Martin W Bowman
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The Wooden Wonder was probably the most versatile combat aircraft that operated on all fronts in World War Two and was still giving valuable service in first-line service after 1945 when it enjoyed a limited renaissance both at home, in Germany and abroad until the advent of jet aircraft. Martin Bowmans well-tried and respected formula of incorporating background information with scores of RAF, Dominion, and overseas pilots and navigators personal...
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On 15 November it came suddenly out of nowhere inches above the hangars with a crackling thunderclap of twin Merlins. As we watched, bewitched, it was flung about the sky in a beyond belief display for a bomber that could out perform any fighter. Well-bred whisper of a touch down, a door opened and down the ladder came suede shoes, yellow socks and the rest of Geoffrey de Havilland.
The memories of Sergeant (later Flight Lieutenant DFC) Mike Carreck...
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Boeing's mighty B-52 Stratofortress has seen continuous operational service with the United States Air Force since the type was introduced in 1957. The aircraft has been upgraded several times and has assumed many different new roles since it was originally conceived and then provided the key airborne platform for America's strategic nuclear force. It is predicted that it will serve as a front-line aircraft until 2040. Apart from the formidable threat...
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The F-104 Starfighter is quite possibly one of the most photographed aircraft of all time. It is certainly one of the most iconic. Here, Martin Bowman offers up a well researched, comprehensive and thoroughly entertaining history of this impressive interceptor aircraft and fighter bomber.
Firsthand insights gathered from pilots who have flown the Starfighter in a variety of international contexts make for a rich and diverse narrative, interspersed...
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The early 1950s were a boom time for British aviation. The lessons of six years of war had been learned and much of the research into jet engines, radar and aerodynamics had begun to reach fruition. In Britain, jet engine technology led the world while wartime developments into swept-wing design in Germany and their transonic research program were used to give western design teams a quantum leap in aircraft technology.
The English Electric Lightning...
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From the beginning of World War Two the RAF s Bomber Command had been the only means of striking Hitler s Reich and its war machine. The entry into the war of the United States and the subsequent arrival in the UK of the Eighth Air Force was to more than double the Allied capability. The Flying Fortress and Liberator heavy bombers were mostly flown across the Atlantic by their young unblooded aircrew and many succumbed en route and never arrived....
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This massive work provides a comprehensive insight to the experiences of Bomber Commands pilots and aircrew throughout WWII. From the early wartime years when the RAFs first attempts to avenge Germanys onslaught were bedeviled by poor navigation and inaccurate bombing, to the last winning onslaught that finally tamed Hitler in his Berlin lair, these volumes trace the true experiences of the men who flew the bombers. Hundreds of firsthand accounts...
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The Phantom was developed for the US Navy as a long-range all-weather fighter and first flew in May 1958, before becoming operational in 1961. The US Air Force then realized that the Navy had an aircraft that was far better than any tactical aircraft in their inventory and ordered 543 F-4C variants. There then followed a spate of orders from around the world. In Britain, it was ordered for the Navy and Air Force, but was modified to take the Rolls-Royce...
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Using narrative accounts and new insights, this book catalogues the dramatic and first-hand oral testimonies of the US Army Air Corps' bomber crews of the newly created Eighth Air Force that became stationed in East Anglia in 1942. It begins with shock of the unannounced Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and how it affected the young men who were destined to fly and fight in Europe. American troops, or GIs as they were known because of their own derisive...
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This book describes the period when the American daylight offensive faltered and nearly failed and recalls the terrible losses suffered by Liberators on the low-level attack on the Ploesti oilfields in Rumania and by the B—17s on the notorious Schweinfurt and Regensburg raids which entered 8th Air Force folklore as Black Thursday. Fascinating anecdotes, eye-witness accounts and the hard-won experiences of the battle-scarred American fly-boys reveal...
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This versatile, rugged aircraft was a joint Anglo/French project and first flew in September 1968, becoming operational with both the RAF and Armèe del'Air in 1972/3. The Jaguar's multi-role design made it easy to adapt for the ground-attack, reconnaissance, interceptor and maritime strike roles. It has a top speed of Mach 0 .9 and a combat radius of 875 miles and is powered by two Rolls-Royce/Turbomèca Adour reheated turbojets. A total of 325...
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A pulsating account of the young RAF and American fighter boys who flew Spitfires, Hurricanes, Thunderbolts and Mustangs during 1940-45. It is unique in that the story is told using first person accounts from RAF, German and American Eagles who fought in the skies over England in the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940 and the great air offensives over occupied-Europe from 1942 onwards. The first five and a half chapters cover the Battle of Britain...
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This, the fourth volume of a five part work that provides a comprehensive insight into all aspects of RAF Bomber Command in World War Two, begins in the spring of 1944 with a completely new insight on the catastrophic raid on Nuremburg on the night of 30/31 March and follows with the disastrous attack on Mailly-le-Camp in May. Gradually, the Allied Bomber Offensive began to bear fruit and in June 1944 the invasion of Normandy took place under an umbrella...
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As part of the AHT series, the airfields and interest in this book are concentrated in a particular area-in this case Norfolk. The growing importance of the 'electronic war' in the air in 1943 caused the creation of 100 Group to fly both defensive and offensive sorties employing highly secret Radio Counter Measure equipment. The Group flew from airfields at Foulsham, Great Massingham, Little Snoring, North Creake, Swannington and West Raynham. The...
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This is a unique selection of wide-ranging experiences of British and Commonwealth Bomber Command aircrew during World War II. Their endearing bravery and fortitude and sometimes their despondency and cynicism, shows through in these stirring, daring, often irreverent, humorous and sometimes sardonic but memorable stories. All reflect the ethos, camaraderie, fear and bravery of the largely ordinary men, most of whom were plucked from civvy street...
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The aviation historian presents a provocative analysis of WWII airborne operations to investigate what happened to Hitler's planned invasion of England.
Did a German invasion or invasions take place along the shores of East Anglia in 1940? Though Operation Sealion, the intended invasion of southern England, never materialized, Hitler asked his forces to mount one, two or even three small invasions in 1940. This raises some provocative questions:...
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The third volume of this four-part series on Operation 'Market-Garden' in September 1944 draws on many individual soldiers and airmen's narratives to tell the story of the ongoing fight to keep the Hell's Highway' open to relieve 1st Airborne at Arnhem, and the brave attempts to re-supply them from the air. As in previous volumes, this account offers a unique perspective on all aspects of aerial activity during this pivotal operation. This volume...
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The Bedford Triangle portrays the crucial part played by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE),US Army Air Force (USAAF) and American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in operations behind enemy lines in occupied Europe during World War Two. Milton Ernest Hall, a country house in Bedfordshire used officially as the UK headquarters of the US Army Airforce Service Command, was located at the heart of a network of top secret Allied Radio and...
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This is the first volume of a most impressive tribute and accurate four part work that uniquely presents a complete account of the air operations throughout Market-Garden in September 1944 when British, US and Polish airborne troops made a gallant attempt to seize and hold bridges across the Lower Rhine in Holland as a springboard for crossing into Germany. Market, the aerial side of the proceedings, was at the time the largest airborne operation...
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This book covers the bases used during the Second World War by the American fighter units that flew in support of the 8th Air Forces heavy bomber forces.
The long-range Lightnings, Thunderbolts and Mustangs escorted the Mighty Eighths Flying Fortresses and Liberators on their deep penetration raids into occupied Europe and Germany. Fighter cover was vital, since the USAAF flew daylight raids and in the early months the number of US aircraft lost...