Glider Infantryman

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Publisher : Texas A&M University Press
ISBN 13 : 1603449620
Total Pages : 286 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (34 download)

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Book Synopsis Glider Infantryman by : Donald J. Rich

Download or read book Glider Infantryman written by Donald J. Rich and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2013-01-18 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A member of the famed Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division, Donald J. Rich went ashore on D-Day at Utah Beach, was wounded in the bloody conflict at Carentan, landed in a flimsy plywood-and-canvas glider on the battlefields of Holland, and survived the grim siege with the "Battling Bastards of Bastogne" during the Battle of the Bulge. Glider Infantryman is his eyewitness account of how he, along with thousands of other young men from farms, small towns, and cities across the United States, came together to answer the call of their nation. It is also a heartfelt tribute to the many thousands who gave their lives in this struggle. Coauthored by Kevin Brooks, the son of Rich's best friend and World War II comrade, Glider Infantryman covers a span of nearly three years; his return home, five months after the war's end, as a toughened bazooka gunner and veteran of five campaigns. Rich's first-person narrative includes vivid coverage of the action, featuring an especially rare account of arriving on a combat landing zone by glider. Detailed, day-to-day depiction of some of the heaviest fighting in Holland follows, including the action at Opheusden, the center of the infamous "Island." Later highlights include the Battle of the Bulge, where Rich recounts his experiences in some of the hottest defensive fighting of the European Theater, including the epic tank battles at Marvie, Champs, and Foy.

World War II Glider Assault Tactics

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Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 178200775X
Total Pages : 146 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (82 download)

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Book Synopsis World War II Glider Assault Tactics by : Gordon L. Rottman

Download or read book World War II Glider Assault Tactics written by Gordon L. Rottman and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2014-03-20 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Military gliders came of age in World War II, when glider assault infantry were the forerunners of today's helicopter-delivered airmobile troops. From the light pre-war sports and training machines, several nations developed troop-carrying gliders capable of getting a whole squad or more of infantry, with heavy weapons, onto the ground quickly, with the equipment that paratroopers simply could not carry. They made up at least one-third of the strength of US, British, and German airborne divisions in major battles, and they also carried out several daring coup de main raids and spearhead operations. However, the dangers were extreme, the techniques were difficult, the losses were heavy (particularly during night operations), and the day of the glider assault was relatively brief. This book explains the development and organization of glider troops, their mounts, and the air squadrons formed to tow them, the steep and costly learning-curve and the tactics that such troops learned to employ once they arrived on the battlefield.

Airborne Combat

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Publisher : Stackpole Books
ISBN 13 : 081170808X
Total Pages : 514 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (117 download)

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Book Synopsis Airborne Combat by : James E. Mrazek

Download or read book Airborne Combat written by James E. Mrazek and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2011 with total page 514 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Long pursued by civilian thrill seekers and dare devils, airborne gliding came of age during World War II as one of that conflict's most dangerous combat operations. The armed forces of Axis and Allied nations developed gliders ... and flew them into battle at Eben Emael, Crete, Normandy, Arnhem, and Bastogne. [The author's] account brings to life both the men who carried out these perilous missions and the gliders that proved vital to the success of airborne attacks"--Page 4 of cover.

Glidermen of Neptune

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Publisher : SIU Press
ISBN 13 : 0809330822
Total Pages : 141 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (93 download)

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Book Synopsis Glidermen of Neptune by : Charles J Masters

Download or read book Glidermen of Neptune written by Charles J Masters and published by SIU Press. This book was released on 2021-06-09 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although the word gliderman does not appear in the dictionary, a brave group of World War II soldiers known as glidermen flew into combat inside unarmed and unarmored canvas-covered gliders known as "flying coffins." Charles J. Masters points out that because World War II was the first truly mechanized and armored global conflict, the role of the glidermen and their combat gliders was at best anachronistic. Fighter planes exceeded speeds of 400 miles per hour and were heavily armed with multiple machine guns. Dogfights had taken on new dimensions, eclipsing the tactics, speed, and firepower first evidenced by the fragile biplanes of World War I. Tanks achieved a lethal efficiency barely dreamed of even five years before the war. An array of weaponry never seen in any previous military engagement confronted the combat soldier during World War II.And yet there were gliders. And glidermen. Masters tells of these men and of their fragile aircraft in a war of mechanized chaos. In copious detail, he describes the gliders and the Americans who boarded them during the American D-Day glider attack, a mission that was part of the overall cross-channel plan code-named "Operation Neptune." The son of a gliderman with the 82nd Airborne Division, Masters had unique access to the surviving glidermen and comrades of his father. During the course of his research, he located and interviewed 106 of the men who had flown the D-Day mission in gliders. As an insider—in a sense almost a member of the family and fraternity of glider-men—Masters was cordially received by the members of the American airborne divisions that participated in D-Day, many of whom told him stories they had seldom told their own friends and families. Often harrowing and always riveting, the stories these men told an eager listener and researcher are very much a part of this narrative. Masters has also assembled the finest existing collection of photographs of the American D-Day glider attack. These photographs—many of which have never before been published—provide a spectacular photographic record of a little-known aspect of this war. In fact, because of the short military history of the American combat glider, most readers, including veterans of World War II, will not have seen one of these "flying coffins," even at a distance. These photographs afford the opportunity to actually examine the inside of the combat gliders used on D-Day, to observe the glidermen in action, and to witness the often tragic consequences of the glider attack.

