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Author: Capt Donald M McVicar Obe Publisher: ISBN: 9780692447147 Category : Languages : en Pages : 220
Book Description
November, 1940: after Hitler's Blitzkreig devastated Europe, Britain held out alone against the Nazis. North American factories were producing badly-needed warplanes in quantity, but how to get them over there? Nazi U-boats were decimating freighter convoys with great loss of life and cargo, including aircraft. Why not fly them across? It's hard for those of us in the 21st century to believe it, but the stormy North Atlantic had rarely been flown in winter. It was considered suicidal to even try. Yet desperate times call for desperate measures. This book honors the unique but little known group which, beginning in November 1940, delivered almost 10,000 warplanes across the uncharted oceans, suffering losses comparable to losses in combat. Why did this brave group not become famous?Well, it had several names over the war years; it was comprised of both military and civilian personnel from several countries and military organizations. Best known as the Royal Air Force Ferry Command based in Montreal, Quebec, it evolved into No. 45 Group RAF Transport Command with headquarters in England. The most important reason? This was a secret mission. So for almost forty years, the story of Ferry Command was unknown to the public. Ferry Command Pilot is told firsthand from the pilot's seat by then-twenty-six-year-old Ferry Command Captain Don McVicar. A Canadian civilian pilot, he was unusual in that he was also a crack navigator and radio operator, skills that brought him and his crews back from many dangerous missions. He received the King's Commendation and the Order of the British Empire. After a long turbulent career in Canadian aviation, Don McVicar gathered together his many logbooks, photographs, memories, and those of survivors with whom he had remained in touch, and wrote the first real book about the Royal Air Force Ferry Command. In 1981 Airlife published Ferry Command in hardcover, followed by North Atlantic Cat, A Change of Wings, Mosquito Racer and More Than A Pilot. His self-published A Railroad From the Sky, Distant Early Warning, and From Cuba to Oblivion completed his acclaimed autobiographical aviation series. In 1990, with Ferry Command sold out, no longer in print but in demand by his readers worldwide, he split it into Ferry Command Pilot and South Atlantic Safari, which he self-published, printed-on-demand: revolutionary ideas in 1990! After writing several hundred thousand well-received words, he had the confidence to make these versions a bit juicier, truer to the wide-open spirit of a bush pilot from the Canadian West. He's not afraid to tell a corny joke or to tell the truth about some of his rougher landings! Although Captain McVicar passed away in 1997, he foretold the power of the internet to help authors and artists in particular to get their work out into the world. 2015 would have been his 100th birthday, and is the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Don McVicar would be pleased to see his book back out in the world! This edition of Ferry Command Pilot was carefully illustrated, edited and designed by his daughter, Donna McVicar Kazo, a professional artist, editor, writer and graphic designer. It was important to Captain McVicar to identify those who flew with him, even those whose performance was less than stellar. Where else would their small - yet vital - contributions to the defeat of Hitler be recognized? This edition is a tribute to all of those good guys - and gals. May we be so brave.
Author: Capt Donald M McVicar Obe Publisher: ISBN: 9780692447147 Category : Languages : en Pages : 220
Book Description
November, 1940: after Hitler's Blitzkreig devastated Europe, Britain held out alone against the Nazis. North American factories were producing badly-needed warplanes in quantity, but how to get them over there? Nazi U-boats were decimating freighter convoys with great loss of life and cargo, including aircraft. Why not fly them across? It's hard for those of us in the 21st century to believe it, but the stormy North Atlantic had rarely been flown in winter. It was considered suicidal to even try. Yet desperate times call for desperate measures. This book honors the unique but little known group which, beginning in November 1940, delivered almost 10,000 warplanes across the uncharted oceans, suffering losses comparable to losses in combat. Why did this brave group not become famous?Well, it had several names over the war years; it was comprised of both military and civilian personnel from several countries and military organizations. Best known as the Royal Air Force Ferry Command based in Montreal, Quebec, it evolved into No. 45 Group RAF Transport Command with headquarters in England. The most important reason? This was a secret mission. So for almost forty years, the story of Ferry Command was unknown to the public. Ferry Command Pilot is told firsthand from the pilot's seat by then-twenty-six-year-old Ferry Command Captain Don McVicar. A Canadian civilian pilot, he was unusual in that he was also a crack navigator and radio operator, skills that brought him and his crews back from many dangerous missions. He received the King's Commendation and the Order of the British Empire. After a long turbulent career in Canadian aviation, Don McVicar gathered together his many logbooks, photographs, memories, and those of survivors with whom he had remained in touch, and wrote the first real book about the Royal Air Force Ferry Command. In 1981 Airlife published Ferry Command in hardcover, followed by North Atlantic Cat, A Change of Wings, Mosquito Racer and More Than A Pilot. His self-published A Railroad From the Sky, Distant Early Warning, and From Cuba to Oblivion completed his acclaimed autobiographical aviation series. In 1990, with Ferry Command sold out, no longer in print but in demand by his readers worldwide, he split it into Ferry Command Pilot and South Atlantic Safari, which he self-published, printed-on-demand: revolutionary ideas in 1990! After writing several hundred thousand well-received words, he had the confidence to make these versions a bit juicier, truer to the wide-open spirit of a bush pilot from the Canadian West. He's not afraid to tell a corny joke or to tell the truth about some of his rougher landings! Although Captain McVicar passed away in 1997, he foretold the power of the internet to help authors and artists in particular to get their work out into the world. 2015 would have been his 100th birthday, and is the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Don McVicar would be pleased to see his book back out in the world! This edition of Ferry Command Pilot was carefully illustrated, edited and designed by his daughter, Donna McVicar Kazo, a professional artist, editor, writer and graphic designer. It was important to Captain McVicar to identify those who flew with him, even those whose performance was less than stellar. Where else would their small - yet vital - contributions to the defeat of Hitler be recognized? This edition is a tribute to all of those good guys - and gals. May we be so brave.
