Airfields Of 8th

Airfields Of 8th
Author: Roger Freeman
Publisher: After the Battle
Total Pages: 242
Release: 1978-02-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 1399076868

A unique, nostalgic look at the airfields used by the Eighth in the United Kingdom during the Second World War. Conceived in war, the airfields experienced their moments of glory and, when the war ended, were left empty and derelict to die. The few which remain virtually intact have only survived because some private or public concern has formed a practical use for them, although not always as airfields. Some of the more remote airfields still dot the countryside the same as when the last plane left their runways and the last truck departed through the main gate. They are bleak, windswept and moldering but they retain the atmosphere of the fine, high endeavors of the people who inhabited them and the aura of ineffable sadness that hangs over memorials to fighting men. For such they are.

Airfields of the Eighth Then and Now

Airfields of the Eighth Then and Now
Author: Roger Anthony Freeman
Publisher: After the Battle
Total Pages: 240
Release: 1978
Genre: Air bases, American
ISBN: 9780900913099

This work is a nostalgic look at the airfields used by the Eighth in the United Kingdom during the World War II. Conceived in war, the airfields experienced their moments of glory and, when the war ended, were left empty and derelict to die. The few which remain virtually intact have only survived because some private or public concern has formed a practical use for them, although not always as airfields. Some of the more remote airfields still dot the countryside the same as when the last plane left their runways and the last truck departed through the main gate. They are bleak, windswept and mouldering but they retain the atmosphere of the fine, high endeavours of the people who inhabited them and the aura of ineffable sadness that hangs over memorials to fighting men.

B-17 Flying Fortress Units of the Eighth Air Force (part 2)

B-17 Flying Fortress Units of the Eighth Air Force (part 2)
Author: Martin Bowman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2013-01-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1472800524

The Boeing B-17, which has come to epitomise the American war effort in Europe, took the fight to Germans from the late summer of 1942 through to VE-Day. Its primary operator in Western Europe was the 'Mighty Eighth', who controlled 27 bomb groups for much of the war. This second of two volumes covers the 14 Bomb Groups of the Third Air Division. First hand accounts, period photography, profile artworks and nose art scrap views bring to life aircraft from each of the groups within the Third Air Division.

With Wings As Eagles

With Wings As Eagles
Author: Philip Kaplan
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.
Total Pages: 537
Release: 2017-03-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 1510705155

Beginning in 1942, the Eighth Air Force began a precision bombing raid offensive deep into Nazi Germany, embarking from bases in rural England. Nearly 350,000 Americans were transplanted to English soil, joining their British colleagues for this joint Allied offensive. For many it was a period of great risk, and arguably the greatest adventure of their lives. With Wings As Eagles celebrates the heroics of these pilots and their missions. A lavishly illustrated, full-color, hardcover original, the narrative is the result of the author’s exclusive interviews with many of the pilots and crew, as well as research from contemporary diaries, journals, and scrapbooks. Readers relive the nostalgia and vivid reminiscences — of days of seemingly endless boredom and fatigue, the loneliness of soaring in an aluminum cocoon four miles over an intended target, and a surprising account of parachuting onto German soil and being captured by women and children. With Wings As Eagles relives the drama and history of an heroic era.

Mission 85

Mission 85
Author: Ivo de Jong
Publisher: Stackpole Books
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2013
Genre: History
ISBN: 081171201X

"Drawing on vivid firsthand accounts from American and German pilots and crews, this minute-by-minute chronicle reconstructs the fierce combat in the skies over Holland, describing the mistakes and misfortunes that left targets undestroyed and soured the anticipated 'milk run'"--Page 4 of cover.

