Download or read book Lancaster Squadrons 1942 43 written by Jon Lake and published by Osprey Publishing. This book was released on 2002-05-25 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Osprey's study of the RAF's most successful heavy bomber of World War II (1939-1945). The Avro Lancaster formed the backbone of Bomber Command during the large-scale night bombing campaign against occupied Europe. In this, the first of two volumes on the British bomber icon of World War 2, noted English aviation historian Jon Lake recounts the early daylight raids, the first 'thousand bomber' raids on Germany and the epic 'Dambusters' mission of 16/17 May 1943 by No 617 Sqn, as well as myriad other sorties to numerous German targets in 1942-43. This volume contains more than 100 photographs, 30 all-new colour profiles by leading aviation artist Chris Davey and specially commissioned scale drawings of the Lancaster B I/II by Mark Styling.
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 Luck of a Lancaster written by Gordon Thorburn and published by Pen & Sword Books. This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No 9 Squadron of Bomber Command converted from the Wellington to the Lancaster in August 1942. W4964 was the seventieth Lanc to arrive on squadron, in mid April 1943. She flew her first op on the 20th, by which time No 9 had lost forty one of their Lancs to enemy action and another five had been transferred to other squadrons and lost by them. A further thirteen of the seventy would soon be lost by No 9. All of the remaining eleven would be damaged, repaired, transferred to other squadrons or training units, and lost to enemy action or crashes except for three which, in some kind of retirement, would last long enough to be scrapped after the war. Only one of the seventy achieved a century of ops or anything like it: W4964 WS-J. Across all squadrons and all the war, the average life of a Lancaster was 22.75 sorties, but rather less for the front-line squadrons going to Germany three and four times a week in 1943 and '44, which was when W4964 was flying her 107 sorties, all with No 9 Squadron and all from RAF Bardney. The first was Stettin (Szczecin in modern Poland), and thereafter she went wherever 9 Squadron went, to Berlin, the Ruhr, and most of the big ops of the time such as Peenemunde and Hamburg. She was given a special character as J-Johnny Walker, 'still going strong' and on September 15 1944, skippered by Flight Lieutenant James Douglas Melrose, her Tallboy special bomb was the only one to hit the battleship Tirpitz. During her career, well over two hundred airmen flew in J. None were killed while doing so, but ninety-six of them died in other aircraft. This is their story, and the story of one lucky Lancaster. AUTHOR: Gordon Thorburn is the author of the best-selling Men and Sheds. For Remember When he has authored Pocket Guide to Pubs and Their Histories, The Classic Allotment and The Classic Herb Garden. Other books have included Cassius, The True Story of a Courageous Police Dog, and No Need to Die about American volunteers in RAF Bomber Command in WW2. 100 images
Download or read book Lancaster Squadrons 1944 45 written by Jon Lake and published by Osprey Publishing. This book was released on 2002-12-11 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The RAF's most successful heavy bomber of World War II (1939-1945), the Avro Lancaster formed the backbone of Bomber Command during the large-scale night bombing campaign against occupied Europe. Produced in massive numbers (over 7300 up to VE-Day), the first examples entered squadron service on Christmas Eve 1941, and tasted combat the following March. The second of two volumes on the British bomber icon of World War II, this book details Bomber Command's massive nocturnal bombing campaign, its support for the D-Day landings, Tallboy raids against the U-boat pens in France and the battleship Tirpitz in Norway, and the final daylight missions of 1945.
Download or read book Lancaster Bomber Walk Around written by Ron MacKay and published by MMD-Squadron. This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Avro Lancaster was unquestionably the finest all-around performer within RAF Bomber Command during the air war against Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1945. The Lancaster flew no fewer than 156,000 individual sorties and dropped more than 600,000 tons of explosives and incendiaries, playing a leading role in bringing Hitler's Reich to its knees. Known for its greenhouse cockpit, turret nose, twin tail, and 33-foot long bomb bay the Lancaster took part in Air Marshall Harris's 'Operation Gomorrah' in July 1943, in which Germany's industrial center of Hamburg was devastated by round-the-clock bombing raids. In the thick of the air war, the Lancasters also paid a high price - 3,249 were lost in action. This volume is enhanced by the fact that the author's uncle survived 36 operations as a bomb aimer aboard a Lancaster of No 49 Squadron. Illustrated with 200 photographs, plus color profiles and detailed line drawings.
