Beaufighters in the Night
Beaufighters in the Night

Author: Braxton Eisel

Publisher: Pen and Sword Aviation

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13:

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The 417th Night Fighter Squadron USAAF was only the fourth such unit to be formed. In the early days of WWII, the US sent observers to England to study how the latest form of air warfare would take shape and it very soon became apparent to them that a night fighting capability was of increasing importance. When they joined the battle against the Reich they found themselves without a suitable American aircraft and were forced to utilize RAF Beaufighters. Having 're-learned to fly' this British design the 417th were sent to North Africa. Most of the ex-RAF aircraft they had inherited were battle weary and no supplies of spares were available through the US supply chain. The squadron found an elderly B-25 bomber, nicknamed the "Strawberry Roan," and they ranged throughout the Mediterranean in search of Beaufighter parts. 417 soon built a healthy score of downed German and Italian aircraft and as the war progressed they were moved to Corsica to support the Italian invasion, After D-Day they were moved to Le Vallon from where they attacked the night-time movements of the German Army. Perhaps their most famous operation was to attack the low flying German Condor that ran the route from the Reich to Spain carrying Nazi gold and treasures.

Beaufighter Aces of World War 2
Beaufighter Aces of World War 2

Author: Andrew Thomas

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2013-02-20

Total Pages: 150

ISBN-13: 1472801717

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Entering service at the end of the Battle of Britain, the pugnacious Bristol Beaufighter was deployed in numbers by Fighter Command just in time for the start of the Luftwaffe's night 'Blitz' on Britain. Flown by specialised nightfighter squadrons – several of them elite pre-war Auxiliary Air Force units – it was the first nightfighter to be equipped with an airborne radar as standard. Thus equipped, it combined the ability to 'see' the enemy at night with the devastating hitting power of four cannon and six machine guns. This book covers the exploits of the men who made ace in the Beaufighter and includes stunning original artwork together with first hand accounts of the action.

Beaufighter
Beaufighter

Author: Simon W. Parry

Publisher: Red Kite / Air Research

Published: 2001-02

Total Pages: 104

ISBN-13: 095380612X

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This is a photographic album of the units that went to war in the Bristol Beaufighter.

Three in Thirteen
Three in Thirteen

Author: Roger Dunsford

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2017-04-19

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 1612004415

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This “incredibly engaging and deeply personal” story of World War II pilot Joe Singleton “draws the reader into the dangerous world of night fighting” (Manhattan Book Review). Joe Singleton was an unlikely hero. A junior manager at a paints and varnish company at the outbreak of war, he was surprised to discover he had a hidden talent for flying. Despite RAF Fighter Squadrons crying out for replacements after the carnage of the Battle of Britain, Joe was posted to the rapidly developing world of night fighting. He flew first Defiants, then Beaufighters, finding himself in the thick of the very earliest stages of ground-controlled interception and airborne radar engagements. His skills finally began to bear fruit when piloting a Mosquito, and he took part in several successful missions. But the pinnacle came on the night of March 19, 1944: scrambling to intercept a big German raid on Hull, he located and shot down a Junkers 188, then went on to shoot down two more, all in the space of thirteen dramatic minutes. He and his navigator survived the crash-landing that ensued, and he went on to be feted as a national hero. Three in Thirteen is a unique sortie-by-sortie account of his journey from bewildered recruit to celebrated expert, illustrated with extracts from Joe’s RAF logbook and unpublished photographs and illustrations. Roger Dunsford’s extensive experience as an RAF pilot brings a vivid immediacy to Joe’s experiences, combined with astute analysis of the planes, the tactics, and the events of that fateful night. “Inspirational and thoroughly engaging—a true hero’s story.” —Books Monthly

Conquering the Night
Conquering the Night

Author: Stephen L. McFarland

Publisher: Department of the Air Force

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 54

ISBN-13:

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United States Army Air Forces in World War 2. Traces the Army Air Forces' development of aerial night fighting, including technology, training, and tactical operations in the North African, European, Pacific, and Asian theaters of war.

