Download or read book RAF and the SOE written by John Grehan and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2016-10-30 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Special Operations Executive developed a vast network of agents across Occupied Europe which played a vital role in developing and sustaining Resistance movements that persistently sought to subvert German control of their territories. The culmination of their efforts was seen when the Allied armies landed at Normandy in June 1944, with the SOE and the Resistance causing widespread destruction and disruption behind the German lines.None of this would have been possible had it not been for the Royal Air Force. Not only the RAF supply the SOE, and the movements it led and coordinated, with the thousands of tons of arms and equipment needed to undertake this role, it also delivered and retrieved agents from under the very noses of the enemy.Compiled at the end of the war by the Air Historical Branch of the RAF, this is an extremely detailed and comprehensive account of the RAFs support for the SOE, and in it we learn of the enormous and complex arrangements undertaken by the Special Duties squadrons as well as showing how the material delivered by these aircraft was used in the field.This account is reproduced here in its entirety, along with a detailed appendix containing the official historical record of Bomber Command aircrews and aircraft engaged in clandestine operations. Taken together, this book represents the most comprehensive account of the RAFs support for SOE ever published.
Download or read book Unearthing Churchill s Secret Army written by Martin Mace and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2012-12-19 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Special Operations Executive was one of the most secretive organizations of the Second World War, its activities cloaked in mystery and intrigue. The fate, therefore, of many of its agents was not revealed to the general public other than the bare details carved with pride upon the headstones and memorials of those courageous individuals.Then in 2003, the first batch of SOE personal files was released by the National Archive. Over the course of the following years more and more files were made available. Now, at last, it is possible to tell the stories of all those agents that died in action.These are stories of bravery and betrayal, incompetence and misfortune, of brutal torture and ultimately death. Some died when their parachutes failed to open, others swallowed their cyanide capsules rather than fall into the hands of the Gestapo, many died in combat with the enemy, most though were executed, by hanging, by shooting and even by lethal injection.The bodies of many of the lost agents were never found, destroyed in the crematoria of such places as Buckenwald, Mauthausen and Natzweiler, others were buried where they fell. All of them should be remembered as having undertaken missions behind enemy lines in the knowledge that they might never return.
Download or read book How to Be a Spy written by and published by Dundurn. This book was released on 2004-04 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During World War II, training in the black arts of covert operation was vital preparation for the 'ungentlemanly warfare' waged by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) against Hitler's Germany and Tojo's Japan. Reproduced here is the most comprehensive training syllabus used at SOE's Special Training Schools (STSs) showing how agents learnt to wreak maximum destruction in occupied Europe and beyond. The training took place in country houses and other secluded locations ranging from the Highlands of Scotland to Singapore and Canada. An array of unconventional skills are covered - from burglary, close combat and silent killing through to propaganda, surveillance and disguise - giving insight into the workings of one of World War II's most intriguing organizations. Denis Rigden's introduction sets the documents in its historical context and includes stories of how these lessons were put into practice on actual wartime missions.
Download or read book Proceedings of the Bath Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club written by Bath Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club (Bath, England) and published by . This book was released on 1889 with total page 518 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book SOE s Mastermind written by Brian Lett and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2016-09-30 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first complete biography of Britain’s WWII spymaster presents an intimate look at his life and career, as well as an insider’s look at the SOE. Major General Sir Colin Gubbins was the driving force behind Britain’s Special Operations Executive, the secret military organization established by Winston Churchill in 1940. First as its Operations and Training Director, and then its Commander, Gubbins orchestrated every aspect of the SOE’s worldwide covert operations. Though Gubbins made enormous contributions to Allied victory, his life and work have remained shrouded in secrecy until now. With copious research and unprecedented access to family archives, biographer Brian Lett reveals the war hero’s early experiences in the Great War, as well as in Russia, Ireland, Poland, and as Head of British Resistance. The result is a fascinating biography that reveals as much about SOEs extraordinary activities as it does about the man who inspired and commanded them.
