Download or read book Observers and Navigators written by Wg Cdr C.G. Jefford and published by Grub Street Publishing. This book was released on 2014-05-19 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This title first appeared in 2001 to universal acclaim, quickly went out of print and has remained so since. The author, meantime, has continued his research and the result is this updated edition, over half as long as the first, with stacks of new photographs. Absolutely essential reference for all those interested in military aviation.

Download or read book Shall We Dance The True Story of the Couple Who Taught The World to Dance written by Douglas Thompson and published by Metro Publishing. This book was released on 2014-10-12 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the eve of the Great War, they had the world at - and watching - their feet. If God is in the details, they were divine.Vernon and Irene Castle were the world's first true celebrity couple. He, an Englishman, was tall and slim, as poised as an elegant evening out, a template for the Hollywood idols who would follow. In a staid age, she, a New Yorker, was a glorious, modern beauty, with her haired cropped into a 'shock', a disdain for crippling corsets, a love of a martini and a good time.Together, they beat the censors and made their vibrant dancing acceptable for all. In the fashionable quarters of New York they opened a dance school and night clubs to which Society flocked. They broke the rules by touring with black musicians, and led the way forward to the Charleston-galloping Gatsby Generation. They enlightened and enchanted from London to Paris to New York, spreading a breathless joy, as though their music had one note, and their dances one step, too many. Launching one racy dance craze after another, they taught the world to dance - and often dress - the way we do today. Adored and acclaimed, they were stars long before the celebrity constellations grew crowded.Yet the whirlwind story of perhaps the most influential dance team ever is also one of tragedy. Their timing, so perfect in everything else, saw Vernon Castle, at the height of their fame, return to England to enlist in the Royal Flying Corps; he saw action as a pilot on the Western Front, winning the Croix de Guerre, while his wife made special appearances to support the Allied war effort. And then, in February 1918, he was killed in a flying accident in Texas, while training American pilots for war. Irene received a last note from him: 'When you receive this letter I shall be gone out of your sweet life. You may be sure that I died with your sweet name on my lips... be brave and don't cry, my angel.'She and many others did cry, for as far as the world was concerned Vernon and Irene Castle could have danced all night, and for ever.'The afternoon was already planned; they were going dancing - for those were the great days: Maurice was tangoing in "Over the River", the Castles were doing a stiffed-leg walk in the third act of the 'Sunshine Girl' - a walk that gave the modern dance a social position and brought the nice girl into the café, thus beginning a profound revolution in American life. The great rich empire was feeling its oats and was out for some not too plebeian, yet not too artistic fun.' - F. Scott Fitzgerald, 'The Perfect Life', one of the Basil and Josephine Stories, first published in the Saturday Evening Post, 5 January 1929.

Download or read book Bloody April written by Peter Hart and published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. This book was released on 2012-12-20 with total page 479 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of the decimation of the Royal Flying Corps over Arras in 1917 As the Allies embarked upon the Battle of Arras, they desperately needed accurate aerial reconnaissance photographs. But by this point the Royal Flying Club were flying obsolete planes. The new German Albatros scouts massively outclassed them in every respect: speed, armament, ability to withstand punishment and manoeuverability. Many of the RFC's pilots were straight out of flying school - as they took to the air they were sitting targets for the experienced German aces. Over the course of 'Bloody April' the RFC suffered casualties of over a third. The average life expectancy of a new subaltern on the front line dropped to just eleven days. And yet they carried on flying, day after day, in the knowledge that, in the eyes of their commanders at least, their own lives meant nothing compared to the photographs they brought back, which could save tens of thousands of soldiers on the ground. In this book Peter Hart tells the story of the air war over Arras, using the voices of the men who were actually there.

Download or read book Congressional Record written by United States. Congress and published by . This book was released on 1958 with total page 820 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Lone Hand written by and published by . This book was released on 1918 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

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 433 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 The Aeroplane written by and published by . This book was released on 1916 with total page 1392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Torch We Throw The Dundurn WWI Historical Library written by Brereton Greenhous and published by Dundurn. This book was released on 2014-07-23 with total page 1125 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The giant conflagration of the First World War created the world we live in today, and its history is replete with stirring battles, mind-boggling strategies, and geopolitical manoeuvring. However, the real story was lived in the trenches of Europe and the lonely households of those left behind. The stories of this period are full of tragedy, anger, and loss but also inspirational courage. This special five-book bundle presents some of these stories, from brave Canadian contributions to the battlefields at Ypres and Amiens, to the specific untold story of Canada’s unheralded 58th Division, to an analysis of the myth and legend of air ace Billy Bishop, to the voice of one single soldier, Deward Barnes, told through his diary. These books provide new and enlightening perspectives on the war. Amiens Hell in Flanders Fields It Made you Think of Home The Making of Billy Bishop Second to None

