Silent Wings at War

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Author :
Publisher : Smithsonian Books (DC)
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 250 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (121 download)

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Book Synopsis Silent Wings at War by : John L. Lowden

Download or read book Silent Wings at War written by John L. Lowden and published by Smithsonian Books (DC). This book was released on 1992 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The pilots were known as "suicide jockeys" and the aircraft they flew were called "flak bait." Towed behind modified bombers or transport aircraft, Allied combat gliders were used in some of the riskiest missions of World War II, landing miles behind enemy lines with specially trained assault forces. In "Silent Wings at War," John L. Lowden combines his own recollections with those of fellow veterans to create a vivid, gritty, jocose memoir of war as he and other glider pilots and their passengers knew it. These true tales of courage, as well as command blunders, make a substantial contribution to WWII literature.

American Military Gliders of World War II

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Author :
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.

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:

Glider Infantryman

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Author :
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.

Glidermen of Neptune

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Author :
Publisher : SIU Press
ISBN 13 : 9780809320080
Total Pages : 116 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (2 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 116 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.

An American Glider Pilot's Story

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Author :
Publisher : Merriam Press
ISBN 13 : 1576382141
Total Pages : 274 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (763 download)

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Book Synopsis An American Glider Pilot's Story by : Gale Richard Ammerman

Download or read book An American Glider Pilot's Story written by Gale Richard Ammerman and published by Merriam Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

German Gliders in World War II

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Author :
Publisher : Schiffer Pub Limited
ISBN 13 : 9780764335198
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (351 download)

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Book Synopsis German Gliders in World War II by : Heinz Mankau

Download or read book German Gliders in World War II written by Heinz Mankau and published by Schiffer Pub Limited. This book was released on 2010 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gliders formed a special category of aircraft within the Luftwaffe. While other aircraft types were used for many years, as a rule gliders were conceived for short service lives, in some cases just a single mission. The purpose of the glider, most of which were built using the simplest materials, was to deposit soldiers and materiel behind enemy lines undetected. In this book the various types used by the Luftwaffe in World War II, and their development are described in detail from military gliders for a few soldiers to large-capacity gliders capable of transporting tanks.

Screaming Eagle Gliders

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Author :
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 0811764877
Total Pages : 438 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (117 download)

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Book Synopsis Screaming Eagle Gliders by : G. J. Dettore

Download or read book Screaming Eagle Gliders written by G. J. Dettore and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2016-07-01 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As part of the famous 101st Airborne Division (the Screaming Eagles), the 321st Glider Field Artillery Battalion saw nearly constant action during World War II, from assisting the infantry by landing supplies and providing combat support to fighting on the front lines.

Glider Pilots at Arnhem

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Author :
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.

Airborne Combat

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Author :
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.

Air Force Combat Units of World War II

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Author :
Publisher : DIANE Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1428915850
Total Pages : 520 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (289 download)

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Book Synopsis Air Force Combat Units of World War II by : Maurer Maurer

Download or read book Air Force Combat Units of World War II written by Maurer Maurer and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1961 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

D-Day Gliders

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Author :
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
ISBN 13 : 9782840481430
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (814 download)

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Book Synopsis D-Day Gliders by : Philippe Esvelin

Download or read book D-Day Gliders written by Philippe Esvelin and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2001-08-01 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many troops of the 82nd and 101st Airborne had their introduction to the Normandy countryside by way of a perilous landing in a glider. This is a too little told aspect of the war and Philippe Esvelin seeks, in this colorful book, to set the record straight and give due testimony to the courage of the brave men, both the paratroopers and pilots, who gave their lives in the first hours of the beginning of the liberation of Europe. It is a unique photographic record of their efforts.

Flight from Colditz

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Author :
Publisher : Frontline Books
ISBN 13 : 1473848555
Total Pages : 199 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (738 download)

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Book Synopsis Flight from Colditz by : Anthony Hoskins

Download or read book Flight from Colditz written by Anthony Hoskins and published by Frontline Books. This book was released on 2016-05-31 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Colditz Castle was one of the most famous Prisoner of War camps of the Second World War. It was there that the Germans interred their most troublesome or important prisoners. Hundreds of ingenious escape attempts were made but the most ambitious of all was to build a glider and fly to freedom.Though the glider was built, the war ended before it could be used, and it was subsequently destroyed. Using the original plans and materials used by the prisoners, in March 2012 a replica of the glider was constructed in a bid to see if the escape attempt would have succeeded. The glider was then launched from the roof of the castle roof.Anthony Hoskins is the man who built, and helped launch, the glider. As well as examining the story behind the building of the original glider, he details the construction of the replica and the nail-biting excitement as the Colditz Cock finally took to the skies. Packed with photos of the glider and its flight over Colditz, this is the inside story of the recreation of one of the most intriguing episodes of the Second World War.

