Download or read book RAF Little Rissington written by R. Deacon and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2006-06-30 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the three decades between 1946 and 1976, the Central Flying School which was based at Little Rissington, produced over 6000 fledgling Qualified Flying Instructors and continually endeavoured to monitor and improve the wider Royal Air Force's standards of flying, based on its sound, proven instructional methods and a wealth of tradition extending back to Upavon in 1912. With the cessation of hostilities in 1945, the station's role took on a new dimension with the arrival of the Central Flying School (CFS) from RAF Upavon in the following year. The main function of CFS was to fulfil RAF requirements and assist some Commonwealth air force requirements for flying instructors. RAF Little Rissington became CFS's important focal base for the next thirty years. The book covers the 1946 to 1976 period and has been drawn from from the records at the National Archives, the RAF Museum, the Central Flying School Archive, and from published sources. Anecdotes and recollections from over 100 service and civilian personnel, ranging from Air Marshals to AC2s, who were once based at Little Rissington bring these unfolding years to life.

Download or read book RAF Little Rissington written by Roy Bagshaw and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2006-06-30 with total page 1009 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the three decades between 1946 and 1976, the Central Flying School which was based at Little Rissington, produced over 6000 fledgling Qualified Flying Instructors and continually endeavoured to monitor and improve the wider Royal Air Force's standards of flying, based on its sound, proven instructional methods and a wealth of tradition extending back to Upavon in 1912. With the cessation of hostilities in 1945, the station's role took on a new dimension with the arrival of the Central Flying School (CFS) from RAF Upavon in the following year. The main function of CFS was to fulfil RAF requirements and assist some Commonwealth air force requirements for flying instructors. RAF Little Rissington became CFS's important focal base for the next thirty years. The book covers the 1946 to 1976 period and has been drawn from from the records at the National Archives, the RAF Museum, the Central Flying School Archive, and from published sources. Anecdotes and recollections from over 100 service and civilian personnel, ranging from Air Marshals to AC2s, who were once based at Little Rissington bring these unfolding years to life.

Download or read book The Windrush Valley written by Mark Child and published by Amberley Publishing Limited. This book was released on 2010-05-15 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating look at the history of the Windrush river and a comprehensive guide to the towns and villages along its route.

Download or read book Spitfire Pilot Air Commodore Geoffrey Stephenson written by John Shields and published by Air World. This book was released on 2024-11-30 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Under cloudless blue skies, the Oakwood Cemetery Annex in Montgomery, Alabama hosts the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in the United States. Most of the graves contain young RAF trainee pilots killed during their flying training at nearby Maxwell and Gunter airfields during the Second World War. However, there is another grave, located at the edge of the plot, not from the early 1940s but, from 1954. The grave marks the final resting place of a 44-year-old senior RAF officer, Air Commodore Geoffrey Stephenson CBE. It begs the questions who was he and why is he buried there? This book sets out to answer both these questions. As a result, this is the remarkable story of not only Stephenson’s life but the people, planes and places that would leave an indelible mark on a seasoned fighter pilot. After growing up in Lincolnshire and Ireland, 18-year-old Stephenson joined the RAF in 1928 alongside Douglas Bader who would become a life-long friend. After leaving Cranwell, the pair both joined 23 Squadron. In the 1930s, Stephenson rose through the ranks to command 19 Squadron, a Duxford-based Spitfire unit, that would see his baptism of fire over Dunkirk in late May 1940. Following the downing of a Junkers Ju 87 Stuka, Stephenson was himself shot down and crash landed on the beach at Sangatte. After a brief period on the run in France and Belgium, Stephenson was taken into captivity, spending the next five years as a prisoner of war, ending up at the iconic Colditz Castle where, ironically, he was reunited with his old friend Bader. Upon his release in April 1945, Stephenson quickly resumed his RAF career commanding, instructing, and flying the latest jet fighters, both at home and overseas. He was aide-de-camp to two monarchs, including escorting a young Queen Elizabeth II during her 1953 Coronation Review. However, his already eventful career would take a tragic turn. In 1954, Stephenson flew to the United States to review their latest acquisitions, which included a flight in the supersonic F-100 Super Sabre. It would be his last flight. Nevertheless, Stephenson’s legacy lives on at his former base at Duxford in the guise of the Imperial War Museum’s immaculately restored Spitfire Mk.I N3200. This was the very aircraft in which he force-landed on 26 May 1940. Recovered from the French beach, N3200 was painstakingly rebuilt and returned to flying condition. Today, N3200 is often referred to as a ‘National Treasure’. This is the biography of a remarkable pilot, husband and father, revealing the planes he flew, the places he visited, and the incredible people he met along the way.

