Download or read book Air Force Combat Units of World War II written by Maurer Maurer and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1961 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Tiger Tales written by Milt Miller and published by . This book was released on 1984 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Combat Squadrons of the Air Force World War II written by United States. USAF Historical Division and published by . This book was released on 1969 with total page 856 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of squadron histories has been prepared by the USAF Historical Division to complement the Division's book, Air Force Combat Units of World War II. The 1,226 units covered by this volume are the combat (tactical) squadrons that were active between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945. Each squadron is traced from its beginning through 5 March 1963, the fiftieth anniversary of the organization of the 1st Aero (later Bombardment) Squadron, the first Army unit to be equipped with aircraft for tactical operations. For each squadron there is a statement of the official lineage and data on the unit's assignments, stations, aircraft and missiles, operations, service streamers, campaign participation, decorations, and emblem.

Download or read book Battle Colors Insignia and Aircraft Markings of the Eighth Air Force in World War II written by Robert A. Watkins and published by Schiffer Publishing. This book was released on 2004-01-01 with total page 127 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Relying heavily upon visuals, Battle Colors fills a long standing void in the annals of the Eighth Air Force during World War II. This volume focuses on all forty-eight Bomb Groups comprising the Eighth and features color illustrations depicting the evolution of all fuselage, wing and tail markings assigned to the individual units. Details concerning the proper size, placement, color and configuration of all tactical markings of U.S. Bomber Command are addressed. Group and squadron combat insignia as well as airfield location maps for each unit are also depicted. All bombardment units incorporated within the Eighth are indexed and easily cross-referenced by squadron, group, wing and division assignments. Additionally, all major components comprising the Eighth have been organized into quick reference organizational flow charts that show the actual order-of-battle for the Mighty Eighth. This book is an invaluable tool for anyone with an interest in the history of the U.S. Eighth Air Force in World War II.

Download or read book The Praetorian STARShip the untold story of the Combat Talon written by and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2001 with total page 507 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jerry Thigpen's study on the history of the Combat Talon is the first effort to tell the story of this wonderfully capable machine. This weapons system has performed virtually every imaginable tactical event in the spectrum of conflict and by any measure is the most versatile C-130 derivative ever produced. First modified and sent to Southeast Asia (SEA) in 1966 to replace theater unconventional warfare (UW) assets that were limited in both lift capability and speed the Talon I quickly adapted to theater UW tasking including infiltration and resupply and psychological warfare operations into North Vietnam. After spending four years in SEA and maturing into a highly respected UW weapons system the Joint Chief of Staff (JCS) chose the Combat Talon to lead the night low-level raid on the North Vietnamese prison camp at Son Tay. Despite the outcome of the operation the Talon I cemented its reputation as the weapons system of choice for long-range clandestine operations. In the period following the Vietnam War United States Air Force (USAF) special operations gradually lost its political and financial support which was graphically demonstrated in the failed Desert One mission into Iran. Thanks to congressional supporters like Earl Hutto of Florida and Dan Daniel of Virginia funds for aircraft upgrades and military construction projects materialized to meet the ever-increasing threat to our nation. Under the leadership of such committed hard-driven officers as Brenci Uttaro Ferkes Meller and Thigpen the crew force became the most disciplined in our Air Force. It was capable of penetrating hostile airspace at night in a low-level mountainous environment covertly to execute any number of unconventional warfare missions.

Download or read book B 24 Liberator Units of the CBI written by Edward M. Young and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-11-20 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An illustrated history of the B-24 Liberator, the mainstay of the US Army Air Force's strategic bombing effort in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theatre from 1942 until the end of the war in 1945. With longer range and a greater load-carrying capacity than the B-17, the B-24 was well-suited to the demands of the CBI. The CBI's two air forces, the Tenth in India and the Fourteenth in China, each had one heavy bomb group equipped with Liberators. These two groups, the 7th and the 308th, carried the war to the Japanese across China and South East Asia, flying over some of the most difficult terrain in the world. The 308th had the added burden of having to carry its own fuel and bombs over the Himalayan 'Hump' from India to China in support of its missions. This book shows how, despite the hardships and extreme distances from sources of supply, both units compiled a notable record, each winning two Distinguished Unit Citations.

