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405 Vancouver Squadron Rcaf
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Book Synopsis 405 (Vancouver) Squadron RCAF by : Chris Ward
Download or read book 405 (Vancouver) Squadron RCAF written by Chris Ward and published by Aviation Books Limited. This book was released on 2024-05-31 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The honour of becoming the very first RCAF bomber unit to be formed overseas under the scheme to 'Canadianise' RAF Bomber Command was bestowed upon 405 Squadron, which came into existence on the 4 Group station at Driffield on the 23rd of April 1941. Equipped with the Merlin-powered Wellington Mk II, the squadron began operations in June and continued to operate in 4 Group's front line until converting to the Halifax in April 1942. In October that year the squadron was posted to Coastal Command for convoy and anti-U-Boat duties and it was during this period that the unit became 405 (Vancouver) Squadron. A return to Bomber Command in March 1943 took the squadron initially to the Canadian 6 Group, which had been formed officially on the 1st of January. However, after serving briefly with 6 Group, 405 Squadron became the first and only Canadian unit to serve in the Path Finder Force, by this time redesignated 8 Group. The unit continued to serve with distinction, converting to Lancasters in the late summer of 1943, often providing the Master Bomber and Deputy pairing for operations. The squadron developed an excellent record of serviceability and suffered remarkably low losses during 1944 and 1945. The squadron was twice commanded by Wing Commander, later Group Captain, "Johnny" Fauquier, a legendary figure in the annals of Canadian aviation, who commanded the famous 617 Squadron (Dambusters) during the final four months of the bombing war. The squadron's outstanding record of service and contribution to victory stand to this day as a testament to the character of the nation of Canada. This is the record of its operations with Bomber Command in the Second World War.A ret
Book Synopsis The Crucible of War, 1939-1945 by : Brereton Greenhous
Download or read book The Crucible of War, 1939-1945 written by Brereton Greenhous and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 1994-01-01 with total page 1148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The RCAF, with a total strength of 4061 officers and men on 1 September 1939, grew by the end of the war to a strength of more than 263,000 men and women. This important and well-illustrated new history shows how they contributed to the resolution of the most significant conflict of our time.
Download or read book Bomber Command written by Roddy MacKenzie and published by Air World. This book was released on 2023-02-16 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Book Synopsis The Mystery of Frankenberg's Canadian Airman by : Peter Hessel
Download or read book The Mystery of Frankenberg's Canadian Airman written by Peter Hessel and published by James Lorimer & Company. This book was released on 2005-09-02 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Mystery of Frankenberg's Airman is the account of painstaking research in a quest for the truth about an unsolved war crime.
Download or read book Straight & True written by Hugh Soar and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2012-10-08 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The arrow, essentially a specialized spear, is among the most ancient human inventions and can be found in cultures throughout the world. The need to launch a projectile farther and with greater accuracy than is possible with the human arm gave rise to a variety of solutions. Spearthrowers which extend the length of the users arm and therefore transfer greater power to the projectile were developed far back in prehistory, and both the American Indian atlatl and the Australian woomera are examples of this technology. Blowpipes, too, are recorded in various cultures and represent another ancient technology. It was soon discovered that a stringed bow could launch a small spear-like projectile we now know as the arrow, and this combination became the dominant method for shooting projectiles for tens of thousands of years. A wonderfully simple device, the arrow and bow revolutionized both hunting and warfare, not only because of the speed, force, and accuracy that could be achieved, but by the fact that the arrow makes almost no sound as it flies toward its target, providing an essential element of surprise. In The Arrow: A Brief History, Hugh D. H. Soar describes the transition from hand-thrown spear to bow-launched arrow and then follows the arrows developments in cultures around the world and across time. The book describes arrows found in Neolithic sites; those used by North and South American Indiansincluding a detailed discussion of poison- tipped arrows; arrows used in China, Japan, and Mongolia; and finally the arrow in Europe, where it was successfully paired with the longbow during the Middle Ages. The author completes his survey with the changes in technology introduced during the twentieth century though the use of aluminum and other light-weight metals as well as synthetic materials to construct parts of the arrow. Relying on his considerable knowledge accumulated through decades of research, the author provides the reader with an appreciation for a humble device that, coupled with the bow, changed the history of the world.
