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Wing Leader Top Scoring Allied Fighter Pilot Of World War Ii
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Book Synopsis Wing Leader by : James Edgar Johnson
Download or read book Wing Leader written by James Edgar Johnson and published by . This book was released on 1957 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In this superb flying narrative, all the drama and excitement of air combat is recreated by Group Captain Johnny Johnson, who flew for five years with the R.A.F. fighter squadrons and finished the war with 38 confirmed victories, ten major decorations, and the official record as the top-scoring Allied fighter ace of World War II." --Back cover.
Book Synopsis Wing Leader: Top-Scoring Allied Fighter Pilot of World War II by : Johnnie Johnson
Download or read book Wing Leader: Top-Scoring Allied Fighter Pilot of World War II written by Johnnie Johnson and published by . This book was released on 2019-02 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The thrilling story of the top-scoring Allied fighter pilot of the 2nd World War 'Johnnie' Johnson, who served with Fighter Command squadrons throughout the war, scoring his 38th and final victory in September 1944. From the moment the author joins his first operational Spitfire squadron in August 1940, the reader is taken on an epic journey through the great aerial fighter actions of the war. The events in which Johnson participated included the Battle of Britain, sweeps across the Channel and over France, the unsuccessful Allied raid on Dieppe, the D-Day landings in Normand and finally operations across the Rhine and into the heart of Germany itself which led to the final victory over the Nazi regime.
Book Synopsis Wing Leader by : James Edgar Johnson
Download or read book Wing Leader written by James Edgar Johnson and published by . This book was released on 1996-06 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Wing Leader, Johnnie Johnson recounts his glorious days as a Spitfire pilot, when he was the top-scoring Allied fighter pilot of World War II. From his initial operations in August 1940 to his 38th and final victory in September 1944, Johnson was a hero of the great aerial fighter actions of the war over Europe: Johnson takes us on a thrilling ride into World War II Europe's dangerous skies.
Book Synopsis Ace of Aces, M. St. J. Pattle by : Eddie C. R. Baker
Download or read book Ace of Aces, M. St. J. Pattle written by Eddie C. R. Baker and published by Conran Octopus. This book was released on 1992 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Book Synopsis Johnnie Johnson's Great Adventure by : Dilip Sarkar
Download or read book Johnnie Johnson's Great Adventure written by Dilip Sarkar and published by Pen and Sword Aviation. This book was released on 2020-12-14 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The World War II fighter Ace’s previously unpublished draft—an account of the “Long Trek” from Normandy into the heart of the Third Reich itself. Having published two of his own books, Wing Leader and The Circle of Air Fighting, Air Vice-Marshal Johnnie Johnson co-authored several more with another fighter ace, namely Wing Commander P.B. “Laddie” Lucas. In 1997, the “AVM” suggested to his friend, the prolific author Dilip Sarkar, that the pair should collaborate on The Great Adventure. “Greycap Leader” was to produce a draft, after which Dilip would add the historical detail and comment. Sadly, the project was unfulfilled, because Johnnie became ill and passed away, aged eighty-five, in 2001. Years later, Johnnie’s eldest son, Chris, discovered the manuscript among his august father’s papers. In order to keep Johnnie’s memory evergreen, Chris turned to Dilip to finally see the project through to its conclusion. In this book Johnnie revisits certain aspects of his wartime service, including the development of tactical air cooperation with ground forces; his time as a Canadian wing leader in 1943, when the Spitfire Mk IX at last outclassed the Fw 190; and details his involvement in some of the most important battles of the defeat of Nazi Germany, including Operation Overlord and the D-Day landings in 1944, Operation Market Garden and the airborne assault at Arnhem, and the Rhine Crossings, throughout all of which Johnnie also commanded Canadian wings. Johnnie Johnson’s Great Adventure “brings to life the man of the book in such an interesting and heroic manner . . . if it wasn’t for these brave heroes we might not have won the war” (UK Historian).
