Fights & Flights with the Royal Naval Air Service

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Author :
Publisher : Leonaur Limited
ISBN 13 : 9781915234773
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (347 download)

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Book Synopsis Fights & Flights with the Royal Naval Air Service by : Charles Rumney Samson

Download or read book Fights & Flights with the Royal Naval Air Service written by Charles Rumney Samson and published by Leonaur Limited. This book was released on 2022-11-07 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An incredible career with the armoured cars and aircraft of the RNAS The author, Charles Samson, was one of the first four officers selected to be a pilot by the Royal Navy and was the first to fly an aircraft from a moving ship. By 1912, he was commanding officer of the Royal Naval Air station at Eastchurch. When war broke out in 1914, Samson took his RNAS squadron to France, but a shortage of aircraft initially converted the squadron to an automotive force. Its role involved reconnaissance and aggressive patrolling, firstly in private cars fitted with machine guns and subsequently in armoured cars supported by Royal Marines, frequently undertaken behind enemy lines. Eventually supplied with aircraft, the squadron undertook bombing raids into Germany. In 1915 Samson joined the Dardanelles expedition with No. 3 Squadron. He was involved in operating seaplanes from HMS Ark Royal, personally flying missions against naval and land targets and his narratives of action during this period are riveting. In 1916, he took command of a former Isle of Man passenger steamer that had been converted into a seaplane carrier, patrolling the coasts of Syria and Palestine and operating against Turkish forces until his ship was sunk in action. He was then transferred to the Indian Ocean to join the hunt for enemy commerce raiders. From 1917 until the end of the war he commanded an aircraft group on the Home Front, based at Great Yarmouth, responsible for anti-submarine and anti-Zeppelin operations. Samson, resigned from the Royal Navy, joining the RAF in 1919. Illustrated. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.

The Royal Naval Air Service During the Great War

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Author :
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 178346383X
Total Pages : 252 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (834 download)

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Book Synopsis The Royal Naval Air Service During the Great War by : Malcolm Smith

Download or read book The Royal Naval Air Service During the Great War written by Malcolm Smith and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-07-28 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following in the same style as his previous book of Fleet Air Arm recollections, Malcolm Smith has collected a compendium of reminiscences from pilots who flew for the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines during the First World War. He includes first-hand testimonies from pilots manning early seaplane stations, an enthralling account from F.J. Rutland (the 'Rutland of Jutland'), who became the first pilot to take off in a Sopwith Pup from a platform on the roof of one of HMS Yarmouth's gun turrets, the true tale behind Rudyard Kipling's short story 'A Flight of Fact' (concerning Guy Duncan-Smith's experience of becoming marooned in the Maldives following a dramatic shoot-down), amongst many other personalized and illuminating stories. ??All these anecdotes are drawn from the extensive archive maintained by the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton, Somerset. The archive contains an enormous quantity of material, in the form of handwritten diaries, transcripts, log books and documentation of many kinds. Alongside the written material, the Museum maintains an unrivaled photographic archive and a representative sample of these images is included in the book.??Excerpts from diaries, transcripts of spoken first-hand accounts and other recorded narratives make up the bulk of the book, with whole chapters dedicated to some of the most vocal members to see service during the course of the RNAS's Great War history. Guy Leather, a pilot destined to track an impressive trajectory with the RNAS features in one such chapter; his day to day accounts relay the full gamut of pilot experience at this time. ??This humane and thoughtful consolidation of pilot reflections is sure to appeal broadly, particularly as we approach the one hundredth year anniversary of the First World War.

The Royal Navy's Air Service in the Great War

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Author :
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1848323506
Total Pages : 493 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (483 download)

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Book Synopsis The Royal Navy's Air Service in the Great War by : David Hobbs

Download or read book The Royal Navy's Air Service in the Great War written by David Hobbs and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2017-09-30 with total page 493 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a few short years after 1914 the Royal Navy practically invented naval air warfare, not only producing the first effective aircraft carriers, but also pioneering most of the techniques and tactics that made naval air power a reality. By 1918 the RN was so far ahead of other navies that a US Navy observer sent to study the British use of aircraft at sea concluded that any discussion of the subject must first consider their methods. Indeed, by the time the war ended the RN was training for a carrier-borne attack by torpedo-bombers on the German fleet in its bases over two decades before the first successful employment of this tactic, against the Italians at Taranto.Following two previously well-received histories of British naval aviation, David Hobbs here turns his attention to the operational and technical achievements of the Royal Naval Air Service, both at sea and ashore, from 1914 to 1918. Detailed explanations of operations, the technology that underpinned them and the people who carried them out bring into sharp focus a revolutionary period of development that changed naval warfare forever. Controversially, the RNAS was subsumed into the newly created Royal Air Force in 1918, so as the centenary of its extinction approaches, this book is a timely reminder of its true significance.

