A Pathfinder's Story

A Pathfinder's Story
Author: W. W. Robinson
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
Total Pages: 349
Release: 2007-11-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 1781594589

When he died in 1946, Flight Lieutenant Jack Mossop left behind a widow and child, a chest full of medals, and a diary. He was 25 years old. The diary gave tantalizing glimpses of his career; sixty years on, his son has uncovered the truth. It is the story of an ordinary Durham lad called upon to perform extraordinary deeds.Serving initially as a Wireless Operator in 49 Squadron, he progressed to 76 Squadron under the legendary Leonard Cheshire, and finished as a Deputy Master Bomber with the elite Pathfinder Group in 35 Squadron.To complete even one tour of duty was against the odds. To complete a second and then to volunteer for a third was nigh-on incredible. Small wonder that one of his crewmates called him The bravest man I ever knew. It is all the more tragic that he died a civilians death on board a BOAC Lancastrian after the war, in suspicious circumstances, which attracted the attention of the Prime Minister himself.Jack saw most of the great actions of Bomber Command, from the 1,000 bomber raids of 1942, to the Battles of the Ruhr and Berlin in 1943, and the daylight operations of Normandy before and after D-Day. His story stands as a microcosm of the entire bomber campaign. Bill Robinsons account is a fascinating and stirring account of courage in war: a tribute not only to one mans courage, but also to the courage of the nameless thousands whose stories will now never be told.

Radar Men: A. P. Rowe and John Strath in War and Peace

Radar Men: A. P. Rowe and John Strath in War and Peace
Author: Don Sinnott
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2016-08-29
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1524516708

World War II defined its heroes and villains. There are many books on national leaders like Churchill and Hitler, generals like Montgomery and Rommel. Less has been written about the civilian scientists, engineers, and technicians whose work produced military innovations that drove the direction and outcome of that terrible conflict. This book is a connected and interlaced narrative of two men who were World War II civilian scientists. It is a non-technical portrait of two twentieth-century life stories against a backdrop of war and peace, which are important in both historical context and as illustrations of the human condition lived in extraordinary circumstances. The lives of A. P. Rowe and John Strath intersected in the British development of radar in the 1930s and 1940s and then diverged into critical roles in Britain and Australia after the war. Rowe and Strath worked in Britains epic development of radar defences, without which the 1940 aerial Battle of Britain would have been lost. Rowe led what has been termed as one of the most successful research establishments of all time, focussed on the development and deployment of radar; Strath was a junior member of that establishment. After the war, both men moved to Australia where Rowe, after a short and unhappy involvement as lead scientific adviser on the development of Australia's Woomera rocket range and Australian defence, was for a decade a highly contentious vice chancellor of the University of Adelaide. Strath became involved in development of the British atomic weapon and monitoring of nuclear test effects in Australia and then became the prime mover for development of what is now Australias Jindalee Operational Radar Network, a major component of the countrys long-range defence surveillance.

A Pathfinder's War

A Pathfinder's War
Author: Ted Stocker
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2012-11-15
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1909166715

The only RAF flight engineer to be awarded a Distinguished Service Order recounts his prolific WWII combat career in this engaging military memoir. Flight Lieutenant Ted Stocker lived a charmed life. Joining the Royal Air Force as a teenager, he trained as one of the famous Halton Aircraft Apprentices known as Trenchard’s Brats. Stationed at RAF Boscombe Down, he flew prototype Stirling and Halifax bombers just as the Second World War broke out. Qualifying as one of the RAF’s first flight engineers, he went on to join Bomber Command’s elite Pathfinder Force. Stocker was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1943 and eventually completed more than 100 bombing operations, often as a master bomber. Although his aircraft was frequently hit, and he survived a crash landing, Stocker was never wounded. His achievements were recognized with the only known Distinguished Service Order issued to a flight engineer. In this candid and fascinating memoir, co-written by acclaimed aviation historian Sean Feast, Stocker relates his incredible tale of singular courage and miraculous survival.

The Pathfinder Companion

The Pathfinder Companion
Author: Sean Feast
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
Total Pages: 450
Release: 2012-10-24
Genre: History
ISBN: 1909808822

Veterans of the RAF’s legendary Pathfinder Force share their personal accounts of WWII in this authoritative history by the author of Master Bombers. During the Second World War, the Pathfinder Force was the corps d’élite of Bomber Command. Literally leading the charge in the Royal Air Force’s bombing raids over Nazi occupied territory, the aircrews of the PFF required top notch skills and nerves of steel. In Pathfinder Companion, aviation historian Sean Feast tells the remarkable stories of these brave men, drawing on extensive interviews with veterans as well as official records and archival documents. Pathfinder Companion highlights the raids and the losses, the successes and failures, the terror and the turmoil these men endured, as well as the inevitable humor in the face of tremendous adversity. Profusely illustrated throughout with photos and memorabilia, the book shows how a poorly equipped, disparate group was forged into one of the most effective fighting forces ever created.

