Air-Sea Rescue 1941-1952
Air-Sea Rescue 1941-1952

Author: L. Douglas Keeney

Publisher: Premiere

Published: 2013-10

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781619338432

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

World War II arrived at a time when airplanes were scarcely thirty years old. Engines were small, passenger capacity was limited, and only the biggest of the flying boats had the fuel tanks and safety features necessary to cross the oceans. But war changed that quickly and within a year, bombers and fighters were routinely crossing the Mediterranean, the English Channel, and most daunting of all, the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. Naturally, the odds caught up with them and planes crashed. In time, hundreds of them were ditching a year and with that came the necessity to develop an air-sea rescue service — and from that comes this remarkable history of courage, willpower, and determination. The air-sea rescue service members faced hard choices and bad odds — but they flew each mission determined to save one more pilot, one more aircrew, and to bring one more man home again. Part of the "Lost Histories of World War II" series, this important work includes firsthand accounts unpublished for seventy years.

Leave No Man Behind
Leave No Man Behind

Author: George Galdorisi

Publisher: Zenith Press

Published: 2009-01-16

Total Pages: 656

ISBN-13: 1616732253

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Beginning with the birth of combat aircraft in World War I and the early attempts to rescue warriors trapped behind enemy lines, Leave No Man Behind chronicles in depth nearly one hundred years of combat search and rescue (CSAR). All major U.S. combat operations from World War II to the early years of the Iraq War are covered, including previously classified missions and several Medal-of-Honor-winning operations. Authors George Galdorisi and Tom Phillips (both veteran U.S. Navy helicopter pilots) highlight individual acts of heroism while telling the big-picture story of the creation and development of modern CSAR. Although individual missions have their successes and failures, CSAR, as an institution, would seem beyond reproach, an obvious necessity. The organizational history of CSAR, however, is not entirely positive. The armed services, particularly the U.S. Air Force and Navy, have a tendency to cut CSAR at the end of a conflict, leaving no infrastructure prepared for the next time that the brave men and women of our armed forces find themselves behind enemy lines. The final chapter has not yet been written for U.S. combat search and rescue, but in view of the life-saving potential of these forces, an open and forthright review of U.S. military CSAR plans and policies is long overdue. Beyond the exciting stories of heroic victories and heartrending defeats, Leave No Man Behind stimulates debate on this important subject.

Air-sea Rescue
Air-sea Rescue

Author: Great Britain. Air Ministry

Publisher:

Published: 1942

Total Pages: 44

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Beretter om den engelske eftersøgnings- og redningstjeneste som den var organiseret under 2. verdenskrig

United States Army Aviators' Equipment, 1917-1945
United States Army Aviators' Equipment, 1917-1945

Author: C.G. Sweeting

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2015-03-27

Total Pages: 349

ISBN-13: 1476619468

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Seven decades after World War II, we now know that the margin between Allied victory and defeat was often narrower than many realized. The decisive actions of leaders, generals and war heroes have been well documented, but less well known are the technological developments that made victory possible and laid the groundwork for postwar progress. Based on more than ten years of research, this book describes how American airmen became the best-outfitted aviators of the war, tracing the development of virtually every piece of personal equipment used by United States air forces. Drawing on original sources including formerly classified documents, the author details the myriad types of respirator equipment, parachutes, body armor, pressure suits and other flying and survival gear that were instrumental in making U.S. pilots and air crews effective. Personal anecdotes bring to life the design and testing of combat flight equipment. More than 160 photographs are included, most published here for the first time.

Check Six!
Check Six!

Author: Jim Curran

Publisher: Casemate

Published: 2015-07-19

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 1612003001

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

“Makes you proud to be an American . . . a wonderful, fast-paced read, and I highly recommend it for any World War II aviation enthusiast” (Military Review). There were no mission limits for a pilot in the Pacific during World War II; unlike in Europe, you flew until it was time to go home. So it was for James “Jug” Curran, all the way from New Guinea to the Philippines with the 348th Fighter Group, the first P-47 Thunderbolt outfit in the Pacific. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Curran volunteered to try flying in the blue yonder and trained as an Army fighter pilot. He got his wish to fly the P-47 in the Pacific, going into combat in August 1943, in New Guinea, and later helping start the “Black Rams” fighter squadron. The heavy US Thunderbolts were at first curious to encounter the nimble, battle-hardened Japanese in aerial combat, but soon, the American pilots gained skill of their own and their planes proved superior. Bombers on both sides could fall to fighters, but the fighters themselves were eyeball to eyeball, best man win. Check Six! is an aviation chronicle that brings the reader into flight, then into the fight, throughout the Pacific War and back. This work, from someone who was there, captures the combat experience of our aviators in the Pacific, aided by pertinent excerpts from the official histories of units that “Jug” Curran flew with. “Jim Curran is not afraid to share his moments of fear and emotions during the air battles with his readers which gives the book an extra dimension.” —AviationBookReviews.com