Bomber Boy

Bomber Boy
Author: Dereck French
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
Total Pages: 491
Release: 2020-01-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1445684667

A vivid and insightful account of the early World War Two air war from a bomber pilot's perspective.

Bomber Boys on Screen

Bomber Boys on Screen
Author: S. P. MacKenzie
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 319
Release: 2019-08-08
Genre: History
ISBN: 1350024864

Since the Second World War, depictions of Royal Air Force operations in film and television drama have become so numerous that they make up a genre worthy of scholarly attention. In this illuminating study, S. P. MacKenzie explores the different ways in which the men of RAF Bomber Command have been represented in dramatic form on the big and small screen from the war years to the present day. Bomber Boys on Screen is the first in-depth study of how and why the screen-drama image of those who flew, those who directed them, and those who provided support for RAF bomber operations has changed over time, sometimes in contested circumstances. Until now dramas that focus on Bomber Command have tended to be mentioned only in passing or studied in isolation, despite the prevalence of surveys of both the British war film genre and of aviation cinema. In Bomber Boys on Screen MacKenzie examines the development, presentation, and reception of significant dramas on a decade-by-decade basis. Titles from the beginning of the war (The Lion Has Wings, 1939) to the start of new century (Bomber's Moon, 2014) are situated in the context of technical possibilities and limitations, evolving social and cultural norms in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, and the development of moral and utilitarian controversies surrounding the wartime bomber offensive directed against Nazi Germany. While the focus is on feature films and television plays, reference is also made to documentaries, memorials, veterans' organizations, book titles, war comics, and other representations of the war fought by Bomber Command.

The Bomber Boys

The Bomber Boys
Author: Travis L. Ayres
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 237
Release: 2009-10-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 1101145366

True tales of heroism and the men who fought and died in the skies of World War II Europe. In World War II, there were all too many ways for a fighting man to die. But no theater of operations offered more fatal choices than the skies above Nazi-occupied Europe. Inside of a B-17 Bomber, thousands of feet above the earth, death was always a moment away. From the hellish storms of enemy flak and relentless strafing of Luftwaffe fighters, to mid-air collisions, mechanical failure, and simple bad luck, it’s a wonder any man would volunteer for such dangerous duty. But some very brave men did. Some paid the ultimate price. Some made it home. But in the end, all would achieve victory. Here, author Travis L. Ayres has gathered a collection of previously untold personal accounts of combat and camaraderie aboard the B-17 Bombers that flew countless sorties against the enemy, as related by the men who lived and fought in the air—and survived. They are stories of heroism, sacrifice, miraculous survival and merciless warfare. But they should all be remembered... INCLUDES PHOTOS

Bomber Boys

Bomber Boys
Author: Kevin Wilson
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Total Pages: 462
Release: 2012-04-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 1780224427

A gripping account of the everyday heroism of British bomber crews in 1943 - the year when Bomber Command believed it could win WWII by bombing alone. In 1943 the RAF began a bombing campaign against Germany, the like of which had never before been seen. Over the next twelve months, tens of thousands of aircrews flew across the North Sea to drop their bombs on German cities. They were opposed not only by the full force of the Luftwaffe, but by a nightmare of flak, treacherously icy conditions, and constant mechanical malfunction. Most of these crews never finished their tour of operations but were either shot down and killed, or taken prisoner by an increasingly hostile enemy. This is the story of the everyday heroism of British bomber crews in the days when it was widely believed that the Allies could win the Second World War by bombing alone. Kevin Wilson has interviewed hundreds of former airmen about what their lives were like in 1943: the stomach-churning tension of flying repeatedly over hostile territory, the terror at being shot down or captured, and the peculiar mixture of guilt and pride at unleashing such devastation on Germany.

The Bomber Boys

The Bomber Boys
Author: Mona D. Sizer
Publisher: iUniverse
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2013-01-03
Genre: History
ISBN: 1475967098

At the beginning of World War I, the English were more fascinated than frightened by the gigantic, silently floating Zeppelins. Using their flashlights they sought them through the fog unthinking that they were guiding them to drop bombs over London. At Pearl Harbor the Japanese samurai damaged or destroyed all the ships on Battleship Row almost destroying the harbor's usefulness for the duration of the war. Over Ploesti, Rumania, the American Fifteenth Air Force never did succeed in destroying Hitler's primary source of oil for his tanks. Colonel Paul Tibbets pulled the Enola Gay back on her tail and aimed her skyward to take off from the carrier Hornet to bomb Tokyo. THE BOMBER BOYS is the story of all those raids and more. Author Mona Sizer is noted for her exciting scenes and careful research.

Bomber Boys

Bomber Boys
Author: Mel Rolfe
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2004-09-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 1908117621

“Expertly researched . . . 20 different narratives in which these heroes venture out night after night on sorties throughout World War II Europe.” —Plane and Pilot Three weeks after Stirling air gunner Doug Fry was reported missing over Germany his mother was still clinging to the vain hope that he was alive. Then a neighbor said she had seen him in the cinema just down the road. The airman and his crew had been filmed for a Bomber Command documentary shortly before they took off from Mildenhall to attack Remscheid. Three hours later four of the crew were killed, but it was another two months after she had also seen the poignant film that widowed mother of eight Winnie Fry knew her nineteen-year-old son, though wounded, was still alive. Lancaster pilot Victor Wood’s aircraft arrived too early over Gelsenkirchen when the target was shrouded in darkness and the Main Force was miles behind. His 12 Squadron bomber was suddenly struck with terrifying force by flak and turned upside-down. An engine was on fire, the unconscious mid-upper gunner, slumped in his turret, was being sprayed with petrol and their bomb-load had been struck by shrapnel. Could Vic Wood get his crew back to base safely? These are just two of twenty dramatic Bomber Command stories in Bomber Boys. Night after night, the young men, some just out of school, went off on sorties, having pushed to the back of their minds the unpalatable awareness that they might never see another dawn. If death did not find them on the first few terrifying sorties they grew up very quickly in order to fight another day.

