Download or read book Rhapsody in Blue written by Graham Williams and published by Fonthill Media. This book was released on 2017-03-19 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Living in the Slipstream written by Jill Black and published by . This book was released on 2014-05-22 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spanning the period between the Cold War and the present day, 'Living in the Slipstream' features a collection of tales told by wives of RAF personnel. Often hilarious, and always witty and touching, they provide an insight into what service life is like.
Download or read book The RAF s Armourers written by Tony Lamsdale and published by Air World. This book was released on 2023-11-23 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is said that one of the earliest trades in the world is that of the armorer. Historically, it is a profession dated slightly after prostitution, but well before banking! Since the birth of the Royal Flying Corps in 1912 through to the modern Royal Air Force, the role of the armorer has been pivotal. Not for nothing did the founder of the RAF, Lord Trenchard, once declare: ‘The armorer – without him there is no need for an air force.’ In the years since the need for RAF armorers was first recognized, it has been a role that has evolved with the times. What has remained constant, however, is the fact that it is still a fascinating and potentially dangerous trade with many different branches and specialisms. In this book the authors, one of whom, Tony Lamsdale, is himself a former RAF armorer, reveal the previously untold story of how the trade has adapted to the most modern of military machines, the aircraft. The authors look at the shared history of the armorer and the RAF through the eyes of those who served. These veterans’ stories span decades, and their first-hand accounts and insights into conflict and peace-time operations demonstrate the qualities and characteristics that make armorers unique. The book starts with a brief history of the armorer, then before capturing the adventures and exploits of RAF armorers from the Second World War and on into the Cold War. The dangerous duties of the armorers on deployment in such places as the Falklands, Iran, Iraq or Afghanistan are all explored. There is also the question of having to learn of bomb dumps, the use of small arms and the unique world of the armorer with its own peculiar language and the camaraderie of the crew room. With each chapter brought to life through personal anecdotes and shared experiences, this book provides an insight into an utterly essential role which has remained largely hidden – until now.
Download or read book And Some Fell on Stony Ground written by Leslie Mann and published by Icon Books Ltd. This book was released on 2014-09-04 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A unique glimpse of the deadliest profession of the Second World War. In June 1941, Flight Sergeant Leslie Mann, a tail gunner in a British bomber, was shot down over Düsseldorf and taken into captivity. After the war, wanting to record the experiences of the RAF's 'Bomber Boys', he gave voice to his private thoughts and feelings in a short novella, uncovered only after his death. Visceral, shocking and unglamorous, this compelling story transmits as rarely before the horrors of aerial warfare, the corrosive effects of fear, and the psychological torment of the young men involved. The sights, sounds, smells, and above all the emotional strain are intensely evoked with a novelist's skill. And Some Fell on Stony Ground is introduced by historian Richard Overy, author of the acclaimed book, The Bombing War (2013).
Download or read book The Aeroplane written by and published by . This book was released on 1922 with total page 622 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Flying Freestyle written by Jerry Pook and published by Pen and Sword Aviation. This book was released on 2009 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During a twenty-five year flying career in the RAF, Jerry Pook has flown Hunter Fighter/Ground Attack aircraft in the Gulf, Harriers in West Germany, the supersonic Starfighter with the Dutch Air Force, the Harrier in Belize, Central America and the Tornado bomber at the Tri-national Tornado Training Establishment where he trained German and Italian pilots and navigators. Jerry had a long relationship with the Harrier Fighter/Ground Attack vertical take-off aircraft. This he flew in West Germany at the height of the Cold War operating from Wildenrath and off-base operations with Field Wing operations based in the fields and woods of the German countryside. Jerry saw action during the Falklands War when based on HMS Hermes and flying one of the few RAF Harriers in the Ground Attack role in support of the troops fighting ashore. He then enjoyed flying the American-built Starfighter RF 104G during a 3 year exchange tour with the Dutch Air Force - he describes the Starfighter as ' beautiful to fly, smooth and sophisticated, supremely fast and powerful - if you took liberties with it you knew it would kill you in an instant.' After 3 years with No 1(Fighter) Squadron and again flying the Harrier he moved to the then new Tornado, flying in its bomber role. This he continued to fly operationally and in the instructional role for 13 years until grounded from military flying for medical reasons.
Download or read book The RAF s French Foreign Legion written by G. H. Bennett and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2011-04-28 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines and analyses the relationship between the RAF, the Free French Movement and the French fighter pilots in WWII. A highly significant subject, this has been ignored by academics on both sides of the Channel. This ground-breaking study will fill a significant gap in the historiography of the War. Bennett's painstaking research has unearthed primary source material in both Britain and France including Squadron records, diaries, oral histories and memoirs. In the post-war period the idea of French pilots serving with the RAF seemed anachronistic to both sides. For the French nation the desire to draw a veil over the war years helped to obscure many aspects of the past, and for the British the idea of French pilots did not accord with the myths of "the Few" to whom so much was owed. Those French pilots who served had to make daring escapes. Classed as deserters they risked court martial and execution if caught. They would play a vital role on D-Day and the battle for control of the skies which followed.