Book Synopsis I Flew for the Führer by : Heinz Knoke
Download or read book I Flew for the Führer written by Heinz Knoke and published by Greenhill Books. This book was released on 2020-12-14 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Heinz Knoke was one of the outstanding German fighter pilots of the Second World War. This vivid first-hand record of his experiences has become a classic among aviation memoirs and is a fascinating counterbalance to the numerous accounts written by Allied pilots. Knoke joined the Luftwaffe on the outbreak of war, and eventually became commanding officer of a fighter wing. An outstandingly brave and skillful fighter, he logged over two thousand flights and shot down fifty-two enemy aircraft. He had flown over four hundred operational missions before being wounded in an astonishing 'last stand' towards the end of the war. He was awarded the Knight's Cross for his achievements. In a text that reveals his intense patriotism and discipline, he describes being brought up in the strict Prussian tradition, the rise of the Nazi regime and his own wartime career set against a fascinating study of everyday life in the Luftwaffe. He also reveals the high morale of the force until its disintegration. His memoirs are both a valuable contribution to aviation literature and a moving human story.
Book Synopsis Johnnie Johnson's 1942 Diary by : Dilip Sarkar
Download or read book Johnnie Johnson's 1942 Diary written by Dilip Sarkar and published by Air World. This book was released on 2020-12-28 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A unique insight into how fighter pilots lived, loved—and died—through the diary of the top-scoring RAF Ace who survived the Battle of Britain. A one-time household name synonymous with the superlative Spitfire, Air Vice-Marshal “Johnnie” Johnson’s aerial combat successes of World War II inspired schoolboys for generations. As a “lowly Pilot Officer,” Johnson learned his fighter pilot’s craft as a protégé of the legless Tangmere Wing Leader, Douglas Bader. After Bader was brought down over France and captured on 9 August 1941, Johnnie remained a member of 616 (South Yorkshire) Squadron. By the beginning of 1942, when Johnnie’s diary begins, Fighter Command was pursuing an offensive policy during daylight hours, “reaching out” and taking the war to the Germans in France. It was also a period in which the Focke-Wulf Fw outclassed the Spitfire Mk.V. In Johnnie’s words, the Fw 190 “drove us back to the coast and, for the first time, pilots lost confidence in the Spitfire.” As well as his participation in Rhubarb and Circus sorties, Johnnie was also involved in Operation Jubilee on 19 August 1942. In this diary, published here for the first time, we get a glimpse of the real Johnnie, and what it was really like to live and breathe air-fighting during one of the European air war’s most interesting years: 1942. Presented on a day-by-day basis, each of Johnnie’s entries is supported by an informative narrative written by the renowned aviation historian Dilip Sarkar, drawing upon official documents and his interviews and correspondence with the great man. “Provides a number of insights into life in the RAF Fighter Command of that period.—Most Highly Recommended.” —Firetrench
Download or read book Fighter Pilot written by William R. Dunn and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2014-04-23 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This WWII fighter pilot memoir recounts the author’s many exploits as a flying ace during WWII in the Normandy invasions, the Battle for France and beyond. Born in Minneapolis in 1916, William R. Dunn decided to become a fighter pilot at the age of twelve. In 1939 he joined the Canadian Army and was soon transferred to the Royal Air Force. As part of the RAF’s famous Eagle Squadron, Dunn was sent to Europe to fight in the Second World War. Flying Hawker Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfires, he was the first Eagle Squadron pilot to shoot down an enemy aircraft. When he later transferred to the US Army Air Forces, he became the first American ace of the war. Lieutenant Colonel Dunn saw action in the Normandy invasion and in Patton's sweep across France. Twenty years later he fought again in Vietnam. In this lively memoir, Dunn keenly conveys the fighter pilot's experience of war—the tension of combat, the love of aircraft, the elation of victory, the boisterous comradeship and competition of the pilot brotherhood.
