Tales of the RAF - Fighter Escort PDF Download

Author: Don Patterson
Publisher: Rising Star Studios LLC
ISBN: 193677013X
Category : Fighter pilots
Languages : en
Pages : 97

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Book Description
When the squadron is sent on a mission to provide fighter escort for a formation of American bombers flying into enemy territory, they all wonder what it will take to bring the Americans back.

Author: Don Patterson
Publisher: Rising Star Studios LLC
ISBN: 1936770121
Category : Fighter pilots
Languages : en
Pages : 77

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Book Description
Twelve-year-old Harry Winslow's quiet life in the English countryside has been interrupted by World War II. Harry finds a special group of friends in the RAF fighter squadron stationed near his home.

Author: Don Patterson
Publisher: Rising Star Studios LLC
ISBN: 9781936086603
Category : Fighter pilots
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
As the 14th Squadron of the Royal Air Force is tasked with the responsibility of escorting a formation of American bombers, Harry falls into a dilemma of his own - literally. He realizes that just like the squadron, he must be responsible no matter what the consequences - for that is the mark of a true pilot.

Author: Hugh Thomas
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 075097981X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 271

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Book Description
Peter joined the R.A.F. in 1938 on a short-service commission and was despatched to France when war broke out. After serving with legendary fighter ace Douglas Bader, Peter was posted to North Africa in 1942, where he was forced to crash-land his Hurricane in a minefield. He flew Spitfires on intruder sorties over France before and during D-Day, on bomber escort duty against V-weapons sites and in support of mass daylight raids deep into Germany. Awarded the D.F.C. in December 1944, he also flew as fighter escort to King George VI's Dakota. By the war's end, Peter had flown every mark of Spitfire and Hurricane in the R.A.F.'s inventory.

Author: John Starkey
Publisher: Air World
ISBN: 1399088955
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
The story of the RAF, and in particular Fighter Command, during the Battle of Britain has been told many times. It is a tale of the gallant pilots of ‘The Few’, in their Hurricanes and Spitfires, with the nation’s back to the wall, fighting off the Luftwaffe’s airborne assault against enormous odds. But the story of Fighter Command’s operations immediately after the Battle of Britain is less well known. Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard commanded the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War. His policy then had been for his aircraft and men to be continually on the offensive, always over the German lines taking the fight to the enemy. After being promoted to command the RAF, Trenchard retired in 1930. In November 1940, Trenchard showed up again at the Air Ministry and proposed that the RAF should ‘Lean Towards France’ – that it should go on the offensive. The RAF would, claimed Trenchard, win the resulting battle of attrition. One of the main outcomes of the RAF’s new offensive stance was the introduction of the Circus sorties. These were attacks undertaken by a small force of bombers with a powerful fighter escort. They were intended to lure enemy fighters into the air so that they could be engaged by RAF fighters, the primary objective being the destruction of Luftwaffe fighters, followed by the protection of the bombers from attack. A further development of the Circus missions were Ramrods, Rhubarbs and Rodeos, all of which were variations on the same theme. A Ramrod was similar to a Circus, though in this instance the primary objective was the destruction of the target, the main role of the accompanying fighters being to protect the bombers from attack. A Rhubarb was a small-scale attack by fighters using cloud cover and/or surprise, the object of which was to destroy German aircraft in the air and/or striking at ground targets, while a Rodeo consisted of a fighter sweep over enemy territory with no bombers. Drawing on official documents and archive material, as well as accounts by many of those involved, James Starkey reveals just how Trenchard’s views won through and the RAF went on the offensive from late 1940 into 1941. Was it a failed strategy? If so, why was it not halted once the results began to be seen?

Author: Philip Kaplan
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1783409029
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 399

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Book Description
This book examines the reality behind the myths of the legendary RAF fighter aces during the Battle of Britain. The accounts of the experiences of fighter pilots are based on archival research, diaries, letters, published and unpublished memoirs and personal interviews with veterans.

Author: Gordon Thorburn
Publisher: Metro Publishing
ISBN: 1784186937
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Book Description
Apart from the quiet chatter of a few mechanics, who were checking that one aircraft was too badly damaged ever to fly again, there was a shocked silence over the aerodrome as everyone there tried to understand the impossible.Twelve twin-engined bombers of 82 Squadron RAF had set out on a fi ne May morning in 1940, from Watton, Norfolk, in a brave but hopeless attempt to slow down the German armour ripping through Belgium. Sergeant Thomas 'Jock' Morrison was the pilot of the only one to come home.Heavy losses in Bomber Command in the Second World War were common, normal, came with the territory, but this? Eleven out of twelve were shot down, by flak and fighters, and lay in burning fragments along the Belgium/ France border.It is said that history repeats itself. And so it was, almost exactly three months later, on a cloudy day in August 1940, that twelve more twin-engined Bristol Blenheim bombers, each with a crew of three men, set off from Watton, Norfolk, in a brave but hopeless attempt to destroy a Luftwaffe base in enemy-occupied Denmark. One aircraft had to turn for home before it reached the target. The other eleven pressed on as the clouds disappeared and, on a fi ne sunny morning, were all shot down, by flak and fighters, and lay in burning fragments on the shores of the Lymfjord.At the time, when the whole world was trying to understand the impossible, how Germany could conquer Denmark, Norway, The Netherlands, Belgium and France in a few weeks, and Poland before that - and surely Great Britain next? - 82 Squadron's disasters were barely noticed.Based on the accounts of survivors and on squadron and other records, Gordon Thorburn's moving retelling of the story, of the events of it and the men in it, at last puts right that terrible omission.

Author: Len Deighton
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 9780345298218
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 342

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Book Description
Deighton's renowned body of military literature continues with this true story of the Battle of Britain. Focuses on the important role of technology in warfare. Complete with photos, drawings, and detailed maps.

Author: Noel Monks
Publisher: New York, London, Whittlesey house, McGraw-Hill book Company, Incorporated [c1940]
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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Book Description

Author: Don Patterson
Publisher: Library & Educational Services
ISBN: 9781936086627
Category : Fighter pilots
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A bad dream causes young Harry to spend the night tossing and turning in his bed. Unfortunately, the next day becomes the real nightmare - his friends are in trouble! Harry wants to help, but what can a young boy do? He learns what it really means to make sacrifices and help others.