Download or read book Fleet Air Arm Legends Supermarine Seafire written by Matthew Willis and published by Tempest. This book was released on 2020-06-17 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Renowned naval aviation author Matthew Willis tells the story of the Supermarine Seafire – a navalized version of the famous Spitfire adapted for use on aircraft carriers. Some 2646 examples were built and saw action with the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm from November 1942 until after the Korean War in the early 1950s. It was involved in combat during the Allied landings in North Africa (Operation Torch), the Allied invasions of Sicily and Italy, the D-Day landings, and Operation Dragoon in southern France. With the Pacific fleet, the Seafire proved capable of intercepting and destroying the feared Japanese kamikaze attack aircraft.

Download or read book Fleet Air Arm Legends written by Matthew Willis and published by . This book was released on 2021-07-19 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Few aircraft encompass as many contradictions as the Fairey Swordfish - the legendary 'Stringbag' naval torpedo bomber was approaching antiquation at the start of the war yet struck mortal blows against some of the most powerful battleships in the Axis fleets. Naval Aviation historian Matthew Willis explores how modern technology such as radar kept the Swordfish effective in the early years of the war and enabled it to find and hit the Italian fleet at Taranto, and the Bismarck in the Atlantic, in circumstances where no other aircraft could have succeeded.When it was finally superseded in its main role with the Fleet, the Swordfish fulfilled vital roles protecting convoys from the U-boat menace. The story of the Swordfish's service across the majority of theatres in WW2, from the hunt for the Graf Spee to the beaches of Normandy, is told here with never-before-published accounts from veteran aircrews. Includes 100+ historic photographs and unique images of the Royal Navy Historic Flight's preserved aircraft.

Download or read book Fleet Air Arm Legends written by Matthew Willis and published by HarperTempest. This book was released on 2024-07-17 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Fleet Air Arm Legends written by Matthew Willis and published by HarperTempest. This book was released on 2024-11-20 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reliable and rugged with enough firepower to get the job done, Fairey's Fulmar fighter and reconnaissance aircraft was an essential weapon in the Fleet Air Arm's arsenal during the Second World War. The long-range Merlin-powered type carrier-borne type entered service in May 1940 and was well liked by pilots - its broad-track undercarriage offered good handling on deck, its fuel tanks were capacious and its armament of eight Browning machine guns was effective. Most Fleet Air Arm aces scored at least some of their victories while flying a Fulmar and there were at least two Fulmar aces. Fulmars served with distinction during the pursuit of the Bismarck, the North Africa campaign and over Malta before finally meeting their match in the Far East against the Mitsubishi A6M Zero. Even then, with its fighter role inherited by Seafires and Marlets, the Fulmar continued to serve as a trainer and reconnaissance type. Today there is only one known surviving example of this remarkable aircraft - N1854, housed at the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton. In this fully illustrated third volume of the Fleet Air Arm Legends series, naval aviation specialist Matthew Willis details the Fulmar's development, its entry into service and its operational history from start to finish.

Download or read book The Fleet Air Arm in the Second World War written by Ben Jones and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-03-16 with total page 624 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first of three volumes detailing the history of the Fleet Air Arm, the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers and naval air squadrons, during the Second World War. It deals with the formative period between 1939 and 1941 when the Fleet Air Arm tried to recover from the impact of dual control and economic stringencies during the inter-war period while conducting a wide range of operations. There is in depth coverage of significant operations including the Norwegian campaign, Mediterrranean actions such as the attack on the Italian Fleet at Taranto and the Battle of Cape Matapan, and the torpedo attacks on the German battleship Bismarck. Incidents involving the loss of and damage to aircraft carriers, including the sinking of Ark Royal, one of the most famous ships in the early years of World War Two, are also reported. Of major importance are key planning and policy issues. These include the requirements for aircraft carriers, the evolving debate regarding the necessary types of aircraft and attempts to provide sufficient facilities ashore for naval air squadrons. A wide range of official documents are used to enable the reader to appreciate the complexity of the operations and other issues which faced the Fleet Air Arm. This volume will appeal to everyone interested in how the Royal Navy adapted to the use of air power in the Second World War. Its reports bring actions vividly to life. Its correspondence demonstrates the fundamental foundation of planning, policy and logistics. In common with succeeding volumes on the Fleet Air Arm, this volume provides a new and vital perspective on how Britain fought the Second World War.

Download or read book The Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm written by Ray Sturtivant and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The British Pacific Fleet written by David Hobbs and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2012-03-07 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Magnificent and important . . . should be on the shelves of anyone with a genuine interest in the history of the Royal Navy in the Second World War.” —Military History Monthly In August 1944 the British Pacific Fleet did not exist. Six months later it was strong enough to launch air attacks on Japanese territory, and by the end of the war it constituted the most powerful force in the history of the Royal Navy, fighting as professional equals alongside the US Navy in the thick of the action. How this was achieved by a nation nearing exhaustion after five years of conflict is a story of epic proportions in which ingenuity, diplomacy and dogged persistence all played a part. As much a political as a technical triumph, the BPF was uniquely complex in its make-up: its C-in-C was responsible to the Admiralty for the general direction of his Fleet; took operational orders from the American Admiral Nimitz; answered to the Government of Australia for the construction and maintenance of a vast base infrastructure, and to other Commonwealth Governments for the ships and men that formed his fully-integrated multi-national fleet. This ground-breaking new work by David Hobbs describes the background, creation and expansion of the BPF from its first tentative strikes, through operations off the coast of Japan to its impact on the immediate post-war period, including the opinions of USN liaison officers attached to the British flagships. The book is the first to demonstrate the real scope and scale of the BPF’s impressive achievement. “Perhaps the greatest Royal Navy story of, at least, the twentieth century.” —Aircrew Book Review

Download or read book Air Combat Legends Supermarine Spitfire Messerschmitt Bf109 written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Eagles of the Luftwaffe Focke Wulf FW 190 A F and G written by Dan Sharp and published by Eagles of the Luftwaffe. This book was released on 2020-04-14 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Full profile of the legendary German Second World War fighter.

Download or read book Flying Legends of World War II written by Philip Handleman and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2011-06-13 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More than thirty Allied Forces' WWII aircraft types are illustrated in many rare and previously unpublished black and white and color photographs. Each type is described giving vital data on development history, combat record, famous pilots and significant air battles. Performance, range and weapon loads are also included. The unique color photographs are from the collection of the late William B. Slate, an aviation photographer who strove to capture the thrilling perspective that can only come from close-up, in-flight vantage points from an aircraft flying in formation.

Download or read book American and British Aircraft Carrier Development 1919 1941 written by Thomas C. Hone and published by US Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2009-09-01 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The development of aircraft carriers and carrier operations sparked a revolution in military affairs, changing completely and irrevocably the prosecution of war at sea. Previous studies and histories of carrier aviation have focused on just one or two factors, such as individual leadership or advances in aviation technology, to explain the development of carrier forces. By contrast, this new history compares the development of carriers and carrier aircraft by two very different navies to illuminate the many factors that effect the adoption of new military technology. Focusing on the critical years after World War I, the authors trace the personal, organizational, and institutional elements that moved the U.S. Navy and the Royal Navy along different paths of aircraft carrier development and operations. In a clear, almost conversational tone the authors draw on years of research to explain why and how the Royal Navy lost its once considerable lead in carrier doctrine and carrier aircraft development to the Americans in the years after 1919. Originally asked to produce a study for the Office of the Secretary of Defense that would maximize the value of decreasing defense funds through wise investment in new technologies, the authors revised and expanded that work after a wide-ranging, international search for previously unused primary sources. This new effort offers both compelling history and a trenchant essay on how and why military organizations adopt and develop revolutionary technology. Its unconventional approach should appeal to readers interested in modern naval history and in revolutions in military affairs.

Download or read book The Fleet Air Arm in Focus written by D. A. Hobbs and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Fleet Air Arm and the War in Europe 1939 1945 written by David Hobbs and published by Seaforth Publishing. This book was released on 2022-03-30 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive history of the Royal Navy’s naval aviation component’s campaigns during World War II. For the first time, this book tells the story of how naval air operations evolved into a vital element of the Royal Navy’s ability to fight a three-dimensional war against both the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe. An integral part of RN, the Fleet Air Arm was not a large organization, with only 406 pilots and 232 front-line aircraft available for operations in September 1939. Nevertheless, its impact far outweighed its numbers—it was an RN fighter that shot down the first enemy aircraft of the war, and an RN pilot was the first British fighter “ace” with 5 or more kills. The Fleet Air Arm’s rollcall of achievements in northern waters went on to include the Norwegian Campaign, the crippling of Bismarck, the gallant sortie against Scharnhorst and Gneisenau as they passed through the Channel, air attacks on enemy E-boats in the narrow seas, air cover for the Russian convoys, air attacks that disabled Tirpitz, and strikes and minelaying operations against German shipping in the Norwegian littoral that continued until May 1945. By the end of the war in Europe the FAA had grown to 3243 pilots and 1336 aircraft. This book sets all these varied actions within their proper naval context and both technical and tactical aspects are explained with “thumbnail” descriptions of aircraft, their weapons and avionics. Cross reference with the Fleet Air Arm Roll of Honour has been made for the first time to put names to those aircrew killed in action wherever possible as a mark of respect for their determination against enemy forces on, above and below the sea surface which more often than not outnumbered them. The Fleet Air Arm and the War in Europe completes David Hobbs’s much-praised six-volume series chronicling the operational history of British naval aviation from the earliest days to the present. Praise for The Fleet Air Arm and the War in Europe “In this masterly addition to his series on the Fleet Air Arm at war, David Hobbs addresses naval air operations in the Atlantic, the North Sea, the Arctic, and the English Channel.” —Professor Andrew Lambert, Warship 2023 “With lots of action it rattles along and is a very good read.” —The Armourer Magazine, May 2022

Download or read book Memoirs of the Flight Surgeon of HMS Nabob written by Jr. Herbert Read, Charles and published by eBook Partnership. This book was released on 2018-02-20 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the evening dusk of August 22, 1944, during an intense battle off the Norwegian coast, the HMS Nabob, one of the two Canadian-crewed aircraft carriers in the Second World War was struck by a torpedo on the starboard side. Among the souls on board was Dr. Charles Read Jr., a young flight surgeon who needed to draw upon every bit of his training and skills to fight against seemingly impossible odds to save the lives of his shipmates. These are his memoires.Follow Dr. Read from his first, fresh-faced moments in Halifax as a newly minted Navy Medical Officer to a surprise appointment to be the flight surgeon on the much-lauded Nabob, the aircraft carrier thought of as the sign that Canada's navy had arrived in the big leagues of world sea power. In vivid detail, Read recounts his training (including a hair-raising ride in a fighter jet), his friendships (from Chizy, the affable wine steward, to the legendary fighter pilot Bobby Bradshaw), to his wonder at the beauty of Europe (even in the midst of wartime destruction) to his memorable encounters with those he met along the way (including two beautiful movie stars).Read presents war as he saw it, the gut-wrenching carnage, the endless monotony, the baffling absurdity, and, shamefully, the inevitable tragedies that happen under incompetent command.These memoires present an exciting and never-before-seen view into a ship that has, until this book, been little more than a footnote in history.

Download or read book Legends and Heroes behind the lens written by Dave Humphrey and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2014-08-22 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A personal account of the role of military photography and its massive impact on world conflicts over the last century. David's collection of stories includes the history of the unique photographic training facility, founded by the Royal Flying Corps in 1915 and the "Legends & Heroes" who made the difference in its evolution. The author completes the collection with his own autobiography.

Download or read book The Stringbags written by Garth Ennis and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2020-05-20 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you do the incredible often enough, they'll want you to do the impossible. Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy began World War II with aircraft that could devastate enemy warships and merchantmen at will. Britain's Royal Navy squadrons went to war equipped with the Fairey Swordfish. A biplane torpedo bomber in an age of monoplanes, the Swordfish was underpowered and undergunned; an obsolete museum piece, an embarrassment. Its crews fully expected to be shot from the skies. Instead, they flew the ancient "Stringbag" into legend. Writer Garth Ennis (Preacher, The Boys, War Stories) and artist PJ Holden (Battlefields, World of Tanks: Citadel) present the story of the men who crewed the Swordfish: from their triumphs against the Italian Fleet at Taranto and the mighty German battleship Bismarck in the Atlantic, to the deadly challenge of the Channel Dash in the bleak winter waters of their homeland. They lived as they flew, without a second to lose--and the greatest tributes to their courage would come from the enemy who strove to kill them. Based on the true story of the Royal Navy's Swordfish crews, The Stringbags is an epic tale of young men facing death in an aircraft almost out of time.

Download or read book Fly Navy written by Alvin Townley and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2011-04-26 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Top Gun was only part of the story. Fly Navy delves beyond the Hollywood image to reveal the true mettle and genuine story of the elite men and women of naval aviation. For one hundred years, the U.S. Navy's aviators and crews have made the difference on military and peacetime missions around the world. Their unparalleled skill, preparation, and everyday dedication have paid off when it matters most: when lives are on the line. Together, these men and women—officers and enlisted personnel, past and present—have protected freedom, served their country, and forged a legacy of valor like no other. In this landmark book, Alvin Townley takes readers on an adventure around the world and across generations as he goes behind the scenes of naval aviation. From the skies over the Arabian Sea to the jungles of Southeast Asia to carriers patrolling the vast Pacific, he uncovers incredible stories of service members who survived weeks adrift at sea, made midnight rescues in deadly storms, crash-landed behind enemy lines, and found themselves in situations where their exceptional training and focus were the only things standing between life and death. Filled with inspiring personal accounts of courage, camaraderie, and sheer perseverance, Fly Navy pays tribute to the extraordinary individuals who have built naval aviation into the revered force it is today—and will remain tomorrow.