In almost 200 photographs, this book places the aircraft, runways and buildings in the modern landscape, showing how they have been transformed within Staffordshire.
From some of the first ever airfields in Great Britain, through the municipal airports of Stoke, Walsall and Wolverhampton, to a total of eighteen RAF airfields in the Second World War, Staffordshire has always embraced aviation. Both Stoke and Wolverhampton were taken over for the use of Elementary Flying Training Schools, huge new airfields were built to house bomber Operational Training Units at Hixon and Lichfield, and to provide extra room for the Elementary Flying Training Schools, grass satellite airfields were built at Penkridge, Abbots Bromley and Battlestead Hill. Finally, Relief Landing Grounds for the storage of aircraft were created in the grounds of stately homes at Teddesley Park and Hoar Cross. Since the war the number has dwindled steadily, as agriculture reclaimed several and housing many others. Nowadays, only the ghosts of forgotten wings tell of the long lost heroes who flew at many of these airfields. In almost 200 photographs, this book places the aircraft, runways and buildings in the modern landscape, showing how they have been transformed.
This fascinating selection of photographs traces some of the many ways in which Gloucestershire Airport has changed and developed over the last century.
The author of RAF Evaders provides a comprehensive reference of the airmen of Bomber Command who were held in German captivity during WWII. This extensive book is divided into two part. The first, which has eighteen chapters, deals with German POW camps as they were opened, in chronological order and to which the Bomber Command POWs were sent. Each chapter includes anecdotes and stories of the men in the camps—capture, escape, illness, and murder—and illustrates the awfulness of captivity even in German hands. Roughly one in every twenty captured airmen never returned home. The first part also covers subjects such as how the POWs were repatriated during the war; how they returned at war’s end; the RAF traitors; the war crimes; and the vital importance of the Red Cross. The style is part reference, part gripping narrative, and the book will correct many historical inaccuracies, and includes previously unpublished photographs. The second part comprises an annotated list of ALL 10, 995 RAF Bomber Command airmen who were taken prisoner, together with an extended introduction. The two parts together are the fruit of exhaustive research and provide an important contribution to our knowledge of the war and a unique reference work not only for the serious RAF historian but for the ex-POWs themselves and their families and anyone with an interest in the RAF in general and captivity in particular.
"Martyn Chorlton's book describes the history of each airfield, highlights some of the operations carried out from them, and puts them into the overall context of a country and nation at war. It will appeal equally to aviation enthusiasts and to readers who recall the era when the country's skies never ceased to throb with the drone of departing and returning aircraft."--Jacket.
Stafford at War is a vivid many-sided portrait of a county town during one of the extraordinary periods in English history. In his wide-ranging narrative Nick Thomas looks at the impact of the Second World War on the townspeople - how it affected their daily lives, their work, their families. And he recalls the contribution Stafford made to the war effort at home and abroad. The story he tells gives a fascinating insight into wartime life and it is a moving record of the sacrifices made by local people. His detailed and fully illustrated account will be fascinating reading for everyone who knows Stafford and wants to find out about its history.
Draws on 25 years of original and exhaustive researchRichly illustrated with many previously unpublished photographsContent and style will appeal to a wide readership The Royal Air Force is the world’s oldest independent air arm, yet little has been written about its logistics. This ground-breaking book, which draws on 25 years of original archival research, opens the hangar door on this highly important discipline that has been at the forefront of supporting British air power since 1918. Written by a former senior RAF logistics officer and supplemented by material from veterans and currently serving military personnel, Sustaining Air Power: Royal Air Force Logistics since 1918 explores the fascinating development of RAF logistics. This journey, just short of a century, explores the inter-war years, Second World War, Cold War and the major campaigns the service has been involved in since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1990. The main narrative ends in 2014 with the RAF’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. Dedicated chapters consider the more specialist aspects of logistics such as tactical and expeditionary logistics, fuels and explosives, transport, training, information technology and how the RAF has managed its extensive supply chain. Richly illustrated, its content and style will appeal to a wide readership.