Download or read book The 356th Fighter Group in World War II written by Kent D. Miller and published by Schiffer Military History. This book was released on 2003 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here for the first time is the story of the 356th Fighter Group which flew in the European Theater of Operations during the Second World War. This 9th Air Force unit spent over two years in England, occupying the airfield at Martlesham Heath, in the county of Suffolk. Originally entering combat flying P-47 Thunderbolts, and later switching to P-51 Mustangs, the 356th dispatched its aircraft on 407 missions across the Channel. Between the time of the first, on October 15, 1943, and the final mission on May 7, 1945, the 356th was credited with destroying 277 enemy planes. As the principle of bomber escort was strictly adhered to by the 356th's leaders, pilots of the group often had to pass up opportunities to engage enemy fighters and increase their scores. While this fact helped earn the 356th a reputation as being a "hard luck" outfit, due to their low victory to loss ratio, the gratitude and praise from the bomber crews more than offset this misnomer.
Download or read book Beware the Thunderbolt written by David R. McLaren and published by Schiffer Military History. This book was released on 1994 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new book is the story of the legendary 56th Fighter Group in a chronological narrative of their combat missions.
Download or read book Air Force Combat Units of World War II written by Maurer Maurer and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1961 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Second to None written by Timothy M. Grace and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 586 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "During World War II, the 368th Fighter Group, comprised of the 395th, 396th and 397th Fighter Squadrons, distinguished themselves while flying Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bombers during six campaigns in Europe." - p. [4] cover.
Download or read book Misconceptions about the Tuskegee Airmen written by Daniel Haulman and published by University of Georgia Press. This book was released on 2023-02-15 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Once an obscure piece of World War II history, the Tuskegee Airmen are now among the most celebrated and documented aviators in military history. With this growth in popularity, however, have come a number of inaccurate stories and assumptions. Misconceptions about the Tuskegee Airmen refutes fifty-five of these myths, correcting the historical record while preserving the Airmen’s rightful reputation as excellent servicemen. The myths examined include: the Tuskegee Airmen never losing a bomber to an enemy aircraft; that Lee Archer was an ace; that Roscoe Brown was the first American pilot to shoot down a German jet; that Charles McGee has the highest total combat missions flown; and that Daniel “Chappie” James was the leader of the “Freeman Field Mutiny.” Historian Daniel Haulman, an expert on the Airmen with many published books on the subject, conclusively disproves these misconceptions through primary documents like monthly histories, daily narrative mission reports, honor-awarding orders, and reports on missing crews, thereby proving that the Airmen were praiseworthy, even without embellishments to their story.
Download or read book The 363rd Fighter Group in World War II written by Kent Miller and published by Schiffer Publishing. This book was released on 2002 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This history sheds light on the achievements of the 363rd for the period it flew escort and ground support missions over Europe. The day-to-day operations are interspersed with quotes from the group and squadron diaries, and supplemented by an exhaustive appendix to give the reader a look into the combat activities of this little known Army Air Force organization.
Download or read book The Pioneer Mustang Group written by Steve Blake and published by Schiffer Publishing. This book was released on 2008 with total page 454 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the first unit to fly the Merlin-engined P-51B in combat, the 354th Fighter Group adopted the nickname "Pioneer Mustang Group." Until D-Day, it escorted 8th AF heavy bombers to targets on the European Continent. The group then moved to France and supported Patton's Third Army from Normandy to Bavaria, and also participated in the Battle of the Bulge. Its pilots scored over 600 confirmed air victories, and forty-three of them became aces. This book is an almost day-to-day account of their aerial combat experiences and the "gypsy" lifestyle they and their support personnel led as they moved from one airfield to another across Western Europe.
Download or read book The Great Rat Race for Europe written by Joey Maddox and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2011 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Great Rat Race for Europe: Stories of the 357th Fighter Group (Sortie One) tells the true stories of the Yoxford Boys of the 357th Fighter Group; arguably the best Army Air Force fighter group in the European Theater during World War Two. Aces Kit Carson, Bud Anderson, Johnny England, Pete Peterson, Chuck Yeager and others from this elite group of "tigers" eventually became famous after the war, while other Yoxford Boys just melted back into the scenery that was the American post war years. Those were the lucky ones as scores of these brave, young American lads flying their P-51 Mustangs into combat against the Luftwaffe never saw home again as the result of this epic air war over Europe. Their stories are all here including Leonard "Kit" Carson's account of The Great Rat Race which helped to break the back of the Luftwaffe (from his fantastic book Pursue and Destroy), the strange and sad end of decorated fighter ace Dittie Jenkins who safely returned from his last mission against the Nazis only to be killed while celebrating with an impromptu air show over Station 373 at Leiston, and the first hand account of life in a Stalag Luft (prisoner of war camp) with Colonel Henry Spicer, the irascible commanding officer of the American section of the POW camp (and one-time 357th Fighter Group Commanding Officer) who drove the German officers to the brink with his rock solid spirit of rebellion and the love and admiration of his men. Fly into weather so thick that the ducks are walking with Pete Peterson, one of the leading aces of the Group, as he walks you through a hair-raising landing on Leiston Field with zero visibility and three inexperienced pilots on his wing. Then 357th fighter pilot Joe Shea recaptures the common boredom ridden hours and terror stricken moments faced by replacement pilots of the Group during their first combat missions, including Shea's account of his last encounter, eyeball to eyeball, with a German pilot in an Me-262 jet fighter as it slid over his wing and lined up perfectly in his gun sight. Relive the greatest (as well as the worst) days of the 8th Air Force's first long range Mustang fighter outfit in short stories written by the pilots of the 357th Fighter Group, their families, and this author in this collection of memories and tall tales of the famous Yoxford Boys.
