Download or read book Wings on My Sleeve written by Eric Brown and published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. This book was released on 2008-09-18 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The autobiography of one of the greatest pilots in history. In 1939 Eric Brown was on a University of Edinburgh exchange course in Germany, and the first he knew of the war was when the Gestapo came to arrest him. They released him, not realising he was a pilot in the RAF volunteer reserve: and the rest is history. Eric Brown joined the Fleet Air Arm and went on to be the greatest test pilot in history, flying more different aircraft types than anyone else. During his lifetime he made a record-breaking 2,407 aircraft carrier landings and survived eleven plane crashes. One of Britain's few German-speaking airmen, he went to Germany in 1945 to test the Nazi jets, interviewing (among others) Hermann Goering and Hanna Reitsch. He flew the suicidally dangerous Me 163 rocket plane, and tested the first British jets. WINGS ON MY SLEEVE is 'Winkle' Brown's incredible story.
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 RAF Cold War Jet Aircraft in Profile written by CHRIS. SANDHAM-BAILEY and published by HarperTempest. This book was released on 2020-02-19 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Detailed profile artworks and descriptions of 14 different RAF jet aircraft types.
Download or read book Jet Prototypes of World War II written by Tony Buttler and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2019-09-19 with total page 81 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While World War II raged, pioneering aircraft and engine designers were busy developing the world's first practical jet-powered research aircraft to test and prove the new technology. This book examines the aircraft that paved the way for Germany's Me 262 and Britain's Meteor - the world's first jet fighters. Throughout the war, Germany, Italy and Britain engaged in top-secret jet programmes as they raced to develop the airpower of the future. Various experimental aircraft were trialled in order to achieve the goal of producing an effective engine and fighter that could harness the potential of the jet power. These included the German Heinkel He 178 research aircraft and Heinkel He 280 jet fighter prototype, the famed British E.28/39 research aircraft built by Gloster Aircraft as well as the stillborn E.5/42 fighter and E.1/44 Ace fighter prototype, and finally the remarkable Italian Caproni-Campini N.1/CC 2 research aircraft. Illustrated throughout with full-colour artwork and rare photographs, this fascinating study examines the fore-runners to the military jet age.
Download or read book The Gloster Meteor written by Edward Shacklady and published by . This book was released on 1962 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beskrivelse af Englands første jetjager, Gloster Meteor herunder flyets udviklingshistorie
Download or read book The Jet Race and the Second World War written by S. Mike Pavelec and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2007-02-28 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 1930s, as nations braced for war, the German military build up caught Britain and the United States off-guard, particularly in aviation technology. The unending quest for speed resulted in the need for radical alternatives to piston engines. In Germany, Dr. Hans von Ohain was the first to complete a flight-worthy turbojet engine for aircraft. It was installed in a Heinkel-designed aircraft, and the Germans began the jet age on August 27, 1939. The Germans led the jet race throughout the war and were the first to produce jet aircraft for combat operations. In England, the doggedly determined Frank Whittle also developed a turbojet engine, but without the support enjoyed by his German counterpart. The British came second in the jet race when Whittle's engine powered the Gloster Pioneer on May 15, 1941. The Whittle-Gloster relationship continued and produced the only Allied combat jet aircraft during the war, the Meteor, which was relegated to Home Defense in Britain. In America, General Electric copied the Whittle designs, and Bell Aircraft contracted to build the first American jet plane. On October 1, 1942, a lackluster performance from the Bell Airacomet, ushered in the American jet age. The Yanks forged ahead, and had numerous engine and airframe programs in development by the end of the war. But, the Germans did it right and did it first, while the Allies lagged throughout the war, only rising to technological prominence on the ashes of the German defeat. Pavelec's analysis of the jet race uncovers all the excitement in the high-stakes race to develop effective jet engines for warfare and transport.
Download or read book Meteor Boys written by Steve Bond and published by Grub Street Publishers. This book was released on 2016-11-04 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Through the first-hand experiences of pilots and ground crew, the author of Javelin Boys chronicles the history of the RAF’s first jet-engined aircraft. As Britain’s first jet fighter, the Gloster Meteor has had a remarkably varied and lengthy life. But while many books have focused on its development and service history, the time has come to hear the personal experiences of its air and ground crews. By interviewing over thirty veterans, author and Meteor veteran Steve Bond has written an incredibly detailed insight into this iconic aircraft, which is supported by anecdotes and accounts from those who knew it best. One example is Alan McDonald who described the Meteor as “a bit unforgiving if you got it wrong, as many pilots found out to their cost, especially on one engine, but I must admit I got to like it very much—it was a great adrenaline rush.” Alongside these entertaining anecdotes are details of the Meteor’s origins and developments. Starting with the first deliveries in 1944 working through to the present day, Bond documents the diverse role that the Meteor has had—from operations against the V1 and photo-reconnaissance missions to its use as a training machine and later as a display aircraft. The book also features photographs never seen before in print. This detailed history of this iconic and much loved jet fighter will appeal to all aviation fans. “Bond has done a great job with this book with many personal accounts of the people that were involved every day in the life of the Meteor. Highly Recommended.” —International Plastic Modelers’ Society/USA
Download or read book Operations in Korea written by and published by . This book was released on 1955 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book World War II Fighting Jets written by Jeffrey L. Ethell and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Empire of the Clouds written by James Hamilton-Paterson and published by Faber & Faber. This book was released on 2010-10-07 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1945 Britain was the world's leading designer and builder of aircraft - a world-class achievement that was not mere rhetoric. And what aircraft they were. The sleek Comet, the first jet airliner. The awesome delta-winged Vulcan, an intercontinental bomber that could be thrown about the sky like a fighter. The Hawker Hunter, the most beautiful fighter-jet ever built and the Lightning, which could zoom ten miles above the clouds in a couple of minutes and whose pilots rated flying it as better than sex. How did Britain so lose the plot that today there is not a single aircraft manufacturer of any significance in the country? What became of the great industry of de Havilland or Handley Page? And what was it like to be alive in that marvellous post-war moment when innovative new British aircraft made their debut, and pilots were the rock stars of the age? James Hamilton-Paterson captures that season of glory in a compelling book that fuses his own memories of being a schoolboy plane spotter with a ruefully realistic history of British decline - its loss of self confidence and power. It is the story of great and charismatic machines and the men who flew them: heroes such as Bill Waterton, Neville Duke, John Derry and Bill Beaumont who took inconceivable risks, so that we could fly without a second thought.
