Download or read book Flying Units of the RAF written by Alan Lake and published by Airlife Publishing. This book was released on 1999-01-01 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Oversigt over enhederne i Royal Flying Corps og Royal Air Force siden 1912.
Download or read book Eagles of the RAF written by Philip D. Caine and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1994-07 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: U.S. citizens fought and died in WW II long before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Among them were the pilots of the Eagle Squadrons, three fighter squadrons of Britain's Royal Air Force manned by young U.S. flyers. This book tells how the Eagle squadrons were formed and summarizes the history of the units and evaluates their deeds, motivations, and contributions. Draws on interviews from more than 35 surviving Eagles, their letters and memoirs, and official records. Depicts their daily lives along with special heroes and amazing sacrifices. "An important contribution to the study of American involvement in WWII. Highly recommended."
Download or read book Three s Company written by Jack T C Long and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2005-03-30 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No 3 Squadron was formed at Larkhill in 1912 from the No 2 (Aeroplane} Company under the command of the famous Major Robert Brooke-Popham. More importantly the squadron was the first in the RFC to be equipped with fixed-wing aircraft. Thereafter the squadron distinguished itself in both World Wars, its battle honors including Mons, Neuve Chappelle, Loos, Somme 1916, Cambrai 1917, Somme 1918, The Battle of Britain, Normandy and Arnhem. More recently it has seen service in the Falklands, the Balkans, Iraq, and has just returned from Afghanistan. No 3 Squadron have recently been nominated to operate the Eurofighter Typhoon. This book is a highly-illustrated history of the Squadron's operations throughout its history. The rare photographs have been collected by the author over many years and the text includes firsthand accounts from the Squadron archives. This book is the ultimate record of one of the world's oldest and proudest military flying units.
Download or read book No 56 Sqn RAF RFC written by Alex Revell and published by Osprey Publishing. This book was released on 2009-09-22 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By the autumn of 1916, with the formation of the new Jagdstaffeln, the pendulum of aerial supremacy had once again swung in favor of the German Air Force. The battle of the Somme in 1916 saw the RFC suffer losses of nearly 400 aircrew between September and November, and British casualties were to reach a zenith in the 'Bloody April' of 1917 when 319 aircrew were lost, killed or taken prisoner of war. This was the situation when No 56 Squadron arrived in France at the end of April 1917. Equipped with the superb new SE 5, it was the first fighter squadron of the RFC to be able to meet the Albatros and Halberstadt fighters of the Jagdstaffeln on equal terms. The squadron's pilots won an incredible tally of decorations, and by the end of the hostilities many famous fighter pilots had passed through its ranks - Albert Ball VC, Canadian Hank Burden and American Robert Caldwell to name but a few. In this fascinating study, Alex Revell uncovers the early days and development of No 56 Squadron, its victories and losses, and the birth of a proud tradition.