Eyes All Over the Sky

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Publisher : Casemate
ISBN 13 : 1612003680
Total Pages : 273 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (12 download)

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Book Synopsis Eyes All Over the Sky by : James Streckfuss

Download or read book Eyes All Over the Sky written by James Streckfuss and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2016-05-19 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The impact of the unsung heroes of WWI—“a must for any aviation enthusiast to further complement work on aerial reconnaissance in modern warfare” (Roads to the Great War), Beyond the heroic deeds of the fighter pilots and bombers of World War I, the real value of military aviation lay elsewhere; aerial reconnaissance, observation, and photography impacted the fighting in many ways, but little has been written about it. Balloons and airplanes regulated artillery fire, infantry liaison aircraft followed attacking troops and the retreats of defenders, aerial photographers aided operational planners and provided the data for perpetually updated maps, and naval airplanes, airships, and balloons acted as aerial sentinels in a complex anti-submarine warfare organization. Reconnaissance crews at the Battles of the Marne and Tannenberg averted disaster. Eyes All Over the Sky fully explores all the aspects of aerial reconnaissance and its previously under-appreciated significance. Also included are the individual experiences of British, American, and German airmen—true pioneers of aviation warfare. “With an interesting selection of photos, the book is not only an excellent reference—it is historically important.” —Classic Wings “This well-researched history belongs on the shelf of anyone with a serious interest in the air war or the ground war of 1914-1918.” —Steve Suddaby, former president of the World War One Historical Association

Bloody Paralyser

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Author :
Publisher : Fonthill Media
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 271 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Bloody Paralyser by : Rob Langham

Download or read book Bloody Paralyser written by Rob Langham and published by Fonthill Media. This book was released on 2017-03-13 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bloody Paralyser: The Giant Handley Page Bombers of the First World War tells the story of the largest British bombers of the First World War and the men who flew them. In 1915, the biggest plane ever seen in Britain took flight for the first time a twin-engine monster with a 100- foot wingspan, designed to be a Bloody Paralyser to the Germans. Operating mainly at night, the Handley Page bombers attacked Germany and Germanoccupied towns and cities, disrupting the enemy s industry and transport and targeting U-boats that were causing heavy losses to merchant shipping. The men that flew in the Bloody Paralysers were the forerunners of the crews of Bomber Command in the Second World War, and now their story is told in their own words.

Racing Ace

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Publisher : Casemate Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1844684105
Total Pages : 502 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (446 download)

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Book Synopsis Racing Ace by : Julian Lewis

Download or read book Racing Ace written by Julian Lewis and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2011-06-13 with total page 502 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Samuel Kink Kinkead won two DSCs with the Royal Naval Air Service, two DFC with the fledgling RAF and the DSO in Russia.A brilliant pilot, postwar he was a long range aviation pioneer and leading racing ace selected for the international Schneider Trophy in Venice in 1927. Tragically, he was killed in 1928 when he was only 31 during his attempt to shatter the World Air Speed record. He is honored by several memorials, at Cranwell, the RAF Club in Piccadilly, at Fawley and a permanent exhibition in the Kinkead Room at Calshot from where he set out on his final flight.Julian Lewis MP has pieced together Kinks extraordinary story of achievement during his short but eventful and glamorous life. A fascinating account of flying derring-do in war and peace.

World War I [5 volumes]

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Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 5784 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (161 download)

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Book Synopsis World War I [5 volumes] by : Spencer C. Tucker

Download or read book World War I [5 volumes] written by Spencer C. Tucker and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2014-10-28 with total page 5784 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offering exhaustive coverage, detailed analyses, and the latest historical interpretations of events, this expansive, five-volume encyclopedia is the most comprehensive and detailed reference source on the First World War available today. One hundred years after the beginning of World War I in 1914, this conflict still stands as perhaps the most important event of the 20th century. World War I toppled all of the existing empires at the time, transformed the Middle East, and vaulted the United States to becoming the world's leading economic power. Its effects were profound and lasting—and included outcomes that led to World War II. This multivolume encyclopedia provides a wide-ranging examination of World War I that covers all of the important battles; key individuals, both civilian and military; weapons and technologies; and diplomatic, social, political, cultural, military, and economic developments. Suitable as a reference tool for high school and undergraduate students as well as faculty members and graduate-level researchers, World War I: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection offers accessible, in-depth information and up-to-date analyses in a format that lends itself to quick and easy use. The set comprises alphabetically arranged, cross-referenced entries accompanied by further reading selections as well as a comprehensive bibliography. A fifth volume provides chronologically arranged documents and an A–Z index.

