A comprehensive and meticulously researched landmark work charting the construction, operational history and post-war use of the airfields of the RAF and USAAF in the United Kingdom during the Second World War. Supported by a wealth of 690 photographs and airfield plans providing a unique illustration into the life of each wartime airfield.
This book covers Bomber Command from creation in 1936 to 1945. In parallel with Fighter Command's initial defensive fallibility, the means to hammer the Axis industrial base into oblivion was totally lacking and had to be painfully built up to the point where the Force decisively added its weight to bring about an ultimate Allied Victory.
Drawing largely on Bomber Command's operational records, 'RAF Coningsby in the Second World War' charts the wartime history of Royal Air Force Coningsby through the contributions of squadron and station personnel. From the start of operational flying in March 1941, the output of all flying units is set against the phases of the strategic bombing ......
Aboard RAF B-24 Liberators, wireless operator/air gunner Bill Kirkness DFM flew a tour of ops against Japanese targets in Burma. His memoir is a compelling, dignified account of an average man's war from 1942 into 1944 in England, the Mediterranean, Africa, and India. Researcher Matt Poole seamlessly weaves historical detail into Bill's narrative.
The Thrilling Tale of Norway's Most Decorated World War II Hero
When Hitler's invasion shattered Norway's peace of one hundred years, Gunnar Sonsteby, a timid youth, was destined to become the legendary 'No. 24' whose exploits earned the highest honours Norway could bestow when it was restored after World War II. Report from #24 is Stonsteby's own account of his underground activities during the Nazi ......
How an Unlikely Team of Scientists, Ex-Cons, Women, and Native Americans
In the weeks after Pearl Harbor, the U.S. military-gunners on naval ships and in antiaircraft units-realized it had a problem: "We couldn't hit the broad side of a barn." It urgently needed a gunsight that was easy to use and quick to aim. Enter Edwin Land, founder of Polaroid and self-taught expert in polarizing technology, who very swiftly came ......
The focus of this work is on a selection of pilots who fought during that long summer and autumn of 1940, when everything depended on the RAF achieving air superiority to prevent an invasion of Britain. These exceptional pilots are remembered for their evocative stories which are ripe with gripping combat experiences and gruelling sacrifice.
How a Force of Immigrants and Refugees Helped Win World War II
In June 1942, the U.S. Army began recruiting immigrants, the children of immigrants, refugees, and others with language skills and knowledge of enemy lands and cultures for a special military intelligence group being trained in the mountains of northern Maryland and sent into Europe and the Pacific.