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Author: Andy Saunders Publisher: Casemate Publishers ISBN: 1473895421 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 318
Book Description
On 9 August 1941, one of the greatest icons of the Second World War, Douglas Bader, was shot down, captured and later incarcerated. But by whom, and how? Was it by one of his deadly German opponents, as Douglas Bader himself maintained, or was it by one of his own side? There has been much debate and controversy among historians and in 2003 the author of this book revealed for the first time that Bader may have been victim to friendly fire. That revelation was followed by interest in the national press and later by a TV documentary screened on Channel 4 in August 2006. In the book aviation historian Andy Saunders develops his hypothesis, backed up by strong evidence and a wealth of statistics, and separates fact from fiction. He expertly dissects all the material relating to the day itself, and subsequent events. In this new, updated edition, Andy Saunders tells of his quest to find the legendary fighter pilots aircraft, which led to the remarkable discovery of a lost Spitfire which is being restored to flying condition.This book will fascinate all who read it and will be seen by most observers to be the final word on one of the great mysteries of the entire war.
Author: Andy Saunders Publisher: Casemate Publishers ISBN: 1473895421 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 318
Book Description
On 9 August 1941, one of the greatest icons of the Second World War, Douglas Bader, was shot down, captured and later incarcerated. But by whom, and how? Was it by one of his deadly German opponents, as Douglas Bader himself maintained, or was it by one of his own side? There has been much debate and controversy among historians and in 2003 the author of this book revealed for the first time that Bader may have been victim to friendly fire. That revelation was followed by interest in the national press and later by a TV documentary screened on Channel 4 in August 2006. In the book aviation historian Andy Saunders develops his hypothesis, backed up by strong evidence and a wealth of statistics, and separates fact from fiction. He expertly dissects all the material relating to the day itself, and subsequent events. In this new, updated edition, Andy Saunders tells of his quest to find the legendary fighter pilots aircraft, which led to the remarkable discovery of a lost Spitfire which is being restored to flying condition.This book will fascinate all who read it and will be seen by most observers to be the final word on one of the great mysteries of the entire war.
Author: Robin Quinn Publisher: The History Press ISBN: 0752483315 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 368
Book Description
After the Second World War, 400,000 German servicemen were imprisoned on British soil, some remaining until 1948. These defeated men in their tattered uniforms were, in every sense, Hitler’s Last Army. Britain used the prisoners as an essential labour force, especially in agriculture, and in the devastating winter of 1947 the Germans helped avert a national disaster by clearing snow and stemming floods, working shoulder to shoulder with Allied troops. Slowly, friendships were forged between former enemies. Some POWs fell in love with British women, though such relationships were often frowned upon: ‘Falling pregnant outside marriage was bad enough – but with a German POW ...!’ Using exclusive interviews with former prisoners, as well as extensive archive material, this book looks at the Second World War from a fresh perspective – that of Britain’s German prisoners, from the shock of being captured to their final release long after the war had ended.
Author: Greg Baughen Publisher: Air World ISBN: 1526795353 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 758
Book Description
The events of 1942 marked a pivotal year in the history of British air power. For more than two decades the theory that long-range bombing could win wars had dominated British defense policy. The vast majority of warplanes ordered for the RAF were designed either to bomb enemy cities or stop the enemy from bombing British cites. Conventional armies and the air forces that supported them were seen as an outmoded way of waging war. During 1941 evidence began to mount that British policy was wrong. It had become clear the RAF’s bomber offensive against Germany had, until that point, achieved very little. Meanwhile, the wars raging in Europe, Africa and Asia were being decided not by heavy bombers, but by armies and their supporting tactical air forces. Britain had never had the resources to build a large army as well as a strategic bomber fleet; it had always had to make a choice. Now it seemed the country might have made the wrong choice. For the first time since 1918 Britain began thinking seriously about a different way of fighting wars. Was it too late to change? Was a strategic bombing campaign the only option open to Britain? Could the United Kingdom help its Soviet ally more by invading France as Stalin so vehemently demanded? Could this be done in 1942? Looking further ahead, was it time to begin the development of an entirely new generation of warplanes to support the Army? Should the RAF have specialist ground attack aircraft and air superiority fighters? The answers to these questions, which are all explored here by aviation historian Greg Baughen, would help shape the development of British air power for decades to come.
