Much has been written about the Royal Air Force during the Second World Warmemoirs, biographies, histories of Fighter and Bomber commands, technical studies of the aircraft, accounts of individual operations and exploits but few books have attempted to take the reader on a journey through basic training and active service as air or ground crew and eventual demobilization at the end of the war. That is the aim of James Goultys Eyewitness RAF. Using a vivid selection of testimony from men and women, he offers a direct insight into every aspect of wartime life in the service. Throughout the book the emphasis is on the individuals experience of the RAF the preparations for flying, flying itself, the daily routines of an air base, time on leave, and the issues of discipline, morale and motivation. A particularly graphic section describes, in the words of the men themselves, what it felt like to go on operations and the impact of casualties airmen who were killed, injured or taken prisoner. A fascinating varied inside view of the RAF emerges which is perhaps less heroic and glamorous than the image created by some postwar accounts, but it gives readers today a much more realistic appreciation of the whole gamut of life in the RAF seventy years ago.
A detailed, realistic picture of what it was like to serve in the Royal Air Force during WWII, both on the ground and in the air, using firsthand accounts. Much has been written about the Royal Air Force during the Second World War—memoirs, biographies, histories of Fighter and Bomber commands, technical studies of the aircraft, accounts of individual operations and exploits—but few books have attempted to take the reader on a journey through basic training and active service as air or ground crew and eventual demobilization at the end of the war. That is the aim of James Goulty’s Eyewitness RAF. Using a vivid selection of testimony from men and women, he offers a direct insight into every aspect of wartime life in the service. Throughout the book the emphasis is on the individual’s experience of the RAF—the preparations for flying, flying itself, the daily routines of an air base, time on leave, and the issues of discipline, morale, and motivation. A particularly graphic section describes, in the words of the men themselves, what it felt like to go on operations and the impact of casualties—airmen who were killed, injured, or taken prisoner. What emerges is a fascinatingly varied inside view of the RAF that is perhaps less heroic and glamorous than the image created by some postwar accounts—but gives readers today a much more realistic appreciation of the whole gamut of life in the RAF seventy-plus years ago.
Much has been written about the Royal Air Force during the Second World War-memoirs, biographies, histories of Fighter and Bomber commands, technical studies of the aircraft, accounts of individual operations and exploits - but few books have attempted to take the reader on a journey through basic training and active service as air or ground crew and eventual demobilization at the end of the war. That is the aim of James Goulty's Eyewitness RAF. Using a vivid selection of testimony from men and women, he offers a direct insight into every aspect of wartime life in the service.Throughout the book the emphasis is on the individual's experience of the RAF - the preparations for flying, flying itself, the daily routines of an air base, time on leave, and the issues of discipline, morale and motivation. A particularly graphic section describes, in the words of the men themselves, what it felt like to go on operations and the impact of casualties - airmen who were killed, injured or taken prisoner.A fascinating varied inside view of the RAF emerges which is perhaps less heroic and glamorous than the image created by some post-war accounts, but it gives readers today a much more realistic appreciation of the whole gamut of life in the RAF seventy years ago.
“Absorbing . . . this is an excellent account of air operations and tactics of the air battles in North Africa, the Mediterranean, and Italy.”—Firetrench Compared to the RAF’s Fighter and Bomber Commands, the Desert Air Force (DAF) is far less well known, yet its achievements were spectacular. DAF led the way in North Africa and Italy in pioneering new tactics in close Army-Air Force cooperation on the battlefield; DAF and Allied air forces gave Allied armies in North Africa and Italy a decisive cutting edge. While the Axis forces used the many rivers and mountains of Tunisia and Italy to slow the Allies’ advance, DAF was there to provide that extra mobile firepower—the artillery from the sky. They were the first multinational air force, and the first to introduce air controllers in the front lines of the battlefield. With first-hand accounts by veteran airmen from Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA, this book “tells the previously untold story of how the DAF was the most decisive single factor in winning the three battles of El Alamein, and victory in the North Africa and Italy campaigns” (Yorkshire Evening Post). “A most welcome addition to the historiography of the air aspects of the war in North Africa and the wider Mediterranean . . . [it] will have considerable appeal to a wide ranging readership, but especially those interested in the tactical detail and personal experiences of the airmen involved in the various campaigns.”—British Journal for Military History
In this detailed eye-witness account the author describes the realities of the fighting over and around Malta during World War II, up to and including 21 March 1942, when Malta became the subject of more heavy attacks. Written under the incessant bombardments that the small island was subjected to, R. Leslie Oliver records the unfailing courage of the defenders of the George Cross Island.
Definitive account of the last great Luftwaffe attack of World War II Gripping stories of Fw 190s and Bf 109s in combat Contains hundreds of eyewitness accounts and rare photos In the early morning of January 1, 1945, as the Battle of the Bulge smoldered to an end, the German Luftwaffe--assumed to be starved of fuel and fighting spirit--launched a massive, surprise, low-level strike on Allied airfields throughout France, Belgium, and Holland, an operation code-named Bodenplatte. More than 900 German aircraft took to the skies and attacked the vulnerable fields, destroying 200 Allied aircraft and damaging 150 more. In a pyrrhic victory, the Luftwaffe lost 271 fighters, with many more damaged, and 213 pilots--irreplaceable losses at this stage of the war.
Built in 1927, the German ocean liner SS Cap Arcona was the greatest ship since the RMS Titanic and one of the most celebrated luxury liners in the world. When the Nazis seized control in Germany, she was stripped down for use as a floating barracks and troop transport. Later, during the war, Hitler's minister, Joseph Goebbels, cast her as the "star" in his epic propaganda film about the sinking of the legendary Titanic. Following the film's enormous failure, the German navy used the Cap Arcona to transport German soldiers and civilians across the Baltic, away from the Red Army's advance. In the Third Reich's final days, the ill-fated ship was packed with thousands of concentration camp prisoners. Without adequate water, food, or sanitary facilities, the prisoners suffered as they waited for the end of the war. Just days before Germany surrendered, the Cap Arcona was mistakenly bombed by the British Royal Air Force, and nearly all of the prisoners were killed in the last major tragedy of the Holocaust and one of history's worst maritime disasters. Although the British government sealed many documents pertaining to the ship's sinking, Robert P. Watson has unearthed forgotten records, conducted many interviews, and used over 100 sources, including diaries and oral histories, to expose this story. As a result, The Nazi Titanic is a riveting and astonishing account of an enigmatic ship that played a devastating role in World War II and the Holocaust.
This first of three volumes traces the history of 72 Fighter Squadron, one of the premier squadrons in the Royal Air Force. The aircraft flown, operational personnel and missions flown are fully described with firsthand accounts from pilots and both air and ground crew.Having been first established in 1917 the squadron was disbanded in February 1918. It was re-formed in February 1937 from B Flight of 1 Squadron and was equipped with Gloster Gladiators. In 1939 it was re-equipped with Spitfires which were used in air defense and convoy protection sorties following the start of the war. In 1940 the squadron moved to assist in the evacuation of Dunkirk. During The Battle of Britain, 72 spent the early days at RAF Acklington as part of 13 Group before moving south during September to assist the main defense force. The squadron then flew penetration Circus missions over occupied Europe with the intention of causing havoc to the German forces and also to lure German fighters into combat.
Plotting the development of modern science from Leonardo da Vinci to Chaos Theory, John Carey chooses accounts by scientists themselves that are both elegant and arrestingly written. The classic science-writers are here: Darwin, Huxley, Fabre. So, too, are the luminaries of the late-twentieth-century genre of popular science-writing which, Carey argues, challenges contemporary poetry and fiction in its imaginative power.
Propaganda during the Battle of Britain contributed to high national morale and optimism, with 'The 'Few's' prowess and valour projected through Air Ministry communiqués and daily claims 'scores'. The media was a willing partner in portraying their heroism, also later consolidated in wartime publications, films and historiography.