Book Synopsis Woodbine Red Leader by : George Loving
Download or read book Woodbine Red Leader written by George Loving and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A COMBAT ACE’S ACCOUNT OF PILOTING THE GREATEST SINGLE-SEAT FIGHTER IN WORLD WAR II World War II marked the end of an era; fighter pilots still flew by the seat of their pants, and George Loving recaptures the exhilarating world of aerial combat in all its stark terror and fiery glory. His first fighter was the famed Spitfire, hero of the Battle of Britain. By 1943, however, it was obsolescent and did not match up well against the first-line German Messerschmitts and Focke-Wulfs. Yet Loving survived 101 combat missions flying the Spitfire. In the spring of 1944, Loving’s 31st Fighter Group started flying P-51 Mustangs and was transferred to the new Fifteenth Air Force to escort heavy-bomber formations on long-range strategic strikes across southern Europe, including southeastern Germany. In the flak-filled skies over Ploesti, Vienna, Bucharest, Munich, and Stuttgart, where a number of the war’s fiercest air battles took place, Lieutenant Loving flew head-to-head against some of the Luftwaffe’s top fighter aces. By the time George Loving completed his 151st, and final, combat mission on August 21, 1944, he had risen from a lowly second lieutenant and untested wingman to captain, group leader, and Mustang ace. Loving’s gripping account captures the savage action he experienced in all its intensity.
Book Synopsis First Fighter Ace by : Stanislaw Skalski
Download or read book First Fighter Ace written by Stanislaw Skalski and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2017-08-01 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stanisław Skalski was the top Polish fighter ace and the first Allied fighter ace of World War II. His combat career began on the war’s very first day, September 1, 1939, and within two weeks, Skalski had achieved ace status, with six German kills to his credit. After Poland’s surrender, Skalski and other Polish pilots ended up in England to join the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain. He later took command of the Polish Fighting Team, known as Skalski’s Circus, which claimed twenty-six enemy aircraft shot down in a mere two months in North Africa. Skalski then became the first Pole to command an RAF squadron, which he led in Sicily and Italy until he took over a Polish fighter wing and saw action in France after D-Day. According to official tallies, he had scored some twenty aerial victories.
Book Synopsis Air Aces of World War II by : Robert Jackson
Download or read book Air Aces of World War II written by Robert Jackson and published by Crowood Press (UK). This book was released on 2003 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The conflict in the skies above the combat zones of World War II bred a new legion of heroes. Boys became men in weeks and many became commanders and leaders before the age of twenty-five. These young pilots were flying for their lives on every dangerous sortie and in every type of aircraft. From the heavy bomber struggling to its target in the German Ruhr to the shipboard fighter fired into combat by a carrier's catapult in the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, every pilot honed his skills to take on the enemy and survive. They were all brave men - but some have become legends. Pilots like Guy Gibson - leader of the famous Dam Buster's raid; Don Gentile - an ace in the Mustang fighter defending allied heavy bombers deep over enemy Europe; John "Cat's Eyes" Cunningham - top scoring night-fighter ace; or Leon W. Johnson - leader of the low-level raid on Ploesti oil refinery complex in Romania. These are some of the hundred heroes included in this compact reference to the history and record of allied and enemy aces of World War II.
Book Synopsis Johnnie Johnson's 1942 Diary by : Dilip Sarkar MBE
Download or read book Johnnie Johnson's 1942 Diary written by Dilip Sarkar MBE and published by Air World. This book was released on 2020-11-30 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Air Vice-Marshal 'Johnnie' Johnson was a character literally from the pages of Boys' Own: an individual who became the RAF's top-scoring fighter pilot and wing leader par excellence of the Second World War. A one-time household name synonymous with the superlative Spitfire, Johnnie's aerial combat successes inspired schoolboys for generations.As a 'lowly Pilot Officer', Johnnie Johnson learned his fighter pilot's craft as a protégé of the legless Tangmere Wing Leader, Douglas Bader. After Bader was brought down over France and captured on 9 August 1941, Johnnie remained a member of 616 (South Yorkshire) Squadron.By the beginning of 1942, when Johnnie's diary begins, Fighter Command was pursuing an offensive policy during daylight hours, 'reaching out' and taking the war to the Germans in France. It was also a period in which the Focke-Wulf Fw outclassed the Spitfire Mk.V. In Johnnie's words, the Fw 190 'drove us back to the coast and, for the first time, pilots lost confidence in the Spitfire'. As well as his participation in Rhubarb and Circus sorties, Johnnie was also involved in Operation Jubilee on 19 August 1942.In this diary, published here for the first time, we get a glimpse of the real Johnnie, and what it was really like to live and breathe air-fighting during one of the European air war's most interesting years: 1942. Presented on a day-by-day basis, each of Johnnie's entries is supported by an informative narrative written by the renowned aviation historian Dilip Sarkar, drawing upon official documents and his interviews and correspondence with the great man.As would be expected, Johnnie's diary also includes numerous personal references. This diary, therefore, is a unique insight into how fighter pilots lived, loved - and died.