‘Down to Earth' Strafing Aces of the Eighth Air Force

‘Down to Earth' Strafing Aces of the Eighth Air Force
Author: William N Hess
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2012-12-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1782008535

'Like The Long Reach, Down to Earth is a message from the battle at its height, told in their own words by the men who fight' - this is how Brig-Gen Francis Griswold, VIII Fighter Command, ends his introduction to this book. His official endorsement reveals just how important a document Down to Earth was to the teaching of tyro fighter pilots heading for action in the ETO. More leading aces were lost to flak whilst ground strafing than to German fighters. In this book William Hess has included biographies of all the pilots that originally contributed to this work back in 1943-44.

Combat Squadrons of the Air Force; World War II.

Combat Squadrons of the Air Force; World War II.
Author: United States. USAF Historical Division
Publisher:
Total Pages: 856
Release: 1969
Genre: United States
ISBN:

This collection of squadron histories has been prepared by the USAF Historical Division to complement the Division's book, Air Force Combat Units of World War II. The 1,226 units covered by this volume are the combat (tactical) squadrons that were active between 7 December 1941 and 2 September 1945. Each squadron is traced from its beginning through 5 March 1963, the fiftieth anniversary of the organization of the 1st Aero (later Bombardment) Squadron, the first Army unit to be equipped with aircraft for tactical operations. For each squadron there is a statement of the official lineage and data on the unit's assignments, stations, aircraft and missiles, operations, service streamers, campaign participation, decorations, and emblem.

German Air Force Airlift Operations

German Air Force Airlift Operations
Author: Generalmajor a. D. Fritz Morzik
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Total Pages: 724
Release: 2017-06-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 1787205711

Germany’s imaginative employment of transport aircraft in World War II produced as many innovations as Germany’s use of tanks. Indeed, like the tank, the transport aircraft was closely associated with the Blitzkrieg concept. This relationship was advantageous at the outset of the war, but it became dangerous as the war dragged on and German armies outran their surface supply lines in North Africa and Russia. Then ground commanders began to think of air transport as the means of supply. The history of this trend is one of the main themes of this study, which was first published in its English translation in 1961. Some of the questions embodied in this theme—How much air transport is enough? Under what conditions is an air-supply operation feasible? What are the prerequisites for a successful airlift to encircled ground forces? What are the advantages and limitations of the glider?—are as vital and controversial today as they were during World War II. Generalmajor a. D. Fritz Morzik, who began his military career as a non-commissioned officer in the German Air Service in World War I and ended it as Armed Forces Chief of Air Transport in World War II, is especially well-qualified to write the present study. His long career, spanning two world wars, and his experience with both civilian and military transport aircraft testify to the breadth of his practical knowledge.

Air Battle for Arnhem

Air Battle for Arnhem
Author: Alan W Cooper
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2012-11-26
Genre: History
ISBN: 1781591083

Over sixty years ago a battle took place that, if it had succeeded, could have shortened the Second World war by six months. The operation to take the bridges at Arnhem was given the code name 'Operation Market Garden', Market being the air side of the operation and Garden the subsequent ground operation. The main problem was communications between the ground forces and the re-supply aircraft of the Royal Air Force. Its their efforts and the courage on evident display at Arnhem that the book is based upon. Over a period of seven days troops of the 1st Airborne were taken by the RAF in towed gliders and then in subsequent days showed courage of the highest order to make sure that the ground troops were supplied with ammunition and food to sustain them in their efforts to take the bridges at Arnhem. Their efforts were costly, 309 aircrew and 79 Air Dispatchers were killed and 107 aircraft, which included the men and aircraft who supported the main re-supply armada. One of the re-supply aircraft, flown by F/Lt David Lord DFC, was shot down. Lord was later awarded the Victoria Cross. His courage and dedication are exemplary of the efforts of the men of Transport Command to make sure the men on the ground were re-supplied. The men of the Air Dispatchers, or AD's as they were known, must always be remembered when regarding Arnhem. Their efforts to make sure the supplies were released from the aircraft, and on to the besieged men on the ground, was a vital factor in getting vital supplies to the troops successfully. This is their story, vividly told, and serves a commemorative purpose, memorialising both the events and, most importantly, the men who participated.