Download or read book Devotion to a Calling written by Harley Boxall and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2010-06-15 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Harley Boxall was awarded his RAF wings on 3 October 1936 and was posted to 40 Squadron flying Hawker Hinds. On 1 April 1937 he was posted to Bircham Newton in Norfolk to train with 206 Squadron which was a General Reconnaissance and Training unit equipped with the Avro Anson. He then joined 62 Squadron shortly after it was formed and received its first Blenheim in February 1938. During the summer of 1939 and because of increasing political tension in Europe, a decision was taken to reinforce the Far East Air Force with two squadrons of Blenheims. The urgency of the situation required that the aircraft, from 34 and 62 Squadrons, be flown out to their final destination at Tengah in Singapore. It took a total fifty flying hours to arrive On Thursday 4 April 1940 a signal came through from Air Headquarters that aircraft were to make a reconnaissance of Sabang Harbour and photograph any shipping therein. Five Blenheims took-off from Alor Star at 1030 and on leaving Sabang behind at 1300 hours, Boxall climbed to gain height for the long return sea crossing. He had gained an altitude of 9,000 ft. when, some forty miles from the coast of Sumatra, the oil pressure of his starboard engine fell to zero. Within a minute or so, the port engine seized and he was flying in silence. After a successful crash landing on the sea the crew waded through the coral, heedless of the cuts inflicted, and fell exhausted on the beach. The island was roughly two miles long by one mile across, rising steeply from the shore to a height of about four hundred feet and covered with thick jungle down to the waterÕs edge. By the morning of the third day they had been forty-eight hours without food. They wondered along the beach and collected more wood and ate unripe ÔplumsÕ. It was not until the sixth day that a small native boat came silently round the edge of the mangrove heading for the beach, eventually rescuing the crew. In September 1940 Harley was promoted to flight lieutenant and given command of the RAF Station at Alor Star in Malaya. 62 Squadron flew on what Harley later described, as the first and only operation that it carried out as a unit, when he lead eleven Blenheims to bomb the Japanese invasion fleet. Against the odds, all of 62 SquadronÕs aircraft and crews returned to Alor Star safely but approximately half-an-hour after they had landed and while the Blenhiems were still being rearmed and refuelled, the Japanese attacked the airfield. A force of about twenty-seven enemy aircraft bombed Alor Star completely destroying at least three Blenheims and rendering another three damaged and unserviceable. As the Japanese invasion spread Harley finally escaped from Java on 2 March aboard the ÔTung SongÕ , it was one of the last ships to leave.
Download or read book Air Forces UK written by Graeme Pickering and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gennemgang af Englands flyvevåben, herunder RAF, flåde- og hærflystyrker samt flytyper.
Download or read book Winged Crusaders written by Michael Napier and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2013-03-19 with total page 684 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Formed in 1915, and still operational today, 14 Squadron is one of the RAF's longest serving and most senior Squadrons. Spending the first thirty years of its operational life in the Middle East, the history of this Squadron is a rich one, but one which, until now, has gone largely unrecorded. Napier effectively brings together all the historical scraps and shreds of stories which make up the collective history of this unit, from 1915 –1945, a period of great military and social upheaval. The author himself attests to the fact that the work is not merely about the aeroplanes operational history during this period, or the stark military facts (although enthusiasts of both these areas will find much here); rather, the work concerns itself to a large extent with the people who flew such aircraft. Recording the dramatic trials and tribulations of the people who were 14 Squadron, Napier provides a sympathetic and engaging account of this period of Military History.
Download or read book The Eagle Squadrons written by Vern Haugland and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Squadron Histories written by Peter M. H. Lewis and published by London : Putnam. This book was released on 1959 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Histories of all Royal Flying Corps, Royal Naval Air Service and Royal Air Force squadrons formed over a period of forty seven years are in this volume ... As a valuable adjunct to the main section of squadron histories (including those formed during the last war from Commonwealth and Allied personnel) there are appendices giving details of squadron numbers; squadron titles; aircraft types supplied to squadrons or used for service trials and, where known, the first squadron to operate a particular type ; personnel, squadron and aircraft strengths ; Air Ministry specifications and airmen awarded the Victoria Cross ..."--Inside front cover
Download or read book The Flying Elephants written by Chaz Bowyer and published by . This book was released on 1972 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beskrivelse af No 27 Squadron i RAF en enhed, der har fløjet forskelligartede missioner med tilsvarende forskellige flytyper.
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 Flying Among Heroes written by Norman Franks and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2012-05-01 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: T.S.C. Cooke joined the RAF as war began in 1939, aged 18, and trained to be a bomber pilot. Rising to the rank of squadron leader and decorated three times, Cooke bombed Berlin on 7 October 1940 in a Whitley Mk V, nearly ditching in the North Sea. Throughout this tour he faced the usual dangers of wartime aircrew, his aircraft being hit by AA fire on several occasions, once almost having to order his aircrew to bail out but landed safely at the last minute. They were also attacked by night fighters, encountered icing and even shot up a train and bomber station at tree-top level.Flying Wellingtons and Stirlings, Cooke took part in the infamous 1,000-bomber raid on Cologne and Essen, before returning to operations flying Special Ops Halifax aircraft, dropping agents into enemy-occupied France. After a dozen missions, he was shot down but he and his navigator survived and evaded capture. Helped by the French resistance, they got into Spain and returned home via Gibraltar. Both men received the DFC for their bravery. While their story is not totally unique, their adventures and courage make this tale akin to an adventure novel.
