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 A History of the Mediterranean Air War 1940 1945 written by Christopher Shores and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2018-11-05 with total page 697 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fourth volume in the comprehensive series “fills a gap in the existing narrative” of WWII’s Mediterranean air war (Journal of Military History). The fourth volume in this momentous series commences with the attacks on the Italian island fortress of Pantellaria, which led to its surrender and occupation achieved almost by air attack alone. The account continues with the ultimately successful, but at times very hard fought, invasions of Sicily and southern Italy as burgeoning Allied air power, now with full US involvement, increasingly dominated the skies overhead. The successive occupations of Sardinia and Corsica are also covered in detail. This is essentially the story of the tactical air forces up to the point when Rome was occupied, just at the same time as the Normandy landings were occurring in northwest France. With regards to the long-range tactical role of the Allied heavy bombers, only the period from May to October is examined, while they remained based in North Africa, with the narrative continuing in a future volume. This volume also delves into the story of “the soldiers’ air force.” Frequently overshadowed by more immediate newsworthy events elsewhere, the soldiers’ struggle was often of an equally Homeric nature. “No future publication on the Mediterranean air war will be credible without use of this series.” —Air Power History

Download or read book A History of the Mediterranean Air War 1940 1945 Volume 2 written by Christopher Shores and published by Grub Street Publishing. This book was released on 2014-07-19 with total page 736 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This second volume in the seminal series on aerial combat, pilots, and tactics in Libya and Egypt in the middle of World War II. In volume two of this series, historian Christopher Shores begins by exploring the 8th Army’s movements after Operation Crusader when they were forced back to the Gazala area in northeastern Libya, as well as their defeat in June, 1942, the loss of Tobruk, and the efforts of Allied air forces to protect their retreating troops. Shores continues with the heavy fighting that followed in the El Alamein region. This features the Western Desert Air Force and the arrival of the first Spitfires. The buildup of both army and air forces and the addition of new commanders on the ground aided the defeat of Rommel’s Deutsche Afrika Korps at Alam el Halfa, after which came the Second Battle of El Alamein. With the arrival of the United States Army Air Force, the Allied air forces gained dominance over the Axis. Shores recounts the lengthy pursuit of the Italo-German forces right across Libya, including the capture of Tripoli and the breakthrough into Southern Tunisia. This allowed a linkup with other Allied forces in Tunisia (whose story appears in Volume 3). Included with the action are stories of some of the great fighter aces of the Desert campaign such as Jochen Marseille and Otto Schulz of the Luftwaffe, Franco Bordoni-Bisleri of the Regia Aeronautica and Neville Duke, Billy Drake, and “Eddie” Edwards of the Commonwealth air forces. Finally, Shores touches on the Allied and Axis night bombing offensives and the activities of the squadrons cooperating with the naval forces in the Mediterranean.

Download or read book Allied Fighting Effectiveness in North Africa and Italy 1942 1945 written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2014-05-15 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Allied Fighting Effectiveness in North Africa and Italy, 1942-1945 offers a collection of scholarly papers focusing on heretofore understudied aspects of the Second World War. Encompassing the major campaigns of North Africa, Sicily and Italy from operation TORCH to the end of the war in Europe, this volume explores the intriguing dichotomy of the nature of battle in the Mediterranean theatre, whilst helping to emphasise its significance to the study of Second Word War military history. The chapters, written by a number of international scholars, offer a discussion of a range of subjects, including: logistics, the air-land battle, coalition operations, doctrine and training, command, control and communications, and airborne and special forces. Contributors are Matthew C. Ford, Simon Godfrey, John Greenacre, Andrew L. Hargreaves, James Hudson, Alan Jeffreys, Kevin Jones, Paul Lemaire, Ross Mahoney, Christopher Mann, Cesar Campiani Maximiano, Patrick J. Rose, and Grant T. Weller.

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 A History of the Mediterranean Air War 1940 1945 written by Giovanni Massimello and published by History of the Mediterranean A. This book was released on 2016-07-29 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The third volume in this series returns to November 1942 to explain the background to the first major Anglo-American venture - Operation Torch, the invasion of French North Africa. It deals with the fratricidal combats which followed the initial landings in Morocco and Algeria for several days. It then considers the efforts made - unsuccessfully in the event - to reach northern Tunisia before the Germans and Italians could get there to forestall the possibility of an attack from the west on the rear of the Afrika Korps forces, then beginning their retreat from El Alamein. The six months of hard fighting which followed as the Allies built up the strength of their joint air forces and gradually wrested control of the skies from the Axis, are covered in detail. Then from 1 April 1943 the continuing story of the Western Desert Air Force is told from the point at which Volume 2 ended, as it advanced from the east to join hands with the units in the west. Now also described are the arrivals over the front of American pilots and crew, the P-38 Lightning, the Spitfire IX and the B-17 Flying Fortress - and of the much-feared Focke-Wulf FW 190. The aerial activities over Tunisia became one of the focal turning points of World War II, yet this is frequently overlooked by historians. As before, the air-sea activities, the reconnaissance flights and the growing day and night bomber offensives form a major part of this volume. The mastery of the whole African coastline of the southern Mediterranean by the Allies prepared the way for the invasions of the European territories on the other side of this critical sea during 1943, which will be dealt with in Volume 4.