Download or read book Groundcrew Boys written by David Gledhill and published by Grub Street Publishing. This book was released on 2021-10-27 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of stories from Royal Air Force groundcrew reveals the critical operations and thrilling drama of Cold War hangars and airfields. Groundcrew Boys shares true stories of life on the flight line, written by those who served. Twenty engineers recall stories from combat zones around the world, working with aircraft as diverse as the Phantom, the Shackleton and the Sea Harrier. From humorous and ribald tales to thought provoking remembrances, these stories leave no doubt about the dedication and professionalism of those who served. Aviation author David Gledhill presents helpful historical context for each story, while numerous photographs, many from the groundcrew themselves, help bring their experiences to life.

Download or read book Plastic Surgery in Wars Disasters and Civilian Life written by Anthony Roberts and published by Frontline Books. This book was released on 2023-04-20 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The specialty of plastic surgery was developed and named by Sir Harold Gillies following his work between the two world wars reconstructing severely damaged servicemen from the First World War. Sir Harold went on to inspire and train other surgeons from around the world. Among them was his cousin Sir Archibald McIndoe, who in the Second World War set up the unit at East Grinstead Hospital which looked after severely burned airmen and some other servicemen. The airmen themselves set up the famous Guinea Pig Club which gave enormous social and often financial support to the severely injured. After the Second World War specialized burn units were created throughout the UK, including one at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, where Anthony Roberts served. After the number of war injuries had reduced, the burn unit for all three services was set up at RAF Halton, a few miles from Stoke Mandeville. A close relationship between the hospitals developed which led to military surgeons being posted to Stoke Mandeville for training in the care of burns and an introduction to plastic surgery. Most doctors will never be involved in a disaster during their working lives. Anthony Roberts was involved in treating casualties from the Bradford City football stadium fire in 1985 that claimed 56 lives and resulted in hundreds more being injured, many of them with severe burns. It had a major effect on him, and on all those involved. It started his appearances on the media and his overseas visits to other countries to talk about it. And subsequently he was asked to join and to lead other international efforts to provide help. He led the first British team from Stoke Mandeville that gave aid in Sarajevo during the war. He returned several times and has also given aid in three other war zones and six major disasters. Because of this involvement in all these situations Professor Roberts taught junior trainee surgeons from the three British services and those of several foreign countries. As well as his military involvement, Anthony Roberts spent sixteen years working with the Royal Protection Group at State occasions, and thirty years working as a motor racing track doctor including at Formula One level, providing immediate and vital treatment to drivers who suffered serious injuries and burns following accidents on the track and to spectators. There have been enormous changes in the specialty over the past fifty years and a detailed view of these is given in an absorbing account of this life-enhancing surgery by one who served on the frontline in difficult and dangerous situations around the world.

Download or read book Rate of Climb written by Rick Peacock-Edwards and published by Grub Street Publishing. This book was released on 2020-10-31 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A veteran RAF fighter pilot reflects on his service in the sky during the Cold War, the Gulf War, and more in this exciting memoir. Rick Peacock-Edwards has led different lives at different times, but through it all, he has consistently enjoyed himself. One of three sons of outstanding South African Battle of Britain pilot F/O S R “Teddy” Peacock-Edwards, Rick has a compassionate regard for a generation of wartime aircrew: “As the proud son of one of the “Few,” their selfless daring has inspired me throughout my life. Importantly, they influenced my decision to become an airman in the Royal Air Force, to become a fighter pilot like my father, and to live life with spirit as they had lived their lives. It is essential that their experiences live on.” Rate of Climb, his original and entertaining biography, drawing on previously unpublished family and archival material, shows Rick in complete command of his primary subject: flying. A leading ex-RAF fighter pilot to his fingertips, he flew the Lightning, Phantom, Tornado F2/3 and other high-performance aircraft, and served in senior-ranking positions in the UK, Germany and the US. During a varied and distinguished career, he was closely associated with the Eurofighter Typhoon programme and was appointed as the Royal Air Force Inspector of Flight Safety. He ably demonstrated his uncommon skill and determined leadership during the Cold War era, first Gulf War and elsewhere. A past master of The Honourable Company of Air Pilots, he is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and the immediate past vice chairman of the Royal Air Force Club in London. He is equally as engaged in his post-RAF career as he was when a serving officer. This is an action-packed account of a foremost flyer’s life with endless good stories, and a colourful cast of characters to match. Rick’s compelling recollections in Rate of Climb reveal a life of considerable achievement, in a very personal book capturing the ties of airmanship that the author has been privileged to share. A must for all lovers of derring-do in the air.