Beaufighters Over Sea, Sand and Steaming Jungles
Beaufighters Over Sea, Sand and Steaming Jungles

Author: Jack Colman

Publisher: Fonthill Media

Published: 2019-12-08

Total Pages: 424

ISBN-13:

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In October 1943, Jack Colman changed from Liberators to Beaufighters and was selected for Torbeau training in Scotland. He joined a strike wing at North Coates attacking North Sea convoys off the coast of Holland. Later, Jack and his Beaufighter were sent to the Far East where he was deployed to fly out of Assam over Burma supporting the Forgotten Army. Midway through the tour, they converted to Mosquitoes - a change he was not particularly happy about. After a short rest converting pilots to Mosquitoes, he felt lucky to be put in charge of a small unit flying service personnel to various venues in southern India. Jack's enthusiasm for flying is maintained and his lucky escapes documented. His fascination with the cultural and social experiences gained in India leaves its mark as he comments on the privileges he experiences, now as a commissioned officer, and of the wealth chasm between the princes and the poor of India. This is a book not just about flying but how one man and his comrades lived through those unique and special times.

Queen of the Midnight Skies
Queen of the Midnight Skies

Author: Garry R. Pape

Publisher: Schiffer Pub Limited

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 9780887404153

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This new book chronicles not only the aptly named P-61 "Black Widow", but also the Douglas P-70 series, the P-38 night fighter variants, the Bristol Beaufighter, B-25s and the DeHavilland Mosquito - the proposed XA-26A and the P-39 nightfighters are also discussed. Historical accounts of American night fighter pilots, as well as the complets history of all night fighter squadrons formed during World War II are included, as is the development of radar and modern air defenses. This book is the product of over twenty years of study and research. Its sources include the National Archives, Northrop Aircraft archived, the U.S. Air Force Museum, the Imperial War Museum, the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum and interviews with P-61 test pilots, designers and engineers. Garry Pape's previous works include books on the P-61 and the P-38 night-fighter versions. He is currently employed by Northrop, after years with Hughes and Lockheed, and lives in California. Brig. Gen. Ronald Harrison is an F-16 Wing Commander in the Air Force Reserves, and lives in Georgia as an attorney.

A History of the Mediterranean Air War, 1940–1945
A History of the Mediterranean Air War, 1940–1945

Author: Christopher Shores

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2018-11-05

Total Pages: 697

ISBN-13: 1911621785

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This fourth volume in the comprehensive series “fills a gap in the existing narrative” of WWII’s Mediterranean air war (Journal of Military History). The fourth volume in this momentous series commences with the attacks on the Italian island fortress of Pantellaria, which led to its surrender and occupation achieved almost by air attack alone. The account continues with the ultimately successful, but at times very hard fought, invasions of Sicily and southern Italy as burgeoning Allied air power, now with full US involvement, increasingly dominated the skies overhead. The successive occupations of Sardinia and Corsica are also covered in detail. This is essentially the story of the tactical air forces up to the point when Rome was occupied, just at the same time as the Normandy landings were occurring in northwest France. With regards to the long-range tactical role of the Allied heavy bombers, only the period from May to October is examined, while they remained based in North Africa, with the narrative continuing in a future volume. This volume also delves into the story of “the soldiers’ air force.” Frequently overshadowed by more immediate newsworthy events elsewhere, the soldiers’ struggle was often of an equally Homeric nature. “No future publication on the Mediterranean air war will be credible without use of this series.” —Air Power History

Czechs in the Raf in Focus
Czechs in the Raf in Focus

Author: Zdenek Hurt

Publisher: Red Kite / Air Research

Published: 2004-02

Total Pages: 110

ISBN-13: 0953806197

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En fotografisk beretning om tjekkere der rejste til England under den 2.verdenskrig for at fortsætte deres kamp imod Nazi-Tyskland. Indledningsvis bliv de integreret i RAF eskadrillerne, men fra midten af 1940 blev oprettet eskadriller som udelukkende bestod af tjekker.