Master Bombers
Master Bombers

Author: Sean Feast

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2012-09-26

Total Pages: 239

ISBN-13: 1909166987

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The wartime exploits and experiences of an RAF bomber pathfinder squadron are recounted in this WWII history—“A stunning war book” (Oxford Times, UK). Formed in July 1942, the Pathfinder Force was the corps d’élite of the Royal Air Force’s Bomber Command. The Squadrons of the PFF were tasked with marking targets and leading bomber formations to the right place at the right time. And the best of the force formed the crews of the master bombers, the aircraft in charge of the whole attack. It took nerves of steel for the crew to linger high over the target area, often for hours, in constant fear of attack from fighters or flak. In Master Bombers, aviation historian Sean Feast shares the wartime stories of the men and women of No. 582 Squadron. This bomber pathfinder squadron was formed in April of 1944 and began operations with a night raid on Occupied France a week later. The aircrew and supporting staff of No. 582 distinguished themselves in numerous operations, with one pilot, Ted Swales, winning a posthumous Victoria Cross over Pforzheim.

Master Bombers
Master Bombers

Author: Sean Feast

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2010-09-01

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781906502812

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Formed in July 1942, the Pathfinder force was the corps d’élite of Bomber Command, tasked with marking targets and leading bomber formations to the right place at the right time. And the best of the force formed the crews of the master bombers, the aircraft in charge of the whole attack. It took nerves of steel for the crew to linger long high over the target area, often for hours, in constant fear of attack from fighters or flak. Here Sean Feast gives a detailed and comprehensive exploration of the exploits of one typical squadron in the heat of battle.

Bombers
Bombers

Author: David Wragg

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2016-09-23

Total Pages: 505

ISBN-13: 0750981296

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The role of the bomber has proved to be on of the most controversial aspects of twentieth-century warfare. Bombers tells the story of the bomber with a blend of narrative and personal accounts, recording the history of the principle bombing raids and the skill and courage of those who flew them. David Wragg begins with a brief overview of the origins of the concept of aerial bombardment, which astonishingly go back several thousand years. He then describes the early raids of the First World War and the use of the bomber between the wars by the Germans in the Spanish Civil War, the Italians in Abyssinia and by the Japanese in China. The Second World War marked the massive deployment of the bomber by the main combatants as a major tactical and strategic weapon and, bringing this in-depth study up to date, Wragg examines the United States controversial campaign of extensive bombing in Vietnam during the 1960s and 70s. He also discusses whether, with the growing use of cruise missiles, the manned bomber may soon be the first element of air power to be made redundant in this age of high technology. Fully illustrated with a wide selection of photographs, Bombers will appeal to all with an interest in this key weapon of twentieth-century warfare.

A Wing and a Prayer
A Wing and a Prayer

Author: Harry H. Crosby

Publisher: Open Road Media

Published: 2021-09-14

Total Pages: 366

ISBN-13: 1504067320

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“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

The Heavy Bomber Offensive of WWII
The Heavy Bomber Offensive of WWII

Author: Martin W. Bowman

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2015-05-31

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 1473861136

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This book contains fourteen stirring accounts, each conveying an authentic sense of what it was really like to fly as a member of air-crew during the various bombing operations of the Second World War. The storytellers are an eclectic mix of pilots, navigators, bomb aimers, wireless operators and gunners who flew on operations in heavy bombers. It conveys the terror of being coned by German searchlights over the target, attacks by Luftwaffe night-fighters, often catastrophic damage to aircraft and the ensuing struggle to keep the machine airborne on the return trip to base. It tells of the comradeship between the crew and the humour between them, often borne of fear. The gentle and unassuming narratives include 'Millennium'; 'One of Our Aircraft Is Missing'; Bomber's Moon; 'Bombing Berlin' 'The Ordeal Of Pilot Officer Romans DFC'; Last Man Out' operations on Whitleys and Halifaxes; Flying Officer 'X'; Stirlings; 'Rescue At Sea' 'The Incendiary Load's Alight'; 'The Night Of The Bombs' and 'The Kassel Raids of 1943' as well as BBC Broadcasts and stories by Allied war correspondents. Each of these accounts conveys the sense of purpose that these men felt in doing one of the most dangerous jobs of the war. It is a fitting tribute to those that survived and the many thousands who died in the struggle against Hitler's dreadful ambitions in Europe.

