Download or read book Petlyakov Pe 2 Peshka written by Peter C Smith and published by Crowood Press UK. This book was released on 2003-12-18 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The twin-engine Petlyakov Pe-2, or 'Peshka', formed the mainstay of the Soviet dive and light-bomber force in World War Two. Of advanced design, and sleek appearance, the twin-engine Pe-2 was an extremely fast and reliable aircraft. Aviation historian Peter C Smith tells the full story of this remarkable aircraft, and places it in the context of the Russian campaign, the success of which owed much to this reliable and very numerous machine. Using official sources, including the official Pe-2 handbook, and numerous color and black-and-white photographs from private sources, this deeply-researched book will be invaluable for the historian, enthusiast and modeler alike.

Download or read book The Petlyakov Pe 2 written by Peter C Smith and published by Air World. This book was released on 2020-03-30 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the Second World War, the Soviet Union’s Petlyakov Pe-2 _Peshka_ dive-bomber was unique in that it was as fast as most fighter aircraft. This was in a period when it was considered by the RAF that it was impossible for monoplane aircraft to conduct vertical bombing with any degree of success. During the war the Pe-2 was the principal dive- and light-bomber of Russia’s air power across the vast Eastern Front and it continued in service until the early 1950s with the air forces of the Warsaw Pact countries and Yugoslavia. Conceived by a team of top aircraft designers whom Stalin had incarcerated in a prison camp on trumped-up political charges, the Pe-2 had originally been designed as a high-altitude twin-engine fighter plane, but, due to the outstanding success of the German Stukas in the Blitzkrieg, its role was quickly changed to that of a fast dive-bomber. The Pe-2 arrived in service around the time of the German attack on its hitherto ally. Although only a handful had reached front line units by the start of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, the Pe-2 soon became the main dive-bomber in both the Soviet VVS and Naval service. Mass production, by factories hastily moved back beyond the front, meant that numbers increased rapidly, and more than 11,000 of the type, including many variants, were built up to 1945. The Peshka became the mainstay of the Soviet counteroffensive that ultimately resulted in the fall of Berlin. Pe-2s also led the way in the brief but annihilating Manchurian campaign against Japan in the closing days of the war in 1945. Using official sources, including the official Pe-2 handbook, and numerous color and black-and-white photographs made available to the author from both official and private sources and collections, this book is the definitive record of the Pe-2 - the dive-bomber supreme!

Download or read book The Petlyakov Pe 2 written by Peter C. Smith and published by Air World. This book was released on 2020-03-30 with total page 534 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The definitive book on the development and deployment of the Soviet Union’s supreme dive-bomber—with rare archival and private photos. During the Second World War, the Petlyakov Pe-2 Peshka was the Soviet Union’s main dive- and light-bomber in operations across the Eastern Front. It became a mainstay of the Soviet counteroffensive that led to the fall of Berlin. They also led the way in the brief but annihilating Manchurian campaign against Japan in the closing days of the war in 1945. Conceived by a team of top aircraft designers whom Stalin had incarcerated on political charges, the Peshka had originally been designed as a high-altitude twin-engine fighter plane. But due to the outstanding success of the German Stukas in the Blitzkrieg, it was quickly transformed into the fastest dive-bomber in the skies. Only a handful had reached front lines by the start of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941. But by 1945, more than 11,000 of the type were built, including many variants. Many of these remained in service with the air forces of Yugoslavia and the Warsaw Pact countries into the 1950s. Using official sources, including the official Pe-2 handbook, as well as rare color and black-and-white photographs from both official and private collections, this is the definitive record of the Pe-2.

Download or read book The Petlyakov Pe 2 written by Peter C. Smith and published by Air World. This book was released on 2020-03-30 with total page 491 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The definitive book on the development and deployment of the Soviet Union’s supreme dive-bomber—with rare archival and private photos. During the Second World War, the Petlyakov Pe-2 Peshka was the Soviet Union’s main dive- and light-bomber in operations across the Eastern Front. It became a mainstay of the Soviet counteroffensive that led to the fall of Berlin. They also led the way in the brief but annihilating Manchurian campaign against Japan in the closing days of the war in 1945. Conceived by a team of top aircraft designers whom Stalin had incarcerated on political charges, the Peshka had originally been designed as a high-altitude twin-engine fighter plane. But due to the outstanding success of the German Stukas in the Blitzkrieg, it was quickly transformed into the fastest dive-bomber in the skies. Only a handful had reached front lines by the start of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941. But by 1945, more than 11,000 of the type were built, including many variants. Many of these remained in service with the air forces of Yugoslavia and the Warsaw Pact countries into the 1950s. Using official sources, including the official Pe-2 handbook, as well as rare color and black-and-white photographs from both official and private collections, this is the definitive record of the Pe-2.