Author: Carl A. Christie Publisher: ISBN: 9780802081315 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 458
Book Description
The timely delivery of aircraft was crucial in the Second World War. This is a full account of the pioneering efforts of the Ferry Command, whose efforts spawned international air travel as we now know it.
Author: Sarah Byrn Rickman Publisher: University of North Texas Press ISBN: 1574412418 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 354
Book Description
"When the United States entered World War II, the Army needed pilots to transport or "ferry" its combat-bound aircraft across the United States for overseas deployment and its trainer airplanes to flight training bases. Male pilots were in short supply, so into this vacuum stepped Nancy Love and her Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS). Initially the Army implemented both the WAFS program and Jacqueline Cochran's more ambitious plan to train women to do many of the military's flight-related jobs stateside. By 1943, General Hap Arnold decided to combine the women's programs and formed the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), with Cochran as the Director of Women Pilots. Love was named the Executive for WASP."
Author: General Giulio Douhet Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing ISBN: 1782898522 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 620
Book Description
In the pantheon of air power spokesmen, Giulio Douhet holds center stage. His writings, more often cited than perhaps actually read, appear as excerpts and aphorisms in the writings of numerous other air power spokesmen, advocates-and critics. Though a highly controversial figure, the very controversy that surrounds him offers to us a testimonial of the value and depth of his work, and the need for airmen today to become familiar with his thought. The progressive development of air power to the point where, today, it is more correct to refer to aerospace power has not outdated the notions of Douhet in the slightest In fact, in many ways, the kinds of technological capabilities that we enjoy as a global air power provider attest to the breadth of his vision. Douhet, together with Hugh “Boom” Trenchard of Great Britain and William “Billy” Mitchell of the United States, is justly recognized as one of the three great spokesmen of the early air power era. This reprint is offered in the spirit of continuing the dialogue that Douhet himself so perceptively began with the first edition of this book, published in 1921. Readers may well find much that they disagree with in this book, but also much that is of enduring value. The vital necessity of Douhet’s central vision-that command of the air is all important in modern warfare-has been proven throughout the history of wars in this century, from the fighting over the Somme to the air war over Kuwait and Iraq.
Author: Sarah Byrn Rickman Publisher: ISBN: 9781945091384 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 418
Book Description
Who were The Originals?Experienced women pilots ¿ the first to fly for the U.S. military28 women who dared to challenge 1940s barriers of gender, politics and bureaucracyFarm girls, socialites, daughters of working families, college graduates; from 15 different states; married and single; three with young childrenYoung women ¿ ages 21 to 35Three of them died serving their countryWorld War II heroines with ¿the Right Stuff¿Based on personal interviews with the nine who were still alive as of 2000, on papers and diaries, and on interviews and correspondence with descendants and others who knew them. This book tells the story of the WAFS, who they were, how they are different from the WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots), and how they ultimately became part of the WASPs. A must reference book for libraries in aviation communities, but it reads like a novel. Second Edition, Revised and Updated.
