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4 Group Bomber Command: An Operational Record
by Chris WardDuring the immediate period before World War Two, the RAF modified its command structure to rationalize for rapid expansion. Bomber Command was divided into six operational groups, each flying the same type of aircraft, including Wellingtons, Sterlings, and Lancasters. Chris Ward presents us here with the history of 4 Group Bomber Command, having previously acquainted us with the histories of 3, 5, and 6 Group Bomber Commands in three highly acclaimed volumes, published by Pen and Sword. He continues with characteristic ease, quality of research, and narrative pace, to present us with an operational record of the groups activities during a particularly dramatic period of aviation history.The book contains individual squadron statistics, their commanding officers, stations and aircraft losses. It provides a detailed reference for one of the RAFs most important operational groups.
Armoured Warfare in the Korean War: Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives (Images of War)
by Anthony Tucker-JonesAfter the Second World War, military analysts thought that the only place significant armored forces were ever likely to confront each other again was in central Europe where the Nato alliance would fend off the Soviet Red Army. Then during the Korean War of 1950-53 both sides deployed large numbers of armored fighting vehicles, and this neglected aspect of the conflict is the subject of Anthony Tucker-Joness photographic history. Korea, with its rugged mountains, narrow passes, steep valleys and waterlogged fields was not ideal tank country so the armor mainly supported the infantry and rarely engaged in battles of maneuver. Yet the wide variety of armor supporting UN and North Korean forces played a vital if unorthodox role in the swiftly moving campaigns. For this fascinating book over 180 contemporary photographs have been selected to show Soviet-built T-34/85s and Su-76s, American M4 Shermans, M26 Pershings and M46 Pattons, and British Cromwells and Centurions in action in one of the defining conflicts of the Cold War.
The Battle East of Elsenborn and the Twin Villages
by William C. CavanaghThe Battle East of Elsenborn closely examines the role of Oberstgruppenfuhrer Joseph 'Sepp' Dietrich's Sixth Panzer Army in the massive German winter counteroffensive. Hitler had tasked Dietrich with making the main effort east of the Elsenborn Ridge and against the positions of the US 99th Infantry Division. Hitler's plan was to reach deep into Allied-held territory and seize the vital port of Antwerp. In the event this daring and desperate counterattack failed but it was a close run thing. Credit for the outcome must ultimately go to the American soldiers who, some new to combat and others battle-hardened, fought valiantly to blunt the German advance and ultimately bring it to a halt just east of Elsenborn. The book also studies the actions of six individuals who earned the Congressional Medal of Honor, their nation's highest bravery award. It tells of the courageous story of men who believed in their heritage, and who, through their heroic teamwork and dedication, stopped the main effort of the German Sixth Army. American veterans who participated in this battle remember the events, even after sixty years, as only yesterday. They also remember their compatriots and friends who died in this battle. The author, has probed into every possible source for factual information. He has studied official after-action reports, histories and unit reports of organizations involved in the battle. In addition, he has conducted an extensive program of individual contacts, not only with the US Army participants, local villages and resistance fighters, but also with German commanders at various levels in the 3 divisions involved. Such an ample and widespread research effort has enabled the author to separate fact from fiction.The author William C. C. Cavanagh acted as principal research assistant to the late Charles B. MacDonald, himself a veteran and former Company Commander in the 2d Infantry Division. Having lived in the Ardennes area for thirteen years, he knows the battlefields intimately and his book A Tour of the Bulge Battlefield was first published by Pen & Sword Books in 2001.
Bomber Aircrew in World War II: True Stories Of Frontline Air Combat
by Bruce Barrymore HalpennyAircrew on a bomber in World War II experienced a cold, tiring and perilous existence. The RAF flew at night, when the human spirit is at its lowest ebb and for many it did not seem prudent to think further ahead than the target, and then hope for a safe return. Daytime raids brought the fear of defending fighters preying on the massed formations of heavily laden aircraft as they struggled over enemy territory. The ground crew saw their aircraft heave themselves into the air and their imagination filled the silent hours until they counted in the returning aircraft and saw the ravages of the enemy defences and the hazards of foul weather. This is their story.
Bomber Aircrew in World War II: True Stories Of Frontline Air Combat
by Bruce Barrymore HalpennyAircrew on a bomber in World War II experienced a cold, tiring and perilous existence. The RAF flew at night, when the human spirit is at its lowest ebb and for many it did not seem prudent to think further ahead than the target, and then hope for a safe return. Daytime raids brought the fear of defending fighters preying on the massed formations of heavily laden aircraft as they struggled over enemy territory. The ground crew saw their aircraft heave themselves into the air and their imagination filled the silent hours until they counted in the returning aircraft and saw the ravages of the enemy defences and the hazards of foul weather. This is their story.
