Download or read book The History of the De Havilland Vampire written by David Watkins and published by Fonthill Media. This book was released on 2014-05-10 with total page 728 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The definitive book on an iconic aircraft Illustrated throughout with a varied and interesting selection of images, many previously unpublished An early jet aircraft that collected many notable firsts including the first jet fighter to cross the Atlantic and the first jet to land on an aircraft carrier Comprehensive appendices covering serial allocations, production, export details and preserved airframes The de Havilland Vampire was the second of the RAF's first-generation, post-Second World War jet fighters to enter service. It began life as an interceptor but was soon re-tasked in the day fighter/ground attack roles with the 2nd Tactical Air Force in Germany from 1948 to 1954 and with the RAF's Middle and Far East Air Forces. Throughout its forty-six-year career, it collected many notable firsts: it was the first jet fighter to cross the Atlantic; the first jet to land on an aircraft carrier; and the first jet trainer on which student pilots qualified for their 'Wings'. In addition to playing a full part in the RAF's order of battle during the 1940s and 1950s, the Vampire also served with the Fleet Air Arm and became an export success story for the British aircraft industry with hundreds sold to air forces worldwide. For a brief period during the 1950s, the Vampire formed the backbone of the RAF's night-fighter force and between 1952 and 1967, the Vampire trainer was responsible for a steady flow of trained pilots for the RAF, Royal Navy and foreign air forces. This comprehensive history covers the Vampire's development and operational service. It has been written with the full co-operation of the manufacturer, MoD, RAF and other world air forces, mixing narrative and technical detail with vivid personal accounts from those involved with the aircraft. Comprehensive appendices include technical specifications, production details, serials and export details. It is also lavishly illustrated and includes more than one story of encounters with UFOs by RAF Vampire pilots. **This electronic edition includes 315 photographs**

Download or read book Vampire Squadron written by William H. Starke and published by . This book was released on 1985 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book RAF Little Rissington written by R. Deacon and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2006-06-30 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the three decades between 1946 and 1976, the Central Flying School which was based at Little Rissington, produced over 6000 fledgling Qualified Flying Instructors and continually endeavoured to monitor and improve the wider Royal Air Force's standards of flying, based on its sound, proven instructional methods and a wealth of tradition extending back to Upavon in 1912. With the cessation of hostilities in 1945, the station's role took on a new dimension with the arrival of the Central Flying School (CFS) from RAF Upavon in the following year. The main function of CFS was to fulfil RAF requirements and assist some Commonwealth air force requirements for flying instructors. RAF Little Rissington became CFS's important focal base for the next thirty years. The book covers the 1946 to 1976 period and has been drawn from from the records at the National Archives, the RAF Museum, the Central Flying School Archive, and from published sources. Anecdotes and recollections from over 100 service and civilian personnel, ranging from Air Marshals to AC2s, who were once based at Little Rissington bring these unfolding years to life.

Download or read book Panther Red One Memoirs of a Fighter Pilot written by and published by KW Publishers Pvt Ltd. This book was released on 2013-02-15 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book originally began as a series of articles, at the behest of the author’s son, for the website Bharat Rakshak. As the articles flowed, the author was then persuaded by his children to expand these articles into something that more resembles a book. It was (and is) intended for his grandchildren to know about one part of their heritage—a part that will likely not recur in the family tree. It was not intended for general publication, but the children convinced the author otherwise. Perhaps the first couple of chapters could be a reader for all grandchildren of today because every family came from similar villages all over India. It also gives a feel for the motivation, and the acceptance of the environment and facilities that were far from adequate to achieve the goal of being a fighter pilot. It is more “episodic” than such works usually are, as it has been written at the age of 80, from the heart and from memory. It is hoped that you will enjoy it.

Download or read book United States Air Force and Its Antecedents written by James T. Controvich and published by Scarecrow Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This bibliography lists published and printed unit histories for the United States Air Force and Its Antecedents, including Air Divisions, Wings, Groups, Squadrons, Aviation Engineers, and the Women's Army Corps.

Download or read book Canadian Warplanes written by Harold A. Skaarup and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2009-11-16 with total page 640 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This aviation handbook is designed to be used as a quick reference to the classic military heritage aircraft that have been flown by members of the Canadian Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the present-day Canadian Forces. The interested reader will find useful information and a few technical details on most of the military aircraft that have been in service with active Canadian squadrons both at home and overseas. 100 selected photographs have been included to illustrate a few of the major examples in addition to the serial numbers assigned to Canadian service aircraft. For those who like to actually see the aircraft concerned, aviation museum locations, addresses and contact phone numbers have been included, along with a list of aircraft held in each museums current inventory or on display as gate guardians throughout Canada and overseas. The aircraft presented in this edition are listed alphabetically by manufacturer, number and type. Although many of Canadas heritage warplanes have completely disappeared, a few have been carefully collected, restored and preserved, and some have even been restored to flying condition. This guide-book should help you to find and view Canadas Warplane survivors.

Download or read book Swift to Battle No 72 Fighter Squadron RAF in Action 1947 to 1961 written by Tom Docherty and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2010-05-19 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This third of three volumes traces the history of 72 Fighter Squadron, one of the premier squadrons in the Royal Air Force. The aircraft flown, operational personnel and missions flown are fully described with first-hand accounts from pilots and both air and ground crew. Having seen active service in the war years this volume covers the period 1947 to 1961 when the squadron was disbanded. During this period the squadron moved into the jet age at first flying de Havilland Vampires and then the Gloster Meteor F8s in 1952 and finally the Gloster Javalin in 1959 until the squadron was disbanded at Leconfield in June 1961.

Download or read book Carole Landis written by E.J. Fleming and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-09-11 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Before she was a glamorous actress, before she was a war-time pin-up star, even before she was Carole Landis, she was Frances Lillian Ridste, an insecure young girl from Wisconsin. She was strikingly beautiful, talented, and on her way to becoming a movie star, yet she spent her entire life searching for love. Though she appeared in more than 60 films during her short career, Landis was better known for her extraordinary beauty and many romantic relationships than for her acting or comedic timing. Like many starlets of the time, Landis worked her way up from uncredited bit parts (and according to rumors, from the casting couch) to leading roles in such films as Topper Returns (1940) and My Gal Sal (1942) over the course of her 11-year career. She spent more time visiting troops during World War II--traveling hundreds of thousands of miles and coming near death twice--than any other Hollywood star. Despite her seemingly glamorous and carefree life, Landis was unable to build a lasting relationship, a fact that contributed to her suicide at 29. This work examines Landis's life and career in Hollywood, focusing on how her movie career affected her short, unhappy life.

Download or read book The Royal Air Force at Home written by Ian Watson and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2010-06-19 with total page 474 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Military public relations endeavors ultimately seek to build a sense of common interests and aims, and so generally foster good relations with the people they defend, and there in ensure a stable society. The armed forces when engaging on any public relations exercise, have traditionally sought to provide an entertaining spectacle. For years this has been typified by parades, bands, mock battles, drill displays and other relevant feats of military prowess which have captured the imagination of the public and inspired potential recruits. The 20th Century brought a new dimension to the field of warfare and subsequently added a new strand to the fabric of public ceremony and displays by the armed forces. That new dimension was the arrival of powered flight.Display flying began within five years of the Wright Brothers making their milestone first flight. The first events staged in Britain which centered on demonstrations by flying machines, were organized by the town councils of Blackpool and Doncaster and were held within days of each other in October 1909. 1920 was the year that the first of the famed and legendary Hendon Air Pageants was staged, and this is where military air shows traditionally began. The Hendon Displays were organized and staged by the still fledging Royal Air Force and it was probably due in no small part to the prestige and spectacle of this fresh new dimension of military pageantry, together with other like events held at RAF airfields through the next two decades, that the very existence of the RAF was saved from the threat of abolition. The history of the RAF's commitment (one that compares almost uniquely with other air forces) toward display flying through the years after World War II has now come of age. This account of their record in this often overlooked but then again traditional field of military customs, describes and illustrates the major public RAF events since 1920."

Download or read book Venom De Haviland Venom Sea written by David Watkins and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2009-10-02 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While it is true to say that the Venom carried out more operational ground attack sorties than any other RAF aircraft since the Second World War, its history has hitherto been sadly neglected or misreported. With the co-operation and assistance of many former Service and civilian pilots, the record can finally be set straight in what is the definitive history of this ground-attack, all weather and naval strike fighter. David Watkins discusses the problems of the trials and development programme and takes a detailed look at the aircraft's operational service with the air arms of Australia, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Iraq and Venezuela. Of particular interest is new information relating to the Sea Venom's career with the Fleet Air Arm and the catastrophic wing failures and engine fires that plagued the early Second Tactical Air Force Venoms. It also contains a comprehensive account of Venom sorties during the Suez campaign, the 'Firedog' operations in Malaya and the protracted anti-terrorist offensive in Aden and Oman. These accounts throw new light on the conflicts and have been compiled from interviews, private papers and personal accounts. Accompanying the text is a wealth of photographs, line drawings and maps, a number of which are from private collections and are previously unpublished.

