Greatest Air Aces of All Time

Greatest Air Aces of All Time

Author: Anil Chopra

Publisher:

Published: 2022-02-28

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789390095322

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A flying Ace, fighter Ace or Air Ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The concept of the 'Ace' emerged in 1915 during World War I, at the same time as aerial dogfighting. This book covers 25 of the greatest Air Aces across wars, nationalities and countries.


The Greatest Air Aces Stories Ever Told

The Greatest Air Aces Stories Ever Told

Author: Col. Robert Barr Smith

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2017-04-03

Total Pages: 317

ISBN-13: 149302969X

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In thirty-five chapters, The Greatest Air Aces Stories Ever Told covers many of the leading American and British Commonwealth fighter aces of WW I and II, together with a few bomber crews whose gallantry made a substantial contribution to the end of WW II. Other nations had their aces, but this book concentrates on American and Commonwealth pilots. These aviators were chosen not only because of their “scores” and their great courage, but also for other qualities which set them apart, like the WWII Royal Air Force Wing Commander who shot down more than 20 Germans while flying with two artificial legs. Here are a few of the aces. Note that the air forces of Europe and the United States did not always have today’s names, used here for simplicity’s sake: Albert Ball, RAF, son of the Lord Mayor of Nottingham, winner of the Victoria Cross. He had 44 victories in WWI when he was killed at the age of 20, well known to his German foes, who much admired him. Gabby Gabreski, USAF. Son of hard-working Polish immigrants. An ace in WWII with 28 kills and later in Korea, with another six. He was an accomplished commander, finished a long career as a colonel. Mick Mannock, RAF. Tough and aggressive in spite of his fear of fire, he won not only the Victoria Cross, but five other high awards for gallantry. Highest British scorer of WWI with 73 victories, he detested Germans, and rejoiced with every kill. He was shot down by ground fire in the last year of the war. David McCampbell, USN. Scored 34 WWII kills to become the U.S. Navy’s all-time ace. In 1944, set an all-time record with nine victories on a single mission. Winner of the Congressional Medal. Pick Pickard, RAF. Led the RAF rooftop bomber raid on Amiens Prison In WWII, freeing many underground members, some of whom were facing death, and who were promptly spirited away by French partisans. Frank Luke, USAF. Deadly American famous for his busting of German observation balloons in WWI. Shot up over German territory, he managed to land safely, but, being Luke, tried to fight it out with enemy infantrymen with only his pistol. The book will also touch on the equipment these aces flew, from the famous Fokkers and Sopwith Camels to the ungainly two-seater FE2b, which was driven by a pusher engine and looked like a bathtub with wings and a miniature oil derrick glued on the back. Also included are our own Grumman carrier fighters, the P-40s, the P-38s, as well as the P-51 Mustang, probably the finest fighter of the war, a happy marriage of an American airframe and a British engine. The deadly, graceful Spitfire has its place, as do the Hurricane, the biplane Gladiator, and even the four-engine Lancaster.


Fighter Aces of the Great War

Fighter Aces of the Great War

Author: Stephen Wynn

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2020-04-30

Total Pages: 138

ISBN-13: 1473865433

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History has recorded that the first ever powered flight took place at Kitty Hawk in America, on 17 December 1903 and was carried out by the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, who were aircraft designers and manufacturers. By the time of the outbreak of the First World War, aviation was only eleven years old. The daddy of battlefield warfare until that point in time had been the cavalry, a position it maintained even as war was declared on the Western Front. Aircraft were not initially seen as an offensive weapon and were instead used by both sides as observation platforms, or to take aerial photographs from. Even when they were eventually used in an offensive capacity, they did not have machine guns attached to them; if the crew wanted to open fire then they had to use a pistol or rifle. As the war progressed so the use of aircraft changed from being an observational tool, to that of a fighter and bomber aircraft - something that had never been foreseen at the outbreak of the war. The book then looks at the fighter aces from all sides. These were pilots who had been credited with shooting or forcing down a minimum of five enemy aircraft, of which their were hundreds. While some of these aces survived, many of them were killed. The most famous fighter ace of all is without doubt the German pilot known as the Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen.


Race of Aces

Race of Aces

Author: John R Bruning

Publisher: Hachette Books

Published: 2020-01-14

Total Pages: 534

ISBN-13: 0316508640

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The astonishing untold story of the WWII airmen who risked it all in the deadly race to become the greatest American fighter pilot. In 1942, America's deadliest fighter pilot, or "ace of aces" -- the legendary Eddie Rickenbacker -- offered a bottle of bourbon to the first U.S. fighter pilot to break his record of twenty-six enemy planes shot down. Seizing on the challenge to motivate his men, General George Kenney promoted what they would come to call the "race of aces" as a way of boosting the spirits of his war-weary command. What developed was a wild three-year sprint for fame and glory, and the chance to be called America's greatest fighter pilot. The story has never been told until now. Based on new research and full of revelations, John Bruning's brilliant, original book tells the story of how five American pilots contended for personal glory in the Pacific while leading Kenney's resurgent air force against the most formidable enemy America ever faced. The pilots -- Richard Bong, Tommy McGuire, Neel Kearby, Charles MacDonald and Gerald Johnson -- riveted the nation as they contended for Rickenbacker's crown. As their scores mounted, they transformed themselves from farm boys and aspiring dentists into artists of the modern dogfight. But as the race reached its climax, some of the pilots began to see how the spotlight warped their sense of duty. They emerged as leaders, beloved by their men as they chose selfless devotion over national accolades. Teeming with action all across the vast Pacific theater, Race of Aces is a fascinating exploration of the boundary between honorable duty, personal glory, and the complex landscape of the human heart. "Brings you into the cockpit of the lethal, fast-paced world of fighter pilots . . . Fascinating." -- Sara Vladic"Extraordinary . . . a must-read." -- US Navy Captain Dan Pedersen"A heart-pounding narrative of the courage, sacrifice, and tragedy of America's elite fighter pilots." -- James M. Scott"Vivid and gripping . . . Confirms Bruning's status as the premier war historian of the air." -- Saul David


American Aces in Great Fighter Battles of World War II

American Aces in Great Fighter Battles of World War II

Author: Edward Sims

Publisher: Sims Press

Published: 2008-11

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 1443727490

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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1917 edition. Excerpt: ... (6) Columns for Discount on Purchases and Discount on Notes on the same side of the Cash Book; (c) Columns for Discount on Sales and Cash Sales on the debit side of the Cash Book; (d) Departmental columns in the Sales Book and in the Purchase Book. Controlling Accounts.--The addition of special columns in books of original entry makes possible the keeping of Controlling Accounts. The most common examples of such accounts are Accounts Receivable account and Accounts Payable account. These summary accounts, respectively, displace individual customers' and creditors' accounts in the Ledger. The customers' accounts are then segregated in another book called the Sales Ledger or Customers' Ledger, while the creditors' accounts are kept in the Purchase or Creditors' Ledger. The original Ledger, now much reduced in size, is called the General Ledger. The Trial Balance now refers to the accounts in the General Ledger. It is evident that the task of taking a Trial Balance is greatly simplified because so many fewer accounts are involved. A Schedule of Accounts Receivable is then prepared, consisting of the balances found in the Sales Ledger, and its total must agree with the balance of the Accounts Receivable account shown in the Trial Balance. A similar Schedule of Accounts Payable, made up of all the balances in the Purchase Ledger, is prepared, and it must agree with the balance of the Accounts Payable account of the General Ledger." The Balance Sheet.--In the more elementary part of the text, the student learned how to prepare a Statement of Assets and Liabilities for the purpose of disclosing the net capital of an enterprise. In the present chapter he was shown how to prepare a similar statement, the Balance Sheet. For all practical...


Black Tulip

Black Tulip

Author: Erik Schmidt

Publisher: Casemate

Published: 2020-02-29

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 1612008259

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This myth-busting military biography reveals the true story of the legendary WWII German flying ace—and how his story was manipulated during the Cold War. Over the course of 1,404 wartime missions, Luftwaffe fighter pilot Erich Hartmann claimed a staggering 352 airborne kills. His storied career contains all the dramas you would expect: frostbitten fighter sweeps over the Eastern Front, drunken forays to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest, a decade of imprisonment in the wretched Soviet POW camps, and further military service during the Cold War. Then, just as Hartmann’s career was faltering, he was adopted by a network of writers and commentators deeply invested in his reputation. These men, mostly Americans, published celebratory stories about Hartmann and his elite fraternity of Luftwaffe pilots. With each dogfight tale put into print, Hartmann’s legacy became loftier and more secure, and his complicated service in support of Nazism faded away. Black Tulip digs beneath this one-dimensional account of Hartmann’s life, revealing a man who was neither a full-blown Nazi nor an impeccable knight.


Richard Bong

Richard Bong

Author: Pete Barnes

Publisher: Wisconsin Historical Society

Published: 2009-08

Total Pages: 130

ISBN-13: 0870204343

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Wisconsin-born Richard Bong was the highest-rated flying ace in World War II, famous for having shot down 40 Japanese planes during a 3 year career as a fighter pilot. The recipient of a Silver Star and a Congressional Medal of Honor, Bong was killed after the war in a flying accident just months after marrying the love of his life, Marge Vattendahl. Badger Biographies is a series intended to integrate reading and Wisconsin history for 4th through 8th grade students or for ELL/ESL high school students.


Fighter Aces of the U.S.A.

Fighter Aces of the U.S.A.

Author: Raymond F. Toliver

Publisher:

Published: 1979

Total Pages: 404

ISBN-13:

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Lists American fighter pilot aces who flew during the U.S. engagements in aerial warfare from World War I to Vietnam.


Luftwaffe Fighter Aces

Luftwaffe Fighter Aces

Author: Mike Spick

Publisher: Frontline Books

Published: 2011-07-19

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 1783375787

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In this exciting book Mike Spick shows how the Luftwaffe's leading fighter pilots were able to outscore their allied counterparts so effectively and completely during the Second World War. When the records of the Jagdflieger pilots became available after the war, they were initially greeted with incredulity _ the highest claim was for 352 kills, and more than 100 pilots had recorded more than 100 victories. However postwar research proved that these claims had in fact been made in good faith and confirmation had only been given after rigorous checking. To discover the secret of this success, aviation history expert Mike Spick examines the exploits of these aces and sets out the context in which it took place. Every major theater is covered in detail including the conditions peculiar to each: climate, relative numerical and qualitative strengths, the presence or absence of radar and other measures, and the relative merits of the planes being flown. He focuses on the methods and tactics used by individual aces and uses firsthand sources wherever possible to put the reader right alongside the pilot in the cockpit.