This work deals with the many aspects of the US Army Air Force's organization and equipment in World War II. It includes everything from global strategies to command structures, flight training to combat aircraft, uniforms and equipment to health and welfare, morale, medals and awards, to a who's who of the Army Air Forces. Detailed listings also cover air force strengths and deployments, group and squadron codes, Medal of Honor recipients, and casualties. Illustrated with more than 150 photographs and line drawings, the book should appeal to anyone with an interest in the world's greatest air force and the key part it played in winning World War II.
Fully illustrated analysis of all World War II aircraft in British military service, including full descriptions and specifications, hundreds of action photos and highly accurate, full-color artwork.
This is a large format A-Z encyclopedia of every Allied and Axis fighting plane from 1933-1945 - from the famous to the lesser known - in all theatres of war from Europe to Asia and the Pacific.
With war against Germany looming, Britain pushed forward its carrier program in the late 1930s. In 1938, the Royal Navy launched the HMS Ark Royal, its first-ever purpose-built aircraft carrier. This was quickly followed by others, including the highly-successful Illustrious class. Smaller and tougher than their American cousins, the British carriers were designed to fight in the tight confines of the North Sea and the Mediterranean. Over the next six years, these carriers battled the Axis powers in every theatre, attacking Italian naval bases, hunting the Bismark, and even joining the fight in the Pacific. This book tells the story of the small, but resilient, carriers and the crucial role they played in the British war effort.
"Night Fighters examines the historical, technological. tactical, and strategic evolution of limited-visibility aerial combat as the air forces of Great Britain and Germany dueled in the night skies during World War II. The book is based on extensive research and interviews with the key planners and policy makers responsible for their respective national strategies governing the conduct of the nighttime air war, as well as with the airmen who fought the war, which makes it far more detailed than previous works on this subject. The science developed by both nations greatly increased the momentum and lethality of air combat in that conflict. In addition, this arena of World War II combat also produced many technological innovations, the results of which are seen today in everyday military and civilian life."--BOOK JACKET.
Real-life, action-packed, personal stories of valor from the history of the RAF’s maritime arm during World War II. It took thirty minutes for one Coastal Command crew to sink two U-boats. The crew of Flying Officer Kenneth “Kayo” Moore in their 224 Squadron Liberator carried out this remarkable achievement on the evening of 7/8 June 1944. While patrolling the western end of the English Channel, Moore’s crew first dispatched U-629, followed just under thirty minutes later by U-373. The story of this remarkable engagement is just one of many recounted by the author in Heroes of Coastal Command. Established in 1936, Coastal Command was the RAF’s only maritime arm. Throughout the war, its crews worked tirelessly alongside the Royal Navy to keep Britain’s vital sea lanes open. Together, they fought and won the Battle of the Atlantic, with RAF aircraft destroying 212 German U-Boats and sinking a significant tonnage of enemy warships and merchant vessels. Often working alone and unsupported, undertaking long patrols out over opens seas, Coastal Command bred a special kind of airman. Alongside individuals such as Kenneth Moore, there were Allan Trigg, Kenneth Campbell and John Cruickshank, all of whom were awarded the Victoria Cross; Norman Jackson-Smith, a Blenheim pilot who flew in the Battle of Britain; Jack Davenport, who flew his Hampden to Russia; John Watson, the sole survivor of a Short Sunderland which was lost during a rescue mission; and Ken Gatward, who flew a unique daylight mission over Paris to drop a Tricolore on the Arc de Triomphe. Theirs are just some of the many exciting stories revealed by the author.
"The material in this volume has previously appeared in: The essential aircraft identification guide: Allied fighters 1939-45 and The essential aircraft identification guide: Allied bombers 1939-45"--Title page verso.