Download or read book Air War Over Italy 1943 1945 written by Andrew J. Brookes and published by Ian Allan Publishing. This book was released on 2000 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides a narrative to the conflict from 1943 until the final German surrender of 1945.

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 Italy In The Second World War Memories And Documents written by Marshal Pietro Badoglio and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-06 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Marshal Pietro Badolgio was involved in the highest levels of the Italian political hierarchy ever since his early successes in the First World War, for which he was promoted General. He was head of the Italian Armed Forces from 1925 to 1940, and did his best to raise the military to a level that might match the expansionist views of Mussolini. He presided over the brutal invasion of Ethiopia, but nationally he acted as a counter-balance to Mussolini’s pre-World War II schemes. Unable to stop the inevitable disaster following the Italian-German Pact of Steel and the onset of war, he resigned as Chief Of Staff after the humiliating reverses of the Italian invasion of Greece. He was brought back into the political spotlight in 1943, after the fall of Mussolini, and was named Prime Minister of Italy during the turbulent months of their volte face change of sides. His position was unenviable, caught between the Italian people who cried out for peace and the Allied powers who pursued German defeat in Italy by armed force. In this fascinating book he recounts his memories and recollections of Italy during the Second World War, particularly focussed on his attempts to hold the country together in 1943 and 1944.

Download or read book The War North Of Rome written by Thomas R. Brooks and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2009-09-09 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The British had a song for it: "Oh, we are the D-Day Dodgers," based on a comment from a female member of Parliament that dismissed all those not on the beaches at Normandy as draft evaders. Indeed, after the invasion of France the Allied armies in Italy found themselves in a forgotten theater of war. Until now, their eleven-month saga of bitter combat and gallant sacrifice has been ignored.The problem for the Allies was that the fall of the Italian capital on June 4, 1944- although a spectacular public relations triumph- did not end the campaign. The Germans had simply conducted a short strategic withdrawal, conceding one objective while proceeding to fortify additional defense lines.From Salerno to Rome, and most famously at Cassino, the Germans took advantage of the mountains, ridges and rivers that crisscross Italy to exact every drop of blood from the Allied forces. Although the press was no longer paying attention, in the north of Rome the process of continued Allied offensives met by a German resistance that alternated between ferocity and flexibility.A notable feature of the combat in Italy was the large mixture of Allied nationalities involved. Although the American Fifth and the British Eighth Armies were the major forces, on different parts of the line fought South Africans, Canadians, Greeks, Nisei, Jews, Poles, French, Gurkhas, Indians and others. The first U.S. black division fought here, as well as the Brazilian contingent (a curiosity to the Germans, who constantly probed their front).The War North of Rome features a forward by Senator Bob Dole, who fought in this neglected theater of war. He was one of 364 wounded (98 killed) in his regiment's attack on a series of German-held hills. Though he barely survived the battle he states, "I always felt I was fortunate . . ."By the time Allied forces vanquished the enemy in Italy, Russian soldiers were already dancing on Hitler's grave. Nevertheless, our young men north of Rome fought as bravely, and suffered as much, as troops on any front in WWII. Their record of courage and sacrifice is described here in a long-overdue, comprehensive account.

Download or read book Carl A Spaatz and the Air War in Europe written by Richard G. Davis and published by Department of the Air Force. This book was released on 1993 with total page 840 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offers the first detailed review of Carl A. Spaatz as a commander. Examines how the highest ranking U.S. airman in the European Theater of Operations of World War II viewed the war, worked with the British, and wielded the formidable air power at his disposal. Identifies specifically those aspects of his leadership that proved indispensable to the Allied Victory over Nazi Germany. Chapters: Carrying the Flame: From West Point to London, 1891-1942; Tempering the Blade: The North African Campaign, 1942-1943; Mediterranean Interlude: From Pantelleria to London, 1943; The Point of the Blade: Strategic Bombing and the Cross-Channel Invasion, 1944; and The Mortal Blow: From Normandy to Berlin, 1944-1945. Maps, charts and b & w photos.

Download or read book Blacks in the Army Air Forces During World War II written by Alan M. Osur and published by . This book was released on 1977 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is based upon a Ph. D. dissertation written by an Air Force officer who studied at the University of Denver. Currently an Associate Professor of History at the Air Force Academy, Major Osur's account relates how the leadership in the War Department and the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) tried to deal with the problem of race and the prejudices which were reflected in the bulk of American society. It tells a story of black racial protests and riots which such attitudes and discrimination provoked. The author describes many of the discriminatory actions taken against black airmen, whose goal was equality of treatment and opportunities as American citizens. He also describes the role of black pilots as they fought in the Mediterranean theater of operations against the Axis powers. In his final chapters, he examines the continuing racial frictions within the Army Air Forces which led to black servicemen protests and riots in 1945 at several installations.

Download or read book A Concise History of the U S Air Force written by Stephen Lee McFarland and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 1997 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Except in a few instances, since World War II no American soldier or sailor has been attacked by enemy air power. Conversely, no enemy soldier orsailor has acted in combat without being attacked or at least threatened by American air power. Aviators have brought the air weapon to bear against enemies while denying them the same prerogative. This is the legacy of the U.S. AirForce, purchased at great cost in both human and material resources.More often than not, aerial pioneers had to fight technological ignorance, bureaucratic opposition, public apathy, and disagreement over purpose.Every step in the evolution of air power led into new and untrodden territory, driven by humanitarian impulses; by the search for higher, faster, and farther flight; or by the conviction that the air way was the best way. Warriors have always coveted the high ground. If technology permitted them to reach it, men, women andan air force held and exploited it-from Thomas Selfridge, first among so many who gave that "last full measure of devotion"; to Women's Airforce Service Pilot Ann Baumgartner, who broke social barriers to become the first Americanwoman to pilot a jet; to Benjamin Davis, who broke racial barriers to become the first African American to command a flying group; to Chuck Yeager, a one-time non-commissioned flight officer who was the first to exceed the speed of sound; to John Levitow, who earned the Medal of Honor by throwing himself over a live flare to save his gunship crew; to John Warden, who began a revolution in air power thought and strategy that was put to spectacular use in the Gulf War.Industrialization has brought total war and air power has brought the means to overfly an enemy's defenses and attack its sources of power directly. Americans have perceived air power from the start as a more efficient means of waging war and as a symbol of the nation's commitment to technology to master challenges, minimize casualties, and defeat adversaries.

Download or read book At War on the Gothic Line written by Christian Jennings and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2016-03-08 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christian Jennings's At War on the Gothic Line tells the little-known story of the Allied effort to break the German defenses in Northern Italy—told through the eyes of the multi-national force that fought it. In the autumn of 1944, as Patton’s army paraded through Paris, another Allied force was gathering in southern Italy. Spearheaded by over 100,000 American troops, this vast, international army was faced with a grim task—break The Gothic Line, a series of interconnected German fortifications that stretched across the mountains of northern Italy. Striving to reach Europe’s vulnerable underbelly before the Red Army, these Allied soldiers fought uphill against entrenched enemies in some of the final and most brutal battles of the Second World War. In At War on the Gothic Line, veteran war correspondent and historian Christian Jennings provides an unprecedented look inside this unsung but highly significant campaign. Through the eyes of thirteen men and women from seven different countries, Jennings brings history to life as he vividly recounts the courageous acts of valor performed by these soldiers facing overwhelming odds, even as many experienced discrimination at the hands of their allies and superiors. Witness the courage of a young Japanese-American officer willing to die for those under his command. Lie in wait with a troop of Canadian fur trappers turned snipers. Creep along mountain paths with Indian warriors as they assault fortified positions in the dead of night. Learn to fear a one-armed SS-Major guilty of some of the most atrocious war-crimes in the European theater. All these stories and more pack the pages of this faced-paced, action-heavy history, taking readers inside one of the most important, and least discussed, campaigns of World War Two.

Download or read book Medical Support of the Army Air Forces in World War II written by United States. Air Force Medical Service and published by . This book was released on 1955 with total page 1120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Desert Air War 1940 1943 written by Anthony Tucker-Jones and published by Pen & Sword Military. This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The war in air over North Africa and the Mediterranean during the Second World War has long been overshadowed by the battle on the ground. Between 1940 and 1943 Italy's Regia Aeronautica and then Germany's Luftwaffe waged a concerted aerial campaign against the British, yet apart from the bitter fight for Malta, this aspect of the conflict is rarely given the attention it deserves. Anthony Tucker-Jones, in this vivid photographic history, provides a fascinating introduction to it. The wartime photographs, and the concise text, cover the entire course of the struggle in the air. The Regia Aeronautica at first met weak British opposition when Mussolini launched his ill-advised offensive against British-controlled Egypt, but the obsolete Italian aircraft proved to be no match for the Allied fighters once the strength of the Royal Air Force built up. Then, when Hitler stepped in to help his hapless ally, the aerial struggle intensified, and the air forces of both sides were locked in deadly combat in the skies over Egypt, Libya, the Mediterranean and Tunisia. The wide range of Italian, British, German and American aircraft involved, the air and ground crews from all sides, and the conditions in which they operated and fought are all shown in this varied selection of photographs.

Download or read book Case Studies in the Development of Close Air Support written by Benjamin Franklin Cooling (III) and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 620 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: En gennemgang af udviklingen inden for taktisk flystøtte