Download or read book Bomber Aircrew of World War II written by Bruce Barrymore Halpenny and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2004-01-01 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Aircrew on a bomber in World War II experienced a cold, tiring and perilous existence. The RAF flew at night, when the human spirit is at its lowest ebb and for many it did not seem prudent to think further ahead than the target, and then hope for a safe return. Daytime raids brought the fear of defending fighters preying on the massed formations of heavily laden aircraft as they struggled over enemy territory. The ground crew saw their aircraft heave themselves into the air and their imagination filled the silent hours until they counted in the returning aircraft and saw the ravages of the enemy defenses and the hazards of foul weather. This is their story.
Download or read book The Hardest Victory written by Denis Richards and published by . This book was released on 1994-01-01 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The work of the RAF offensive against the Germans in the Second World War is described : difficulties and failures, claims of wasteful and immoral attacks, policies and personalities, organization, Intelligence, and technical developments as well as the magnitude of the Bomber Command's achievement. Stressing the great contribution made by Dominion and Allied air crews and the essential interdependence of the British and American air operations, and drawing on correspondence with some 200 surviving aircrew and groundcrew, the author offers fresh insights into the human element in the long and bloody business of bombing Britain's enemies.
Download or read book RAF Bomber Command in World War II written by Denis Richards and published by Penguin Group. This book was released on 2001 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While Churchill acknowledged the vital contribution of RAF Bomber Command in the Second World War, it has recently come under fire from a whole generation of historians. They claim that the RAF offensive against Germany was immoral because so many civilians were killed, and wasteful because so many attacks were not on specific military targets. In this powerful book Denis Richards describes the Command's difficulties and failures, but also redresses the balance by making clear the magnitude of its achievements. His fascinating account dramatically re-creates the gruesome and protracted battle fought for almost five and half years in the night skies, in which over half the aircrew became casualties. Truly, it was 'the Hardest Victory'. Book jacket.
Download or read book Bomber Offensive written by Arthur Harris and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2005-03-01 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sir Arthur Harris - Bomber Harris - remains the target of criticism and vilification by many, while others believe the contribution he and his men made to victory is grossly undervalued. He led the men of Bomber Command in the face of appalling casualties, had fierce disagreements with higher authority and enjoyed a complicated relationship with Winston Churchill. Written soon after the close of World War 2, this collection of Sir Arthur Harris's memoirs reveals the man behind the Allied bombing offensive that culminated in the destruction of the Nazi war machine but also many beautiful cities, including Dresden.
Download or read book Bomber Command written by Max Hastings and published by Quarto Publishing Group USA. This book was released on 2013-09-15 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This award-winning classic of WWII military history chronicles the Royal Air Force’s bombing campaign against Germany. RAF Bomber Command’s air offensive against the cities of Nazi Germany was one of the most epic campaigns of World War II. The struggle began meekly in 1939 with only a few aircraft—Whitleys, Hampdens, and Wellingtons—flying blindly through the night on their ill-conceived bombing runs. It ended six years later with 1,600 Lancasters, Halifaxes, and Mosquitoes, equipped with the best of British wartime technology, blazing whole German cities in a single night. In Bomber Command, originally published to critical acclaim in the UK, famed British military historian Sir Max Hastings offers a captivating analysis of the strategy and decision-making behind one of World War II’s most violent episodes. With firsthand descriptions of the experiences of aircrew from 1939 to 1945—based on one hundred interviews with veterans—and a harrowing narrative of the experiences of Germans on the ground during the September 1944 bombing of Darmstadt, Bomber Command is widely recognized as a classic account of one of the bloodiest campaigns in World War II history. Winner of the Somerset Maugham Prize
Download or read book Bomber Command s War Against Germany written by An Official History and published by Air World. This book was released on 2020-12-14 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The internal RAF analysis of the different phases of the air war and what lessons could be learnt from those campaigns.” —Royal Aeronautical Society website When the RAF’s Bomber Command analyzed the results of their precision bombing efforts during the early years of World War II, a growing body of evidence indicated that the great “knockout” blow expected to be delivered from the air was a fantasy. It would only be through a prolonged campaign of attrition that the enemy could be worn down to such a degree that morale, the means of production and the infrastructure of the enemy would be degraded to the point where its fighting ability was crippled. The result of this assessment was a change of policy from precision bombing of carefully identified key installations, to area bombing with the declared intent of striking at the homes of the German workers, the factories where they worked regardless of the nature of such establishments or of the civilian casualties that would be the inevitable consequence. In compiling this official analysis of the effectiveness of the RAF’s strategic bombing campaign, the author was granted unrestricted access to Air Ministry, Cabinet and other relevant departmental documents that were maintained for internal government use, enabling him to gain a complete and unbiased assessment of the contribution made by Bomber Command to the defeat of Germany. The conclusion he draws fully justifies the decisions taken, by both Britain and the USA, to bomb the German people into surrender.
