Download or read book Nightfighter written by Mark Magruder and published by Pelican Publishing Company, Inc.. This book was released on 2012-02-07 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The true story of a legendary aviation commander. This biography of an American hero explores the intricacies of nightfighting during World War II and the specialized training involved. After a three-month crash course, Marion Milton Magruder, USMC, went on to lead the top scoring nightfighter squadron in the Pacific Theatre. Drawing upon primary sources, the author accurately captures the combat stories of Black Mac Magruder and his fellow nightfighters in breathtaking detail.
Download or read book Nightfighter written by Mark A. Magruder and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2012-01-24 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A biography of the leader of the top scoring Nightfighter Squadron who risked their lives flying through darkness in the Pacific Theatre of World War II. During World War II, the job of a nightfighter was akin to a deadly game of hide-and-seek in a pitch-black sky. Each pilot’s life literally depended on his radio link to support personnel on the ground. Electrical failures could be catastrophic and engine trouble usually proved fatal. Unlike other fighter pilots, these men had zero visual perspective. Alone in a cockpit, it was easy for their minds to play tricks on them, but for nightfighters, a few moments of vertigo were a death sentence . . . No one knew this better than then-ranked Lt. Col. Marion Milton "Black Mac" Magruder. His highly classified training program required each of his "scrappers" to identify every part of the cockpit environment by sound, smell, and touch. Strict, innovative, and intense, this no-nonsense marine would lead his men to the Okinawa Campaign, in an emergency deployment after a year in combat, in the longest over-water flight of single-engined fighters in the Pacific Theatre, just to get into the fight. During their time on Okinawa and Engebi, VMF(N)533, also known as Black Mac’s Killers, experienced the worst typhoon season the island had seen in several hundred years. They also would become the target of the Giretsu, when the ruthless Japanese suicide warriors attacked Yontan Air Field, the only attack of its kind during the war. And even though the squadron arrived one month after battle commenced, the 533 held the record for all radar-intercept kills. Black Mac's Killers set many records and earned many distinctions during the war, including the Presidential Unit Citation. This biography follows Magruder through his military career, highlighting his accomplishments as leader of the top scoring Nightfighter Squadron in the Pacific Theatre.
Download or read book American Nightfighter Aces of World War 2 written by Warren Thompson and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-02-20 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Americans lagged behind their European contemporaries in military aviation in the late 1930s, and it took the Battle of Britain to awaken America to the necessity of having aircraft that could defend targets against night-time attack by bomber aircraft. This book examines the numerous aircraft types that were used by the US in this role, beginning with the early stop-gap conversions like the TBM Avenger, Lockheed Ventura and the A-20 Havoc (P-70). It goes on to detail the combat history of the newer, radar-equipped Hellcats, Corsairs and Black Widows that were designed to seek out enemy aircraft and which registered most of the kills made by the Navy, Marine Corps and USAAF in 1944–45. With full-colour profiles and rare photographs, this is an absorbing account of an underestimated flying force: the American Nightfighters.
Download or read book The History of Air Intercept Radar the British Nightfighter 1935 1959 written by Ian White and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2007-05-30 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This detailed history of Air Intercept radar traces the development of this vital military technology with the Royal Air Force during WWII. In the years after World War I, the United Kingdom was desperate to develop some form of protection from an enemy air strike. As early as 1923, the British Army had devised “sound mirrors” that could detect aircraft up to twelve miles away. This technical history traces the development of military radar technology from this early, experimental phase to the creation of the first air-to-air radar systems and their uses in battle. Historian Ian White sets this fascinating narrative within the larger political, military, economic and technological context of the era. Through World War II, Air Intercept radar was a vital asset in protecting RAF bomber forces as well as the country itself. But developing the technology required the tireless work of physicists and engineers in the Air Ministry Research Establishment, particularly members of the Establishment’s Airborne Group working under Dr. Edward Bowen. Their Airborne Interception radars, such as the AI Mk. IV, were used in Blenheim night-fighters during the winter Blitz and by Mosquito during the Baedeker Raids. This in-depth history covers the introduction of centimetric technology at the Telecommunications Research Establishment, the creation of centimetric AI, and their installation in the Beaufighter and later marks of the Mosquito. It describes the creation of the Radiation Laboratory at MIT and concludes with a section on further developments during the Cold War.