Churchill's Desert Rats in North-West Europe: From Normandy To Berlin
by Patrick DelaforceWhen Montgomery took command prior to D-Day he gathered around him commanders and formations he knew and trusted. Not surprisingly 7th Armoured Division was one of these and they were deployed from Italy to England. In this fine account the author who fought alongside the Desert Rats describes the Divisions battles from the beaches, the breakout battles (Goodwood and Bluecoat), the liberation of Northern France and Belgium. After taking Ghent there were the long months fighting in the Peel country of the Netherlands before Operation BLACKCOCK, the Rhine Crossing and the final advance into Germany, the capture of Hamburg and the Allies triumphant entry into Berlin. No reader of this magnificent history, with its many personal accounts, will question why the Desert Rats wore and still wear their Jerboa insignia with such pride.
The Cinderella Service: RAF Coastal Command 1939 - 1945
by Andrew HendrieThis book reveals the vital contribution that RAF Coastal Command made to the Allies war effort. Although often referred to as the 'Cinderella Service' because by its nature, it did not gain the recognition it deserved and was overshadowed by Fighter and Bomber Commands and considering that it was not given priority in terms of aircraft and equipment, its wartime record was second to none.The two main roles of Coastal Command were anti-submarine work in the Atlantic and anti-shipping operations against enemy warships and merchant vessels. This work looks at every aspect of the command's work, equipment and aircraft and draws upon many first-hand accounts. Lengthy and comprehensive appendices cover Orders of Battle, Commanders, U boats sunk, ships sunk, aircraft losses and casualties.
Walking Arras (Battleground Arras Ser.)
by Paul ReedWalking Arras marks the final volume in a trilogy of walking books about the British sector of the Western Front. Paul Reed once more takes us over paths trodden by men who were asked to make a huge and, for all too many, the ultimate sacrifice. The Battle of Arras falls between the Somme and Third Ypres; it marked the first British attempt to storm the Hindenburg Line defenses, and the first use of lessons learned from the events of 1916. But it remains a forgotten part of the Western Front. It also remains one of the great killing battles of the Great War, with such a high fatal casualty rate that a soldiers chances of surviving Arras were much slimmer than even the Somme or Passchendaele. Most soldiers who served in the Great War served at Arras at some point; it was a name very much in the consciousness of the survivors of the Great War. Ninety years later, while there has been development at Arras, it is still an impressive battlefield and one worthy of the attention of any Great War enthusiast. This book will give a lead in seeing the ground connected with the fighting in 1917. Making a slight departure from the style of the previous two walking books, the chapters look at the historical background of an area and then separately describe a walk; with supplementary notes about the associated cemeteries in that region.
The World Sea Power Guide
by David WraggCompiled by the author of Janes Air Forces of the World, this book is a must for naval experts and enthusiasts. In one volume the reader will find the composition and details of all naval elements of a staggering 137 nations armed forces including paramilitary organizations as the US Coast Guard Service. The book starts with an introduction based on the situation today and the response of the leading maritime powers. This is an interesting period with considerable uncertainty for the Royal Navy following the Strategic Defense Review. Many other countries, including Australia and Spain are boosting their naval strength to achieve strategic reach, while piracy has become a major problem in at least four different areas of the world. In each case, the history is followed by details of current fleet sizes, composition and deployments.
Secret Flotillas: Clandestine Sea Operations to Brittany, 1940–44
by Brook RichardsAs the fall of France took place, almost the entire coastline of Western Europe was in German hands. Clandestine sea transport operations provided lines of vital intelligence for wartime Britain. These "secret flotillas" landed and picked up agents in and from France, and ferried Allied evaders and escapees. This activity was crucial to the SIS (Secret Intelligence Service) and the SOE (Special Operations Executive). This authoritative publication by the official historian, the late Sir Brooks Richards, vividly describes and analyses the clandestine naval operations that took place during WWII. The account has been made possible through Sir Brooks' access to closed government archives, combined with his own wartime experiences and the recollections of many of those involved.First published in 1996, the original edition included descriptions of naval operations off French North Africa. The history has now been amended and expanded by Sir Brooks and is now published in two volumes. This first volume concentrates on the sea lines to Brittany.This authoritative publication by the official historian, the late Sir Brooks Richards, vividly describes and analyses the clandestine naval operations that took place during World War Two.