Author: Ann Carl Publisher: Smithsonian Institution ISBN: 1588343413 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 161
Book Description
Before World War II most Americans did not believe that the average woman could fly professionally, but during the war more than a thousand women pilots proved them wrong. These were the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), who served as military flyers on the home front. In March 1944 one of them, Ann Baumgartner, was assigned to the Fighter Flight Test Branch at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. There she would make history as the only woman to test-fly experimental planes during the war and the first woman to fly a jet. A WASP among Eagles is the first-person story of how Baumgartner learned to fly, trained as a WASP, and became one of the earliest jet-age pioneers. Flying such planes as the Curtiss A-25 Helldiver, the Lockheed P-38, and the B-29 Superfortress, she was the first woman to participate in a host of experiments, including in-air refueling and flying the first fighter equipped with a pressurized cockpit. But in evaluating the long-awaited turbojet-powered Bell YP-59A, she set a “first” record that would remain unchallenged for ten years.
Author: Jack Colman Publisher: Fonthill Media ISBN: Category : History Languages : en Pages : 424
Book Description
In October 1943, Jack Colman changed from Liberators to Beaufighters and was selected for Torbeau training in Scotland. He joined a strike wing at North Coates attacking North Sea convoys off the coast of Holland. Later, Jack and his Beaufighter were sent to the Far East where he was deployed to fly out of Assam over Burma supporting the Forgotten Army. Midway through the tour, they converted to Mosquitoes - a change he was not particularly happy about. After a short rest converting pilots to Mosquitoes, he felt lucky to be put in charge of a small unit flying service personnel to various venues in southern India. Jack's enthusiasm for flying is maintained and his lucky escapes documented. His fascination with the cultural and social experiences gained in India leaves its mark as he comments on the privileges he experiences, now as a commissioned officer, and of the wealth chasm between the princes and the poor of India. This is a book not just about flying but how one man and his comrades lived through those unique and special times.
Author: Darrell Hillier Publisher: ISBN: 9781999000028 Category : Languages : en Pages : 322
Book Description
North Atlantic Crossroads chronicles the activities of the Royal Air Force Ferry Command Gander unit during WWII. Includes a detailed bibliography, index, endnotes, and fifty photographs.
Author: Capt Donald M McVicar Obe Publisher: ISBN: 9780692515761 Category : Languages : en Pages : 208
Book Description
In 1981, Captain Don McVicar, KC, OBE, published "Ferry Command" which described his dangerous flying adventures in the service of the Royal Air Force Ferry Command, a secret organization based at Dorval airport, near Montreal, Canada. It was the first of thirteen well-received volumes of his turbulent life in the Golden Age of Aviation. When "Ferry Command" sold out, its publisher, Airlife in Great Britain, did not print a second edition, so Capt. McVicar divided it into "Ferry Command Pilot" and "South Atlantic Safari" adding new material to both, and self-published them in 1990. While "Ferry Command Pilot" is a tale of the Arctic and brutal flying over the frigid North Atlantic, "South Atlantic Safari" soars over the warm Caribbean, the jungles of South America, the equatorial South Atlantic, touching down on the burning deserts of Egypt. Capt. McVicar must master the sleek but dangerous B-26 Marauder which had earned the nickname "Widow Maker" due to its high accident rate. He is charged with delivering the first American-built bomber to the battle front of the RAF in Africa. Capt. McVicar's writing style was very much cherished by aviation enthusiasts from all walks of life, who often remarked that they felt as if they were right there in the cockpit with him, wrestling the temperamental aircraft to keep it from falling from the sky. This edition marks the return of the second half of this classic tale of a secret but vital wartime organization to the world. "Ferry Command Pilot" was published by Words on Wings Press in June 2015 to commemorate what would have been Capt. McVicar's 100th birthday. The foreword is written by the navigator of that historic B-26 Marauder delivery to Africa, F/L E.E. "Ted" Biss, RCAF. The addition by the author of little-known histories of three other ferrying organizations--the British Air Transport Auxiliary, Consairways, and Pan American Air Ferries--adds even more historical value to this tale, as does a comprehensive index compiled by the editor, Donna McVicar Kazo, along with a list of all RAFFC aircrew and groundcrew mentioned in the book. Some photographs were supplied by William VanDerKloot, producer/director of "Flying the Secret Sky, The Story of the RAF Ferry Command" as the tale of his father, Capt. William VanDerKloot's service as Prime Minister Winston Churchill's pilot is interwoven with Capt. McVicar's.
Author: Capt Donald M McVicar Obe
Author: Capt Donald M McVicar Obe
Author: Carl A. Christie
Author: Sarah Byrn Rickman
Author: General Giulio Douhet
Author: Sarah Byrn Rickman
Author: Ann Carl
Author: Jack Colman
Author: Donald M. McVicar
Author: Darrell Hillier
Author: Capt Donald M McVicar Obe