Download or read book Captain Roy Brown A True Story of the Great War 1914 1918 written by Alan D. Bennett and published by ibooks. This book was released on 2014-06-05 with total page 1106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a true story of young men who fought and died for their country. It puts the reader behind the stick of a Sopwith Camel from the pilot's point of view. This is volume 1 and volume 2 combined for the ebook edition. Part One of this comprehensive study covers the life of Captain Arthur Roy Brown, who is well-known as an ace fighter pilot. The basic story is told in Brown’s own words, via his previously unpublished letters home and the entries in his Pilot’s Flying Log Book. Part Two of the book covers Captain Brown’s encounter with Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron, in detail. In 1995 Alan Bennett toured the site in France where Captain Brown had attacked the Red Baron on 21 April, 1918. As an experienced pilot of similar aircraft, he had grave doubts as to the truth of some parts of the story. The eventual result was a book written in conjunction with Norman Franks: THE RED BARON’S LAST FLIGHT. After plentiful information from readers, Captain Roy Brown’s family, and Wop May’s son, plus further research in France, a considerably different picture of the entire event and of Roy Brown’s life emerged. This new book, Captain Roy Brown, tells the complete definitive story.

Download or read book A Brief History of the Royal Flying Corps in World War I written by Ralph Barker and published by Constable. This book was released on 2002 with total page 507 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text tells the story of the Royal Flying Corps, and its part in all the major battles of World War I, from Bloody April 1917 through Third Ypres and Passchendaele to the chaotic retreat from Ludendorff's offensive.

Download or read book The Aeroplane and Astronautics written by and published by . This book was released on 1918 with total page 1966 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Aeronautics written by and published by . This book was released on 1920 with total page 556 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book World War One Aircraft Carrier Pioneer written by Guy Warner and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2011-06-13 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jack McCleery was born in Belfast in 1898, the son of a mill owning family. He joined the RNAS in 1916 as a Probationary Flight Officer. During the next ten months he completed his training at Crystal Palace, Eastchurch, Cranwell, Frieston, Calshot and Isle of Grain, flying more than a dozen landplanes, seaplanes and flying boats, gaining his wings as a Flight Sub-Lieutenant. In July 1917 he was posted to the newly commissioning aircraft carrier HMS Furious, which would be based at Scapa Flow and Rosyth. He served in this ship until February 1919, flying Short 184 seaplanes and then Sopwith 1 Strutters off the deck. He also flew a large number of other types during this time from shore stations at Turnhouse, East Fortune and Donibristle.He served with important and well-known naval airmen including Dunning, Rutland (of Jutland) and Bell Davies VC. He witnessed Dunnings first successful landing on a carrier flying a Sopwith Pup in 1917 and his tragic death a few days later. He also witnessed the Tondern raid in 1918, the worlds first carrier strike mission. He took part in more than a dozen sweeps into the North Sea by elements of the Grand Fleet and Battle Cruiser Fleet. He carried out reconnaissance missions off the coast of Denmark, landing in the sea to be picked up by waiting destroyers. He witnessed the surrender of the High Seas Fleet. Promoted to Captain, he acted as temporary CO of F Squadron for a time postwar.

Download or read book Aeroplane written by and published by . This book was released on 1915 with total page 1008 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Spectator written by and published by . This book was released on 1920 with total page 904 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A weekly review of politics, literature, theology, and art.

Download or read book No Empty Chairs written by Ian Mackersey and published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. This book was released on 2012-05-10 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 1914-18 conflict narrated through the voices of the men whose combat was in the air. 'This moving book uses letters and diaries to evoke the terrible cost of such warfare...Sleepless nights, separated lovers and grieving parents are recalled with painful immediacy in this meticulously researched tribute to those who died or were lucky enough to survive' DAILY MAIL The empty chairs belonged, all too briefly, to the doomed young First World War airmen who failed to return from the terrifying daily aerial combats above the trenches of the Western Front. The edict of their commander-in-chief was the missing aviators were to be immediately replaced. Before the new faces could arrive, the departed men's vacant seats at the squadron dinner table were sometimes poignantly occupied by their caps and boots, placed there in a sad ritual by their surviving colleagues as they drank to their memory. Life for most of the pilots of the Royal Flying Corps was appallingly short. If they graduated alive and unmaimed from the flying training that killed more than half of them before they reached the front line, only a few would for very long survive the daily battles they fought over the ravaged moonscape of no-man's-land. Their average life expectancy at the height of the war was measured only in weeks. Parachutes that began to save their German enemies were denied them. Fear of incarceration, and the daily spectacle of watching close colleagues die in burning aircraft, took a devastating toll on the nerves of the world's first fighter pilots. Many became mentally ill. As they waited for death, or with luck the survivable wound that would send them back to 'Blighty', they poured their emotions into their diaries and streams of letters to their loved ones at home. Drawing on these remarkable testimonies and pilots' memoirs, Ian Mackersey has brilliantly reconstructed the First Great Air War through the lives of its participants. As they waited to die, the men shared their loneliness, their fears, triumphs - and squadron gossip - with the families who lived in daily dread of the knock on the door that would bring the War Office telegram in its fateful green envelope.

Download or read book The Publishers Weekly written by and published by . This book was released on 1918 with total page 986 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: