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Stuka Spearhead
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Download or read book Stuka Spearhead written by Peter C. Smith and published by Frontline Books. This book was released on 1998-09-30 with total page 73 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This addition to the Luftwaffe at War Series is a fully illustrated guide to the formative years of the Ju 87 dive-bomber which dominated the opening campaigns of W orld War II.
Download or read book Stuka written by Alistair Smith and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2013-01-19 with total page 133 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A very nice release about the most recognizable German aircraft of the Second World War” from the author of Rommel’s Army in the Desert (Inscale.org). The photographs in this collection belonged to Luftwaffe Stuka rear gunner and radio operator Erich Heine. The collection includes photographs of flights of Stukas in formation, operating training aircraft, and a selection of different Luftwaffe uniforms and flight gear. The photographer was based for a period in Czechoslovakia, was shot down over the Ukraine in August 1943 and for a time was listed as missing in action. This collection offers a unique insight into the German experience of World War Two, providing the opportunity to access materials that have never been published before “The book very ably documents the war career of the aircraft and the pilots, reproducing some outstanding images of war.” —Firetrench “The most remarkable thing about this album is that it contains photographs of perhaps the most famous Stuka ace, Hans-Ulrich Rudel.” —Inscale.org “The photographs . . . show the life of Erich and Luftwaffe Stuka crew members through training/deployment/leave and include funerals of squadron members . . . The narrative gives a good overview of the Stuka in service and the photographs show varied views of the aircraft and day to day life within the squadron.” —WW2 Talk
Book Synopsis Stukas Over the Steppe by : Peter C. Smith
Download or read book Stukas Over the Steppe written by Peter C. Smith and published by Frontline Books. This book was released on 1999-03-15 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new edition to the Luftwaffe at War ser ies captures the many roles adopted by the Ju 87 in this dem anding theatre - from dive bomber to tank buster and the var ieties of plane type. The illustrations show the planes'' cou rageous contribution to war.
Book Synopsis Combat Biplanes of World War II by : Peter C. Smith
Download or read book Combat Biplanes of World War II written by Peter C. Smith and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2015-09-30 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The era of the combat biplane is usually thought to have been between 1914 and 1938. By the outbreak of World War II, most of the advanced air forces of the world had moved on to monoplane aircraft for their front-line battle forces, both in bomber and fighter capacities. Yet despite this, many biplanes did still survive, both in front-line service and in numerous subsidiary roles, and not just as training machines but as fully operational warplanes. Thus in 1939 the majority of major European powers still retained some, albeit few, biplane aircraft. Sadly, and as an indictment of failed British Government defence policies, it was Great Britain who still had the bulk of such obsolescent combat aircraft, machines like the Gladiator, Swordfish, Walrus, Vildebeeste and Audax for example, while the inferior Albacore, meant to replace the Swordfish, was still yet to enter service!Germany had relegated most of her biplane designs to secondary roles, but they still managed to conduct missions in which biplanes like the He.50, He.51 and Hs.120 excelled. Both France and Italy had biplanes in active service, Mussolini's Regia Aeronautica attaching great importance to the type as a fighter aircraft as late as 1941, while the Soviet Union also retained some machines like the Po-2 in front-line service right through the war and beyond. In addition, a whole range of smaller nations utilised biplanes built for larger combatants in their own air forces. By the time Japan and the United States entered the war two years later, they had mainly rid themselves of biplanes but, even here, a few specialised types lingered on. This book describes a selection of these gallant old warriors of all nations. They represent the author's own personal selection from a surprisingly large range of aircraft that, despite all predictions, fought hard and well in World War II.
Download or read book Mitsubishi Zero written by Peter C. Smith and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-11-30 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A history of the Japanese aircraft, “illustrated by well reproduced black and white photographs” details the plane’s impressive WWII aviation record. (Aviation News) The Mitsubishi Zero is one of the greatest fighter aircraft ever to have graced the skies. Symbolic of the might of Imperial Japan, she represented a peak of developmental prowess in the field of aviation during the early years of the Second World War. Engineered with maneuverability in mind, this lightweight, stripped-back aircraft had a performance that left her opponents totally outclassed. The dogfights this aircraft engaged in with the Chinese, British, Dutch and American warplanes in the 1941-42 period are the stuff of aviation legend. The Zero remained a potent threat until the end of the war, not least in her final role, that of a Kamikaze plane, in which she created as much havoc on the sea as she had done earlier in the air. Peter C. Smith takes the reader on a journey from inspired inception to the blazing termination of this unique aircraft, the first Naval fighter to be superior to land-based aircraft. Mitsubishi Zero describes in detail the many victories that punctuated the early days of the plane’s operational career as well as the final days of the Second World War which witnessed her demise. Smith also lists the preserved Zero aircraft on display today. This is a fast-paced and fascinating history of a fighter aircraft like no other.
Book Synopsis The Battle-Cruiser HMS Renown, 1916–48 by : Peter C. Smith
Download or read book The Battle-Cruiser HMS Renown, 1916–48 written by Peter C. Smith and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2008-10-30 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A successful book, giving a picture of life on a major warship, as well as a different view of some of the main naval actions of the Second World War.” —HistoryOfWar.org This is the story of the Royal Navy battle-cruiser HMS Renown, a famous ship with a long and distinguished operational career. Originally built for the First World War she subsequently served in the post-war fleet and took royalty around the world. Modernized just in time for World War Two, she re-joined the fleet in September, 1939 and for the first two years of the war her speed and heavy gun armament made her one of the most important ships of the fleet. She escorted the famous carrier Ark Royal for most of her illustrious career as flagship of Force “H” in the Mediterranean and took part in many stirring battles and convoy actions. Later she covered Russian convoys in the Arctic before going out to the Indian Ocean where she took part in attacks on Japanese targets in the Indian Ocean. Her final duties included the meeting of King George VI and President Truman in 1945. A host of fresh detail coupled with eyewitness memoirs from former crew members make this an outstanding warship biography. “If you like a thorough, detailed history of a famous, long lived fighting ship, this volume will give you just what you’re looking for. It also provides an insightful look at some of the Royal Navy’s more interesting naval leaders, including Admirals Cunningham and Somerville.” —IPMS/USA
Book Synopsis The History of Dive Bombing by : Peter C. Smith
Download or read book The History of Dive Bombing written by Peter C. Smith and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2007-11-13 with total page 539 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The incredible story of the dive bomber is told through official reports and personal accounts from combat pilots in this sweeping military history. The History of Dive Bombing delves beneath the myths to present an in-depth history. Peter Smith tells the full story of these planes from the first true combat dive bombing by a Royal Air Force pilot in 1917 to the last stirring wartime actions. Interviews with pilots from both World Wars representing all combatant nations give eyewitness viewpoints on many of the major actions and methods employed. From the first dive-bomber missions of World War II, through accounts of British attacks on German warships during the Norwegian campaign, and Stuka missions against the French and British forces, this volume vividly recreates the drama, strategy and tactics of dive bombing. Some well known aircraft types include, such as the Curtiss Helldiver, Aichi D3A1, Blackburn Skua, and the infamous Junkers Ju 87.
Download or read book Torpedo Bombers written by Peter C. Smith and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2008-03-27 with total page 179 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a highly illustrated history one of the most deadly types of atta aircraft. The torpedo bomber first appeared during the later years of World War One but served their most useful role in the Second World War. The most famous attas include Taranto, where Fairey Swordfish destroyed the Italian Battle fleet and the infamous surprise atta on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. In both these cases the attas were against ships laying in harbor and therefore stationary. Heavy defensive anti-aircraft fire was the greatest danger to the torpedo bombers in those circumstances but ships under way in the open sea had far more room to take evasive action. The lengthy time it took a torpedo to reach its target allowed many ships to escape destruction. However notable exceptions were the sinking HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse by the Japanese during the early stages of the war in the Far East. During the hunt for the Bismar it was an air-launched torpedo from a Swordfish that severely damaged the ships steering gear and enabled the Royal Navy to close in for the final kill. Some of the types included are the Fairey Swordfish, Bristol Beaufort, Fairey Albacore, Bristol Beaufighter, Heinkell He 115, Marchetti SM.79, Fokker T.VIII, Grumman Avenger and the Nakajima B5N.
Book Synopsis Midway: Dauntless Victory by : Peter C. Smith
Download or read book Midway: Dauntless Victory written by Peter C. Smith and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2008-03-25 with total page 857 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is an in-depth study of the battle of Midway that reviews the many previous accounts and compares their accuracy and veracity with fresh documentation that has been released recently, including new material on the post-war analysis made by a US select committee. There are new viewpoints on the muddle among the US Admirals; the total failure of the USAAF, despite elaborate claims; fresh thinking on the part played by the US Navy Dauntless dive-bombers in the action; the mystery of the carrier Saratoga's presence; Hollywood's totally wrong take on the battle in all the films since made about it. Also, included are new eyewitness accounts the author has obtained and information from Japanese sources that has never been previously published. The lengthy Appendices will include statistical details of the ships, the planes and the men.
Book Synopsis International Warbirds by : John C. Fredriksen
Download or read book International Warbirds written by John C. Fredriksen and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2001-08-01 with total page 407 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In depth descriptions and photographs of the aircraft of 21 nations presented with a unique human dimension that goes behind the machines to the people involved. Invaluable for specialists, accessible to enthusiasts, International Warbirds: An Illustrated Guide to World Military Aircraft, 1914–2000 puts the most legendary fighter aircraft of the 20th century developed outside the United States on vivid display. It offers 336 illustrated "biographies" of the most significant warplanes used in squadron service from World War I to the Balkan conflict, including numerous models from Great Britain, France, Russia, and Japan, as well as notable machines from Israel, Canada, China, India, Brazil, and other nations. Entries span the history and scope of military aircraft from bombers and fighters to transports, trainers, reconnaissance craft, sea planes, and helicopters, with each capsule history combining nuts-and-bolts technical data with the story of that model's evolution and use. Together, these portraits offer an exciting, well-researched tribute to visionary designers and builders as well as courageous pilots and crews across the globe, and tell a vivid tale of how air power became such a decisive factor in modern warfare.
Download or read book Skua! written by Peter C. Smith and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2007-03-28 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Blackburn Skua was the first monoplane to be designed and built for the Royal Navy in the 1930s. As a result of continued debate, it became a compromise between the Navys desire for a carrier-based dive-bomber and RAFs preference for a fighter. Despite being the first to shoot down a Luftwaffe aircraft in World War II, early operations in Norway found the type woefully inadequate as a fighter.As a dive-bomber, the Royal Navy put the design to good use from the outset of WWII. It was involved with the hunt for the Graff Spee, sunk the major warship Koln, suffered with great loss in an attack on the Scharnhorst, helped to keep the German advance at bay during the Dunkirk evacuation and attacked the French rogue battleship Richelieu in the Mediterranean.This book relates how the final design was created, how the dive-bombing technique was developed and perfected by naval pilots and traces the wartime operational career of the type with many first-hand accounts.
Download or read book Kamikaze written by Peter C Smiyh and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-11-28 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this brand new publication from eminent historian Peter C. Smith, we are regaled with the engaging and often incredibly disturbing history of the Kamikaze tradition in Japanese culture. Tracing its history right back to the original Divine Wind (major natural typhoons) that saved Japan from invaders in ancient history, Smith explores the subsequent resurrection of the cult of the warrior in the late nineteenth century. He then follows this tradition through into the Second World War, describing the many Kamikaze suicide attacks carried out by the Emperor's pilots against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign.??These pilots were at the mercy of an overriding cultural tradition that demanded death over defeat, capture or perceived shame. Despite often being under-trained and ill-prepared psychologically for the sacrifices they were about to make, they were nonetheless expected to make them. The dedication of sacrifice for the Emperor and the Nation is explored by dissecting the traces left behind by these pilots. Smith provides a detailed look at the heartbreak of the pilot's families and the men themselves, the notes they left and the effects on those who did not share their philosophy. The views of individuals under attack are also included in this balanced history.??Countless attacks carried out over the Philippine Islands (including the sinking of the St Lo) are analyzed and the Okinawa campaign is afforded particularly strong coverage, with the sinking of HMAS Australia explored in detail. The collective sacrifice is then summed up, with reflections from survivors on both sides appraising events in a humane historical context. A detailed appendices then follows, featuring units formed, sorties mounted, ships sunk and damages inflicted.
Book Synopsis The Petlyakov Pe-2 by : Peter C Smith
Download or read book The Petlyakov Pe-2 written by Peter C Smith and published by Air World. This book was released on 2020-03-30 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the Second World War, the Soviet Union’s Petlyakov Pe-2 _Peshka_ dive-bomber was unique in that it was as fast as most fighter aircraft. This was in a period when it was considered by the RAF that it was impossible for monoplane aircraft to conduct vertical bombing with any degree of success. During the war the Pe-2 was the principal dive- and light-bomber of Russia’s air power across the vast Eastern Front and it continued in service until the early 1950s with the air forces of the Warsaw Pact countries and Yugoslavia. Conceived by a team of top aircraft designers whom Stalin had incarcerated in a prison camp on trumped-up political charges, the Pe-2 had originally been designed as a high-altitude twin-engine fighter plane, but, due to the outstanding success of the German Stukas in the Blitzkrieg, its role was quickly changed to that of a fast dive-bomber. The Pe-2 arrived in service around the time of the German attack on its hitherto ally. Although only a handful had reached front line units by the start of Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, the Pe-2 soon became the main dive-bomber in both the Soviet VVS and Naval service. Mass production, by factories hastily moved back beyond the front, meant that numbers increased rapidly, and more than 11,000 of the type, including many variants, were built up to 1945. The Peshka became the mainstay of the Soviet counteroffensive that ultimately resulted in the fall of Berlin. Pe-2s also led the way in the brief but annihilating Manchurian campaign against Japan in the closing days of the war in 1945. Using official sources, including the official Pe-2 handbook, and numerous color and black-and-white photographs made available to the author from both official and private sources and collections, this book is the definitive record of the Pe-2 - the dive-bomber supreme!