Glidermen of Neptune

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Author :
Publisher : SIU Press
ISBN 13 : 0809320088
Total Pages : 113 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (93 download)

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Book Synopsis Glidermen of Neptune by : Charles J Masters

Download or read book Glidermen of Neptune written by Charles J Masters and published by SIU Press. This book was released on 1995-12-22 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Masters has also assembled the finest existing collection of photographs of the American D-Day glider attack. These photographs - many of which have never before been publishedafford the opportunity to examine the inside of the combat gliders used on D-Day, to observe the glidermen in action, and to witness the often tragic consequences of the glider attack.

Glider Pilots at Arnhem

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Publisher : Casemate Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1844683486
Total Pages : 826 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (446 download)

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Book Synopsis Glider Pilots at Arnhem by : Mike Peters

Download or read book Glider Pilots at Arnhem written by Mike Peters and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2014-09-19 with total page 826 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fierce struggle between the British 1st Airborne Division and the superior German forces in and around Arnhem is well documented. This book tells of the role played in the battle for Oosterbeek and the bridge at Arnhem itself by the men of the Glider Pilot Regiment (GPR). These men were already experienced soldiers who volunteered to join the airborne forces and take the fight to the Germans in a totally new regiment.The men of the GPR were predominantly SNCOs trained to fly wooden assault gliders into occupied territory. Once on the ground they were expected to go into battle with the troops they had delivered onto the Landing Zone. During the Arnhem operation they were involved in the initial defense of the LZs, before fighting house to house leading mixed groups of infantrymen, engineers and medics. In so doing they suffered extensive losses from which the Regiment never fully recovered. This book tells their story in their own words from the moment they landed on Dutch soil through the fierce fighting all around the ever shrinking perimeter until the survivors of the GPR proudly marked the route out for the battered survivors of 1st Airborne Division as they escaped over the Rhine.

Silent Wings, Savage Death

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Publisher : Silent Wings Savage Death
ISBN 13 : 9781882824311
Total Pages : 308 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (243 download)

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Book Synopsis Silent Wings, Savage Death by : Alfred J. Nigl

Download or read book Silent Wings, Savage Death written by Alfred J. Nigl and published by Silent Wings Savage Death. This book was released on 2007 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Soldiers

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 716 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (31 download)

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Book Synopsis Soldiers by :

Download or read book Soldiers written by and published by . This book was released on 1974 with total page 716 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Silent Invaders

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

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Book Synopsis Silent Invaders by : Gary A. Best

Download or read book Silent Invaders written by Gary A. Best and published by Fonthill Media. This book was released on 2017-05-17 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘The guys would come into the glider like a bunch of piss-ants, skittering around, real cocky like. But they settled down in the glider. Some got airsick and they began thinking about what was ahead. One time we were fired on just as we were landing and exiting the glider and one of the boys was hit. His friends dragged him to cover beneath a tree. He looked up at me and said, “Take my rifle, I’m dying.” I reached down and took his weapon, and he slumped back and died. That was pretty tough...’ Combat gliders were called by some as ‘Death Crates’, ‘Purple Heart Boxes’, ‘Flying Coffins’ and ‘Tow Targets’. They were not pretty and had no graceful lines. Viewed from the front, they had a pug nose and a sloping Neanderthal forehead. Their wings looked like the heavily-starched ears of a jackrabbit placed at right angles on a canvas-covered frame. Twice the length of the body, these wings were eighty-four feet in length, 70 per cent as long as the Wright Brothers’ first powered flight at Kitty Hawk. They could not become airborne, let alone fly, unless assisted by an engine-powered tow plane. And for those riding in the back, it was like flying ‘through the gates of hell’. The men who were trained and assigned to guide gliders into battle were said to be the only pilots who had no motors, armament, parachutes and no second chances. Like the aircraft they commanded, they were called inglorious names such as The Bastards Nobody Wanted, Glider Gladiators in Wooden Chariots; Hybrid Jackasses and Glory Boys. Beautifully written, profoundly illustrated and researched, Silent Invaders: Combat Gliders of the Second World War is a work that is dedicated to those brave men under impossible odds from the British and American servicemen on D-Day, the doomed Operation Market Garden in Holland and Hitler’s radical commando raid to rescue Mussolini. Illustrations: 80 black-and-white photographs

Glider Soldiers

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Author :
Publisher : Sarpedon Publishers
ISBN 13 : 9781885119049
Total Pages : 345 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (19 download)