Author: Andy Saunders Publisher: Grub Street Publishers ISBN: 1908117788 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 289
Book Description
An “extraordinarily researched” account of a quest to find MIA fighter pilots decades after World War II (Barrett Tillman). 1940: The air over Britain is filled with danger. Courageous and heroic men fly and fight, often sacrificing their lives to keep the nation free. Some of them will disappear into the summer sky without leaving a trace . . . This remarkable book records the lives of RAF pilots who were shot down and remained missing for decades—until diligent research efforts by author Andy Saunders and others brought identification to them and closure to their families. Each case represents a fascinating human story of drama, love, and tragedy; these stories are filled with startling detective work, remarkable coincidences, and shocking controversy. Finding the Few ends with a mystery still unsolved, and features photographs throughout, standing as a fitting testament to those men lost but not forgotten.
Author: Andy Saunders Publisher: Grub Street Publishers ISBN: 1909166316 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 277
Book Description
The true story of the recovery of a World War II plane shot down in France—and the effort to restore this historic aircraft. Spitfire is the fascinating story of the recovery of a Battle of France Spitfire Mk 1 from the sands of Calais during the early 1980s—and its subsequent return to the United Kingdom for rebuild and restoration to flying condition. The full history of the airframe from the factory to loss, the airplane’s operational history with 92 Squadron, and the story of the pilots who flew it during its career are also told, as is the unfolding saga of its restoration and return to air—detailing its progress through the workshops right up to the first flight in 2011.
Author: S. P. MacKenzie Publisher: University Press of Kansas ISBN: 0700624694 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 264
Book Description
During World War II, Allied casualty rates in the air were high. Of the roughly 125,000 who served as aircrew with Bomber Command, 59,423 were killed or missing and presumed killed—a fatality rate of 45.5%. With odds like that, it would be no surprise if there were as few atheists in cockpits as there were in foxholes; and indeed, many airmen faced their dangerous missions with beliefs and rituals ranging from the traditional to the outlandish. Military historian S. P. MacKenzie considers this phenomenon in Flying against Fate, a pioneering study of the important role that superstition played in combat flier morale among the Allies in World War II. Mining a wealth of documents as well as a trove of published and unpublished memoirs and diaries, MacKenzie examines the myriad forms combat fliers' superstitions assumed, from jinxes to premonitions. Most commonly, airmen carried amulets or talismans—lucky boots or a stuffed toy; a coin whose year numbers added up to thirteen; counterintuitively, a boomerang. Some performed rituals or avoided other acts, e.g., having a photo taken before a flight. Whatever seemed to work was worth sticking with, and a heightened risk often meant an upsurge in superstitious thought and behavior. MacKenzie delves into behavior analysis studies to help explain the psychology behind much of the behavior he documents—not slighting the large cohort of crew members and commanders who demurred. He also looks into the ways in which superstitious behavior was tolerated or even encouraged by those in command who saw it as a means of buttressing morale. The first in-depth exploration of just how varied and deeply felt superstitious beliefs were to tens of thousands of combat fliers, Flying against Fate expands our understanding of a major aspect of the psychology of war in the air and of World War II.
Author: Dilip Sarkar Publisher: Casemate Publishers ISBN: 1399017063 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 420
Book Description
"Whether you have feelings about Bader or not, this is an excellent book to gain insight into the summer of 1941 when, ready or not, the RAF went on the offensive."—The Journal of the Air Force Historical Foundation On 30 August 1940, at the height of the Battle of Britain, the pilots of RAF Fighter Command’s No.12 Group were requested to reinforce 11 Group and intercept a Luftwaffe raid on an aircraft factory at Hatfield. The events that day led the swashbuckling, legless, fighter pilot Douglas Bader to submit a report arguing that the more fighters he had at his disposal, the greater would be the execution of the enemy that could be achieved. It was a concept that received support from 12 Group’s Air Officer Commanding, Air Vice-Marshal Leigh-Mallory. In Bader’s proposal, Leigh-Mallory saw an opportunity for 12 Group to play a greater part in what was clearly an historic battle. Leigh-Mallory authorised Bader to lead three, then five, squadrons – a controversial formation that came to be known as the ‘Duxford Wing’ or ‘Big Wing’. For the rest of 1940, Bader and the ‘Big Wing’, then based at Duxford, played its part in the defense of Britain’s skies. Then, in March 1941, the role of ‘Wing Commander (Flying)’ was created. This was the fighter pilot’s dream appointment because the Wing Leader’s sole responsibility was leading his wing in action, unfettered by tedious administration and logistical matters. Needless to say, Douglas Bader was amongst the first wing leaders. He was even given the choice of which Wing he preferred. He chose to take command of that based at Tangmere on the South Coast – right at the fore of the RAF’s battle against the Luftwaffe. In Bader’s Spitfire Wing, Dilip Sarkar not only explores the full story of the men and machines of the Tangmere Wing in 1941, as well as the controversy that surrounds their use, he also fully investigates the part that they played in the RAF’s efforts to take the offensive to the Luftwaffe on the opposite side of the English Channel. It was in one such sortie in August 1941 that the Tangmere Wing lost its famous leader. Bader went on to spend the rest of the war in captivity.
Author: James Holland Publisher: St. Martin's Press ISBN: 1429919418 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 1114
Book Description
A groundbreaking new account of the Battle of Britain from acclaimed Cambridge historian James Holland The Battle of Britain paints a stirring picture of an extraordinary summer when the fate of the world hung by a thread. Historian James Holland has now written the definitive account of those months based on extensive new research from around the world including thousands of new interviews with people on both sides of the battle. If Britain's defenses collapsed, Hitler would have dominated all of Europe. With France facing defeat and British forces pressed back to the Channel, there were few who believed Britain could survive; but, thanks to a sophisticated defensive system and the combined efforts of the Royal Air Force, the Royal Navy and the defiance of a new Prime Minister, Britain refused to give in. From clashes between coastal convoys and Schnellboote in the Channel to astonishing last stands in Flanders, slaughter by U-boats in an icy Atlantic and dramatic aerial battles over England, The Battle of Britain tells this epic World War II story in a fresh and compelling voice.
Author: Garry Campion Publisher: Springer Nature ISBN: 3030261107 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 384
Book Description
The Battle of Britain has held an enchanted place in British popular history and memory throughout the modern era. Its transition from history to heritage since 1965 confirms that the 1940 narrative shaped by the State has been sustained by historians, the media, popular culture, and through non-governmental heritage sites, often with financing from the National Lottery Heritage Lottery Fund. Garry Campion evaluates the Battle’s revered place in British society and its influence on national identity, considering its historiography and revisionism; the postwar lives of the Few, their leaders and memorialization; its depictions on screen and in commercial products; the RAF Museum’s Battle of Britain Hall; third-sector heritage attractions; and finally, fighter airfields, including RAF Hawkinge as a case study. A follow-up to Campion’s The Battle of Britain, 1945–1965 (Palgrave, 2015), this book offers an engaging, accessible study of the Battle’s afterlives in scholarship, memorialization, and popular culture.
Author: Andy Saunders
Author: Andy Saunders
Author: Robin Quinn
Author: Greg Baughen
Author: Andy Saunders
Author: Andy Saunders
Author: S. P. MacKenzie
Author: Dilip Sarkar
Author: James Holland
Author: John Frayn Turner
Author: Garry Campion