The Development of British Naval Aviation, 1914–1918

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000387615
Total Pages : 276 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (3 download)

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Book Synopsis The Development of British Naval Aviation, 1914–1918 by : Alexander Howlett

Download or read book The Development of British Naval Aviation, 1914–1918 written by Alexander Howlett and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-06-08 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) revolutionized warfare at sea, on land, and in the air. This little-known naval aviation organization introduced and operationalized aircraft carrier strike, aerial anti-submarine warfare, strategic bombing, and the air defence of the British Isles more than 20 years before the outbreak of the Second World War. Traditionally marginalized in a literature dominated by the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force, the RNAS and its innovative practitioners, nevertheless, shaped the fundamentals of air power and contributed significantly to the Allied victory in the First World War. The Development of British Naval Aviation utilizes archival documents and newly published research to resurrect the legacy of the RNAS and demonstrate its central role in Britain’s war effort.

British Naval Aviation

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Author :
Publisher : Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN 13 : 1409482367
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (94 download)

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Book Synopsis British Naval Aviation by : Dr Tim Benbow

Download or read book British Naval Aviation written by Dr Tim Benbow and published by Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. This book was released on 2013-07-28 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1909 the British Admiralty placed an order for a rigid airship, marking the beginning of the Royal Navy's involvement with airpower. This collection charts the Navy's involvement with aviation over the following century, and the ways in which its rapid expansion and evolution radically altered the nature of maritime power and naval strategy. Drawing on much new historical research, the collection takes a broadly chronological approach which allows a scholarly examination of key themes from across the history of British naval aviation. The subjects tackled include long-standing controversies over the control of naval air power, crucial turning points within British defence policy and strategy, the role of naval aviation in limited war, and discussion of campaigns - such the contribution of the Fleet Air Arm in the Mediterranean and Pacific theatres of the Second World War - that have hitherto received relatively little attention. The collection concludes with a discussion of recent debates surrounding the Royal Navy's acquisition of a new generation of carriers, setting the arguments within an historical context. Taken as a whole the volume offers fascinating insights into the development of a key aspect of naval power as well as shedding new light on one of the most important aspects of Britain's defence policy and military history. By simultaneous addressing historical and current political debates, it is sure to find a ready audience and stimulate further discussion.

British Military Intelligence in the Palestine Campaign, 1914-1918

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1135245703
Total Pages : 409 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (352 download)

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Book Synopsis British Military Intelligence in the Palestine Campaign, 1914-1918 by : Yigal Sheffy

Download or read book British Military Intelligence in the Palestine Campaign, 1914-1918 written by Yigal Sheffy and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-02-04 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shortly after the end of the First World War, General Sir George Macdonagh, wartime director of British Military Intelligence, revealed that Lord Allenby's victory in Palestine had never been in doubt because of the success of his intelligence service. Seventy-five years later this book explains Macdonagh's statement. Sheffy also adopts a novel approach to traditional heroes of the campaign such as T E Lawrence.

Samson and the Dunkirk Circus

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Author :
Publisher : Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN 13 : 9781973733515
Total Pages : 220 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (335 download)

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Book Synopsis Samson and the Dunkirk Circus by : John Jonah Oliver