Download or read book Brief History of the 356th Fighter Group 1942 1953 written by Air University (U.S.). Research Studies Institute and published by . This book was released on 1957 with total page 33 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book No Glamour no Glory written by Anthony J. Kupferer and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Army Air Forces in World War II Men and planes written by and published by . This book was released on 1948 with total page 920 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Fighter Group written by Lt Col Jay A. Stout and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2012-10-01 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jay Stout breaks new ground in World War II aviation history with this gripping account of one of the war's most highly decorated American fighter groups.
Download or read book The 479th Fighter Group in World War II written by Terry A. Fairfield and published by Schiffer Military History. This book was released on 2004 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the result of nearly six years of research, gathering of materials and interviews. It presents a chronological listing of the 479th Fighter Group's activities during the World War II era, from its beginnings until its deactivation. Based upon a summation of the group's historical records, the account also contains personal anecdotes provided by many of the group's former members as well as over 650 photos that serve to illustrate the narration. Hopefully through the assemblage of this information the memory of the group and the men who comprised the living, lifeblood of the 479th FG will be better known and remembered by future generations.
Download or read book The 474th Fighter Group in World War II written by Isham G. Keller and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book 359th Fighter Group written by Jack H Smith and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-10-20 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nicknamed the 'Unicorns', the 359th FG was one of the last groups to arrive in the UK for service in the ETO with the Eighth Air Force. First seeing action on 13 December 1943, the group initially flew bomber escort sweeps in P-47s, before converting to the ubiquitous P-51 in March/April 1944. Throughout its time in the ETO, the 359th was credited with the destruction of 351 enemy aircraft destroyed between December 1943 and May 1945. The exploits of all 12 aces created by the group are detailed, along with the most significant missions flown. This book also discusses the various markings worn by the group's three squadrons, the 368th, 369th and 370th FSs
Download or read book Tales from the 359th Fighter Group World War II written by Richard Fogg and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2019-02-25 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In December 1943 the newly formed 359th Fighter Group flew its first mission in the European Theater of Operations. Twenty-two months later World War II ended, and in November 1945 the 359th was inactivated, with 346 combat missions and 13,455 sorties to its credit. This collection of bar stories, mission reports, POW internments, and post-war reflections provides a first-hand account of life on base, in the air, and going on leave in war-time England, as recounted by the 359th's pilots, officers, and enlisted men."Had bad day strafing a train near Karlsruhe. Bounced off the smokestack and tore large hole in right wing and lost airspeed indicator. Had to land at St. Trond when engine caught fire. Necessary to dodge steamroller and bomb crater when attempting landing on runway. Then things got worse." Capt. Rene L. Burtner Jr."The B-17 could not maintain altitude. With no instruments they had no way of keeping the machine upright descending through the clouds so there was nothing left but for them to fly my wing. I tried to concentrate on flying as smoothly as I ever had in my life; I could imagine how difficult it must have been for that 17 pilot to keep his machine within three feet of me with two engines out on one side plus the turbulence we were encountering. I had all I could do to keep from looking at that wing flopping up and down in between my wing and tail." Lt. Eugene F. Britton"Installation of water injection systems in the Group's aircraft, assuring 15 minutes of extra power for combat, was completed under direction of Lieutenant George M. Hesser, station engineering officer.... Higher HQ notified Hesser that complete drainage of water from all aircraft would be necessary nightly to avoid freeze-ups. His answer, characteristically, was to suggest that the Station at once be supplied with "the necessary equipment to turn the airplanes upside down in order to get all the water out of the lines." The result was that alcohol was made available for use in all aircraft." Capt. Maurice F. X. Donohue
Download or read book Kearby s Thunderbolts written by John C. Stanaway and published by Schiffer Military History. This book was released on 1997 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 348th Fighter Group was the most successful P-47 Thunderbolt unit in the Pacific. Medal of Honor recipient Colonel Neel Kearby took an aircraft that was generally despised in the southwest Pacific and made it into the terror of the skies over such formidable targets as Wewak on New Guinea, and Cape Gloucester on New Britain. Besides the redoubtable Kearby, the 348th aces included William "Dinghy" Dunham, Bob Rowland, Bill Banks, John Moore, Sam Blair, and George Davis, the Texas ace who would later receive the Medal of Honor in Korea. Ending the war in P-51 Mustangs, the 348th ranged over the Japanese homeland - completing their impressive record and honor, and the drive begun by the illustrious Kearby. John Stanaway is also the author of Attack and Conquer: The 8th Fighter Group in World War II: Possum, Clover & Hades: The 475th Fighter Group in World War II; The Operational Story of Lockheed's Lucky Star (all three titles are available from Schiffer Publishing Ltd.).