Download or read book The Soviet Light Bomber Petlyakov Pe 2 written by Oleg Pomoshnikov and published by TopDrawings. This book was released on 2019-03-14 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Petlakov Pe-2 (Peshka) is the best-known twin-engine light bomber of Soviet aviation in World War II. The plane was susceptible to structural changes, which allowed it to be used as a heavy fighter (also night), a dive bomber or a long reconnaissance plane. Vladimir Petlakov constructed the Pe-2 in prison, where he got in 1937 for allegedly delaying the works on the ANT-42 Tupolev bomber. Petlakow, while serving the sentence, was appointed the head of the constructors' group, which was to create a fast and durable machine that could freely escort the ANT-42. That is how the VI-100 was made. It was a quite advanced plane for its time (the first flight took place on December 22, 1939). It was a fully metal construction. The machine was equipped with a pressurised cockpit, turbochargers and many advanced electronic systems.

Download or read book Pe 2 Guards Units of World War 2 written by Dmitriy Khazanov and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-02-20 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Petlyakov's Pe-2 was the most numerous Soviet twin-engined bomber of World War 2, the aircraft being used as a dive-bomber, ground attack platform and dedicated reconnaissance type. The first examples entered service in August 1940, and by the time production came to end in late 1945, no fewer than 10,547 examples had been built. These equipped more than 80 bomber air regiments, and of the latter, two were accorded Guards Air Corps status, as were six air regiments. Amongst the former was the 2nd Guards Bomber Air Corps, which was commanded by the legendary General Polbin, who was twice made a Hero of the Soviet Union. Pe-2 bomber and reconnaissance versions (the latter in service with four Guards reconnaissance air regiments of the Air Force and one regiment of Naval Aviation) were extensively used from the frozen Arctic north to the balmy Crimea front. A number of Pe-2 also saw brief combat against Japan in the final weeks of World War 2.

Download or read book Fairchild Republic A 10 Thunderbolt II written by Peter C. Smith and published by Air World. This book was released on 2021-01-31 with total page 508 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive account of the origins, design, and history of the A-10A Warthog: “Highly recommended.” —AMPS Indianapolis Includes photos The Fairchild-Republic A-10A Close Support aircraft has become a legend over its long front line life. Known as the Warthog due to her unusual appearance, this little aircraft has built up an awesome reputation in the specialized ground-attack role, where her accuracy and deadliness are widely recognized as the best of their kind. Hard lessons from World War II, which were reinforced by the bitter experience of the Vietnam War two decades later, showed it was both impracticable and cost-inefficient to use supersonic fighter jets in the close air support mission. A requirement was therefore drawn up for a plane capable of carrying a heavy and varied load of ordnance, which had good endurance and unprecedented maneuverability and could survive heavy ground fire—thus the A-10 was born. But by the time it came into service its role had changed to that of a tank-buster in the defense of Western Europe in the face of the overwhelming numbers of Soviet battle armor. With her straight wing, twin tails, and turbine engines mounted high on her rear fuselage, this single-seat aircraft certainly presented a unique appearance. But all these features served a vital role, as Peter C. Smith explains in this highly detailed study. Although the Warthog’s expected missions on the plains of Germany did not materialize, she did destroy hundreds of Soviet-built tanks during the Gulf wars. The A-10 has also flown almost continuous missions over the Balkans, against the Taliban in Afghanistan, and ISIS in Iraq and Syria. This beautifully illustrated and comprehensive volume brings the A-10’s incredible story right up to date.

Download or read book Naval Warfare in the English Channel 1939 1945 written by Peter C. Smith and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2007-11-13 with total page 526 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This WWII history examines how the Royal Navy defended the English Channel from the first Dover Patrols to the liberation of the Channel Islands. The English Channel has always provided Great Britain with a natural defensive barrier, but it was never more vital than in the early days of World War Two. This book relates how the Royal Navy maintained control of that vital seaway throughout the war. Military historian Peter Smith takes readers from the early days of the Dover Patrols, through the traumas of the Dunkirk evacuation and the battles of the Channel convoys; the war against the E-boats and U-boats; the tragic raids at Dieppe and St Nazaire; the escape of the German battle-fleet; coastal convoys; the Normandy landings and the final liberation of the Channel Islands. Many wartime photographs, charts and tables add to this superb account of this bitterly contested narrow sea.

