Air-Launched Doodlebugs
Air-Launched Doodlebugs

Author: Peter C. Smith

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2007-04-13

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 1783468890

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The V 1, or Doodlebug or Flying-bomb came into use in June 1944 and, together with the V 2 Rocket, was Hitlers final hope in face of the advancing Allied forces sweeping across Europe towards Germany. Of the 8,000 that were launched within the first 80 days, some 2,300 reached the London area where they caused more death and destruction to its population and buildings. As the front line moved eastwards, many of the ground-based launch ramps became denied to the German forces and the modest range of the missile meant that other means of launching must be considered to continue the threat. An air-launching system, utilizing the Luftwaffes Heinkel 111 bomber, was developed and operated by the newly formed Kampfgeschwader units. This posed a dramatic new threat to the UK because the V 1s effective range was considerably increased and its mobile firing point offered a much greater target area when fired from an aircraft flying over the North Sea. This is the story of the development and operation of this new form of attack and also of the Allied reaction and defense-measures taken to minimize damage.

Doodlebugs and Rockets
Doodlebugs and Rockets

Author: Bob Ogley

Publisher: Motorbooks International

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 9781872337210

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This book recreates the atmosphere of life as it was when the flying bombs - V1 and V2, or Doodlebug and Rocket - were launched by the Germans in a last-ditch effort to change the tide of World War II. Using photographs and maps from newspapers, museums and libraries, the book is a history of the weapons and includes many letters and anecdotes. The picture is completed by contemporary documents, statistics and colour photographs of some of those who played a leading part.

V-1 Flying Bomb 1942–52
V-1 Flying Bomb 1942–52

Author: Steven J. Zaloga

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2011-07-20

Total Pages: 100

ISBN-13: 1849089671

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The first deployment of the V-1 was in June 1944 when, following two years of tests, Hitler gave the order to attack England. Known to the Allies as the "Buzz Bomb" or "Doodlebug", the V-1 was the world's first cruise missile. This book explores the V-1 in detail, from its initial concept, first use in 1944, the various Allied counter-measures, and the later use of the V-1 during the Battle of the Bulge. The major foreign derivatives, including the US copy "JB-2 Loon" and numerous post-war Soviet variants, are also covered.

Disarming Hitlers V Weapons
Disarming Hitlers V Weapons

Author: Chris Ransted

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2013-09-19

Total Pages: 339

ISBN-13: 1473829674

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An account of the “brave men of the bomb disposal units who died disarming the weapons that Hitler hoped would save the Nazis from defeat” (Dover Express/Folkestone Herald). In 1944 the V-1s and V-2s, Hitler’s “vengeance” weapons, were regarded by the Allied leaders in London as the single greatest threat they had faced. It was feared that these flying bombs and rockets might turn the tide of war once again in Germany’s favor. Yet, little more than half of these missiles hit their targets, some failing to explode. Their wreckage lay across the southern half of England or in Europe, with contents liable to sudden and deadly ignition. It was the job of specialist Bomb Disposal teams to render the V-weapons safe and uncover their secrets. This is their story. In this unique book Chris Ransted has investigated the work of these unsung heroes who risked their lives every time they were called into action and, in the course of his research he has located the sites of many of the unexploded V-weapons, revealed here for the first time. Ransted also details the methods used by the Bomb Disposal men and the equipment they used. The book is richly illustrated with 266 photographs and diagrams, many of which have never previously been published. In completing this, the most comprehensive study of its kind, the author describes the deeds of those gallant Bomb Disposal men that were awarded one of the highest honors which could have been bestowed upon them by their country—the George Medal. “A particularly thorough and enlightening book.”—Military Vehicle Trust

Mosquito Mayhem
Mosquito Mayhem

Author: Martin W. Bowman

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2010-11-20

Total Pages: 388

ISBN-13: 1844683400

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“This is the book that puts the flesh on the bones of its reputation as one of the best aircraft of the Second World War.” —Pennant Magazine The flak started about four or five minutes before the target and immediately it was apparent that it was intense and extremely accurate. Oboe entailed the pilot flying dead straight and level for ten minutes on the attack run. Suddenly a tremendous flash lit up the sky about 50 yards ahead of our nose and exactly at our altitude. Within a tenth of a second we were through the cloud of dirty yellowish-brown smoke and into the blackness beyond. I shall never forget the spontaneous reaction of both my pilot and myself. We turned our heads slowly and looked long and deep into one another’s eyes—no word was spoken—no words were needed. The Mosquito was probably World War II’s most versatile combat aircraft. This book contains hundreds of firsthand accounts from many of the two-man crews who flew in them; pilots and navigators. It portrays the dramatic experiences of flying in its many roles as pathfinder, night fighter, reconnaissance aircraft, precision bombing and low-level ground attack aircraft. It describes many of the RAF’s most audacious raids on prime but difficult targets where carpet bombing by heavy bombers was likely to be ineffective and cause unnecessary casualties to civilians. It is a remarkable record of the aircraft and the men that flew them.