Download or read book Command Of The Air written by General Giulio Douhet and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2014-08-15 with total page 620 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the pantheon of air power spokesmen, Giulio Douhet holds center stage. His writings, more often cited than perhaps actually read, appear as excerpts and aphorisms in the writings of numerous other air power spokesmen, advocates-and critics. Though a highly controversial figure, the very controversy that surrounds him offers to us a testimonial of the value and depth of his work, and the need for airmen today to become familiar with his thought. The progressive development of air power to the point where, today, it is more correct to refer to aerospace power has not outdated the notions of Douhet in the slightest In fact, in many ways, the kinds of technological capabilities that we enjoy as a global air power provider attest to the breadth of his vision. Douhet, together with Hugh “Boom” Trenchard of Great Britain and William “Billy” Mitchell of the United States, is justly recognized as one of the three great spokesmen of the early air power era. This reprint is offered in the spirit of continuing the dialogue that Douhet himself so perceptively began with the first edition of this book, published in 1921. Readers may well find much that they disagree with in this book, but also much that is of enduring value. The vital necessity of Douhet’s central vision-that command of the air is all important in modern warfare-has been proven throughout the history of wars in this century, from the fighting over the Somme to the air war over Kuwait and Iraq.

Download or read book Kangaroo Squadron written by Bruce Gamble and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2018-11-20 with total page 490 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In early 1942, while the American military was still in disarray from the devastating attacks on Pearl Harbor and the Philippines, a single U.S. Army squadron advanced to the far side of the world to face America's new enemy. Based in Australia with inadequate supplies and no ground support, the squadron's pilots and combat crew endured tropical diseases while confronting numerically superior Japanese forces. Yet the outfit, dubbed the Kangaroo Squadron, proved remarkably resilient and successful, conducting long-range bombing raids, carrying out armed reconnaissance missions, and rescuing General MacArthur and his staff from the Philippines. Before now, the story of their courage and determination in the face of overwhelming odds has largely been untold. Using eyewitness accounts from diaries, letters, interviews, and memoirs, as well as Japanese sources, historian Bruce Gamble brings to vivid life this dramatic true account. But the Kangaroo Squadron's story doesn't end in World War II. One of the squadron's B-17 bombers, which crash-landed on its first mission, was recovered from New Guinea after almost seventy years in a jungle swamp. The intertwined stories of the Kangaroo Squadron and the "Swamp Ghost" are filled with thrilling accounts of aerial combat, an epic survival story, and the powerful mystique of an invaluable war relic.

Download or read book Apollo s Warriors written by Michael E. Haas and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1998-05 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presenting a fascinating insider's view of U.S.A.F. special operations, this volume brings to life the critical contributions these forces have made to the exercise of air & space power. Focusing in particular on the period between the Korean War & the Indochina wars of 1950-1979, the accounts of numerous missions are profusely illustrated with photos & maps. Includes a discussion of AF operations in Europe during WWII, as well as profiles of Air Commandos who performed above & beyond the call of duty. Reflects on the need for financial & political support for restoration of the forces. Bibliography. Extensive photos & maps. Charts & tables.

Download or read book The Army Air Forces in World War II Plans and early operations January 1939 to August 1942 written by and published by . This book was released on 1948 with total page 874 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Operation PLUM written by Adrian R. Martin and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2010-07-15 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: They went in as confident young warriors. They came out as battle-scarred veterans, POW camp survivors . . . or worse. The Army Air Corps’ 27th Bombardment Group arrived in the Philippines in November 1941 with 1,209 men; one year later, only 20 returned to the United States. The Japanese attacked the Philippines on the same morning as Pearl Harbor and invaded soon after. Allied air routes back to the Philippines were soon cut, forcing pilots to fight their air war from bases in Java, Australia, and New Guinea. The men on Bataan were eventually taken prisoner and forced into the infamous Death March. The 27th and other such units were pivotal in delaying the Japanese timetable for conquest. If not for these units, some have suggested, the Allied offensive in the Pacific might have started in Hawaii or even California instead of New Guinea and the surrounding islands. Based largely on primary materials, including a fifty-nine-page report written by the surviving unit members in September 1942, Operation PLUM (from the code name for the U.S. Army in the Philippines) gives an account of the 27th Bombardment Group and, through it, the opening months of the Pacific theater. Military historians and readers interested in World War II will appreciate the rich perspective presented in Operation PLUM