Book Synopsis Fighting Flotilla by : Peter C. Smith
Download or read book Fighting Flotilla written by Peter C. Smith and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2010-07-19 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Laforays were the largest, most powerfully armed and successful ships of this type to see frontline action with the Royal Navy in WWII. They were also the handsomest warships to see service and presented a perfect combination of power and speed. They were assigned to the most dangerous theaters of war including Force H, sailing between Gibraltar and Malta, from where they operated against the German supply lines to North Africa. They escorted minelayers into the German backyard in the North Sea and their convoy escort work in the North Atlantic proved them to be highly effective hunter killers of the U-Boat packs that threatened every cargo ship carrying vital supplies to the UK. Such was the pace of their war, that out of the eight ships of the class only one survived the war.The book also includes chapters on their origin, planning and building, wartime operations and indices cover weapon systems, general fittings and complements and battle honors for each ship in the class.
Book Synopsis Air Power and the Evacuation of Dunkirk by : Harry Raffal
Download or read book Air Power and the Evacuation of Dunkirk written by Harry Raffal and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2021-07-15 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The evacuation of Dunkirk has been immortalised in books, prints and films, narrated as a story of an outnumbered, inexperienced RAF defeating the battle-hardened Luftwaffe and protecting the evacuation. This book revives the historiography by analysing the air operations during the evacuation. Raffal draws from German and English sources, many for the first time in the context of Operation DYNAMO, to argue that both sides suffered a defeat over Dunkirk. . This work examines the resources and tactics of both sides during DYNAMO and challenges the traditional view that the Luftwaffe held the advantage. The success that the Luftwaffe achieved during DYNAMO, including halting daylight evacuations on 1 June, is evaluated and the supporting role of RAF Bomber and Coastal Command is explored in detail for the first time. Concluding that the RAF was not responsible for the Luftwaffe's failure to prevent the evacuation, Raffal demonstrates that the reasons lay elsewhere.
Book Synopsis World War II in Literature for Youth by : Patricia Hachten Wee
Download or read book World War II in Literature for Youth written by Patricia Hachten Wee and published by Scarecrow Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comprehensive volume provides a wealth of information with annotated listings of more than 3,500 titles--a broad sampling of books on the war years 1939-1945. Includes both fiction and nonfiction works about all aspects of the war. Professional resources for educators aligned to the educational standards for social studies; technical references; periodicals and electronic resources; a directory of WWII museums, memorials, and other institutions; and topics for exploration complement this excellent library and classroom resource.
Book Synopsis Ju 87D/G STUKA versus T-34 by : Robert Forsyth
Download or read book Ju 87D/G STUKA versus T-34 written by Robert Forsyth and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2023-09-28 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An examination of two of the most high-profile air and land weapons to be deployed on the Eastern Front in World War II. In late 1942, as part of its attempts to strike back at ever-increasing numbers of Soviet tanks, the German air ministry authorised the development of an adaptation and enhancement of the longspan Junkers Ju 87D-5 Stuka dive-bomber. The aircraft was duly fitted with two underwing pods containing 37 mm BK cannon – an antiaircraft cannon with its origins dating back to 1933. The solid, slow, Ju 87 airframe offered the Luftwaffe an ideal platform for specialist, low level, 'tank-killing' operations. Despite the wealth of experience possessed by some of the Luftwaffe's ground-attack and dive-bomber aces, knocking out T-34 tanks from the air was a demanding and difficult process. Nevertheless, some Luftwaffe pilots notched up impressive tank scores, and the Ju 87 is credited with the destruction of more than 100 tanks across the central and southern sectors of the Eastern Front, including during the Battle of Kursk. Including personal accounts from Stuka pilots and biographies of the anti-tank aces, together with detailed photographs of the cannon installation into the Ju 87G and details of the construction of the T-34 illustrated using specially commissioned artwork, this book covers the epic clash of two legendary machines of World War II.