Bomber Boys

Bomber Boys
Author: Marianne van Velzen
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Total Pages: 294
Release: 2017-04-26
Genre: History
ISBN: 1925576795

March 1942. Java is about to fall. An Australian military dispatch rider and a Dutch air force transport pilot embark on a frightening escape from the advancing Japanese that takes them from Bandung to a crash landing just north of Darwin. Both would later join a unique band of flyers determined to strike back at the enemy. Bomber Boys is the extraordinary and little known story of more than 100 Dutch airmen, stranded in Australia with no country to return to, who were joined by a contingent of Australians to make up the RAAF's No. 18 (Netherlands East Indies) Squadron. Formed in Canberra in April 1942, the squadron flew operational coastal patrols before eventually being relocated to the secret MacDonald Airfield, north of Pine Creek in the Northern Territory, and eventually Batchelor, near Darwin. This is, however, more than a story about the 900 bombing raids, reconnaissance missions and attacks on Japanese shipping that the squadron flew in its three years of existence under Australian control. At its heart, is a powerful and compelling story of a group of very different men, thrown together for a common purpose, and the strange and sometimes difficult friendships they formed.

Bomber Command

Bomber Command
Author: Roddy MacKenzie
Publisher: Air World
Total Pages: 500
Release: 2023-02-16
Genre: History
ISBN: 139901773X

Roddy MacKenzie’s father served in Bomber Command during the Second World War, but like so many brave veterans who had survived the war, he spoke little of his exploits. So, when Roddy started on his personal journey to discover something of what his father had achieved, he uncovered a great deal about the devastating effectiveness of Bomber Command and the vital role it played in the defeat of Third Reich. He realised that the true story of Bomber Command’s achievements has never been told nor fully acknowledged. Roddy became a man on a mission, and this startlingly revealing, and often personal study, is the result. Bomber Command: Churchill's Greatest Triumph takes the reader through the early days of the Second World War and introduces all the key individuals who turned the Command into the war-winning weapon it eventually became, as well as detailing the men and machines which flew night after night into the heart of Hitler’s Germany. The main focus of his book is the destruction and dislocation wrought by the bombing to reduce, and ultimately destroy, Germany’s ability to make war. In his analysis, Roddy dug deep into German archival material to uncover facts rarely presented to either German or English language readers. These demonstrate that Bomber Command’s continual efforts, at appalling cost in aircrew casualties and aircraft losses, did far more damage to the Reich than the Allies knew. Roddy’s father served with the Royal Canadian Air Force and Roddy naturally highlights its contribution to Bomber Command’s successes, another aspect of this fascinating story which the author believes has not been duly recognized. Bomber Command: Churchill's Greatest Triumph will certainly raise the debate on the controversial strategy adopted by ‘Bomber’ Harris and how he was perceived by many to have over-stepped his remit. But most of all, this book will revise people’s understanding of just how important the endeavours were of those men who flew through the dark and through the searchlights, the flak, and the enemy night fighters, to bring the Second World War in Europe to its crushing conclusion.

Dive Bomber Down

Dive Bomber Down
Author: Bryan J. Dickerson
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2024-02-27
Genre: History
ISBN: 1476650454

James A. Nist lived an extraordinary life in his 24 years. Raised on a New Jersey farm, he graduated high school at 16 and earned both a bachelor's degree from Rutgers University and a private pilot's license. In 1942, he joined the Navy as an aviation cadet, earning his wings and an officer's commission in the Naval Reserve. He became proficient in three of the Navy's high-performance combat aircraft: the SBD Dauntless dive-bomber, the F6F Hellcat fighter and the F4U Corsair fighter. In 1945, he deployed to the Pacific aboard the carrier USS Bunker Hill and flew combat missions over Japan, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Drawing on Nist's letters and personal papers and official Navy documents, historian Bryan J. Dickerson tells the story of his great uncle's life and service during World War II.

Bomber Crew

Bomber Crew
Author: James Taylor
Publisher: Hodder
Total Pages: 405
Release: 2012-03-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1444718002

Long after the Battle of Britain, the aircrews of RAF Bomber Command risked their lives night after night during the Second World War. Over 55,000 of the airmen never returned from these missions; a further 10,000 became prisoners of war. And yet Bomber Command has been mired in controversy and its veterans - all volunteers - have never been awarded a campaign medal. Their crucial contribution to the outcome of the war has all too often been overlooked. BOMBER CREW exposes the bravery of these men using gripping first-person testimony from the surviving pilots and crew. For them this was a time of incredible hardship and adrenaline, courage and friendship, and their stories bear witness to the strength of the human spirit in times of incredible danger. Never before has their story been so vividly told. This is also a revealing look at the history of Bomber Command itself, from the early days through to eventual victory in 1945. From the terrifying action of the bombing raids to the intimate personal accounts of heroism, tragedy and triumph, this is the ultimate account of these brave men and their contribution to the Allied victory.