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Book Synopsis Glider Soldiers by : Alan Wood

Download or read book Glider Soldiers written by Alan Wood and published by Sarpedon Publishers. This book was released on 1994-06-01 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

American Military Gliders of World War II

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Publisher : Schiffer Military History
ISBN 13 : 9780764340512
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (45 download)

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Book Synopsis American Military Gliders of World War II by : Bill Norton

Download or read book American Military Gliders of World War II written by Bill Norton and published by Schiffer Military History. This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The U.S. Army glider corps was formed in the tumultuous period of rapid buildup of American military might prior to the nation's December 1941 entry into World War II. It then had to mature rapidly, under the persistent pressure of wartime conditions, to be ready for action when American airborne troops first deployed. This meant haste and misconceptions that fostered inefficiencies in all aspects of the effort. The program produced a cadre of pilots and fleet of wood and fabric gliders that executed challenging combat missions unlike anything done before or since. Despite the numbers and combat record, the glider is almost never mentioned in accounts of World War II combat aircraft. Many other gliders were developed, partially or completely, to enhance airborne operational capabilities. Most of these have been little reported until now. The U.S. Army and Britain shared aircraft and knowledge, both employing the other's gliders in combat. The U.S. Navy also spent time developing amphibious transport gliders for Marine Corps landings. All are covered in this book. The American experience with military gliders during World War II remains a fascinating story of innovation under wartime conditions of a weapon with no historical antecedents.

Paratrooper!

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Author :
Publisher : Robson Books Limited
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 744 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Paratrooper! by : Gerard M. Devlin

Download or read book Paratrooper! written by Gerard M. Devlin and published by Robson Books Limited. This book was released on 1979 with total page 744 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Om amerikanske faldskærmssoldater i 2. Verdenskrig. Forfatteren har modtaget adskillige dekorationer.

Gliders of World War II: ‘The Bastards No One Wanted’

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Publisher : Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1786250683
Total Pages : 92 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (862 download)

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Book Synopsis Gliders of World War II: ‘The Bastards No One Wanted’ by : Major Michael H. Manion

Download or read book Gliders of World War II: ‘The Bastards No One Wanted’ written by Major Michael H. Manion and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-06 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study examines the role of combat gliders in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States during World War II (WWII). This thesis compares and contrasts each country with respect to pre-WWII glider experience, glider and airborne doctrine, glider pilot training, and glider production while outlining each country’s major glider operations. The author then compares the glider operations in the China-Burma-India Theater to the operations in Europe to describe the unique challenges based on the terrain and mission. Next, this thesis presents an analysis of the glider’s precipitous decline following WWII. The study concludes with recommendations for glider operations in the future based on the experiences of the past.

World War II Glider Pilots

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Author :
Publisher : Turner Publishing Company
ISBN 13 : 0938021958
Total Pages : 170 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (38 download)

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Book Synopsis World War II Glider Pilots by :

Download or read book World War II Glider Pilots written by and published by Turner Publishing Company. This book was released on 1991 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

History of the Glider Pilot Regiment

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Author :
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 147381507X
Total Pages : 336 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (738 download)

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Book Synopsis History of the Glider Pilot Regiment by : Claude Smith

Download or read book History of the Glider Pilot Regiment written by Claude Smith and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-01-09 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The untold story of this tiny, little-known British Army regiment and the daring men who piloted engineless aircraft to WWII’s major battlefields. The Glider Pilot Regiment, having been raised as the first element of the new Army Air Corps in 1942 and disbanded in 1957, can probably claim the dubious distinction of having been the smallest and shortest-lived regiment ever to form part of the British Army. Nevertheless, in those few years the regiment gained as much distinction as it has taken other units hundreds of years to achieve. Yet, strangely enough, the story of these heroic men who piloted their flimsy gliders to most of the important battlefields of the Second World War has never before been told. It is indeed a remarkable story, and no one is better qualified to tell it than Claude Smith, who himself served with the regiment and took part in the invasion of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and later in the ill-fated landing at Arnhem, where he was taken prisoner. Smith tells the story of these supremely brave men factually and dispassionately, but it is impossible to read this book without being moved by their courage. As General Sir John Hackett says in his foreword: “Those who went to battle in gliders and above all those who got them there, the Glider Pilots, deserve our enduring esteem.” Includes maps and illustrations

The Putt-putt Air Force

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 140 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (39 download)

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Book Synopsis The Putt-putt Air Force by : Patricia Strickland

Download or read book The Putt-putt Air Force written by Patricia Strickland and published by . This book was released on 1970 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Glider Soldiers

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Publisher : Spellmount, Limited Publishers
ISBN 13 : 9780946771998
Total Pages : 345 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (719 download)

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Book Synopsis The Glider Soldiers by : Alan Wood

Download or read book The Glider Soldiers written by Alan Wood and published by Spellmount, Limited Publishers. This book was released on 1992 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: