Defending Britain's Skies, 1940–1945 - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Defending Britain's Skies, 1940–1945 write by John Grehan. This book was released on 2014-08-18. Defending Britain's Skies, 1940–1945 available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Despatches in this volume include that on the Battle of Britain, and air fighting 1940-1941, by Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh C.T. Dowding, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Fighter Command, Air Operations by Fighter Command between November 1940 and the end of December 1941, the anti-aircraft defence of the United Kingdom between 1939 and 1945, and the report on air operations by Air Defence of Great Britain and Fighter Command in connection with the German flying bomb and rocket offensives, 1944-1945.This unique collection of original documents will prove to be an invaluable resource for historians, students and all those interested in what was one of the most significant periods in British military history.
Dowding's Despatch
Dowding's Despatch - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Dowding's Despatch write by Andy Saunders. This book was released on 2021-10-22. Dowding's Despatch available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. In September 1946, the London Gazette published a despatch from Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh C T Dowding that was titled simply: The Battle of Britain. Written and submitted to the Air Ministry in 1941, this document became the very framework for the accepted Battle of Britain narrative which has been established across the following eighty years. Set out by the leader of the ‘Few’ himself, its authoritative tone could surely be considered a definitive outline of the battle, how it was fought and the eventual outcome. It even retrospectively set the dates for the commencement and conclusion of the campaign. In this work, Andy Saunders takes a critical look at Dowding’s despatch and analyses the facts and details contained in that important document. He also puts ‘flesh on the bones’ of the matters that the former commander-in-chief of RAF Fighter Command outlines, adding intriguing historical detail and perspective to the 1946 publication. Additionally, Andy looks at the behind-the-scenes machinations at the highest levels of government and Air Ministry before the despatch finally saw the light of day. As a historical document, Dowding’s London Gazette despatch is worthy of the critical analysis and factual expansion which the author provides in what is a uniquely different look at the Battle of Britain, with illustrations throughout.
A Fighter Command Station at War
A Fighter Command Station at War - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook A Fighter Command Station at War write by Mark Hillier. This book was released on 2015-08-31. A Fighter Command Station at War available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Situated close to the South Coast, on flat land to the north of Chichester in West Sussex, lies Goodwood Aerodrome. This pleasant rural airfield was once home to squadrons of Hurricanes, Spitfires and later Typhoons. RAF Westhampnett was at the forefront of the Battle of Britain as a satellite to the Sector (or controlling) Station of RAF Tangmere, part of 11 Group, which bore the brunt of the struggle for Britain's survival in 1940. It became the base of Wing Commander Douglas Bader until he was shot down over France, as Fighter Command took the war to the enemy with operational sweeps over Occupied Europe. Those operations included the infamous Channel Dash which saw the escape of the German warships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, and the Dieppe raid of 1942 which involved the largest aerial battle of the war up to that date. Westhampnett's squadrons also supported the D-Day landings and the subsequent Battle of Normandy. Packed with the largest collection of photographs of this airfield ever compiled, this illustrated publication provides a detailed history of the fighting as seen through the eyes of many of the pilots and ground crew. RAF Westhampnett brings to life those exciting but dangerous days of the Second World War through the words and photographs of those who were there.
The First VCs
The First VCs - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook The First VCs write by John Grehan. This book was released on 2016-10-31. The First VCs available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Officers led and men followed; all were expected to do their duty without thought of reward. Enlisted men rarely penetrated the officer ranks and promotion owed more to money than merit. Then came the Crimean War.The incompetence and ineffectiveness of the senior officers contrasted sharply with the bravery of the lower ranks. Fuelled by the reports from the first-ever war correspondents which were read by an increasingly literate public, the mumblings of discontent rapidly grew into a national outcry. Questions were asked in Parliament, answers were demanded by the press why were the heroes of the Alma, Inkerman and the Charge of the Light Brigade not being recognised? Something had be done.That something was the introduction of an award that would be of such prestige it would be sought by all men from the private to the Field Marshal. It would be the highest possible award for valour in the face of the enemy and it bore the name of the Queen for whom the men fought.This is the story of how the first Victoria Crosses were attained in the heat of the most deadly conflict of the nineteenth century. It is also an examination of how the definition of courage, as recognised by the awarding of VCs, evolved, from saving the regimental colours at the Alma to saving a comrade in the No Mans Land before Sevastopol.
Combat in the Stratosphere
Combat in the Stratosphere - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Combat in the Stratosphere write by Steven Taylor. This book was released on 2024-05-30. Combat in the Stratosphere available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. In the summer of 1940, a new German aircraft began appearing in the skies over the British Isles. Unlike the rest of the Luftwaffes fleet in the Battle of Britain, these aircraft were flying at a height of 40,000 feet and higher way beyond the reach of the RAFs defending fighters. These virtually untouchable intruders were examples of the Junkers Ju 86P. The worlds first operational combat aeroplane equipped with a pressurized cabin, they were able to reach a maximum altitude of 42,000 feet. The Ju 86Ps introduction ushered in a new era of aerial warfare, where combat would take place at previously unimaginable heights. The Ju 86P was just one of many high-altitude aircraft projects developed by both the Axis and Allied powers during the Second World War. Others included the Vickers Wellington Mk.VI, Vickers Windsor, Boeing B-29 Superfortress, Junkers Ju 388, Heinkel He 274 and Henschel Hs 130. With pressurized cabins, such aircraft offered obvious tactical advantages: bombers and reconnaissance aircraft could operate safely above the maximum ceiling of the opposing sides fighters, prompting intense development especially by the British and Germans of pressurized interceptors to meet the threat they posed. Combat in the Stratosphere is the first book devoted exclusively to exploring the fascinating story of the development and operational history of aircraft designed specifically for high-altitude operations during the Second World War. But this is not a book solely about the machines themselves. It also focuses on the men who flew these revolutionary aircraft, both in the testing phase and in combat, and the physical challenges these courageous airmen faced, as they pushed themselves to the very edge of physical endurance in this desperate race to reach ever higher altitudes. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including air combat reports, British Cabinet files and Air Ministry documents, as well as first-hand accounts of aeronautical engineers and the pilots who flew these aircraft, Combat in the Stratosphere reveals the full story of this largely overlooked aspect of Second World War air warfare, high above the skies of Europe, North Africa, the Soviet Union and Japan.