Strategy in War and Peace

Strategy in War and Peace
Author: Aaron Edwards
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2016-12-08
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0748684018

A lively introduction to the practical application of strategy in war and peaceRead and download the introduction for free now (pdf)Strategy is a central concept in international security, and one that travels across the academic disciplines of politics, international relations and history. By why is it so important? Aaron Edwards unpacks key strategic episodes from world history and politics to help readers to understand the role of strategy and the scholarly and policy debates surrounding it.Discover how strategic theory can be used to navigate the complex and uncertain international security environment that we live in today.Assesses the practical utility of strategy in the modern world and emphasises its analytical value in the practical business of national and international securityExamines the politics of strategy in times of both war and peaceThemes covered include:International relations *; technology *; ethics *; irregular war (including counter-insurgency, counter-terrorism and hybrid warfare) *; the resurgence of great power rivalries in the early 21st century *; the rise of non-state actorsCase studies include:Guerrilla warfare and strategy in regions from South East Asia to the Middle East *; US nuclear strategy in the Cold War *; Russian intervention in Ukraine *; British strategy at the end of empire *; the UN's role in resolving conflict after the Cold War *; US-led coalition strategy in Afghanistan *; the challenge posed by Al Qaeda and Islamic State/Daesh"e;

Flak

Flak
Author: Edward B. Westermann
Publisher:
Total Pages: 440
Release: 2001
Genre: History
ISBN:

Air raid sirens wail, searchlight beams flash across the sky, and the night is aflame with tracer fire and aerial explosions, as Allied bombers and German anti-aircraft units duel in the thundering darkness. Such "cinematic" scenes, played out with increasing frequency as World War II ground to a close, were more than mere stock material for movie melodramas. As Edward Westermann reveals, they point to a key but largely unappreciated aspect of the German war effort that has yet to get its full due.Long the neglected stepchild in studies of World War II air campaigns, German flak or anti-aircraft units have been frequently dismissed by American, British, and German historians (and by veterans of the European air war) as ineffective weapons that wasted valuable materiel and personnel resources desperately needed elsewhere by the Third Reich. Westermann emphatically disagrees with that view and makes a convincing case for the significant contributions made by the entire range of German anti-aircraft defenses.During the Allied air campaigns against the Third Reich, well over a million tons of bombs were dropped upon the German homeland, killing nearly 300,000 civilians, wounding another 780,000, and destroying more than 3,500,000 industrial and residential structures. Not surprisingly, that aerial Armageddon has inspired countless studies of both the victorious Allied bombing offensive and the ultimately doomed Luftwaffe defense of its own skies. By contrast, flak units have virtually been ignored, despite the fact that they employed more than a million men and women, were responsible for more than half of all Allied aircraft losses, forced Allied bombers to fly far abovehigh-accuracy altitudes, and thus allowed Germany to hold out far longer than it might have otherwise.Westermann's definitive study sheds new light on every facet of the development and organization of this vital defense arm, includi

War To Make Peace

War To Make Peace
Author: F J P O'Connell
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Total Pages: 462
Release: 2011-07-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 1456781138

People want and need to understand. What happened is what makes us who we are, what we do and most importantly how we do it. This book is in pursuance of that understanding. Devoid of numerated distracting adjuncts and armed with a treasure trove text which is "rich in content" (Kirkus Indie Reviews) of "almost all of the who, what, where and how of the Second World War" (ForeWord Clarion Reviews) the inquisitive reader can also avail of the book's uniquely structured indexes to both bind and unlock the works manifold offerings. Following a brief perusal of the parent index, amidst the main index is found all those elusive annual dates, for the most part collated under the major protagonists i.e. warlord and country, and their- independently keyed- operations with associated sub operations in tow. Promoting re-investigation, this user-friendly, multi-chronological reference aid invariably enriches a search, particularly when wresting answers pertinent to one's why?

If the South Had Won the Civil War

If the South Had Won the Civil War
Author: MacKinlay Kantor
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
Total Pages: 99
Release: 2001-11-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1466841613

Just a touch here and a tweak there . . . . MacKinlay Kantor, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, master storyteller, shows us how the South could have won the Civil War, how two small shifts in history (as we know it) in the summer of 1863 could have turned the tide for the Confederacy. What would have happened: to the Union, to Abraham Lincoln, to the people of the North and South, to the world? If the South Had Won the Civil War originally appeared in Look Magazine nearly half a century ago. It immediately inspired a deluge of letters and telegrams from astonished readers and became an American classic overnight. Published in book form soon after, Kantor's masterpiece has been unavailable for a decade. Now, this much requested classic is once again available for a new generation of readers and features a stunning cover by acclaimed Civil War artist Don Troiani, a new introduction by award-winning alternate history author Harry Turtledove, and fifteen superb illustrations by the incomparable Dan Nance. It all begins on that fateful afternoon of Tuesday, May 12, 1863, when a deplorable equestrian accident claims the life of General Ulysses S. Grant . . . . At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Pathfinder

The Pathfinder
Author: Margaret Mayhew
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2010-12-15
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 140905781X

Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn, Fiona Valpy and Kristin Hannah, a powerful and moving saga set in the aftermath of World War II from bestselling author Margaret Mayhew. READERS ARE LOVING THE PATHFINDER! "An exciting book to read. It was very gripping, emotional, happy and sad. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The characters were strong, interesting and the story kept me wanting to know what happened..." - 5 STARS "I could not put this book down..." - 5 STARS "Wonderful stuff..."- 5 STARS "I loved every page..."- 5 STARS "This is a brilliant story...I was sorry when it ended..." - 5 STARS ******************************************** A CITY DIVIDED BY WAR. TWO LOVERS ON OPPOSING SIDES. CAN THEIR LOVE SURVIVE? Berlin 1948. The defeated city lies in ruins. Divided by the Allies and set deep behind Russian lines, it is a city of want, wretchedness and sleaze. Lili Leicht is now fighting for survival under Russian rule and dependent on aid from the British - the nation that killed her mother. Yet when she meets Squadron Leader Michael Harrison - now himself having to bring food and fuel to the surviving Berliners - a people he bombed and who he connects with the murder of his sister and her children - a spark ignites... Can their love surmount the prejudices and hatred born of war?