Download or read book The Men Who Came Out of the Ground written by Paul Cleary and published by Hachette Australia. This book was released on 2011-07-26 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'This account . . . is breathtaking in its scope and riveting in its research' - Sydney Morning Herald The gripping story of a small force of Australian Special Forces commandos that launched relentless hit and run raids on far superior Japanese forces in East Timor for most of 1942. These Australians were the men of the 2/2nd Australian Independent Company - a special commando unit. Initially stranded without radio contact to Australia, the Japanese declared these bearded warriors ‘outlaws’ and warned they would be executed immediately if captured. The Australians drawn mainly from the bush, were chosen for their ability to operate independently and survive in hostile territory. As film-maker Damien Parer said after visiting in Timor in late 1942, ‘these men are writing an epic of guerrilla warfare’. Expertly researched by Paul Cleary, who is fluent in Tetum, the main language of the indigenous group of East Timor, it also contains insightful black and white photos. 'A cracker of a read' - The Age 'Paul Cleary has brought to life one of the great success stories of World War II' - Daily Telegraph
Download or read book Special Operations Consolidated B 24 Liberators written by William Wolf and published by Air World. This book was released on 2024-01-30 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite being America’s most produced bomber, the Consolidated B-24 Liberator has forever flown in the shadow of its more famous and glamorous B-17 rival. The workmanlike B-24 performed multiple unheralded roles in all theatres beyond its also multiple offensive missions, making it the war’s most versatile heavy bomber. Besides its offensive bombing, anti-submarine, and mining missions, the Liberator performed many little known “inoffensive” duties. Undoubtedly the most colorful of all Liberators were the so-called assembly ships of the Groups of the 2nd Air Division. Their unique paint schemes of stripes, polka dots, and checkerboard, were designed to make them ultra-conspicuous for their task of acting as leaders on which a Group formation could assemble their combat formations more quickly for a combat mission The Consolidated F-7 was a photographic reconnaissance version of the B-24 Liberator. The F-7 saw service in most theatres of the war. The long range of the Liberator also made it well suited to mapping missions during the war and post-war. Beginning in early 1944, to aid the Allied liberation of Europe, Carpetbagger B-24s were utilized to parachute spies, called “Joes” or “Janes”, or provide aerial supply of weapons and other matériel to resistance fighters in occupied Europe. Liberators also participated in the dropping of 2.75 billion propaganda leaflets using various techniques and delivery devices. Electronic Warfare played an important part in Allied global pre-invasion plans to discover the location of enemy radars, and, if possible, destroy them. This interception and analysis of an enemy electronic radiation was the origin of present day ELINT (ELectonicINTelligence). Modified RAF B-24D Airborne Electronic Reconnaissance Liberators, codenamed Ferret, were Radio Counter Measures and Electronic Intelligence aircraft that played a major role in European air opera¬tions. During 1942 the AAF became interested in aerial refueling as a means to bombing Japan. A shorter-range B-17E was selected as the receiver aircraft while the more spacious B-24D acted as the tanker. Although these tests were considered to be successful, the availability of longer-ranging B-29s and bases ever closer to Japan diminished the urgency of wartime aerial refueling. During the war, eighty-three B-24s crashed or made forced landings in Switzerland, sixty in Sweden, and several in Russia, Spain, Portugal, and Turkey. Many of these Liberators landed undamaged or were repaired to be flown by these nations. Of particular interest are the six Liberators that were captured and flown by the Luftwaffe. Packed with a unique collection of photographs. Special Operations Consolidated B-24 Liberators reveals the most unusual and little-known facets of the Second World War’s most versatile bomber.
Download or read book Cloak of Enemies written by Tom Keene and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2012-02-29 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: SOE was born from Churchill’s vision to set ‘Europe ablaze’. However, Tom Keene’s book reveals for the first time how close it came to never existing at all. Many saw SOE as a threat to the existence of MI5 and other intelligence agencies, and some in the armed forces refused to work with the new agency, fearing its broad remit and lack of experienced operatives. SOE, in turn, became ever more secretive, hiding details of their operations from anyone outside the agency. This backstabbing climate of rivalry, confusion and secrecy, not only nearly destroyed SOE, but also had tragic repercussions for the daring Commandos who took part in the legendary ‘Cockleshell Raid’.Cloak of Enemies exposes the secret war within Whitehall and its far-reaching consequences.
Download or read book Ian Fleming and SOE s Operation POSTMASTER written by Brian Lett and published by Grub Street Publishers. This book was released on 2012-09-19 with total page 455 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The true story of the force of “licensed to kill” secret agents who became the basis for the James Bond spy series. Brigadier Colin Gubbins was M. The Special Operations Executive was his Secret Service. Professor Dudley Newitt was Q. Capt. Gus March-Phillips commanded “Maid of Honor Force,” the team of “James Bonds” who, in a daring operation, sailed a ship to West Africa and stole three enemy ships from a neutral Spanish port on the volcanic island of Fernando Po. Ian Fleming worked closely with M to oil the wheels that made the operation possible, and prepared the cover story, in which the British government lied in order to conceal British responsibility for the raid. M’s agents prepared the ground on Fernando Po, even enmeshing the governor in a honey trap. March-Phillips and his team carried out the raid successfully in January 1942, despite much opposition from the local regular Army and Navy commanders, and in the face of overwhelming odds. Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden told Fleming’s lies on the international stage, denying any British complicity in the operation. As a result, a secrecy embargo enveloped Operation POSTMASTER until recently. This gripping book proves beyond doubt that this thrilling operation, and the men who carried it out, were the inspiration for Fleming’s fictional 007.