Download or read book Air Force Combat Units of World War II written by Maurer Maurer and published by . This book was released on 1961 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Tuskegee Airmen and the Never Lost a Bomber Myth written by Daniel Haulman and published by NewSouth Books. This book was released on 2012-01-01 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the first sixty years following World War II, a powerful myth grew up claiming that the Tuskegee Airmen, the only black American military pilots in the war, had been the only fighter escort group never to have lost a bomber to enemy aircraft fire. The myth was enshrined in articles, books, museum exhibits, television programs, and films. In actuality, the all-black 332d Fighter Group flew at least seven bomber escort missions, of the 179 it flew for the Fifteenth Air Force between early June 1944 and the end of April 1945, in which one or more of the bombers it escorted was shot down by enemy aircraft. In fact, 27 bombers the 332d Fighter Group was assigned to escort were shot down by enemy aircraft during the war, most during the summer of 1944. This article explores how the "never lost a bomber" myth originated and grew, and then refutes it conclusively with careful reference to primary source documents located at the Air Force Historical Research Agency. Among those documents are the daily mission reports of the Tuskegee Airmen's 332d Fighter Group (which indicates the bomb groups the Tuskegee Airmen escorted, and where and when), the daily mission reports of the bomb groups the Tuskegee Airmen escorted (which indicates if bombers were shot down by enemy aircraft at the times and places the 332d Fighter Group was escorting them), and the missing aircrew reports, which show which aircraft were lost, including the type of aircraft, the unit to which it belonged, when and where it went down, and whether it went down by enemy aircraft fire. By piecing together these documents, the author not only proves that sometimes bombers under the escort of the Tuskegee Airmen were shot down by enemy aircraft, but when and where those losses occurred, and to which groups they belonged.

Download or read book US Army Order of Battle 1919 1941 The services air service engineers and special troops 1919 41 written by Steven E. Clay and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 712 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Hit the Target written by Bill Yenne and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2016-07-05 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Bill Yenne, author of the military histories Big Week and Aces High, comes the stirring true story of the Eighth Air Force in World War II. Barely a month after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Army formed its Eighth Air Force, the first bomber command on either side to commit to strategic daylight bombing, with the goal of defeating the Third Reich from the air. The men of the Eighth paid the price in both lives and blood. Hit the Target introduces readers to those who made the Eighth Air Force the formidable juggernaut it soon became. Men of all ranks, from General Tooey Spaatz, the hard-driving founding commander, to Colonel Jimmy Doolittle, the hero who led the first air raid on Japan, to Maynard “Snuffy” Smith, the irascible first airman in Europe to be awarded the Medal of Honor. The story of the Mighty Eighth is told through these men, whose careers paralleled the early history of aviation and who helped to revolutionize airborne warfare and win World War II. INCLUDES PHOTOS “Bill Yenne scores another bull’s-eye with Hit the Target...This is a story everyone should know.”—Robert Bruce Arnold is the co-author of Wilderness of Tigers, A Novel of Saigon and grandson of the Air Force’s only Five Star General, Hap Arnold “The story of the mighty United States Eighth Air Force is one for the ages.”—Brian Sobel, author of The Fighting Pattons

Download or read book The US Air Service in World War 1 written by Maurer Maurer and published by . This book was released on 1978 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Bombs Away written by John R. Bruning and published by Zenith Imprint. This book was released on 2011-05-22 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bombs Away! covers strategic bombing in Europe during World War II, that is, all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature which took place between 1939 and 1945. In addition to American (U.S. Army Air Forces) and British (RAF Bomber Command) strategic aerial campaigns against Germany, this book covers German use of strategic bombing during the Nazi’s conquest of Europe: the Battle of Britain, Operation Barbarossa, and the V 1 and V 2, where the Luftwaffe targeted Warsaw and Rotterdam (known as the Rotterdam Blitz). In addition, the book covers the blitzes against London and the bombing of other British industrial and port cities, such as Birmingham, Liverpool, Southampton, Manchester, Bristol, Belfast, Cardiff, and Coventry bombed during the Battle of Britain. The twin Allied campaigns against Germany—the USAAF by day, the RAF by night—built up into massive bombing of German industrial areas, notably the Ruhr, followed by attacks directly on cities such as Hamburg, Kassel, Pforzheim, Mainz, Cologne, Bremen, Essen, Düsseldorf, Hanover, Dortmund, Frankfurt, and the still controversial fire-bombing of Hamburg and Dresden. In addition to obvious targets like aircraft and tank manufacturers, ball bearing factories and plants that manufactured abrasives and grinding wheels were high priority targets. Petroleum refineries were a key target with USAAF aircraft based in North Africa and later Italy, bombing the massive refinery complexes in and around Ploesti, Romania, until August 1944 when the Soviet Red Army captured the area. Other missions included industrial targets in southern Germany like Regensburg and Schweinfurt. Missions to the Nazi capital, Berlin, started in 1940 and continued through March 1945. Throughout the war there were 314 air raids on Berlin. All of this is covered in detail with authoritative text and hundreds of archival photographs, many rare or never before published.