Book Synopsis Bomber Command Airfields of Yorkshire by : Peter Jacobs
Download or read book Bomber Command Airfields of Yorkshire written by Peter Jacobs and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2017-05-30 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As part of the Aviation Heritage Trail series, the accomplished military author and former RAF Officer Peter Jacobs takes us to the county of Yorkshire and to its many bomber airfields of the Second World War.From the opening day of hostilities, RAF Bomber Command took the offensive to Nazi Germany and played a leading role in the liberation of Europe. Yorkshires airfields played a key part throughout, initially as home to the Whitley squadrons of No 4 Group and then to the four-engine Halifax heavy bombers; indeed, Bomber Commands first night operation of the war was flown from one of the countys many bomber airfields. Then, as the bombing offensive gathered pace, Yorkshire welcomed the new all-Canadian No 6 (RCAF) Group, after which all of Bomber Commands major efforts during the hardest years of 1943/44 against the Ruhr, Hamburg and Berlin involved the Yorkshire-based squadrons.Most of Yorkshires wartime bomber airfields have long gone, but many have managed to retain the flying link with their wartime past. For example, the former RAF airfields of Finningley and Middleton St George, and the factory airfield of Yeadon, are now the sites of international airports, while Breighton, Burn, Full Sutton, Pocklington and Rufforth are still used for light aircraft flying or gliding and Elvington is home to the magnificent Yorkshire Air Museum.From airfields such as these came countless acts of personal courage and self-sacrifice, with two men being awarded the Victoria Cross, Britains highest award for gallantry. Stories of both men are included, as are tales of other personalities who brought these airfields to life. The stories of thirty-three airfields are told in total, with a brief history of each accompanied by details of how to find them and what remains of them today. Whatever your interest, be it aviation history or more local, the county of Yorkshire has rightly taken its place in the history of Bomber Command.
Download or read book A Call to the Colours written by Ken Cox and published by Dundurn. This book was released on 2011-04-18 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Our ancestors were required to perform military service, often as militia. The discovery that an ancestor served during one of the major conflicts in our history is exciting. A Call to the Colours provides the archival, library, and computer resources that can be employed to explore your family's military history.
Book Synopsis 6 Group Bomber Command by : Chris Ward
Download or read book 6 Group Bomber Command written by Chris Ward and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2010-06-15 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 6 Group was born out of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), which, among other things called for the formation of 25 Canadian Squadrons in Britain. This figure was later downsized. The Canadian vision was of a Canadian force operating independently alongside Bomber Command in the manner of the American 8th, but skillfull negotiating by the British resulted in Canadian Bomber squadrons operating within the RAF under RAF control but funded by Canada. On the 1st of January 1943 most of the existing RCAF squadrons were brought together on stations in North Yorkshire and County Durham to form 6 Group. By the end of the war 14 Squadrons were operational and one other had been posted to the Pathfinders. After an uncertain beginning the Group became an efficient and valuable contributor to Bomber Command's campaigns. Beginning predominantly with Wellingtons the Group was re-equipped with a mixture of Halifaxes and Lancasters, including the Hercules powered MkII and the Canadian built MKX.
Book Synopsis The Path Finder Force by : Martin W. Bowman
Download or read book The Path Finder Force written by Martin W. Bowman and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2016-03-30 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Charged with the formidable task of locating and marking German targets for attack by the main force of Bomber Command, the Path Finder Force - 8 (PFF) Group and those in 5 Group - was perhaps the most experienced and highly trained elite group created within the Royal Air Force during World War II. Its aircrew members were almost entirely volunteers and despite the terrifying odds against any individual (or complete crew) ever completing the sixty-sorties tour of operations with the PFF, the most feared punishment' was to forfeit their coveted Path Finder wings and be posted away to other units.This remarkable evocation of a remarkable force is made up largely of narrative and photographs from the men who flew with or were an integral part of the PFF. They alone are best qualified to recount the Path Finder story.While the subject matter herein largely covers the four-engined Stirlings, Halifaxes and Lancasters and twin-engined Mosquitoes of 8 (PFF) Group, the Path Finding techniques used by 5 Group are not forgotten and there are two chapters detailing the work of the Oboe Mosquitoes and other markers in support of the night and day Main Force raids on German and Italian cities and individual targets in the Reich.This book is a fitting tribute to the PFF and in particular, to the crews who failed to return from the PFF's many operations.