Download or read book Samson and the Dunkirk Circus written by John Jonah Oliver and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-08-31 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story of a small unit of 150 men of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and 450 men of the Royal Marines in the first few months of World War One, who travelled about France and Belgium terrorizing the German Army, to the extent that the Germans put a price on their heads! This RNAS unit was commanded by a man small in stature who was phased by nothing: he and his men just wanted to fight the Germans. They never had enough aircraft for all the pilots, so they started to look for a new way to take the fight to the Germans. They had heard about armoured cars in Belgium and set about designing their own. Lieutenant Commander Charles R Samson and his two brothers took the car out and went looking for a fight. They covered a lot of ground picking up intelligence and they had such fun doing it that they convinced the Admiralty to build them more armoured cars so they could take the fight to the enemy. They helped rescue thousands of French troops trapped in Douai and Belgium Troops trapped in Antwerp. They then helped push the German Army back at Ypres, during the First Battle of Ypres. Once the trenches had reached the coast there was not the freedom to roam looking for Germans, but they still carried out a lot of operations supporting the Belgian Army in attacking the enemy. In March 1915 the unit was pulled out of France and sent to the Dardanelles. This small unit was highly decorated for their bravery and yet they are in no official or unofficial histories. Their story has not been told and the development work they carried out has been ignored. The British Army and the Royal Air Force have taken credit for a number of the RNAS actions, innovations and discoveries, while the Royal Navy have just wiped their hands of these men.

I Chose the Sky

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Author :
Publisher : Grub Street Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1909808326
Total Pages : 201 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (98 download)

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Book Synopsis I Chose the Sky by : Leonard Rochford

Download or read book I Chose the Sky written by Leonard Rochford and published by Grub Street Publishing. This book was released on 2015-07-19 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The newest addition to the Grub Street Classics range is this fascinating, insightful and, at times, nail-biting account by the World War One veteran, Leonard H. Rochford. This book has been out of print for more than thirty years and we are delighted to be putting it back on the shelves, with black and white photographs throughout. In these exciting memoirs, •Tichê Rochford writes about his two action-filled years as a World War I fighter pilot with the famous No. 3 (Naval) Squadron when he flew planes such as the Sopwith Pup and the Sopwith Camel. While flying many hundreds of hours in operations he was credited with many single-handed victories or driven out of control, and he vividly recalls these engagements in the air and the exploits of the pilots with whom he flew, names that include other fighter aces like Raymond Collishaw, who has written a foreword to this book, T. F. Havell, R. H. Mulock and L. S. Breadner. A member of his flight, Lt. Col. Kirkpatrick said of him, •I always had the impression that what he did came naturally to him. If he saw an enemy aircraft and decided to attack, that was that. He went screaming down on it and we all had our work cut out to keep up with him. One could be pretty sure of the victim going down in flames.ê

Gardens of Hell

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Publisher : Potomac Books, Inc.
ISBN 13 : 1612346847
Total Pages : 468 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (123 download)

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Book Synopsis Gardens of Hell by : Patrick Gariepy

Download or read book Gardens of Hell written by Patrick Gariepy and published by Potomac Books, Inc.. This book was released on 2014-05-15 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gardens of Hell examines the human side of one of the great tragedies of modern warfare, the Gallipoli campaign of the First World War. In February 1915, beginning with a naval attack on Turkey in the Dardanelles, a combined force of British, Australian, New Zealand, Indian, and French troops invaded the Gallipoli Peninsula only to face crushing losses and an ignominious retreat from what seemed a hopeless mission. Both sides in the battle suffered huge casualties, with a combined 127,000 servicemen killed during the action. Patrick Gariepy has pieced together the battle from combatantsÆ own words. Drawn from diaries and letters and from stories passed down through generations of families, these firsthand accounts offer an honest, heartfelt, and sometimes painful testimony to a doomed campaign fought by the men who lived through the fury, terror, and grief that was Gallipoli. Gardens of Hell is a sensitive acknowledgment of the enormous human cost of military folly and failure.

Anti-Submarine Warfare in World War I

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1135989540
Total Pages : 257 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (359 download)

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Book Synopsis Anti-Submarine Warfare in World War I by : John Abbatiello