Download or read book Sweeping the Skies written by David Charles Gunby and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Century of Air Warfare With Nine IX Squadron RAF written by Gordon Thorburn and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-07-02 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the earliest days of World War One, when IX Squadron was formed, we went to the fight in little 50mph machines that were barely capable of taking pilot and observer, a gun and a few small, hand-held bombs into the sky, especially on a windy day. When we took a wireless set, to spot for the artillery and report on troop movements, the extra load forced the defenceless pilot to leave his observer behind.A century later, IX (B) Squadron flies jets that can exceed the speed of sound, place laser-guided missiles within a few centimetres of the target, and transmit the most complex data in real time across the globe.In between, the tale is of ponderous beasts of biplanes, of Wellingtons and Lancasters in the bloody battles of World War Two, of Canberras and Vulcans in the nuclear age of the Cold War.Above all, it's the story of the men and women of the RAF's senior bomber squadron across a hundred years of war and peace, and their words fill this book. We go from those beginnings in wood, wire and fabric kites over France and a pilot armed with a service revolver, to the world's first Tornado squadron in the Gulf wars, over Kosovo and Afghanistan, and so to the present, a century on.It really is one hell of a story.
Download or read book Road to Rome written by Salvo Fagone and published by Soldiershop Publishing. This book was released on 2021-07-05 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the summer of 1943, while the Axis troops had just withdrawn from North Africa, the Allied forces were about to conquer Europe starting from what Winston Churchill considered the weak link of the Italian-German alliance, Italy, the “soft underbelly of Europe”. Through Operation Husky, thousands of young men from different military units, all belonging to the Anglo-American alliance, but of different nationalities, landed in Sicily. Among them was a young Rhodesian photographer, Algernon de Blois Spurr, enlisted in the Southern Rhodesian Air Force, who together with his airborne unit, the 55 Squadron of the British Royal Air Force, flew up the boot, in a journey that ended in Rome in the summer of 1944. His small camera, brought with him during the long journey, immortalized moments of war and daily life, constituting an important testimony of those crucial days, which, preciously preserved in a drawer in South Africa, resurface today, thanks to his son who granted the publication, and to the author, who has combined the shots with a meticulous reconstruction of the war events that accompanied the Squadron, and that come to life in this work, in a journey unpublished and sometimes exciting, that from the Sicilian island crosses the peninsula, to the eternal city.
Download or read book First In The Air The Eagle Squadrons Of World War II Illustrated Edition written by Kenneth C. Kan and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2014-08-15 with total page 69 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes 14 illustrations of the units, planes and personnel of the Eagle Squadrons During the perilous years of 1940-1941, a small band of Americans joined the Royal Air Force to help England resist Nazi Germany. They did so while the United States remained a neutral power and overcame significant obstacles to accomplish their objective. Over time, the RAF formed three fighter units, known collectively as the Eagle Squadrons, around these volunteer pilots. These Americans flew alongside their British comrades in fighter and bomber escort missions until 1942, when they transferred into the United States Army Air Forces. The Eagle Squadron pilots made noteworthy contributions to the RAF, assisting them in their transition from fighting a defensive war to waging an offensive campaign against the German Luftwaffe and helping pave the way to an eventual Allied victory.
Download or read book No 242 Squadron the Canadian Years written by Hugh Alan Halliday and published by Stittsville, Ont. : Canada's Wings. This book was released on 1981 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