Book Synopsis German Night Fighters Versus Bomber Command, 1943–1945 by : Martin W. Bowman
Download or read book German Night Fighters Versus Bomber Command, 1943–1945 written by Martin W. Bowman and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2016-06-19 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new volume from Martin Bowman examines the closing years of the Second World War, as the tide turned against the German and Axis forces. It includes riveting first-hand accounts from German fighter pilots caught up in some of the most dramatic night time conflicts of the latter war years.Viewing Bomber Command's operations through the eyes of the enemy, the reader is offered a fresh and intriguing perspective. Set in context by Bowman's historical narrative, these snippets of pilot testimony work to offer an authentic sense of the times at hand.
Book Synopsis 5 Group Bomber Command by : Chris Ward
Download or read book 5 Group Bomber Command written by Chris Ward and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2007-10-06 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the immediate period before World War Two, the RAF modified its command structure to rationalize for rapid expansion. Bomber Command was divided into six operational groups, each flying the same type of aircraft. In 1939 5 Group was flying the Handley Page Hampden, a fast, modern aircraft that carried a large payload. However, during the early daylight raids into enemy occupied Europe it suffered great losses due to its defensive armament leaving too many blind spots. The Group now turned to night bombing and mine-laying operations. During November 1940, the first Avro Manchesters entered service but were to prove dangerously unreliable. It was not until the Avro Lancaster began arriving in strength that the Group began its proud history of successful and often highly dangerous raids into the Reich, the most famous of which was No 617 Squadrons attack on the Mohne, Eder and Sorpe dams.Between 1939 and 1945 the Group flew 70,351 sorties with the loss of 1,888 aircraft. This book contains a lengthy narrative of the groups operations and contains individual squadron statistics, their commanding officers, stations and aircraft losses. It provides a detailed reference for one of the RAFs most important and successful operational groups.
Book Synopsis One Who Almost Made It Back by : Peter Celis
Download or read book One Who Almost Made It Back written by Peter Celis and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2008-10-16 with total page 510 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The little-known, real-life account of a Canadian hero’s courage and loyalty in the face of Nazi Germany’s greatest horrors during World War II. On the night of 27/28 April 1944, Teddy Blenkinsop and his crew were acting as deputy master bombers during a Pathfinder raid on Montzen in Belgium. After a successful attack, their Lancaster was shot down. Miraculously he survived to be protected by Belgian citizens before ending his days in Bergen Belsen concentration camp. Little was known of his exploits in between until Peter Celis, a Belgian air-force officer, began to research the story. What he uncovered is far more amazing than any fictional film could be. He found that Blenkinsop was not only an exceptional and gallant operational pilot, but that his loyalty, dedication and devotion were second to none and that his bravery and fearlessness led him to make the supreme sacrifice in the face of Nazi Germany. Written with pace and insight, this is an uplifting account of an outstanding young man who very nearly made it back home.