Download or read book Moonlight Over England The Story of One Nightfighter Pilot written by Eric P. Donald and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2013 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I came across an old photo recently and pondered the people in it. The person in the centre was my late brother, Norman G. Donald of the RAF. The other figures in the photo I do not know, though I suspect they were his flight instructors at North Battleford, Canada. The photo bears my brother's script "KING-PINS ALL!--N. BATTLEFORD." After qualifying as a pilot, he sailed back to England and was posted to RAF Hunsdon just north of London in 1942. He was soon flying Douglas Havocs and Bristol Beaufighters. Night fighters were a new school of defence, but it was hopeless finding enemy aircraft in the dark. The Turbinlite device was fitted to the Beaufighters and Havocs, and the idea was to find the enemy somehow, guided by ground control using heavy ground radar units (too heavy to carry in aircraft), turn on the Turbinlite searchlight, and illuminate the enemy aircraft. A single-engined Hurricane fighter flying alongside then shot down the enemy aircraft. It did help to see the target as this same sky was full of thousands of Allied aircraft, all trying to avoid each other.
Download or read book Luftwaffe Night Fighter Combat Claims 1939 1945 written by John Foreman and published by Red Kite / Air Research. This book was released on 2003 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A definitive list of nearly 7,000 claims submitted by Luftwaffe night fighter pilots for Allied aircraft shot down in WW2. These claims are listed with the following details; Date, Time, Location, Type of aircraft shot down, Claiming Pilot and his Unit. Entries feature claims against Russian, American as well as Bomber Command aircraft.
Download or read book Night Fighter written by C. F. Rawnsley and published by . This book was released on 1999-07 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Once the day fighters had saved Britain from invasion, it fell to the night fighters to save her cities from destruction. At the beginning, interception by night proved virtually impossible, particularly, as the German bombers carried out their raids in cloudy weather. Soon, however, the navigator was presented with a mysterious little black box, which turned out to be the parent of airborne radar and the key to aerial tactics. This made a major contribution to the war in the skies, first protecting the British cities from the incessant raids of 1940 and later enabling the bombers to carry out their vital operations over Germany. 'Jimmy' Rawnsley, crewed with gunner 'Cats-eyes' Cunningham were among the first to use this new technology when it was introduced to the Blenheim they were flying and went on to become one of the RAF's leading night fighter crews, destroying over 20 enemy aircraft.
Download or read book Beaufighters in the Night written by Braxton Eisel and published by Pen and Sword Aviation. This book was released on 2007 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 417th Night Fighter Squadron USAAF was only the fourth such unit to be formed. In the early days of WWII, the US sent observers to England to study how the latest form of air warfare would take shape and it very soon became apparent to them that a night fighting capability was of increasing importance. When they joined the battle against the Reich they found themselves without a suitable American aircraft and were forced to utilize RAF Beaufighters. Having 're-learned to fly' this British design the 417th were sent to North Africa. Most of the ex-RAF aircraft they had inherited were battle weary and no supplies of spares were available through the US supply chain. The squadron found an elderly B-25 bomber, nicknamed the "Strawberry Roan," and they ranged throughout the Mediterranean in search of Beaufighter parts. 417 soon built a healthy score of downed German and Italian aircraft and as the war progressed they were moved to Corsica to support the Italian invasion, After D-Day they were moved to Le Vallon from where they attacked the night-time movements of the German Army. Perhaps their most famous operation was to attack the low flying German Condor that ran the route from the Reich to Spain carrying Nazi gold and treasures.
Download or read book Nightfighter written by Anthony Robinson and published by Ian Allan Publishing. This book was released on 1988 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Udviklingen af denne særlige side af luftkrigen og de anvendte fly skildret fra 1. verdenskrig over 2. verdenskrig til krigene i Korea og Vietnam og sluttede med beskrivelse af det moderne interceptor-fly, der kan operere under alle vejr- og lysforhold.
Download or read book Nachtjagd written by Theo Boiten and published by Crowood Press (UK). This book was released on 1997 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NachtjagdBoitenSubtitled: The Night Fighter Versus Bomber War Over the Third Reich 1939-45. Of the 7,953 Bomber Command aircraft lost on night operations during WWII, an estimated 5,833 fell victim to Luftwaffe night fighters. This volume traces the parallel developments in RAF night bombing and the Luftwaffes night fighting capability using archive material and interviews with surviving aircrew from both sides.Hdbd., 7 3/4x 1, 24 pgs., 17 bandw ill.