Download or read book Anti-Submarine Warfare in World War I written by John Abbatiello and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2006-05-02 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Investigating the employment of British aircraft against German submarines during the final years of the First World War, this new book places anti-submarine campaigns from the air in the wider history of the First World War. The Royal Naval Air Service invested heavily in aircraft of all types—aeroplanes, seaplanes, airships, and kite balloons—in order to counter the German U-boats. Under the Royal Air Force, the air campaign against U-boats continued uninterrupted. Aircraft bombed German U-boat bases in Flanders, conducted area and ‘hunting’ patrols around the coasts of Britain, and escorted merchant convoys to safety. Despite the fact that aircraft acting alone destroyed only one U-boat during the war, the overall contribution of naval aviation to foiling U-boat attacks was significant. Only five merchant vessels succumbed to submarine attack when convoyed by a combined air and surface escort during World War I. This book examines aircraft and weapons technology, aircrew training, and the aircraft production issues that shaped this campaign. Then, a close examination of anti-submarine operations—bombing, patrols, and escort—yields a significantly different judgment from existing interpretations of these operations. This study is the first to take an objective look at the writing and publication of the naval and air official histories as they told the story of naval aviation during the Great War. The author also examines the German view of aircraft effectiveness, through German actions, prisoner interrogations, official histories, and memoirs, to provide a comparative judgment. The conclusion closes with a brief narrative of post-war air anti-submarine developments and a summary of findings. Overall, the author concludes that despite the challenges of organization, training, and production the employment of aircraft against U-boats was largely successful during the Great War. This book will be of interest to historians of naval and air power history, as well as students of World War I and military history in general.

The Gallipoli Experience Reconsidered

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Author :
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1473851092
Total Pages : 365 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (738 download)

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Book Synopsis The Gallipoli Experience Reconsidered by : Peter Liddle

Download or read book The Gallipoli Experience Reconsidered written by Peter Liddle and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2015-02-27 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Gallipoli Campaign is generally viewed as a disastrous failure of the First World War, inadequately redeemed by the heroism of the soldiers and sailors who were involved in the fighting. But before the first landings were made, the concept of a strike at the Dardanelles seemed to offer a short cut to victory in a war without prospect of end. The venture, and what was required of the men undertaking it who were enduring heavy casualties, eminently deserve reconsideration in the centenary year of the campaign. What fuelled and what drained morale during the eight months of extraordinary human endeavour? A balanced evaluation of the Gallipoli gamble, and of the political and military leadership, are the challenging tasks which Peter Liddle sets himself in his new study of the campaign and the experience of the men who served in it.

Somme 1914-18

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Author :
Publisher : The History Press
ISBN 13 : 0752480022
Total Pages : 350 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (524 download)

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Book Synopsis Somme 1914-18 by : Martin Marix Evans

Download or read book Somme 1914-18 written by Martin Marix Evans and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2011-11-30 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Somme is a name with particular resonance for the people of Britain, for here, in 1916, the flower of her youth was cut down. Terrible though that day was, it takes its place in a wider story: the long, painful process of learning how to fight a new kind of war. From the war movement of 1914, when the French fought on the fields of the Somme, the conflict evolved to massive frontal assaults by the British and Allied troops in 1916. Here the first tank was first used in September 1916. Increasing sophistication in the terrifying use of artillery by the Germans broke the Allied lines in March 1918. Allied use of this same technology was then combined with other arms to create the fighting complex that inflicted the 'Black Day' on the German army in August and smashed the Hindenberg Line in September. Thus the British, Australian, Canadian, American and French forces defeated the German Army in the field at last. This book reveals how the Somme was the bloody classroom in which this new art of war was studied and it tells the story of the men who paid the price for this knowledge with their own blood.

Frank McClean

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Author :
Publisher : Seaforth Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1848321090
Total Pages : 183 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (483 download)

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Book Synopsis Frank McClean by : Philip Jarrett

Download or read book Frank McClean written by Philip Jarrett and published by Seaforth Publishing. This book was released on 2011-07-13 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During aviation’s pioneering years Francis Kennedy McClean used his vast inherited wealth to help the now famous Short Brothers company become established as one of Britain’s greatest aircraft manufacturers and, in doing so, he helped the Royal Navy’s first pilots into the air. In effect, he was Godfather to British naval aviation. But McClean did much more than even that. He was himself a balloonist and pioneer aviator, flying with Wilbur Wright in France in December 1908. He provided the Royal Aero Club with one of the first flying grounds in the UK; personally purchased no fewer than sixteen aeroplanes from Short Brothers before the First World War, and also acted as the company’s unpaid test pilot. Convinced that aviation was destined to play a vital role in the nation’s defence, he made his own aeroplanes freely available for training and ensured that the Navy had a suitable site from which to fly, founding England’s first naval flying school, at Eastchurch in Kent. His flight up the Thames to Westminster on 10 August 1912, during which he flew between the upper and lower spans of Tower Bridge and passed beneath the other bridges, caught the public imagination, but despite all these achievements he remained unassuming, modest and reticent. This is a fascinating and informative account of McClean’s great influence on early aviation, and his achievements and significant contribution to naval aviation are revealed here for the first time.