Download or read book USAF Medical Service Digest written by and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 460 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Digest written by United States. Air Force Medical Service and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Medical Service Digest written by and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Monthly Air Force List written by Great Britain. Air Ministry and published by . This book was released on 1964 with total page 1324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Rat Trap written by Craig Thomas and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2023-05-23 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times–Bestselling Author: A hijacking at a London airport leads to a manhunt for an arms dealer as the clock ticks down to disaster . . . Engine troubles start just as the jet is approaching Heathrow. Then, after a harrowing landing, just as everyone breathes a sigh of relief, the hijackers rise up . . . Their demand: the release of arms smuggler Shafiq Nasoud from a British prison. Authorities decide to transport him to London in case the situation turns desperate—but things go very wrong. Nasoud escapes. Negotiations continue to fail. The hijackers’ leader, an American, appears to be strung out on drugs—and the FBI gets in touch to share some deeply concerning information about another terrorist. Before it all ends, blood will be spilled—but whose? Praise for Craig Thomas’s novels “Will have you sweating bullets . . . Tension is sustained from first page to last.” —The New York Times Book Review “Lively, straightforward action.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “The last word in espionage thrillers.” —The Pittsburgh Press

Download or read book Viking Boys written by John Quaife and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-02-01 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An Australian attack aircraft flies into a ship with guns blazing. Both crewmen are killed, but does anyone notice? At the entrance to Orsta fjord, down an overgrown path, a granite stone stands on a rocky outcrop at the water’s edge. Roughly inscribed in English, it records the loss of two young Australians. The stone was erected in 1947 by parents grieving the loss of their son. Each year villagers of Orsta pay homage to the sacrifice of these two young Australians who died to restore their freedom. Beaufighter pilot James Hakewill and his navigator Fred Sides died on 5 December 1944 when their aircraft slammed into a German gunboat in a fjord in Norway. Official records contain no mention of the aircraft hitting the ship. No one in the squadron knew what had happened. Neil Smith thought he had shot down his wingman. Kurt Heinowitcz from Breslau shovelled coal for the German Navy – he was on the gunboat. Fred’s mum believed her son had survived the crash and was lost in Russia. James was nominated for the Victoria Cross. Viking Boys tells their stories and reveals the experience of young Australians who fought and flew against German shipping in the fjords of Norway – and called themselves the Viking Boys.

Download or read book The Royal Air Force in the Cold War 1950 1970 written by Ian Proctor and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2015-01-30 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Soon after the Second world War, wartime allies became Cold War adversaries, and by 1950 the perceived threat of a Soviet strike on Western Europe or Britain dominated military planning. For the next forty years, the Royal Air Force was in the front-line of the Cold War. In Britain and Germany, light bomber crews exercised in preparation for a future conflict, while interceptor pilots stood by ready to counter incursions by Soviet aircraft. Between 1956 and 1969, the elite crews of the iconic V-Force of nuclear bombers trained to perform the ultimate mission, striking targets deep in the heart of Russia. Protecting British interests overseas, personnel at stations across the Middle East and Far East were regularly engaged in supporting operations during the many colonial conflicts which occurred throughout the 1950s and 1960s.??Undertaking these duties were new British-designed aircraft introduced to squadrons from the early-1950s. The names of these extraordinary aircraft, which included the Hunter, Lightning, Vulcan and Canberra, became synonymous with the Cold War.??In this book, Ian Proctor uses over 150 highly evocative colour images from a single remarkable Air Ministry collection to portray the RAF and its personnel between 1950 and 1970. He provides a selected insight into service life, the aircraft, recruitment and training, and the operations and exercises undertaken by the RAF during a twenty year period of the Cold War.

Download or read book Military Construction Appropriations for 1990 written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Military Construction Appropriations and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 1586 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Battle of Britain The Movie written by Robert J. Rudhall and published by Air World. This book was released on 2023-06-30 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Released in 1969, the film Battle of Britain went on to become one of the most iconic war movies ever produced. The film drew many respected British actors to accept roles as key figures of the battle, including Sir Laurence Olivier as Hugh Dowding and Trevor Howard as Keith Park. It also starred Michael Caine, Christopher Plummer and Robert Shaw as squadron leaders. As well as its large all-star international cast, the film was notable for its spectacular flying sequences which were on a far grander scale than anything that had been seen on film before. At the time of its release, Battle of Britain was singled out for its efforts to portray the events of the summer of 1940 in great accuracy. To achieve this, Battle of Britain veterans such as Group Captain Tom Gleave, Wing Commander Robert Stanford Tuck, Wing Commander Douglas Bader, Squadron Leader Boleslaw Drobinski and Luftwaffe General Adolf Galland were all involved as consultants. This detailed description of the making of the film is supported by a mouth-watering selection of pictures that were taken during the production stages. The images cover not only the many vintage aircraft used in the film, but also the airfields, the actors, and even the merchandise which accompanied the film’s release in 1969 – plus a whole lot more. There are numerous air-to-air shots of the Spitfires, Messerschmitts, Hurricanes and Heinkels that were brought together for the film. There are also images that capture the moment that Battle of Britain veterans, some of whom were acting as consultants, visited the sets. Interviews with people who worked on the film, such as Hamish Mahaddie, John Blake and Ron Goodwin, among others, bring the story to life.

Download or read book Action Stations Revisited Central England and the London area written by Michael J. F. Bowyer and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: