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Author: Martin W. Bowman
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
Published: 2006-01-01
Total Pages: 145
ISBN-13: 1844154181
DOWNLOAD EBOOKBeretter om de flyvepladser, andre lokaliteter og personer, der under 2. verdenskrig var relateret til "100 Group (Bomber Support)" under Royal Air Force. Opgaven for 100 Group var at yde støtte til bombeoperationerne ved hjælp af elektronisk krigsførelse, såvel offensivt som defensivt.
Author: Chris Ward
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2009-04-21
Total Pages: 386
ISBN-13: 1844687341
DOWNLOAD EBOOKDuring the immediate period before World War Two, the RAF modified its command structure to rationalize for rapid expansion. Bomber Command was divided into six operational groups, each flying the same type of aircraft.3 Group had almost completely re-equipped with the Wellington by 4 September 1939 to carry out the second bombing operation of the war which was against German warships off Brunsbttel. In 1940 the first of the new four-engined bombers, the Short Stirling, came into service with the Group, being followed in 1942 by the Avro Lancaster. On 3rd/4th November 1943, No. 3 Group played a leading part in the first bombing attack in which heavy bombers made use of the radar bombing aid known as G-H. The target was Dsseldorf; bombs were dropped "blind" and good results were obtained. In July and August 1944, aircraft of this Group equipped with G-H maintained an all-weather attack against flying-bomb sites. Through the D-Day build-up, the liberation of France and conquest of Germany, formations of No. 3 Group attacked railway junctions, marshalling yards, troop concentrations, etc.During the week ending 25th March 1945, Bomber Command made numerous attacks to prepare for the crossing of the Rhine.
Author: John Stubbington
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
Published: 2010-06-19
Total Pages: 543
ISBN-13: 1844685500
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis fascinating historical revelation goes to the very heart of British and Allied Intelligence during World War II, specifically in the context of planning, control and implementation of the combined bomber offensive against Germany. There are sound arguments based on official archives that the handling of much air intelligence was faulty and reasons to believe that some departments within Whitehall were influenced by parochial and personal attitudes that interfered with the selection of strategic targets and the planning of the bombing offensives. In some departments within Whitehall and even the Air Ministry, there was a culpable failure to understand and appreciate the operational capabilities and limitations of the RAF and USAAF bomber forces. After the evacuation of the BEF the only means of destroying the Axis production of arms and munitions fell to the RAF and this was their prime objective for the rest of the war. The destruction of arms factories, power stations, air and ship production was the underlining objective, although when special targets, such as the break-outs of the German navy's major warships and U-Boats were deemed vital, the RAF were expected to react immediately. Much of Britain's intelligence was gathered from the German ENIGMA signals and became known as ULTRA with a security classification of MOST SECRET. Apart from the brilliant work at Bletchley Park there were other inputs from partisans throughout occupied Europe, Allied agents and various forms of reconnaissance. It was a new type of warfare that developed and improved as the war progressed but all too often the bomber squadrons were put into unnecessary peril through imprecise and unthinking demands from the highest levels of government.
Author: Chris Ward
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2012-12-19
Total Pages: 441
ISBN-13: 1783035315
DOWNLOAD EBOOKDuring the immediate period before World War Two, the RAF modified its command structure to rationalize for rapid expansion. Bomber Command was divided into six operational groups, each flying the same type of aircraft, including Wellingtons, Sterlings, and Lancasters. Chris Ward presents us here with the history of 4 Group Bomber Command, having previously acquainted us with the histories of 3, 5, and 6 Group Bomber Commands in three highly acclaimed volumes, published by Pen and Sword. He continues with characteristic ease, quality of research, and narrative pace, to present us with an operational record of the groups activities during a particularly dramatic period of aviation history.The book contains individual squadron statistics, their commanding officers, stations and aircraft losses. It provides a detailed reference for one of the RAFs most important operational groups.
Author: Harry H. Crosby
Publisher: Open Road Media
Published: 2021-09-14
Total Pages: 366
ISBN-13: 1504067320
DOWNLOAD EBOOK“A compelling account of the air war against Germany” written by the navigator portrayed by Anthony Boyle in Apple TV’s Masters of the Air (Publishers Weekly). They began operations out of England in the spring of ’43. They flew their Flying Fortresses almost daily against strategic targets in Europe in the name of freedom. Their astonishing courage and appalling losses earned them the name that resounds in the annals of aerial warfare and made the “Bloody Hundredth” a legend. Harry H. Crosby—depicted in the miniseries Masters of the Air developed by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg—arrived with the very first crews, and left with the very last. After dealing with his fear and gaining in skill and confidence, he was promoted to Group Navigator, surviving hairbreadth escapes and eluding death while leading thirty-seven missions, some of them involving two thousand aircraft. Now, in a breathtaking and often humorous account, he takes us into the hearts and minds of these intrepid airmen to experience both the triumph and the white-knuckle terror of the war in the skies. “Affecting . . . A vivid account . . . Uncommonly thoughtful recollections that address the moral ambiguities of a great cause without in any way denigrating the selfless valor or camaraderie that helped ennoble it.” —Kirkus Reviews “Re-creates for us the sense of how it was when European skies were filled with noise and danger, when the fate of millions hung in the balance. An evocative and excellent memoir.” —Library Journal “The acrid stench of fear and cordite, the coal burning stoves, the heroics, the losses . . . This has to be the best memoir I have read, bar none.” —George Hicks, director of the Airmen Memorial Museum
Author: Maurer Maurer
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
Published: 1961
Total Pages: 520
ISBN-13: 1428915850
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAuthor: Roddy MacKenzie
Publisher: Air World
Published: 2023-02-16
Total Pages: 386
ISBN-13: 1399017756
DOWNLOAD EBOOKRoddy MacKenzieâs father served in Bomber Command during the Second World War, but like so many brave veterans who had survived the war, he spoke little of his exploits. So, when Roddy started on his personal journey to discover something of what his father had achieved, he uncovered a great deal about the devastating effectiveness of Bomber Command and the vital role it played in the defeat of Third Reich. He realised that the true story of Bomber Commandâs achievements has never been told nor fully acknowledged. Roddy became a man on a mission, and this startlingly revealing, and often personal study, is the result. Bomber Command: Churchill's Greatest Triumph takes the reader through the early days of the Second World War and introduces all the key individuals who turned the Command into the war-winning weapon it eventually became, as well as detailing the men and machines which flew night after night into the heart of Hitlerâs Germany. The main focus of his book is the destruction and dislocation wrought by the bombing to reduce, and ultimately destroy, Germanyâs ability to make war. In his analysis, Roddy dug deep into German archival material to uncover facts rarely presented to either German or English language readers. These demonstrate that Bomber Commandâs continual efforts, at appalling cost in aircrew casualties and aircraft losses, did far more damage to the Reich than the Allies knew. Roddyâs father served with the Royal Canadian Air Force and Roddy naturally highlights its contribution to Bomber Commandâs successes, another aspect of this fascinating story which the author believes has not been duly recognized. Bomber Command: Churchill's Greatest Triumph will certainly raise the debate on the controversial strategy adopted by âBomberâ Harris and how he was perceived by many to have over-stepped his remit. But most of all, this book will revise peopleâs understanding of just how important the endeavours were of those men who flew through the dark and through the searchlights, the flak, and the enemy night fighters, to bring the Second World War in Europe to its crushing conclusion.
Author: Tony Redding
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2015-02-28
Total Pages: 401
ISBN-13: 1473823544
DOWNLOAD EBOOKDuring 1942 and 1943 the striking power of RAF Bomber Command was transformed by the arrival of heavy bombers, advanced navigation and blind bombing systems, and new tactics to concentrate the bombers over the target and swamp the German defences. By October 1944 most of Germany's cities were in ruins, yet the bombing continued to intensify, reaching unprecedented levels in the final seven months of the air campaign. The value of further area raids was questioned during the opening months of 1945, yet the Allies destroyed the remaining cities in a bid to hasten the end of the war. The handful of German cities still largely unscathed in early February 1945 included Dresden, which was obliterated on 13 February. Ten days later, the South German city of Pforzheim was destined to suffer the same fate.??This book commemorates the efforts of the aircrew members who risked their lives, consolidating a host of intriguing first-hand accounts. It also considers Pforzheim as a representative community under National Socialist rule. The city's survivors remember the horror of the raid and its aftermath, including eventual occupation by French Colonial troops and, subsequently, American forces. Tony does an admirable job of presenting historical context when considering actions in times of extreme trauma and his narrative offers an intriguing, engaging and poignant evocation of the closing months of Bomber Command's war.
Author: Richard Worrall
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2019-09-19
Total Pages: 97
ISBN-13: 1472835204
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThroughout late-1943 into early-1944, an epic struggle raged over the skies of Germany between RAF Bomber Command and the Luftwaffe. This campaign had been undertaken by the Commander-in-Chief Bomber Command, Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris, and was baptized 'The Battle of Berlin'. The Berlin campaign was a hard, desperate slog. Struggling against dreadful and bitter winter weather, Bomber Command 'went' to Berlin a total of sixteen times, suffering increasingly severe losses throughout the winter of 1943/44 in the face of a revitalized German air-defence. The campaign remains controversial and the jury, even today, is ultimately undecided as to what it realistically achieved. Illustrated throughout with full-colour artwork depicting the enormous scale of the campaign, this is the story of the RAF's much debated attempt to win the war through bombing alone.
Author: Martin Middlebrook
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2014-04-02
Total Pages: 941
ISBN-13: 1473834880
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe essential WWII historical reference detailing RAF Bomber Command’s extensive campaign of strategic bombings across occupied Europe. The Royal Air Force Bomber Command's strategic bombing campaign started on the first day of the Second World War and ended five and a half years later with the final victory in Europe. It was a campaign of such enormous scale that historians have only recently begun to piece together the finer details of the individual raids. Aviation historian Martin Middlebrook and his research colleague, Chris Everitt, were the first to compile a complete review of all the raids and their background stories. The Bomber Command War Diaries not only documents every Bomber Command operation but also details their effects on the ground, drawing on local archives from Germany, Italy, and the occupied countries. It is a groundbreaking work on historical research, bringing together the two sides of Bomber Command’s war. This edition includes retrospective observations and a new appendix.