Download or read book Race of Aces written by John R Bruning and published by Hachette Books. This book was released on 2020-01-14 with total page 534 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The astonishing untold story of the WWII airmen who risked it all in the deadly race to become the greatest American fighter pilot. In 1942, America's deadliest fighter pilot, or "ace of aces" -- the legendary Eddie Rickenbacker -- offered a bottle of bourbon to the first U.S. fighter pilot to break his record of twenty-six enemy planes shot down. Seizing on the challenge to motivate his men, General George Kenney promoted what they would come to call the "race of aces" as a way of boosting the spirits of his war-weary command. What developed was a wild three-year sprint for fame and glory, and the chance to be called America's greatest fighter pilot. The story has never been told until now. Based on new research and full of revelations, John Bruning's brilliant, original book tells the story of how five American pilots contended for personal glory in the Pacific while leading Kenney's resurgent air force against the most formidable enemy America ever faced. The pilots -- Richard Bong, Tommy McGuire, Neel Kearby, Charles MacDonald and Gerald Johnson -- riveted the nation as they contended for Rickenbacker's crown. As their scores mounted, they transformed themselves from farm boys and aspiring dentists into artists of the modern dogfight. But as the race reached its climax, some of the pilots began to see how the spotlight warped their sense of duty. They emerged as leaders, beloved by their men as they chose selfless devotion over national accolades. Teeming with action all across the vast Pacific theater, Race of Aces is a fascinating exploration of the boundary between honorable duty, personal glory, and the complex landscape of the human heart. "Brings you into the cockpit of the lethal, fast-paced world of fighter pilots . . . Fascinating." -- Sara Vladic"Extraordinary . . . a must-read." -- US Navy Captain Dan Pedersen"A heart-pounding narrative of the courage, sacrifice, and tragedy of America's elite fighter pilots." -- James M. Scott"Vivid and gripping . . . Confirms Bruning's status as the premier war historian of the air." -- Saul David
Download or read book Fighter Pilot written by Paul Richey and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2016-05-02 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of 'The 30 Best Travel and Adventure Books of All Time', as selected by Gear Patrol, Winner 2015 US Travel and Adventure website. Fighter Pilot was written from the immediate and unfettered personal journal that 23-year-old Flying Officer Paul Richey began on the day he and No. 1 Squadron landed their Hawker Hurricanes on a grass airfield in France. Originally published in September 1941, it was the first such account of air combat against the Luftwaffe in France in the Second World War, and it struck an immediate chord with a British public enthralled by the exploits of its young airmen. It is the story of a highly skilled group of young volunteer fighter pilots who patrolled, flew and fought at up to 30,000 feet in unheated cockpits, without radar and often from makeshift airfields, and who were finally confronted by the overwhelming might of Hitler's Blitzkreig. It tells how this remarkable squadron adapted its tactics, its aircraft and itself to achieve a brilliant record of combat victories – in spite of the most extreme and testing circumstances. All the thrills, adrenalin rushes and the sheer terror of dog-fighting are here: simply, accurately and movingly described by a young airman discovering for himself the deadly nature of the combat in which he is engaged.