Download or read book Fundamentals of Fighter Design written by Ray Whitford and published by Crowood Press (UK). This book was released on 2004 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traces the development of fighter design from World War One to the present day. Covers aerodynamics, stability and control, propulsion, structures and materials, avoinics, armaments and tactics. The drawings and charts make this an informative book for enthusiasts and those with a professional interest in aircraft design.
Download or read book Cockpits of the Cold War written by Donald Nijboer and published by Erin, Ont. : Boston Mills Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This pictorial book looks inside the cockpit of aircraft from 1947 to 1965 from the United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, Canada, France and the Soviet Union. Featured aircraft includes a pilot's perspective on what it was like to fly.
Download or read book Luftwaffe Secret Projects written by Walter Schick and published by Midland Publishing. This book was released on 1997 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Designs from Germany's aerodynamics engineers detail proposed military aircraft, including wing span and area, aspect ratio, length, height, weight, speed, and armament.
Download or read book Early Soviet Jet Fighters written by E. Gordon and published by Voyageur Press (MN). This book was released on 2002 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This charts the development and service history of the first-generation Soviet jet fighters designed by such renowned fighter makers as Mikoyan, Yakovlev and Sukhoi, as well as design bureau no longer in existence--the Lavochkin and Alekseyev OKBs, during the 1940s and early 1950s. Each type is detailed and compared to other contemporary jet fighters. As ever the extensive photo coverage includes much which is previously unseen.
Download or read book Gloster Meteor written by Phil Butler and published by Ian Allan Publishing. This book was released on 2006 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first ever in-depth history of one of the most successful British aircraft of all time, the British Gloster Meteor, whose strong popularity is evidenced by the recent release of several brand new model kits of the type. The Gloster Meteor first flew during World War II, and a few hardy survivors are still airworthy into the 21st century. It served with 16 overseas air forces as well as with the Royal Air Force. This book thoroughly covers the craft's design, development, and initial flight testing, as well as night fighter variants, construction information, service both in the United Kingdom and abroad, test beds and trials aircraft. The authors have had access to a wealth of material in the United Kingdom's Public Record Office which was not previously available to researchers on the aircraft. As a result, the book contains a great deal of previously unpublished information, many detailed photos in both color and black & white, and data tables and information on the serials carried by the aircraft.
Download or read book An Escort of P 38s written by John D. Mullins and published by Specialty Press. This book was released on 1995 with total page 189 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The definitive World War II history of the U.S. Air Force's oldest fighter unit.
Download or read book RAF Meteor Jet Fighters in World War II an Operational Log An Operational Log written by Hugh Harkins and published by . This book was released on 2013-07 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gloster Meteor - The advent of the gas-turbine engine pioneered in the late 1930's by Frank Whittle in Britain and Germany's Dr Hans von Ohain, and its subsequent development into operational jet-propulsion units led to the introduction of a new breed of combat aircraft in the last year of World War II. While Germany developed, built and flew many jet powered aircraft during the war, with several of these subsequently entering operational service, only a handful of allied jet designs actually flew before the war's end. Of these, only the Gloster Meteor twin-jet fighter actually entered service; No.616 Squadron becoming the first jet powered squadron in the world to be declared operational. In many respects, 616Squadron gained this accolade on paper only, as some German Units were operating jet powered aircraft in contested air defence zones prior to the Meteor being declared operational. Flying their first operational sorties against V-1 Flying Bombs on 27 July 1944, the Meteor was at the time being operated on an ad hoc basis, as a direct response to the V-1 attacks against southern Britain. The Squadron did not fully relinquish its Spitfire VII's until 13 August 1944, the date on which the last operational Spitfire mission was flown. The Meteor I was flown operational against the V-1 from late July 1944 until early September that year, following which it entered an intensive period of training through February 1945, by which time the Squadron had been transferred to the 2nd Tactical Air Force for operations on continental Europe supporting the allied armies advancing towards the German hinterland. A handful of aircraft began operating from Belgium from early February 1945, albeit in a non-operational role. The rest of the Squadron, which had been temporarily transferred back to RAF Fighter Command, commenced flying Anti-V-1 operations from early March 1945, until the 19th of that month, after which it reverted back to 2nd Tactical Air Force, flying out to Belgium on the 31st of the Month. The Squadron commenced operational missions as part of 2nd Tactical Air Force on 1 April, flying air defence and reconnaissance/ground attack sorties until the war in Europe ended, flying its last operational sorties on the 4 May 1945. By this time 504 Squadron was on the strength of Fighter Command, with several other squadrons commencing conversion to the Meteor III before World War II ended. Within weeks of the war's end the Meteor IV, which had flown on 15 August, captured with Word Speed Record with an average speed of 606 mph. This volume covers the development of British jet aircraft and the operational service of the aircraft from summer 1944, when the aircraft were employed against V-1 flying bombs until late 1945, including the aircrafts service with 2nd Tactical Air Force supporting the allied armies during the final advance into Germany.
