlord of the local inn and his daughter. As Susan works hard to earn her keep, and her friendship with Tony - now recalled to duty - blossoms into love, she dares to hope that things are at last looking up for her. But then she receives devastating news - Tony is missing in action. And Susan wonders if she'll ever see the man she loves again and realise her dream of becoming a Spitfire girl...
Download or read book R J Mitchell Schooldays to Spitfire written by Gordon Mitchell and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2011-10-24 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Spitfire began as a near disaster. The developments of this famous aircraft took it from uncompromising beginnings to become the legendary last memorial to a great man - an elegant and, with its pilots, a highly effective, weapon of war. The Spitfire would not have happened at all, however, without Mitchell's indomitable courage and determination in the face of severe physical and psychological adversity resulting from cancer. His contribution to the Battle of Britain, and thereafter to the achievement of final victory in 1945, was so great that our debt to him can never be repaid. This poignant story is written from a uniquely personal viewpoint by his son, Gordon Mitchell.
Download or read book From Spitfire to Focke Wulf written by H. Leonard Thorne and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2013-09-02 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'I hold the greatest respect for Len for what he achieved in the RAF'. – Gordon Mitchell, son of Spitfire designer R.J. Mitchell In May 1940, 20-year-old Len Thorne joined the RAF, as did many young men during the Second World War. After two hectic tours of operational duty as a fighter pilot, including some desperately dangerous low-level flying at Dunkirk, he was posted to AFDU (Air Fighting Development Unit) and remained there as a test pilot for the rest of the war. Fortunately for us, Len kept a detailed diary, which, set alongside his log book, tells the unique story of a test pilot tasked with developing operational tactics and testing captured enemy aircraft, such as the feared Fw 190. During Len's career, he worked alongside some of the most famous fighter aces and his records cast light on some of the most famous flyers of the RAF, including Wing Commander Al Deere and Spitfire aces Squadron Leader 'Paddy' Finucane, Ernie Ryder and many others. A unique record of military aviation history, From Spitfire to Focke Wulf offers a window to this era of rapid and high-stakes aircraft development.
Download or read book The Spitfire Log written by Peter Haining and published by Souvenir Press. This book was released on 2011-01-05 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Of all the airplanes that defended Britain during World War Two, none inspired as much affection as the Spitfire, the plane that became a symbol of courage and determination during the Battle of Britain. Today, over sixty years later, it is still one of the world's most loved planes. This splendidly illustrated tribute to the fighter and the men who flew her is essential reading. It brings together a fascinating collection of writings from Allied aces such as Air Vice Marshal James Johnson, Group Captain Sir Douglas Bader, novelsts such as H.E. Bates and Gavin Lyall and from enthusiasts such as Richard Dimbleby and Alexander McKee. There are details of the story of its creation, a chronology of the Battle of Britain and a history of the Spitfire squadrons. Illustrated with contemporary and modern photographs this is a celebration of the plane that fought off the enemies of liberty.
Download or read book The Spitfire written by Philip Kaplan and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2017-07-31 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An amazing tribute to the people who designed, built and flew it—a comprehensive history of one of the most beautiful aircraft ever manufactured.”—Books Monthly The magnificent Vickers Supermarine Spitfire, together with its able partner the Hawker Hurricane, saved Britain from Nazi invasion in the summer of 1940 and irrevocably changed the course of the Second World War. This book from Philip Kaplan celebrates one of history’s most important weapons in a glorious new light. A British national icon, the Spitfire is the best-known symbol of the war years for generations of Britons. From the deep, haunting growl of its Rolls-Royce engine, to the elegant style of its elliptical wing, it is perhaps the most famous and revered combat airplane ever built. Kaplan investigates just what it is that fuels the Spitfire’s compelling mystique. During wartime, it held an unrivaled reputation amongst Allied and Axis airmen. Today, it continues to hold aviation enthusiasts in thrall. Kaplan highlights the immeasurable contributions of Spitfire designers Reginald J. Mitchell and Joseph Smith, test pilots Jeffrey Quill, Mutt Summers and Alex Henshaw, and ace Spitfire pilots including Al Deere, Sailor Malan and Pierre Clostermann. All added to the legend of this lovely, but deadly, little fighter. “Can be considered a ‘Potted History’ of the Spitfire and its military and civilian service, with particular emphasis being placed on the restoration of AR213. On that basis it will probably appeal to Spitfire aficionados in particular and to aviation and war-bird enthusiasts in general.”—NZ Crown Mines
Download or read book Spitfire Photo Recce Units of World War 2 written by Andrew Fletcher and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2023-08-17 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating exploration of the feats of the RAF's photographic reconnaissance aircraft. The photographic reconnaissance (PR) versions of the Supermarine Spitfire saw service against the Axis Tripartite throughout World War 2. Its superior performance even led to the USAAF adopting the type for the Eighth Air Force's reconnaissance needs in Europe. PR Spitfires were responsible for some of the most significant intelligence finds of the war – from low-level oblique photographs of new German radars in France to locating the battleship Bismarck off the Norwegian coast before it attempted to sortie into the Atlantic. It has been estimated that as much as 80 per cent of Allied intelligence was gathered from aerial photographs, many of which were taken by cameras installed in PR Spitfires. In this volume, RAF PR specialist Andrew Fletcher details the important part played by the small number of 'photo-recce' Spitfires in the key theatres of World War 2. His detailed text, which includes numerous first-hand accounts, chronicles operations from the first months of the conflict through to VJ Day.