Download or read book RAF Bomber Command Strike Hard Strike Sure 1936 1945 written by Ron Mackay and published by Fonthill Media. This book was released on 2022-03-31 with total page 716 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: -> Historically rich in detail with previously unpublished photographs from private archives -> Researched and written by an aviation and military historian renowned author -> Essential for military/historians, modellers, flight-sim enthusiasts (War Thunder, IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles and DCS) and those interested in the complexities of aircraft design and production during the Second World War ‘They sowed the wind and now they are going to reap the whirlwind.’ Arthur ‘Bomber’ Harris The concept of an aerial campaign on a nation’s industrial and military might was advocated by Britain before the start of the First World War; however, a stringent post-war economy ensured that the creation of Bomber Command in 1936 witnessed a daunting disparity between the aim of striking at an adversary’s ability to sustain itself and the means to do so. From 1939 to 1942, Bomber Command was very weak in terms of human and material losses. The navigational means with which to accurately guide bombers to targets was almost completely lacking while the enemy defensive network inflicted serious casualties. Consequently, the punishment handed out was minimal. The resurgence of Bomber Command’s fortunes coincided with the appointment of Sir Arthur Harris. The advent of four-engine designs such as the Avro Lancaster and Handley Page Halifax ensured that a greatly increased bomb tonnage could be delivered. Also, electronic aids such as Gee, Oboe and H2S simplified the task in finding targets. Therefore, by 1944-1945, the RAF’s bombers pulverised Hitler’s Third Reich. Although flak and night-fighters took a heavy toll on the bombers, the RAF’s nocturnal offensive in conjunction with the USAAF’s daylight assaults crippled Germany’s ability to fight back.
Download or read book Bomber Command 1936 1968 written by Ken Delve and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2005-09-29 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a comprehensive reference to the structure, operation, aircraft and men of Bomber Command from its formation on 1936 to 1968 when it became part of Strike Command. It includes descriptions of many notable bombing raids, the many types of aircraft used, weapons and airfields. The five main sections of the book include a general historical introduction and overview, operations, operational groups, aircrew training and technical details of each aircraft type. Lengthy Annexes cover personnel. the squadrons in World War II, accuracy of attacks, orders of battle for each wartime year, maps of airfields locations, tonnage of bombs dropped and nuclear weapons carried in the post-war years.
Download or read book No 7 Bomber Squadron RAF in World War II written by Tom Docherty and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2007-07-01 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story of one of the RAF's oldest and most distinguished heavy bomber squadrons in WW2, although an outline history of the unit since it was formed in WW1 and its post-war history are included. It was the first operational Stirling Squadron, the RAF's first four engine heavy bomber, and flew the first long-distance raids into the heart of Nazi Germany. This new aircraft was a break-through in terms of range and bomb load but it was also an aircraft that suffered from many teething problems. Long-distance navigation was also a black art before the introduction of radio navigation systems and the squadron suffered many fatalities in those early wartime years. Having gained expertise in their task the unit was the first to be equipped with the H2S navigational aid and eventually became one of the original elite Pathfinder squadrons. When the Lancaster came into service the Squadron re-equipped and joined 8 Group and had the dubious reputation of suffering the third greatest loss of aircraft in Bomber Command. It did however participate in more Lancaster raids than any other 8 Group squadron.
Download or read book The Bomber Command War Diaries written by Martin Middlebrook and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-04-02 with total page 941 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The essential WWII historical reference detailing RAF Bomber Command’s extensive campaign of strategic bombings across occupied Europe. The Royal Air Force Bomber Command's strategic bombing campaign started on the first day of the Second World War and ended five and a half years later with the final victory in Europe. It was a campaign of such enormous scale that historians have only recently begun to piece together the finer details of the individual raids. Aviation historian Martin Middlebrook and his research colleague, Chris Everitt, were the first to compile a complete review of all the raids and their background stories. The Bomber Command War Diaries not only documents every Bomber Command operation but also details their effects on the ground, drawing on local archives from Germany, Italy, and the occupied countries. It is a groundbreaking work on historical research, bringing together the two sides of Bomber Command’s war. This edition includes retrospective observations and a new appendix.