Download or read book Luck of a Lancaster written by Gordon Thorburn and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2013-08-19 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No 9 Squadron of Bomber Command converted from the Wellington to the Lancaster in August 1942. W4964 was the seventieth Lanc to arrive on squadron, in mid April 1943. She flew her first op on the 20th, by which time No 9 had lost forty-one of their Lancs to enemy action and another five had been transferred to other squadrons and lost by them. No 9 would soon lose a further thirteen of the seventy. All of the remaining eleven would be damaged, repaired, transferred to other squadrons or training units, and lost to enemy action or crashes except for three which, in some kind of retirement, would last long enough to be scrapped after the war.Only one of the seventy achieved a century of ops or anything like it: W4964 WS-J.Across all squadrons and all the war, the average life of a Lancaster was 22.75 sorties, but rather less for the front-line squadrons going to Germany three and four times a week in 1943 and '44, which was when W4964 was flying her 107 sorties, all with No 9 Squadron and all from RAF Bardney. The first was Stettin (Szczecin in modern Poland), and thereafter she went wherever 9 Squadron went, to Berlin, the Ruhr, and most of the big ops of the time such as Peenemnde and Hamburg. She was given a special character as J-Johnny Walker, still going strong and on September 15 1944, skippered by Flight Lieutenant James Douglas Melrose, her Tallboy special bomb was the only one to hit the battleship Tirpitz.During her career, well over two hundred airmen flew in J. None were killed while doing so, but ninety-six of them died in other aircraft. This is their story, and the story of one lucky Lancaster.
Download or read book Lancaster Squadrons in Focus written by Mark Postlethwaite and published by Red Kite. This book was released on 2012-06-18 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Eighth Passenger written by Miles Tripp and published by Wordsworth Editions. This book was released on 2002 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seven men, brought together by chance from the four corners of the earth, wake up day after day aware that the odds on them seeing another sunrise are dramatically shortening. This is the story of a bomber crew in World War II, always accompanied by an eighth passenger - fear.
Download or read book Bomber Offensive written by Arthur Harris and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2005-03-01 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sir Arthur Harris - Bomber Harris - remains the target of criticism and vilification by many, while others believe the contribution he and his men made to victory is grossly undervalued. He led the men of Bomber Command in the face of appalling casualties, had fierce disagreements with higher authority and enjoyed a complicated relationship with Winston Churchill. Written soon after the close of World War 2, this collection of Sir Arthur Harris's memoirs reveals the man behind the Allied bombing offensive that culminated in the destruction of the Nazi war machine but also many beautiful cities, including Dresden.
Download or read book Bf 110 vs Lancaster written by Robert Forczyk and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-06-20 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The RAF introduced the Avro Lancaster in 1942 and used it to spearhead this aerial offensive. In response, the Luftwaffe created an elite nightfighter force based primarily upon the Bf 110. The Luftwaffe was quick to equip it with airborne radar that allowed it to intercept and destroy Lancasters over Germany. In turn, the RAF adopted countermeasures such as the Monica rearward-looking radar to alert Lancaster crews to the approach of nightfighters. In May 1943 the Luftwaffe suddenly developed a novel technical and tactical approach to attacking RAF bombers. The new tactic proved amazingly successful, and British bombers could be attacked from below with no warning. For its part, the RAF failed to detect the new German tactic for six crucial months, during which time its Lancaster bombers were almost defenceless against this new threat. In time, however, the German advantage of surprise was lost and the RAF developed countermeasures to deal with the new threat. The duel between upgraded Bf 110s and Lancasters in the night skies over Germany became increasingly dominated by cutting-edge technology, which would determine the efficacy of strategic bombing.