Download or read book The Rhodesian Air Force in Zimbabwe s War of Liberation 1966 1980 written by Darlington Mutanda and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2016-11-08 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book evaluates the development of the Rhodesian Air Force during the Second Chimurenga or Bush War (1966-1980). Airpower in irregular conflict is effective at the tactical level because guerrilla warfare is not a purely military conflict. The Rhodesian Air Force was deployed in a war-winning versus a supporting role as a result of the shortage of manpower to deal with insurgency, and almost all units of the Rhodesian Security Forces depended on its tactical effectiveness. Technical challenges faced by the Air Force, combined with the rate of guerrilla infiltration and the misuse of airpower to bomb guerrilla bases in neighboring countries largely negated the success of airpower.

Download or read book RAF Little Rissington written by Roy Bagshaw and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2006-06-30 with total page 1009 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the three decades between 1946 and 1976, the Central Flying School which was based at Little Rissington, produced over 6000 fledgling Qualified Flying Instructors and continually endeavoured to monitor and improve the wider Royal Air Force's standards of flying, based on its sound, proven instructional methods and a wealth of tradition extending back to Upavon in 1912. With the cessation of hostilities in 1945, the station's role took on a new dimension with the arrival of the Central Flying School (CFS) from RAF Upavon in the following year. The main function of CFS was to fulfil RAF requirements and assist some Commonwealth air force requirements for flying instructors. RAF Little Rissington became CFS's important focal base for the next thirty years. The book covers the 1946 to 1976 period and has been drawn from from the records at the National Archives, the RAF Museum, the Central Flying School Archive, and from published sources. Anecdotes and recollections from over 100 service and civilian personnel, ranging from Air Marshals to AC2s, who were once based at Little Rissington bring these unfolding years to life.

Download or read book Military Intelligence written by and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin written by and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 618 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Brassey s Naval Annual written by Earl Thomas Allnutt Brassey and published by . This book was released on 1950 with total page 442 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The History of RAF Aerobatic Teams From 1920 written by David Watkins and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2011-06-13 with total page 842 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Royal Air Force has long recognized the value of display flying for pilot training, prestige and recruiting purposes, and the standard of its formation aerobatic teams has always stood favorable comparison with those of air forces of other nations.Aerobatics have always played a prominent part in RAF training. They are not performed merely to provide a spectacle for the public but are an essential step in the making of a pilot, giving him confidence in himself and his aircraft. Formation aerobatics give him the added factor of confidence in his leader and other members of the team.This history of RAF aerobatic teams is the result of many years of painstaking and meticulous research from its early beginnings with five Sop with Snipes at the Hendon Pageant in 1920 to the present day 'Red Arrows'.The book also contains an introduction which details the gradual development from experimental and 'stunt' flying of the early aviators, through the aerial artistry of using smoke to highlight maneuvers and tied-together formation aerobatics, to the introduction of jet teams after the war. Also included in the book is a detailed index listing each team and its members from 1920 and it will undoubtedly provide an essential reference work on Royal Air Force formation aerobatic teams for aviation historians and enthusiasts."

Download or read book Biff the T out of Can T written by Wing Commander F.J.Mehta VrC (Retd) and published by Partridge Publishing. This book was released on 2017-03-25 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When author F. J. Mehta was a young boy growing up in Hyderabad, India, he set his sights on becoming a doctor and taking part in operations in surgical theaters. But through a twist of fate, his lifes work revolved around military aviation. In Biff the T Out of Cant, Mehta narrates ninety-four evocative episodes in his life in three phases. The first phase (19311954) covers his early years. The second (19551979) is about his Air Force service, and the third (1980 onward) is his postretirement period. This collection shares stories from Mehtas eventful life that brought him from his early childhood in India to the years he spent in the Air Force, serving with distinction in peacetime and wars, to his successful entrepreneurship, and to his creative retirement. He recounts his experiences with family, friends, and colleagues with wit and humor. Despite the odds, insurmountable at times, and several harrowing encounters over the course of his life, Mehta describes how grit, courage, boundless optimism, and a lot of lucky breaks helped him navigate a lifetime worth of challenges. Wing Commander F. J. Mehta, VrC (Retd), grew up with his parents and six siblings in Hyderabad, India. He served in the Indian Air Force for twenty-four years and fought two wars with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971. He received the Vir Chakra in 1971. After his retirement in 1979, Mehta ran a successful screen-printing business with his son Shiraz for twenty-five years. For the past nine years, Mehta has been enjoying life in Secunderabad, India.