Download or read book Bomber Command written by Martin W. Bowman and published by Pen and Sword Aviation. This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This, the fourth volume of a five part work that provides a comprehensive insight into all aspects of RAF Bomber Command in World War Two, begins in the spring of 1944 with a completely new insight on the catastrophic raid on Nuremburg on the night of 30/31 March and follows with the disastrous attack on Mailly-le-Camp in May. Gradually, the Allied Bomber Offensive began to bear fruit and in June 1944 the invasion of Normandy took place under an umbrella of almost total Allied air superiority. RAF Bomber Command was to play a huge part in what proved to be the final steps to ultimate victory, returning to the mass raids on German cities by night and even mounting raids on the Reich by day. The author's well-tried formula of using background information interspersed with the crews' personal narrative takes you raid by raid through each tour of ops while carrying full bomb loads in sub-zero temperatures, blighted by atrocious weather conditions and dogged by fear of fire, death or serious injury or having to endure months if not years of miserable existence and near starvation behind the wire in notorious PoW camps. The path to peace was paved with the unmitigated slow ebbing of courage with an ever-present possibility of death unannounced from a prowling night fighter, nondescript and unseen, as night after incessant night, shattered and ailing bombers could run out of luck to crash in some foreign field while other crews, almost 'home' - almost empty - ran out of fuel and died horrible tortuous deaths in twisted and tangled wreckage. Not for them the glory that was accorded The 'Few' but as Winston Churchill said: 'Fighters are our salvation, but the bombers alone provide the means of victory'. SELLING POINTS: * The most comprehensive and readable account of WW2 Bomber Command * Told by the men who were there * Many rare wartime action photographs ILLUSTRATIONS: 60 b/w plates
Download or read book D Day Bomber Command written by Steve Darlow and published by Fighting High. This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On 6 June 1944 the Allies forced a re-entry in to 'Fortress Europe'--the sea borne and airborne assault upon the coastline of Normandy. Key to the success of the D-Day campaign was the contribution of the Royal Air Force's Bomber Command, who waged an unrelenting campaign in the run-up to D-Day, on the day itself, and in the months subsequent.
Download or read book Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War Aircraft and crew losses 1942 written by W. R. Chorley and published by Midland. This book was released on 1992 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the third volume in the series which deals with the losses sustained by the RAF Bomber Command during the 2nd World War. It has already found favour with historians, and those friends and relatives affected by the loss.
Download or read book Reaching for the Stars written by Mark Connelly and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2001-02-16 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: _Reaching for the Stars_ shows why Bomber Command, in one of the largest and bloodiest campaigns of the war, with 55,000 aircrew lost and more officer fatalities than in World War I, has received so much attention and yet remains a 'lost and black sheep' among British wartime achievements. There has been little official recognition: at the 50th anniversary of VE Day there was hardly a mention and the Bomber Command story has been dogged by the controversy over carpet-bombing. The role of Bomber Command in the Second World War is still shrouded in mystery. This book provides a new and revisionary narrative of the campaign and is both a military history and an investigation of how the modern image of Bomber Command has developed. There have been hundreds of books about the RAF and Bomber Command ranging from highly researched histories, technical studies of the aircraft, to popular works; as well as countless films and plays, and television and newspaper reportage. Mark Connelly pulls all the strands together to produce a fascinating and entirely new perspective on this aspect of World War II.
Download or read book 100 Group Bomber Support written by Martin W. Bowman and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2006-01-01 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beretter om de flyvepladser, andre lokaliteter og personer, der under 2. verdenskrig var relateret til "100 Group (Bomber Support)" under Royal Air Force. Opgaven for 100 Group var at yde støtte til bombeoperationerne ved hjælp af elektronisk krigsførelse, såvel offensivt som defensivt.
Download or read book RAF Bomber Airfields of World War 2 written by Jonathan Falconer and published by Allan. This book was released on 1992 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book RAF Bomber Command at War written by Rupert Matthews and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bomber Command of the RAF fought one of the longest, most grueling, and thankless campaigns of World War II. More than 55,000 men and women were killed serving with the Command and the bombers inflicted severe and ultimately crippling damage to the German war effort. During the war years few branches of the armed services ranked higher with the public than did Bomber Command. This powerful book takes a new look at the exploits of the RAF's strike force during World War II. By looking at the conflict from the viewpoint of those serving in Bomber Command, this book reveals the why and the how of the Bomber Command campaigns. The abilities of the aircraft and aircrew are outlined, and the limits this put on operations explained. The book will help the reader understand the conditions under with the men of Bomber Command fought, lived and--tragically--so often died.