Download or read book RAF Bomber Command Strike Hard Strike Sure 1936 1945 written by Ron Mackay and published by Fonthill Media. This book was released on 2022-03-31 with total page 716 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: -> Historically rich in detail with previously unpublished photographs from private archives -> Researched and written by an aviation and military historian renowned author -> Essential for military/historians, modellers, flight-sim enthusiasts (War Thunder, IL-2 Sturmovik: Great Battles and DCS) and those interested in the complexities of aircraft design and production during the Second World War ‘They sowed the wind and now they are going to reap the whirlwind.’ Arthur ‘Bomber’ Harris The concept of an aerial campaign on a nation’s industrial and military might was advocated by Britain before the start of the First World War; however, a stringent post-war economy ensured that the creation of Bomber Command in 1936 witnessed a daunting disparity between the aim of striking at an adversary’s ability to sustain itself and the means to do so. From 1939 to 1942, Bomber Command was very weak in terms of human and material losses. The navigational means with which to accurately guide bombers to targets was almost completely lacking while the enemy defensive network inflicted serious casualties. Consequently, the punishment handed out was minimal. The resurgence of Bomber Command’s fortunes coincided with the appointment of Sir Arthur Harris. The advent of four-engine designs such as the Avro Lancaster and Handley Page Halifax ensured that a greatly increased bomb tonnage could be delivered. Also, electronic aids such as Gee, Oboe and H2S simplified the task in finding targets. Therefore, by 1944-1945, the RAF’s bombers pulverised Hitler’s Third Reich. Although flak and night-fighters took a heavy toll on the bombers, the RAF’s nocturnal offensive in conjunction with the USAAF’s daylight assaults crippled Germany’s ability to fight back.
Download or read book Legend of the Lancasters written by Martin W. Bowman and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2009-08-19 with total page 1249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a riveting account told in ten big chapters of the young RAF crews who flew Lancasters in RAF Bomber Command from 1942 to the end of the war in Europe in April 1945. It is unique in that the story is told using first person accounts from RAF aircrew and German night fighter crews who fought each other on raids on occupied Europe and Germany from 1942 onwards. Details of what it was like to be on the receiving end in Hamburg, Berlin, Cologne etc are also included. A whole host of incredible first-hand accounts by British, Commonwealth, American and German air crews permeate the action and describe the aerial battles as only they can. This unique book also includes many accounts and photos that have not previously been seen before while the rich mix of combat accounts from all sides are brought together for the first time in one volume.
Download or read book 75 NZ Squadron written by Chris Newey and published by Mention the War Limited. This book was released on 2023-03-16 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This expanded and updated edition of Chris Ward's Profile of 75(NZ) Squadron is the definitive and comprehensive wartime account of this well-known and highly-regarded Bomber Command outfit. Produced with the full support and assistance of squadron veterans, the Royal New Zealand Air Force Association and the New Zealand Bomber Command Association, it is a testament to the duty and sacrifice of all those who served with this famous unit throughout the Second World War. Chris Ward's detailed narrative, based on the squadron's Second World War Operations Record Book, is complemented by several hundred photographs, many published for the first time.In 1938, the New Zealand government had ordered thirty Vickers Wellington Mk1 bombers. RNZAF aircrew were despatched to train on the new aircraft at RAF Marham, and then take them to their new home in the Southern Hemisphere. When war broke out, the New Zealand Government placed the aircraft and their crews at the disposal of the RAF to help fight the new enemy. Already known as 'The New Zealand Squadron', the unit was given the number 75 on 4 April 1940, the previous unit so numbered having been disbanded. This meant that the original nucleus of personnel remained together as an operational unit of the RAF.On 4 April 1940, The New Zealand Squadron was renamed 75(NZ) Squadron. Although often referred to as an RNZAF unit, it was wholly equipped and controlled by the RAF until the end of the conflict. It was a key component of No. 3 Group, Bomber Command, and was based initially at RAF Feltwell, then RAF Mildenhall, RAF Newmarket and RAF Mepal, in Cambridgeshire. The unit saw action over France, Norway, Belgium, Italy, Sweden and Germany, distinguishing itself in the process.The squadron operated with a strength of three Flights after receiving Short Stirling bombers. In line with the rest of No. 3 Group, the squadron re-equipped with the Avro Lancaster in 1944, the type seeing the unit through to August 1945. 75(NZ) Sqn operated against the Germans from 1940 to VE Day, flying more sorties than any other allied heavy bomber squadron, suffering the second highest number of casualties. A Victoria Cross was awarded to Sgt J A Ward for climbing out onto the wing of his Wellington on an operation over Europe, in an attempt to put out an engine fire. Although badly damaged by enemy fighters' cannon shells, the aircraft managed to return to its base.