Download or read book Night Fighter written by William H. Hamilton and published by Skyhorse. This book was released on 2016-11-01 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For readers of American Sniper, the stirring account of a life of service by the “father of the US Navy SEALs” One month after the Bay of Pigs fiasco, when President John F. Kennedy pressed Congress about America’s “urgent national needs,” he named expanding US special operations forces along with putting a man on the moon. Captain William Hamilton was the officer tasked with creating the finest unconventional warriors ever seen. Merging his own experience commanding Navy Underwater Demolition Teams with expertise from Army Special Forces and the CIA, and working with his subordinate, Roy Boehm, he cast the mold for sea-, air-, and land-dispatched night fighters capable of successfully completing any mission anywhere in the world. Initially, they were used as a counter to the potential devastation of nuclear war, and later for counterterrorism and hostage rescue. His vision led to the formation of the celebrated SEAL Team 6. In this stirring, action-filled book, Hamilton tells his story for the first time. Night Fighter is a trove of true adventure from the history of the late twentieth century, which Hamilton lived, from fighter pilot in the Korean War to operative for the CIA in Vietnam, Africa, Latin America, and Europe, from the Pentagon to Foggy Bottom, and from the Cuban Missile Crisis to the Reagan White House’s Star Wars. Like American Sniper, here is the record of a life devoted to patriotic service. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
Download or read book Nachtjager Volume One written by David P. Williams and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To be produced in the same style as the 'Jagdwaffe' series (which concentrated on German day fighters), this is the first of a two-part history of the German Nachtjager - the nightfighter force - in World War 2. The Luftwaffe used many aircraft in the nightfighter role, primarily to combat RAF Bomber Command's nocturnal heavy bombing raids against German targets from 1940/1 onwards and a 'cat and mouse' development of aircraft enhancement, weapons, guidance systems and radar took place. The book contains a wide variety of aircraft. This volume, for example, concentrates on the single-seat Me109 fighter adapted as a nightfighter, early versions of the Me110 and the Ju88. The text will be accompanied by a wide range of photographs - many being published for the first time - together with the usual colour profiles, biographies of top nightfighter aces such as Falck, Schnaufer, Lent, Jabs and others. Furthermore, there will be pilot accounts and text boxes offering details of the Schrage Musik upward-firing, FuG202 Lichtenstein and SN-2 radar sets, etc.With the great importance attached by the Royal Air Force to its nocturnal bombing raids, the importance to the defence of Germany of the nightfighter squadrons cannot be overstated. This volume and its companion will provide the modeller and historian with a detailed examination of the Nachtjager forces deployed by the Luftwaffe during the war and will be required reading for all interested in the subject of the nightly battles over the skies of the Reich during World War 2.
Download or read book The Defence of the Reich written by Werner Held and published by . This book was released on 1982 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beskriver Luftwaffe's natjageroperationer, -fly og -organisation under 2. verdenskrig
Download or read book Night Fighters written by Colin D. Heaton and published by US Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Night Fighters examines the historical, technological. tactical, and strategic evolution of limited-visibility aerial combat as the air forces of Great Britain and Germany dueled in the night skies during World War II. The book is based on extensive research and interviews with the key planners and policy makers responsible for their respective national strategies governing the conduct of the nighttime air war, as well as with the airmen who fought the war, which makes it far more detailed than previous works on this subject. The science developed by both nations greatly increased the momentum and lethality of air combat in that conflict. In addition, this arena of World War II combat also produced many technological innovations, the results of which are seen today in everyday military and civilian life."--BOOK JACKET.