Book Synopsis I Flew for the Fuhrer by : Heinz Knocke
Download or read book I Flew for the Fuhrer written by Heinz Knocke and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2012-03-19 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Reading like a novel, this primary source is a valuable look at the ‘other side’ of World War II aviation.”—Gazette665 Heinz Knoke was one of the outstanding German fighter pilots of World War II and this vivid first-hand record of his experiences has become a classic among aviation memoirs, a bestselling counterbalance to the numerous accounts written by Allied pilots. Knoke joined the Luftwaffe on the outbreak of war, and eventually became commanding officer of a fighter wing. An outstandingly brave and skillful fighter, he logged over two thousand flights, and shot down fifty-two enemy aircraft. He had flown over four hundred operational missions before being crippled by wounds in an astonishing ‘last stand’ towards the end of the war. He was awarded the Knight’s Cross for his achievements. In a text that reveals his intense patriotism and discipline, he describes being brought up in the strict Prussian tradition, the impact of the coming of the Nazi regime, and his own wartime career set against a fascinating study of everyday life in the Luftwaffe, and of the high morale of the force until its disintegration. In a postscript provided for this edition, Heinz Knoke writes of the struggle to survive after the war in Germany, and his building of a new life. Now that the Berlin Wall has been torn down, his memoirs are set in a new perspective, both a valuable contribution to aviation literature and a moving human story.
Download or read book Oswald Boelcke written by R.G. Head and published by Grub Street Publishers. This book was released on 2016-08-05 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This biography of the pioneering WWI flying ace who mentored the Red Baron is “fascinating . . . [it] captures combat aviation at its inception” (MiG Sweep: The Magazine of Aviation Warriors). With a total of forty victories, Oswald Boelcke was Germany’s first ace in World War I—and a century later he remains a towering figure in the history of air warfare, renowned for his character, inspirational leadership, organizational genius, development of air-to-air tactics, and impact on aerial doctrine. Paving the way for modern air forces across the world with his pioneering strategies, Boelcke had a dramatic effect on his contemporaries. The famed Red Baron’s mentor, instructor, squadron commander, and friend, he exerted a tremendous influence upon the German air force. He was one of the first pilots to be awarded the famous Pour le Mérite, commonly recognized as the “Blue Max.” All of this was achieved after overcoming medical obstacles in childhood and later life with willpower and determination. Boelcke even gained the admiration of his enemies: After his tragic death in a midair collision, Britain’s Royal Flying Corps dropped a wreath on his funeral, and several of his captured foes sent another wreath from their German prison camp. His name and legacy live on, as seen in the Luftwaffe’s designation of the Tactical Air Force Wing 31 “Boelcke.” This definitive biography reveals his importance as a fighter pilot who set the standard in military aviation.
Book Synopsis Through the Eyes of the World's Fighter Aces by : Robert Jackson
Download or read book Through the Eyes of the World's Fighter Aces written by Robert Jackson and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2007-11-13 with total page 398 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story of the fighter aces who flew throughout the war in many different operational theatres. The book opens with the first Polish Aces during the German invasion and continues with Finlands pilots in the Winter War against the Soviets. There follows the battle for France with the experiences of RAF, Luftwaffe and French Aces and then the legendary Battle of Britain. North Africa became a critical area, together with the heroic defense of Malta and air battles over Greece and the Balkans that were fought in 1941. The Eastern front opened with operation Barbarossa where German aces were created by the dozen, flying superior aircraft against an ill-trained Soviet air force and then in the north when pilots battle for air supremacy over Leningrad and the Russian seaports. When Japan entered the fray in 1942 their first aces flew over Singapore, Java and Sumatra and the early US Marine aces earned their spurs at Guadalcanal. Back in Europe RAF fighter pilots were taking the war to the enemy and in the southern theatre, the desert and Balkan air forces struck into the southern belly of the Reich. After D-Day British and American fighter units supported the Allied land advance and also defended London against Hitlers V-1s, whilst in the east Soviet aces battled over Berlin. In the closing stages of the war Germany introduced its first jet fighter aces and then finally in the days before the atomic bombs we read of the Japanese aces flying in desperate defense of their homeland as it comes under air attack for the first time.