Book Synopsis Dambusters: The Forging of a Legend by : Chris Ward
Download or read book Dambusters: The Forging of a Legend written by Chris Ward and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2009-07-19 with total page 439 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 617 Squadron of 5 Group RAF Bomber Command was without doubt the most famous RAF Squadron in World War II. It was formed to carry out the precision low-level attack on the Mohne, Eder and Sorpe Dams, using Barnes Wallaces newly developed rotating mine, now commonly referred to as The Bouncing Bomb. The raid was a tremendous success, although at great cost to the squadron, and proved to be a great moral booster for the war-weary British public. Guy Gibson VC was tasked with organizing the formation and training of the new squadron and the Dambusters have been national heroes ever since. Although several books have previously been written on this epic adventure, this is a new look at their first raid and then the long and envious history of 617 until the end of the war. This new version of the Dams raid within the book, pays particular attention to timings, as it is easy to overlook the fact, that this was a complex three-phase operation, spanning 8 hours and 47 minutes, with action occurring simultaneously at widely dispersed locations. It also attempts to settle finally the circumstances of the losses, by examining the testimony of eyewitnesses on both sides, and presenting arguments to help readers decide for themselves what actually happened where previous accounts are contradictory or at variance. In the later war years 617 suffered greatly during an attack on the Dortmund-Ems Canal but recovered and their list of priority special targets then included the German missile research plant at Peenemunde, Hamburg, the U boat pens at La Pallice and the sinking of the battleship Tirpitz. The legendary Leonard Cheshire VC led the Squadron for much of that period. This newly researched account of 617s wartime record contains many first-hand accounts from squadron members and also German and Dutch witnesses who were present at some of the most spectacular raids and have explained many of the mysterious losses of the Squadrons aircraft.Lengthy appendices contain a Roll of Honour, Commanders, Airfields and aircraft, Operational statistics and Aircraft Histories.
Book Synopsis Legend of the Lancasters by : Martin W. Bowman
Download or read book Legend of the Lancasters written by Martin W. Bowman and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2009-08-19 with total page 1249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a riveting account told in ten big chapters of the young RAF crews who flew Lancasters in RAF Bomber Command from 1942 to the end of the war in Europe in April 1945. It is unique in that the story is told using first person accounts from RAF aircrew and German night fighter crews who fought each other on raids on occupied Europe and Germany from 1942 onwards. Details of what it was like to be on the receiving end in Hamburg, Berlin, Cologne etc are also included. A whole host of incredible first-hand accounts by British, Commonwealth, American and German air crews permeate the action and describe the aerial battles as only they can. This unique book also includes many accounts and photos that have not previously been seen before while the rich mix of combat accounts from all sides are brought together for the first time in one volume.
Download or read book Nuremberg written by Martin W. Bowman and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2016-02-29 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a brand-new, updated history of the Nuremburg Raid, taking advantage of new stores of information that have come to light in recent years. In his usual, highly-praised style, Martin Bowman's historical narrative is supplemented throughout by first-hand snippets of pilot testimony, offering an authentic sense of events as they played out. Having access to extensive archives of images ensures that this is a visually pleasing and comprehensive account of one of the most iconic raids of the Second World War.
Book Synopsis Flying Into the Flames of Hell by : Martin W. Bowman
Download or read book Flying Into the Flames of Hell written by Martin W. Bowman and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2006-01-01 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: En samling beretninger om allierede bombeflybesætningers oplevelser under natbombeoffensiven mod Tyskland under 2. verdenskrig.
Download or read book Ton-Up Lancs written by Norman Franks and published by Grub Street Publishers. This book was released on 2015-09-19 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An updated and expanded photographic history of the famed military aircraft—and the men who flew them. Aviation historian Norman Franks updates his classic book, The Lancaster, with new information and photos. The Avro Lancaster was a four-engine heavy bomber that played a crucial role in World War II, and this illustrated volume records the history of thirty-five of them, supported by stories from aircrew members. The most famous of the bombers is “Queenie” (W5868), the only one of these Lancasters that survives, now in the Bomber Command Hall at the Royal Air Force Museum in London. Ton-Up Lancs delves into some of the controversies surrounding Queenie and other Lancasters, and also includes detailed listings of each raid these thirty-five Lancasters flew during from 1942 through 1945, together with the names of the pilot and crew that took them on sorties all over Hitler’s Third Reich and Northern Italy, on support missions before and after D-Day in June 1944, and attacks on V1 rocket launch sites situated in Northern France. The book also offers a view from one of the Lancaster’s former skippers on what it was like to fly a bomber tour of operations in Bomber Command.