Download or read book Deny Them the Night Sky written by Eric Shulenberger and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 529 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The 280 men of the 548th Night Fighter Squadron fought their P-61 Black Widows across the Pacific. The Ground Echelon landed on Iwo on D+8, under the mortar, small-arms and kamikaze attack--the Widows arrived a little later. The entire Squadron lived in foxholes (between USMC howitzers and the enemy) for 6 weeks, on C-rations and one canteen of water per day. All while maintaining and flying the world's most complex aircraft. Not a single Japanese bomb fell on Iwo while the 548th stood night-time watch. On Ie Shima (Okinawa) they again arrived under kamikaze attack, shot down several enemy aircraft, made extensive night intruder bombing and rocket attacks, acted as escorts for hundreds of B-29 crew-rescues, and made critical nightly weather observations over tomorrow's targets for the day-bomber fleet. The Squadron had its share of odd moments, from losing a man on Iwo to its own friendly small-arms fire, to scoring the only American shoot-downs of a B29 and a P61." "This book is those men's story--all of them, not just the aircrews. It covers the entire history of the Squadron. The tale is told as much as possible in the first person, using Squadron veterans' memories, illustrations, and extensive records and memorabilia--augmented (where records exist) by official materials." -- Book Jacket.
Download or read book Lost Battles written by Philip Sabin and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2015-02-05 with total page 527 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the author's introduction: Ancient battles seize the modern imagination. Far from being forgotten, they have become a significant aspect of popular culture, prompting a continuing stream of books, feature films, television programs and board and computer games... there is a certain escapist satisfaction in looking back to an era when conflicts between entire states turned on clear-cut pitched battles between formed armies, lasting just a few hours and spanning just a few miles of ground. These battles were still unspeakably traumatic and grisly affairs for those involved - at Cannae, Hannibal's men butchered around two and a half times as many Romans (out of a much smaller overall population) as there were British soldiers killed on the notorious first day of the Somme. However, as with the great clashes of the Napoleonic era, time has dulled our preoccupation with such awful human consequences, and we tend to focus instead on the inspired generalship of commanders like Alexander and Caesar and on the intriguing tactical interactions of units such as massed pikemen and war elephants within the very different military context of pre-gunpowder warfare. Lost Battles takes a new and innovative approach to the battles of antiquity. Using his experience with conflict simulation, Philip Sabin draws together ancient evidence and modern scholarship to construct a generic, grand tactical model of the battles as a whole. This model unites a mathematical framework, to capture the movement and combat of the opposing armies, with human decisions to shape the tactics of the antagonists. Sabin then develops detailed scenarios for 36 individual battles such as Marathon and Cannae, and uses the comparative structure offered by the generic model to help cast light on which particular interpretations of the ancient sources on issues such as army size fit in best with the general patterns observed elsewhere. Readers can use the model to experiment for themselves by re-fighting engagements of their choice, tweaking the scenarios to accord with their own judgment of the evidence, trying out different tactics from those used historically, and seeing how the battle then plays out. Lost Battles thus offers a unique dynamic insight into ancient warfare, combining academic rigor with the interest and accessibility of simulation gaming. This book includes access to a downloadable computer simulation where the reader can view the author's simulations as well create their own.
Download or read book Three in Thirteen written by Roger Dunsford and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2017-04-19 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This “incredibly engaging and deeply personal” story of World War II pilot Joe Singleton “draws the reader into the dangerous world of night fighting” (Manhattan Book Review). Joe Singleton was an unlikely hero. A junior manager at a paints and varnish company at the outbreak of war, he was surprised to discover he had a hidden talent for flying. Despite RAF Fighter Squadrons crying out for replacements after the carnage of the Battle of Britain, Joe was posted to the rapidly developing world of night fighting. He flew first Defiants, then Beaufighters, finding himself in the thick of the very earliest stages of ground-controlled interception and airborne radar engagements. His skills finally began to bear fruit when piloting a Mosquito, and he took part in several successful missions. But the pinnacle came on the night of March 19, 1944: scrambling to intercept a big German raid on Hull, he located and shot down a Junkers 188, then went on to shoot down two more, all in the space of thirteen dramatic minutes. He and his navigator survived the crash-landing that ensued, and he went on to be feted as a national hero. Three in Thirteen is a unique sortie-by-sortie account of his journey from bewildered recruit to celebrated expert, illustrated with extracts from Joe’s RAF logbook and unpublished photographs and illustrations. Roger Dunsford’s extensive experience as an RAF pilot brings a vivid immediacy to Joe’s experiences, combined with astute analysis of the planes, the tactics, and the events of that fateful night. “Inspirational and thoroughly engaging—a true hero’s story.” —Books Monthly