Glider Pilots in Sicily

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Author :
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 1783378484
Total Pages : 523 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (833 download)

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Book Synopsis Glider Pilots in Sicily by : Mike Peters

Download or read book Glider Pilots in Sicily written by Mike Peters and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2013-01-19 with total page 523 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The British Airborne landings on Sicily are the least known and, without doubt, the most fraught with political and technical strife. Newly formed Air landing troops were delivered into battle in gliders they knew little about. The men of the Glider Pilot Regiment (GPR) had self-assembled the gliders while living in the empty packing cases. They accomplished this complex and technically challenged task while living on fly ridden, dusty North African airfields. After only a few hours of conversion training they took off for a night flight across the Mediterranean Sea that was to end in near-catastrophe.With over three hundred soldiers drowned off Sicily that night in July 1943, the first major operation attempted by the British using gliders almost ended in total disaster. In fact a few Airborne troops reached dry land and attacked their objectives. Shining examples of collective and individual acts of courage rocked the Italian and German defenders. This book tells the controversial story of that first mass glider operation and the men who proved the GPR motto Nothing is Impossible.This is the first account of the Sicily air landing operation.

Four Hours of Fury

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Author :
Publisher : Scribner
ISBN 13 : 1501179381
Total Pages : 448 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (11 download)

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Book Synopsis Four Hours of Fury by : James M. Fenelon

Download or read book Four Hours of Fury written by James M. Fenelon and published by Scribner. This book was released on 2020-05-12 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Compellingly chronicles one of the least studied great episodes of World War II with power and authority…A riveting read” (Donald L. Miller, New York Times bestselling author of Masters of the Air) about World War II’s largest airborne operation—one that dropped 17,000 Allied paratroopers deep into the heart of Nazi Germany. On the morning of March 24, 1945, more than two thousand Allied aircraft droned through a cloudless sky toward Germany. Escorted by swarms of darting fighters, the armada of transport planes carried 17,000 troops to be dropped, via parachute and glider, on the far banks of the Rhine River. Four hours later, after what was the war’s largest airdrop, all major objectives had been seized. The invasion smashed Germany’s last line of defense and gutted Hitler’s war machine; the war in Europe ended less than two months later. Four Hours of Fury follows the 17th Airborne Division as they prepare for Operation Varsity, a campaign that would rival Normandy in scale and become one of the most successful and important of the war. Even as the Third Reich began to implode, it was vital for Allied troops to have direct access into Germany to guarantee victory—the 17th Airborne secured that bridgehead over the River Rhine. And yet their story has until now been relegated to history’s footnotes. In this viscerally exciting account, paratrooper-turned-historian James Fenelon “details every aspect of the American 17th Airborne Division’s role in Operation Varsity...inspired” (The Wall Street Journal). Reminiscent of A Bridge Too Far and Masters of the Air, Four Hours of Fury does for the 17th Airborne what Band of Brothers did for the 101st. It is a captivating, action-packed tale of heroism and triumph spotlighting one of World War II’s most under-chronicled and dangerous operations.

D-Day Encyclopedia

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Author :
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1621573125
Total Pages : 314 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (215 download)

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Book Synopsis D-Day Encyclopedia by : Barrett Tillman

Download or read book D-Day Encyclopedia written by Barrett Tillman and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-06-03 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This unique encyclopedia provides detailed entries for everything you ever wanted to know about D-Day, the invasion of Normandy. Organized alphabetically, the entries give detailed descriptions of weapons, equipment, divisions, air and naval units, geography, terminology, personalities, and more. Every Allied division that crossed the English Channel on June 6, 1944 has its own listing as do the major Axis divisions that fought them. Brief biographies of major military and political leaders on both sides provide a handy who's who of the campaign. The book also includes entries for related popular culture: GI slang, the best movies about D-Day, and major writers such as Stephen Ambrose and Cornelius Ryan. Cross-references make the book easy to use. With hundreds of entries, The D-Day Encyclopedia is an indispensable reference tool for history buffs and great browsing for readers who want to know more about World War II.