Download or read book Irish Aces of the RFC and the RAF in the First World War written by Joe Gleeson and published by Fonthill Media. This book was released on 2017-05-17 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The First World War had an enormous impact on Ireland. Over 240,000 Irish men and women volunteered to serve with the Allied forces, suffering almost 40,000 casualties. The Irish contribution to the air war remains overlooked, not just in Ireland, but also by historians generally. Although just 6,000 Irish served with the Allied flying services at a cost of 500 casualties, their impact was out of all proportion to their numbers. The contribution of Irish aces of the RFC and RAF to the Allied cause was enormous, just over thirty of whom accounted for 400 enemy aircraft. Irishmen such as Mannock, McElroy and Hazell were among the highest-scoring pilots of the war. Some were revered by their men, others were controversial figures – reckless with their own lives and those under their command – but many of their stories remain untold. This book seeks to restore all those who were written out of Irish history, while also providing for their achievements to be considered in the overall context of the first air war. Illustrations: 24 black-and-white photographs
Download or read book Arise to Conquer written by Ian Gleed and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2010-11-20 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Royal Air Force fighter pilot’s action-packed memoir of his service before, during, and after the epic World War II battle. Originally published during the war in 1942, this is the other side of the mirror from the philosophical flight record of authors such as Antoine de Saint Exupery. It is a literal, daily record of an English fighter pilot of 23 years fighting in the Battle of Britain, giving a truly authentic picture of life on a squadron in those times. Gleed details his first sortie in 1939, his breakdown not so long after, his return to the RAF and battles over France, his exploits in the Battle of Britain, becoming an ace, downing Messerschmitts, and eventually being awarded the DFC for his service as leader and fighter. Praise for Arise to Conquer “An epic of the Battle of Britain.” —The Sphere (UK) “An excellent account of the daily life of a fighter squadron in the Battle of Britain… gives spirited descriptions of many air combats.” —Flight
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 The Stolen Sisters written by Louise Jensen and published by HarperCollins UK. This book was released on 2020-09-30 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘The queen of high-tension grip lit delivers a twisted tale that won’t let you go’ Sunday Times Crime Club ‘With great skill, Jensen slowly unveils the well-hidden aspects of all three characters and propels the book to a moving and convincing conclusion’ Daily Mail
Download or read book The Aeroplane and Astronautics written by and published by . This book was released on 1919 with total page 1448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A I m an Armourer B I m an Armourer written by Dave Jackson and published by Blenheim Press Limited. This book was released on 2007-12 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A romp through the life, and loves, of an RAF Armourer up to his retirement after 38 years in 'Her Majesty's Employ', popularly called 'The Royal Air Force'.
Download or read book Rhapsody in Blue written by Graham Williams and published by . This book was released on 2016-04-21 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fighter pilot's memoirs of life in the RAF from 1955 to 1991, operational tours on Hunters, Harriers and Jaguars, 3 tours in flight testing including early testing of the Harrier, the 1969 Transatlantic Air Race in a Harrier, and the last five years in MOD associated mainly with the demise of the Nimrod AEW and the acquisition of the Typhoon.
Download or read book In Service written by Tim Rees and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2013-08-01 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Service is the tale of one person's journey into manhood, ultimately finding himself in the theatre of war. It is a journey littered with colourful anecdotes and diverse experience: from military training in the Guards Depot to Trooping the Colour; from academic failure to intelligence work in Northern Ireland; from helping Rudolf Hess out of an ambulance to being tasked with taking the Queen's portrait. Tim Rees colours every experience with profound and often idiosyncratic observations that offer the reader a taste of the sometimes humorous, often arduous and, on too many occasions, brutal reality of service. But, as Tim says, 'The positive effect is the bond of common experience I share with men with whom I served in the army' - a type of bond that, in his opinion, is in danger of being lost in the modern age.
Download or read book Boldness Be My Friend written by Richard Pape and published by Review. This book was released on 2009-09-03 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Escape... escape... escape... by God!"' was his constant exhortation. "Never mind hunger pains, discomfort, or any other agony. Let escape become your passion, your one and only obsession until you finally reach home."' Shot down over Berlin in 1941, Richard Pape's saga of captivity is a story of courage unmatched in the annals of escape. Four escapes took him across the breadth of German-occupied Europe; to Poland and Czechoslovakia; to Austria and Hungary. Aggressive and impetuous, his adventures sweep the reader along on a torrent of excitement.
Download or read book How to Survive written by John Hudson and published by Pan Macmillan. This book was released on 2019-06-27 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A splendid book . . . I can’t think of anyone I know who wouldn’t benefit from reading it' - Marcus Berkmann, Daily Mail 'A brilliant, brilliant book' - Chris Evans, Virgin Radio Now including a new chapter on coping with a pandemic. What is the connection between crawling through a jungle and your ‘to do’ list? What can ejecting out of a stealth bomber teach you about the getting through a pandemic? What can surviving in extreme situations teach us about surviving everyday life? John Hudson, Chief Survival Instructor to the British Military, knows what it takes to survive. Combining first-hand experience with twenty years of studying the choices people have made under the most extreme pressure, How to Survive is a lifetime’s worth of wisdom about how to apply the principles of survival to everyday life. The cornerstone of military survival (surviving anything) is understanding the relationship between effort, hope and goals – a mindset that can be transposed anytime, anywhere. In How to Survive you will learn how this template for survival can be applied to any situation in your everyday life. Through gripping first-hand accounts of near disaster and survival stories from across the extreme world you will learn that by following these principles you can develop the mindset that will allow you to make better decisions under pressure, which are as equally applicable to first dates and presentations as to climbing Everest and getting lost at sea. 'When it comes to survival and getting out of trouble, listen to this man. John is the real deal' - Levison Wood