Download or read book SOE written by Michael Richard Daniell Foot and published by Random House. This book was released on 1999 with total page 452 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: SOE, the Special Operations Executive, was a small, tough British secret service, a dirty tricks department, set up in July 1940. Recruited from remarkably diverse callings, the men and women who were members of this most secret agency in the Second World War lived in great and constant danger. Their job was to support and stimulate resistance behind enemy lines; their credentials fortitude, courage, immense patience and a devotion to freedom. The activity of the SOE was world-wide. Abyssinian tribesmen, French farmers, exiled Russian grandees, coolies, smugglers, printers, policemen, telephonists, tycoons, prostitutes, rubber workers, railwaymen, peasants from the Pyranees to the Balkans, even the regent of Siam - all had a part to play as saboteurs, informers, partisans or secret agents. In this engrossing and illuminating study, the eminent Second World War historian, M.R.D. Foot, sheds light on the heroism of individual SOE agents across the world and provides us with the definitive account of the Executive's crucial wartime work. With an introduction by David Stafford.
Download or read book The SOE s Brothers of Vengeance written by Peter Jacobs and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2020-04-01 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: December 1941. After setting up one of the first resistance organisations in Vichy France and escaping over the Pyrenees into Spain, brothers Henry and Alfred Newton received devastating news. SS Avoceta, carrying their parents, wives and children to the safety of Britain, had been torpedoed by a German U-boat. All of their family were dead. From that moment on, the Newton brothers were consumed by revenge. Recruited by SOE, and known to everyone simply as the Twins, they returned to France and waged their own personal war against the Nazis. For nine months they lived on the edge before they were betrayed, and the net finally closed. They were caught by the Gestapo and tortured at the hands of the Butcher of Lyon, Klaus Barbie, before being taken to the dreaded Buchenwald concentration camp. In The SOE's Brothers of Vengeance, acclaimed historian Peter Jacobs reveals the full story of Henry and Alfred Newton. Drawing on personal archives and new research, theirs is a dramatic tale of courage steeped in vengeance – and of the bonds of brotherhood in the face of hell on earth.
Download or read book A Remarkable Man written by Andrew Murtagh and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-01-20 with total page 431 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I can truthfully say that there has never been a nicer man in the game. George Chesterton is a gentleman to the core. And he wasn't a bad bowler either!' Tom Graveney OBE. Wartime pilot dropping supplies over occupied Europe; county cricketer; housemaster teaching and disciplining mischievous teenage boys; family man and civic figure, there have been few dull moments in George Chesterton's life. And he can probably manage to turn even those into amusing anecdotes. Andrew Murtagh tells the story of this remarkable man.
Download or read book Report of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts written by Großbritannien and published by . This book was released on 1881 with total page 1120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Special Force written by Alastair MacKenzie and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2011-10-30 with total page 452 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The exploits of the British Army's elite 22nd Special Air Service Regiment - the regiment of the SAS that forms part of the Regular army - are shrouded in mystery and myths abound about its members. But what is the truth behind the public facade of clinical professionalism? How has such a small regiment attracted so many weighty legends? And what is the purpose of the SAS in the 21st century? "Special Force" provides an original and unusually critical overview of the activities of the SAS from the Malayan Emergency of 1950 to the present day. In the context of a detailed and often controversial analysis of the post-war activities of the Regiment, MacKenzie establishes that the Regiment's almost legendary professional competence is often not backed up by reality. Far from being part of a structured deployment of strategic military assets, MacKenzie argues that the use of the SAS in recent years has been primarily driven by the 'entrepreneurial' actions of a few SAS commanding officers. "Special Force" not only offers a revelatory history of the SAS in the modern period, it is also a disturbing expose of the truth behind the myth. It will be essential reading for anyone with an interest in the British military - past, present and future.
Download or read book SOE in France written by M.R.D. Foot and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2004-04-22 with total page 667 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: SOE in France was first published in 1966, followed by a second impression with amendments in 1968. Since these editions were published, other material on SOE has become available. It was, therefore, agreed in 2000 that Professor Foot should produce a revised version. In so doing, in addition to the material in the first edition, the author has had
Download or read book The Means to Kill written by Gerrit Dworok and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2015-11-12 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout human history, technological innovation has functioned as a driver of civilization and inspired many people's belief in progress. When it comes to warfare, where technology is applied with a cruel and deadly logic, a nuanced view is needed. From siege engines to drones, innovation has often served a less enlightened aim: elimination of the enemy. This collection of new essays from specialists in military history examines the interdependence between war and technology from a number of regional perspectives.
Download or read book SOE s Ultimate Deception written by Fredric Boyce and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2009-03-12 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the closing months of the Second World War, General Eisenhower exhorted the Western Allied forces to redouble their efforts to break the German will to resist. In considering this appeal, General Gubbins, whose Special Operations Executive was making a significant contribution to the liberation of occupied territory, was faced with a fundamental difficulty in the case of Germany. Although opposition to Nazism was present in some areas, it was neither organised nor pro-Allied. Then someone had the idea of creating an entirely fictional German resistance movement and 'selling it' to the Nazi security authorities. From January until April 1945, SOE rained propaganda leaflets on the hapless population fleeing the ruins of their cities and the oncoming Allied ground forces; they broadcast messages to the 'resistance'; they planted the most scandalous lies about eminent Nazis; and at the end they even dropped four agents on fictitious missions. This imaginative response to Ike's exhortation and the sheer audacity of the operation itself demand to be told to a wider audience.