Download or read book The Women with Silver Wings written by Katherine Sharp Landdeck and published by Crown Publishing Group (NY). This book was released on 2020 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The thrilling true story of the daring female aviators who helped the United States win World War II--only to be forgotten by the country they served. When Japanese planes executed a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Cornelia Fort was already in the air. At twenty-two, Cornelia had escaped Nashville's debutante scene for a fresh start as a flight instructor in Hawaii. She and her student were in the middle of their lesson when the bombs began to fall, and they barely made it back to ground that morning. Still, when the U.S. Army Air Forces put out a call for women pilots to aid the war effort, Cornelia was one of the first to respond. She became one of just over 1,100 women from across the nation to make it through the Army's rigorous selection process and earn her silver wings. In The Women with Silver Wings, historian Katherine Sharp Landdeck introduces us to these young women as they meet even-tempered, methodical Nancy Love and demanding visionary Jacqueline Cochran, the trailblazing pilots who first envisioned sending American women into the air, and whose rivalry would define the Women Airforce Service Pilots. For women like Cornelia, it was a chance to serve their country--and to prove that women aviators were just as skilled and able as men. While not authorized to serve in combat, the WASP helped train male pilots for service abroad and ferried bombers and pursuits across the country. Thirty-eight of them would not survive the war. But even taking into account these tragic losses, Love and Cochran's social experiment seemed to be a resounding success--until, with the tides of war turning and fewer male pilots needed in Europe, Congress clipped the women's wings. The program was disbanded, the women sent home. But the bonds they'd forged never failed, and over the next few decades, they came together to fight for recognition as the military veterans they were--and for their place in history.

Download or read book Spyplanes written by Norman Polmar and published by Quarto Publishing Group USA. This book was released on 2016-12-20 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive history with descriptions of the world's most significant aircraft employed as "eyes in the sky."For as long as there has been sustained heavier-than-air human flight, airplanes have been used to gather information about our adversaries. Less than a decade after the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk, Italian pilots were keeping tabs on Turkish foes in Libya. Today, aircraft with specialized designs and sensory equipment still cruise the skies, spying out secrets in the never-ending quest for an upper hand.Spyplanes tackles the sprawling legacy of manned aerial reconnaissance, from hot air balloons to cloth-and-wood biplanes puttering over the Western Front, and on through every major world conflict, culminating with spyplanes cruising at supersonic speeds 85,000 feet above the Earth's surface. Authors Norman Polmar and John Bessette offer a concise yet comprehensive overview history of aerial recon, exploring considerations such as spyplanes in military doctrine, events like the Cuban Missile Crisis and the downing of Francis Gary Powers' U-2, the 1992 Open Skies Treaty, and the USAF's Big Safari program.Polmar and Bessette, along with a roster of respected aviation journalists, also profile 70 renowned fixed-wing spyplanes from World I right up to the still-conceptual hypersonic SR-72. The authors examine the design, development, and service history of each aircraft, and offer images and specification boxes that detail vital stats for each. Included are purpose-built spyplanes, as well as legendary fighters and bombers that have been retrofitted for the purpose. In addition, the authors feature preliminary chapters discussing the history of aerial surveillance and a host of sidebars that explore considerations such as spyplanes in military doctrine, events like the Cuban missile crisis and the downing of Francis Gary Powers' U-2, the 1992 Open Skies Treaty, and the USAF's current Big Safari program.From prop-driven to jet-powered aircraft, this is the ultimate history and reference to those "eyes in the skies" that have added mind-bending technologies, not to mention an element of intrigue, to military aviation for more than a century.

Download or read book Dive Bomber written by Peter C. Smith and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2008 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Details on planes like the German Stuka, the American Dauntless, the Japanese Aichi D3A1 "Val," the Soviet PE-2, and numerous others Riveting accounts of aerial combat Includes maps, diagrams, tables, and photos For many, it is a dive bomber that conjures the most dramatic, quintessential image of World War II: a screaming German Stuka hurtling toward the ground as part of the frightening blitzkrieg that opened the war. In this illustrated history of Allied and Axis dive bombers, Peter C. Smith traces these formidable aircraft from the earliest experiment, through the planes' first operation, to their emergence as devastatingly effective tools of aerial warfare in World War II.

Download or read book Strike From the Sky written by Richard P. Hallion and published by University of Alabama Press. This book was released on 2010-03-14 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chronicles the history of battlefield air attack from 1911, when the airplane was first used in war, to the end of World War II.

Download or read book Skua written by Peter C. Smith and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2007-03-28 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Blackburn Skua was the first monoplane to be designed and built for the Royal Navy in the 1930s. As a result of continued debate, it became a compromise between the Navys desire for a carrier-based dive-bomber and RAFs preference for a fighter. Despite being the first to shoot down a Luftwaffe aircraft in World War II, early operations in Norway found the type woefully inadequate as a fighter.As a dive-bomber, the Royal Navy put the design to good use from the outset of WWII. It was involved with the hunt for the Graff Spee, sunk the major warship Koln, suffered with great loss in an attack on the Scharnhorst, helped to keep the German advance at bay during the Dunkirk evacuation and attacked the French rogue battleship Richelieu in the Mediterranean.This book relates how the final design was created, how the dive-bombing technique was developed and perfected by naval pilots and traces the wartime operational career of the type with many first-hand accounts.

Download or read book The Dauntless in Battle written by Peter C. Smith and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2019-06-30 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “[An] extensively researched complete history of the famous SBD Dauntless dive bomber, hero of the Battle of Midway. Very Highly Recommended.” —Firetrench The Douglas SBD Dauntless, a monoplane dive-bomber designed by Ed Heinemann for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps, arrived in service in the months just preceding America’s entry into World War II. The first such aircraft were being shipped out to the USMC units just as the Japanese Task Force arrived in position to launch their attack on Pearl Harbor, while those Dauntless embarked aboard the American aircraft carriers of the Pacific Fleet became among the very first casualties of that surprise attack. Very quickly the Dauntless established herself as a highly accurate naval bomber at sea. In the early raids on Japanese-held islands—and in 1942 at the naval battles of the Coral Sea and Midway, Eastern Solomons and elsewhere—she proved herself a key and decisive instrument to first halt and then turn the die against Japanese expansion. The SBD (nicknamed “Slow But Deadly”) fought ashore the bitter fighting at Guadalcanal and the subsequent Solomon Island campaigns working from both shore and carrier bases. The Dauntless continued to fight at sea until right up to 1944 and then carried on with the Marine Corps to provide the American Army with close air support in their conquest of the Philippines. In The Dauntless in Battle, Peter Smith “traces its illustrious history throughout the second world war and beyond in vivid detail” (Books Monthly). “Lots of fine detail on both the aircraft and the crews who flew them in action.” —Military Model Scene

Download or read book The Battle Cruiser HMS Renown 1916 48 written by Peter C. Smith and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2008-10-30 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A successful book, giving a picture of life on a major warship, as well as a different view of some of the main naval actions of the Second World War.” —HistoryOfWar.org This is the story of the Royal Navy battle-cruiser HMS Renown, a famous ship with a long and distinguished operational career. Originally built for the First World War she subsequently served in the post-war fleet and took royalty around the world. Modernized just in time for World War Two, she re-joined the fleet in September, 1939 and for the first two years of the war her speed and heavy gun armament made her one of the most important ships of the fleet. She escorted the famous carrier Ark Royal for most of her illustrious career as flagship of Force “H” in the Mediterranean and took part in many stirring battles and convoy actions. Later she covered Russian convoys in the Arctic before going out to the Indian Ocean where she took part in attacks on Japanese targets in the Indian Ocean. Her final duties included the meeting of King George VI and President Truman in 1945. A host of fresh detail coupled with eyewitness memoirs from former crew members make this an outstanding warship biography. “If you like a thorough, detailed history of a famous, long lived fighting ship, this volume will give you just what you’re looking for. It also provides an insightful look at some of the Royal Navy’s more interesting naval leaders, including Admirals Cunningham and Somerville.” —IPMS/USA

Download or read book Midway Dauntless Victory written by Peter C. Smith and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2008-03-25 with total page 857 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is an in-depth study of the battle of Midway that reviews the many previous accounts and compares their accuracy and veracity with fresh documentation that has been released recently, including new material on the post-war analysis made by a US select committee. There are new viewpoints on the muddle among the US Admirals; the total failure of the USAAF, despite elaborate claims; fresh thinking on the part played by the US Navy Dauntless dive-bombers in the action; the mystery of the carrier Saratoga's presence; Hollywood's totally wrong take on the battle in all the films since made about it. Also, included are new eyewitness accounts the author has obtained and information from Japanese sources that has never been previously published. The lengthy Appendices will include statistical details of the ships, the planes and the men.

Download or read book Mitsubishi Zero written by Peter C. Smith and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-11-30 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A history of the Japanese aircraft, “illustrated by well reproduced black and white photographs” details the plane’s impressive WWII aviation record. (Aviation News) The Mitsubishi Zero is one of the greatest fighter aircraft ever to have graced the skies. Symbolic of the might of Imperial Japan, she represented a peak of developmental prowess in the field of aviation during the early years of the Second World War. Engineered with maneuverability in mind, this lightweight, stripped-back aircraft had a performance that left her opponents totally outclassed. The dogfights this aircraft engaged in with the Chinese, British, Dutch and American warplanes in the 1941-42 period are the stuff of aviation legend. The Zero remained a potent threat until the end of the war, not least in her final role, that of a Kamikaze plane, in which she created as much havoc on the sea as she had done earlier in the air. Peter C. Smith takes the reader on a journey from inspired inception to the blazing termination of this unique aircraft, the first Naval fighter to be superior to land-based aircraft. Mitsubishi Zero describes in detail the many victories that punctuated the early days of the plane’s operational career as well as the final days of the Second World War which witnessed her demise. Smith also lists the preserved Zero aircraft on display today. This is a fast-paced and fascinating history of a fighter aircraft like no other.