Download or read book Sub Hunters written by Anthony Cooper and published by Fonthill Media. This book was released on 2021-01-29 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: • Excellent photographs from the Australian War Memorial collection • Dramatic air battles over a turbulent sea, hundreds of miles from land and without hope of rescue • Striking U-boat ‘kills’ as concrete proof of operational successes • Beautifully illustrated with many rare and unpublished photographs • Of interest to aviation and military historians, modellers, gamers and flight simulator enthusiasts 1943 was the turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic when forces, technologies and tactics turned against Germany’s U-boats. The victory not only secured Britain’s trans-Atlantic lifeline to the United States, but also enabled the vast build-up in military forces in Britain necessary to launch D-Day in 1944. The Allied battle to defeat the U-boat menace was a combined effort by the naval and air forces of several Allied nations, and this is the story of one part during the decisive mid-war period. Nos 10 and 461 Squadrons of the Royal Australian Air Force flew Sunderland flying boats from bases in Wales and Devon as part of RAF Coastal Command; these two squadrons flew long-range daylight missions over the eastern Atlantic, patrolling Britain’s southwest approaches. They hunted and killed U-boats transiting between their mid-Atlantic hunting grounds and their bases in Bordeaux and fought furious air battles over the Bay of Biscay against Luftwaffe Ju 88 long-range fighters tasked specifically with shooting them down. These two Australian squadrons established a combat record.
Download or read book Halifax Squadrons of World War 2 written by Jon Lake and published by Osprey Publishing. This book was released on 1999-07-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The second of Britain's four-engined bombers to enter frontline service during World War II (1939-1945), Handley Page's Halifax has forever lived in the shadow of Avro's superb Lancaster. However, it was a Halifax which became the first RAF 'heavy' to drop bombs on Germany when No 35 Sqn raided Hamburg on the night of 12/13 March 1941. Between 1941-45, the Halifax completed some 75,532 sorties [compared with the Lancaster's 156,000] with Bomber Command alone, not to mention its sterling work as both a glider tug and paratroop carrier with the Airborne Forces, maritime patrol mount with Coastal Command and covert intruder with the SOE.
Download or read book The Lancaster Manual written by Michael A. Fopp and published by Greenhill Books. This book was released on 2003 with total page 548 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The most famous British bomber of World War II, the Avro Lancaster flew on many famous raids--the "Dambusters" Raid, the daylight raid on Augsburg, and the sinking of the German battleship Tirpitz. The Lancaster Manual is reprinted from the official manuals originally produced by the Air Ministry for the personnel who actually flew and maintained the aircraft. Includes technical details, instructions for ground crews, handling and flying notes, electrical and radio equipment, airframe design, and armament. A uniquely authoritative reference source on the Lancaster Marks I and III.
Download or read book Tempest Squadrons of the RAF written by Chris Thomas and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2016-11-17 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hawker's charismatic Tempest V entered RAF service just in time to be the most successful counter to the V1 flying bomb assault on southern England in the summer of 1944. With more than 800 of the robot missiles to its credit, Tempest V units then crossed the Channel to lock horns with the best the Luftwaffe had to offer – Fw 190D-9s, Ta 152s, Me 262s and Bf 109G/Ks – achieving an impressive kill/loss ratio in aerial combat. With incredibly detailed aircraft profiles and exciting combat reports this title covers the full history of Tempest squadrons, from their initial design and combat experience in World War 2 through to their post-war role and the eventual decline of this iconic British fighter.