German V-Weapon Sites 1943–45
German V-Weapon Sites 1943–45

Author: Steven J. Zaloga

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2012-08-20

Total Pages: 159

ISBN-13: 1782002154

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Designed to change the course of the war, the V weapons required ambitious plans to defend their expensive and complicated launch sites. Steven J Zaloga describes the configuration and planned deployment of heavy missile sites, as well as the unique Allied tactics developed to counter this threat, including a remote-control version of the B-17 bomber. From the V-1 ski sites to the mobile basing employed by the V-2 units and the other secret weapons bases like the 'V-3' high-pressure gun at Mimoyeques, this book examines the impact of these weapon systems and defences not only on the war but on modern weaponry. With many of the sites described still surviving today, this is a perfect companion for a tour of the V weapon sites built during World War II.

The Doodlebugs
The Doodlebugs

Author: Norman Longmate

Publisher:

Published: 1981

Total Pages: 576

ISBN-13:

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Bombardementerne over London skildres med dertilhørende skadevirkninger og befolkningens oplevelser og reaktioner. Indkøbskvarterer, skoler og hospitaler sønderbombes.

No Place for Chivalry
No Place for Chivalry

Author: Alastair Goodrum

Publisher: Grub Street Publishing

Published: 2005-09-19

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 1904943225

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Night fighting in the air is a devious and clandestine form of mortal combat. In the blackness of night, success goes to the resolute hunter who stalks his prey unseen, and strikes from behind, swiftly and mercilessly. A sudden burst of machine-gun or cannon fire into an opponentÍs belly often caught the enemy unprepared, obliterating men and machines in a hail of explosions. Chivalry had no place in the combats of the night sky. A corridor from The Wash to Birmingham was turned into a fierce battleground in two world wars. The air route from Germany and the occupied countries through this corridor, to targets right across the industrial heartland of England, became a three-dimensional combat zone that proved to be as grim a killing ground by night as anywhere else in the land. No Place for Chivalry encapsulates the story of the air defense of England against attack by night. By taking the area covered by RAF Wittering and Digby sectors, looking at the action of night fighter squadrons operating from those stations and their satellite airfields, the way the battle developed, its timeline of events, the events themselves and the organization of those involved, a coherent picture of how the night air defense of Britain evolved is formed. The narrative is pitched at a level of detail and with such human interest content that it enables readers not only to grasp what is happening and why but also to feel the tensions, frustrations and euphoria of success that the aircrews felt at the time. The reader gets a view from the cockpit or gun turret, to ïmeetÍ and ïflyÍ with the men of both sides who fought in the air at night - men whose moral standards on the ground were above reproach but, when fighting in the night sky, gave no quarter.

V1 Flying Bomb Aces
V1 Flying Bomb Aces

Author: Andrew Thomas

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2013-09-20

Total Pages: 154

ISBN-13: 1780962940

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Shortly after the Allied landings in France the Germans unleashed the first of their so-called 'revenge weapons', the V1 flying bomb. Launched from specially constructed sites in northern France, the fast, small, pulse-jet powered pilotless aircraft were aimed at London with the sole intent of destroying civilian morale to the point where the British government would be forced to sue for peace. This dangerous new threat drew an immediate response, and the Air Defence of Great Britain (as Fighter Command had been temporarily renamed) established layers of defence that included a gun line and balloon barrage. The main element, however, were standing patrols by the fastest piston-engined fighters available to the RAF – the new Tempest V and Griffon-powered Spitfire XIV. Other types were allocated too, most notably the Polish Mustang wing, while night defence was left in the capable hands of several dedicated Mosquito squadrons. Although pilotless, the V1 was no easy foe thanks to its speed, powerful warhead and sheer unpredictability. Nevertheless, 154 pilots became V1 aces, 25 of whom were also aces against manned aircraft.