Martin W Bowman
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This is the story of the air war over Western Europe, told first hand by the American and German pilots and aircrew who took part. It spans the period between 1942 and 1945 and covers the encounters between the audacious Luftwaffe fighter pilots and the Fortress and Liberator bomber crews of the American 8th Air Forces flying from East Anglia.
Many unique experiences are recounted from both the night and day bombing raids that were hurled against...
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This fourth volume of a comprehensive five part work on D-Day covers every aspect of aerial operations on and behind the beaches at 'Omaha' and 'Utah' beaches on 6 June 1944. It might be imagined that the passing years would blunt the outlines of the experience but the D-Day veterans do not forget. Their accounts convey the chaos, terror and hysteria as the first salvos of German fire clanged off the landing craft, in language that is all the more...
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When de Havilland proposed, in 1938, an unarmed bomber constructed almost entirely from wood, few would have thought it could become one of the most versatile aircraft of the Second World War. The Mosquito easily outran a Spitfire on its test flight and was ordered into mass production, soon proving itself a key weapon in the fight against the Luftwaffe by day and the Nachtjagd by night. Illustrated throughout with previously unpublished photographs,...
4) The Build Up
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For the Allies as well as Germany, it will be the longest day'. So said Field Marshall Erwin Rommel of the operations on D-Day; and he was correct. This is the first volume of a most impressive tribute and comprehensive five-part work that includes a multitude of personal military and civilian accounts of the aerial operations, which were carried out on D-Day. At fifteen minutes after midnight on 6 June 1944 Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion...
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This book describes the period when the American daylight offensive faltered and nearly failed and recalls the terrible losses suffered by Liberators on the low-level attack on the Ploesti oilfields in Rumania and by the B—17s on the notorious Schweinfurt and Regensburg raids which entered 8th Air Force folklore as Black Thursday. Fascinating anecdotes, eye-witness accounts and the hard-won experiences of the battle-scarred American fly-boys reveal...
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The early 1950s were a boom time for British aviation. The lessons of six years of war had been learned and much of the research into jet engines, radar and aerodynamics had begun to reach fruition. In Britain, jet engine technology led the world while wartime developments into swept-wing design in Germany and their transonic research program were used to give western design teams a quantum leap in aircraft technology.
The English Electric Lightning...
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This massive work provides a comprehensive insight to the experiences of Bomber Commands pilots and aircrew throughout WWII. From the early wartime years when the RAFs first attempts to avenge Germanys onslaught were bedeviled by poor navigation and inaccurate bombing, to the last winning onslaught that finally tamed Hitler in his Berlin lair, these volumes trace the true experiences of the men who flew the bombers. Hundreds of firsthand accounts...
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Using narrative accounts and new insights, this book catalogues the dramatic and first-hand oral testimonies of the US Army Air Corps' bomber crews of the newly created Eighth Air Force that became stationed in East Anglia in 1942. It begins with shock of the unannounced Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and how it affected the young men who were destined to fly and fight in Europe. American troops, or GIs as they were known because of their own derisive...
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A pulsating account of the young RAF and American fighter boys who flew Spitfires, Hurricanes, Thunderbolts and Mustangs during 1940-45. It is unique in that the story is told using first person accounts from RAF, German and American Eagles who fought in the skies over England in the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940 and the great air offensives over occupied-Europe from 1942 onwards. The first five and a half chapters cover the Battle of Britain...
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Boeing's mighty B-52 Stratofortress has seen continuous operational service with the United States Air Force since the type was introduced in 1957. The aircraft has been upgraded several times and has assumed many different new roles since it was originally conceived and then provided the key airborne platform for America's strategic nuclear force. It is predicted that it will serve as a front-line aircraft until 2040. Apart from the formidable threat...
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The F-104 Starfighter is quite possibly one of the most photographed aircraft of all time. It is certainly one of the most iconic. Here, Martin Bowman offers up a well researched, comprehensive and thoroughly entertaining history of this impressive interceptor aircraft and fighter bomber.
Firsthand insights gathered from pilots who have flown the Starfighter in a variety of international contexts make for a rich and diverse narrative, interspersed...
12) Norwich Blitz
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Norwich, in common with most English cities, suffered enemy air attack and during a period of almost three and a half years bombs were dropped in every part of the city. The first German raid occurred on Tuesday 8 July 1940; the last on 6 November 1943. The total number of Alerts during 1943 was 95 with a total duration of 54 hours. The Crash Warning was sounded 50 times with a total duration of 19 hours 8 minutes. There was no large devastated area...
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There is perhaps no other commercial airliner as iconic as the Boeing 747. A presence in our skies for over forty years, it has transported hundreds of thousands of passengers across the world. From its introduction with Pan American Airlines in 1970, it has persevered as one of the forerunners of commercial flight. Often labelled the 'Queen of the Skies', this is an aircraft revered by passengers and aircrew alike. The first wide-body airliner ever...
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The early 1950s were a boom time for British aviation. The lessons of six years of war had been learned and much of the research into jet engines, radar and aerodynamics had begun to reach fruition. In Britain, jet engine technology led the world, while wartime developments into swept wing design in Germany and their transonic research program were, used to give western design teams a quantum leap in aircraft technology. At English Electric, 'Teddy'...
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The Bedford Triangle portrays the crucial part played by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE),US Army Air Force (USAAF) and American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in operations behind enemy lines in occupied Europe during World War Two. Milton Ernest Hall, a country house in Bedfordshire used officially as the UK headquarters of the US Army Airforce Service Command, was located at the heart of a network of top secret Allied Radio and...
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The third volume of this four-part series on Operation 'Market-Garden' in September 1944 draws on many individual soldiers and airmen's narratives to tell the story of the ongoing fight to keep the Hell's Highway' open to relieve 1st Airborne at Arnhem, and the brave attempts to re-supply them from the air. As in previous volumes, this account offers a unique perspective on all aspects of aerial activity during this pivotal operation. This volume...
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The aviation historian presents a provocative analysis of WWII airborne operations to investigate what happened to Hitler's planned invasion of England.
Did a German invasion or invasions take place along the shores of East Anglia in 1940? Though Operation Sealion, the intended invasion of southern England, never materialized, Hitler asked his forces to mount one, two or even three small invasions in 1940. This raises some provocative questions:...
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This is a unique selection of wide-ranging experiences of British and Commonwealth Bomber Command aircrew during World War II. Their endearing bravery and fortitude and sometimes their despondency and cynicism, shows through in these stirring, daring, often irreverent, humorous and sometimes sardonic but memorable stories. All reflect the ethos, camaraderie, fear and bravery of the largely ordinary men, most of whom were plucked from civvy street...
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As part of the AHT series, the airfields and interest in this book are concentrated in a particular area-in this case Norfolk. The growing importance of the 'electronic war' in the air in 1943 caused the creation of 100 Group to fly both defensive and offensive sorties employing highly secret Radio Counter Measure equipment. The Group flew from airfields at Foulsham, Great Massingham, Little Snoring, North Creake, Swannington and West Raynham. The...
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This is the second volume of a comprehensive five part work on D-Day that includes a multitude of personal military accounts from both Allied and German Aviation personnel who were there. Overlord began with an assault by more than 23,000 airborne troops, 15,500 of them American, behind enemy lines to soften up the German troops and to secure key objectives. 6,600 paratroopers of the US 101st Screaming Eagles Division in 633 C-47s and 83 gliders and...