Download or read book Angels in the Sky How a Band of Volunteer Airmen Saved the New State of Israel written by Robert Gandt and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2017-10-03 with total page 586 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Reads like a World War II thriller, only better because every word is true.… One of the great untold stories of history. Robert Gandt has brought it vividly, unforgettably to life.” —Steven Pressfield, best-selling author of Gates of Fire In 1948, when the newly founded nation of Israel came under siege from a coalition of Arab states, a band of volunteer airmen from the United States, Canada, Britain, France, and South Africa arrived to help. They were a small group, fewer than 150. Many were World War II veterans; most of them knowingly violated their nations’ embargoes on the shipment of arms and aircraft to Israel. The airmen risked everything—their careers, citizenship, and lives—to fight for Israel. The saga of the volunteer airmen in Israel’s war of independence stands as one of the most stirring—and little-known—war stories of the past century.
Download or read book Spitfire Pilot Air Commodore Geoffrey Stephenson written by John Shields and published by Air World. This book was released on 2024-11-30 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Under cloudless blue skies, the Oakwood Cemetery Annex in Montgomery, Alabama hosts the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in the United States. Most of the graves contain young RAF trainee pilots killed during their flying training at nearby Maxwell and Gunter airfields during the Second World War. However, there is another grave, located at the edge of the plot, not from the early 1940s but, from 1954. The grave marks the final resting place of a 44-year-old senior RAF officer, Air Commodore Geoffrey Stephenson CBE. It begs the questions who was he and why is he buried there? This book sets out to answer both these questions. As a result, this is the remarkable story of not only Stephenson’s life but the people, planes and places that would leave an indelible mark on a seasoned fighter pilot. After growing up in Lincolnshire and Ireland, 18-year-old Stephenson joined the RAF in 1928 alongside Douglas Bader who would become a life-long friend. After leaving Cranwell, the pair both joined 23 Squadron. In the 1930s, Stephenson rose through the ranks to command 19 Squadron, a Duxford-based Spitfire unit, that would see his baptism of fire over Dunkirk in late May 1940. Following the downing of a Junkers Ju 87 Stuka, Stephenson was himself shot down and crash landed on the beach at Sangatte. After a brief period on the run in France and Belgium, Stephenson was taken into captivity, spending the next five years as a prisoner of war, ending up at the iconic Colditz Castle where, ironically, he was reunited with his old friend Bader. Upon his release in April 1945, Stephenson quickly resumed his RAF career commanding, instructing, and flying the latest jet fighters, both at home and overseas. He was aide-de-camp to two monarchs, including escorting a young Queen Elizabeth II during her 1953 Coronation Review. However, his already eventful career would take a tragic turn. In 1954, Stephenson flew to the United States to review their latest acquisitions, which included a flight in the supersonic F-100 Super Sabre. It would be his last flight. Nevertheless, Stephenson’s legacy lives on at his former base at Duxford in the guise of the Imperial War Museum’s immaculately restored Spitfire Mk.I N3200. This was the very aircraft in which he force-landed on 26 May 1940. Recovered from the French beach, N3200 was painstakingly rebuilt and returned to flying condition. Today, N3200 is often referred to as a ‘National Treasure’. This is the biography of a remarkable pilot, husband and father, revealing the planes he flew, the places he visited, and the incredible people he met along the way.
Download or read book Spitfire V vs C 202 Folgore written by Donald Nijboer and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2014-04-20 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The inability of the Italians and Germans to invade Malta proved decisive for Allied victory in the Mediterranean during World War II, as the islands provided the Allies with a base from which to project air power. Early Italian efforts to pound the islands into submission were supplemented by major German forces from January 1942 and in a few weeks the situation for the defenders reached a critical stage; in response, in March 1942 the first Spitfires were delivered to Malta. Throughout the summer C.202s fought over Malta, escorting tiny formations of Cant Z.1007s, SM.79s and Ju 88s. The fighting subsided in August and September, but grew in strength with the arrival of more C.202s. In October the Regia Aeronautica could muster three Gruppi with a total of 74 C.202s. For ten days the Italians pressed a relentless attack before attrition brought the offensive to a halt. Throughout the bombing campaign the British were able to supply Malta with ever increasing numbers of Spitfires.