Bomber Crew
Bomber Crew

Author: Jack E. Thompson DFC; Stephen Thompson

Publisher: Trafford Publishing

Published: 2006-07-21

Total Pages: 96

ISBN-13: 1426989865

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Bomber Crew was self-published by the author, Jack E. Thompson, in 1989. This second edition has been re-published to acknowledge the 60th anniversary of VE-Day, to commemorate 2005 as the Year of the Veteran and to help celebrate the life of Jack E. Thompson (1923-2003). Some additional material including photographs, not available for the original version, have been added by the author's son, Stephen Thompson. Bomber Crew is the record of a tour of duty of the crew of the Lancaster bomber G-George of Bomber Command 12 Squadron based at RAF base Wickenby, Lincolnshire. This is a story of the bonds formed among seven men, five Canadian with the RCAF and two English with the RAF, bonds that lasted their lifetimes. This is the story of the happenstance and chaos of "crewing up", of endless "practice, practice, practice" sessions, and the excitement and terror of late-night bombing runs over occupied Europe and deep into Germany. The author and his crew would suggest that their tour was very ordinary and unremarkable. From data declassified post-war, they learned otherwise, that it was remarkable that these seven crew members survived the war and returned to civilian life. Only 40% of Bomber Command aircrew survived the war, and not all of those without physical or psychological injury.

Dresden and the Heavy Bombers
Dresden and the Heavy Bombers

Author: Frank Musgrove

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2005-01-01

Total Pages: 186

ISBN-13: 1473813794

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This is the story of a young man's entry into the war in 1941 and culminates in his flying on the bombing raid to Dresden in February 1945. This is not a gung-ho account of flying with Bomber Command but neither is it a breast-beating avowal of guilt. These memoirs take the form of a basic narrative of the author's RAF career and pay particular attention to fear, morale and, as the author explains, the myth of leadership. Several raids are described in detail and illustrate the variety of experience, problems and dangers involved in such hazardous warfare. So, nearly 60 years after his dramatic experiences, how does he view the bombing of factories and cities and the inevitable grave moral issues that have slowly and insidiously crept up on him ? The answer will surprise many younger and older readers.

The Berlin Raids
The Berlin Raids

Author: Martin Middlebrook

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2010-07-12

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 1473819059

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A “meticulously documented” account that covers the RAF’s controversial attempt to end World War II by the aerial bombing of Berlin (Kirkus Reviews). The Battle of Berlin was the longest and most sustained bombing offensive against one target in the Second World War. Bomber Command Commander-in-Chief, Sir Arthur Harris, hoped to wreak Berlin from end to end and produce a state of devastation in which German surrender was inevitable. He dispatched nineteen major raids between August 1943 and March 1944—more than ten thousand aircraft sorties dropped over thirty thousand tons of bombs on Berlin. It was the RAF’s supreme effort to end the war by aerial bombing. But Berlin was not destroyed and the RAF lost more than six hundred aircraft and their crews. The controversy over whether the Battle of Berlin was a success or failure has continued ever since. Martin Middlebrook brings to this subject considerable experience as a military historian. In preparing his material he collected documents from both sides (many of the German ones never before used); he has also interviewed and corresponded with over four hundred of the people involved in the battle and has made trips to Germany to interview the people of Berlin and Luftwaffe aircrews. He has achieved the difficult task of bringing together both sides of the Battle of Berlin—the bombing force and the people on the ground—to tell a coherent, single story. “His straightforward narrative covers the 19 major raids, with a detailed description of three in particular, and includes recollections by British and German airmen as well as German civilians who weathered the storm.” —Publishers Weekly