Royalist Rebel
by Anita SeymourA beautiful young royalist struggles to survive the English Civil War in a novel of love and loyalty based on the life of a seventeenth-century Scottish countess. Royalist Rebel is the epic story of Elizabeth Murray, the daughter of a Scottish royalist family who would go on to become the influential Countess of Dysart and Duchess of Lauderdale. Though her life is upended by the Great Rebellion, Elizabeth remains fiercely dedicated to the royalist cause. With her father William in Oxford at the exiled court of King Charles I, the five Murray women must protect Ham House, the family estate, on their own. Crippled by fines for their royalist sympathies, and besieged by the Surrey Sequestration Committee, Elizabeth must find a rich, apolitical husband to save herself, her sisters, and their inheritance. Intelligent, witty, and beautiful, Elizabeth first finds safety in the arms of the wealthy baronet Lionel Tollemache, her husband of twenty years. But she then finally finds love with John Maitland, Duke of Lauderdale, a favorite of Charles II. This rich historical tale of a young woman&’s choice between duty and love is based on true events and ranges across the first and second English Civil Wars.
Oradour: The Massacre and Aftermath (Battleground South West France)
by Philip BeckThis WWII pictorial history illustrates a horrifying episode of destruction in Nazi-occupied France. In June of 1944, the Second SS Panzer Division Das Reich was stationed in Southern France until it was called north to help stop the Allied advance. On its way toward Normandy, Das Reich destroyed the French village of Oradour-sur-Glane and massacred its population. The brutal event ranks as one of the most notorious atrocities of the Second World War. While the scars left behind will never fully heal, many believe they should remain as a lesson to future generations. Though a new village was built nearby, President Charles de Gaulle ordered the ruins of Oradour to be preserved as a memorial to the victims. This fully illustrated volume recounts the history and legacy Oradour&’s destruction, complete with photographs of the ruins throughout
Mont Pinçon: Normandy (Battleground Europe)
by Eric HuntIn late July 1944 the Allies began their breakout from the Normandy beachheads. The Americans in Operation COBRA and the British in Operation BLUECOAT. VIII and XXX British Corps were to seize the dominating ground running north west from Mont Pincon and exploit towards Vire. Mont Pincon is the highest hill in Normandy and is a formidable obstacle as well as magnificent observation post. The Germans saw it as essential to their defensive plans for Normandy. Three armored and three infantry divisions, together with two armored brigades, were hurriedly regrouped for the BLUECOAT advance into the bocage, in which determined German resistance meant that it was 5 August before the 'mountain' itself could be tackled. The Guide outlines the principal actions of BLUECOAT, but concentrates on the key players in the assault on Mont Pincon: 43rd Wessex Division and 8th Armoured Brigade. Contemporary accounts, including personal diaries, as well as more recent personal interviews are also covered.
Consolidated B-24 Liberator: The Consolidated B-24
by Graham M. SimonsThe Consolidated B-24 Liberator was almost certainly the most versatile Second World War Bomber. Apart from its bombing role in all theaters of operation, the B-24 hauled fuel to France during the push towards Germany, carried troops, fought U-boats in the Atlantic and, probably most important of all, made a vital contribution towards winning the war in the Pacific. Its most famous single exploit is possibly the raid on the Ploesti oil fields in August 1943.The B-24 ended World War Two as the most produced Allied heavy bomber in history, and the most produced American military aircraft at over 18,000 units, thanks in large measure to Henry Ford and the harnessing of American industry. It still holds the distinction as the most produced American military aircraft. The B-24 was used by several Allied air forces and navies, and by every branch of the American armed forces during the war, attaining a distinguished war record with its operations in the Western European, Pacific, Mediterranean and China-Burma-India theaters.This book focuses on the design, engineering, development and tactical use of the many variants throughout the bombers service life. The overall result is, as David Lee, the former Deputy Director of the Imperial War Museum at Duxford said upon reading the final manuscript, to be acquainted with ...all you never knew about the B-24!The book is enlivened by the many dramatic photographs which feature, and this coupled with the clarity of Simons' prose makes for an engaging and entertaining history of this iconic Allied bomber, a key component in several of their biggest victories and a marvel of military engineering.
The History of the British 'U' Class Submarine
by Derek WaltersOriginally designed in 1934 for anti-submarine training, by the end of the war 72 U-Class subs had been commissioned; 17 were lost to the enemy, and 3 in accidents. Manned by crews from seven nations' navies, they served worldwide, and never more successfully than in the Mediterranean. This book is the definitive study of this class of submarine and the men who serve on them.
The Civil Service Rifles in the Great War: 'All Bloody Gentlemen'
by Jill KnightMade up entirely of volunteer civil servants and their friends and despite the Government's reluctance to release them, the Prince of Wales' Own Civil Service Rifles fought with distinction at Loos, the Somme, Messines, Cambrai, Salonika and Palestine. As casualties mounted, the Rifles' spirit and loyalties strengthened. The Author draws on numerous personal accounts, graphically written, as well as official records.
Fortress Kent
by Roy IngletonSince the dawn of civilization, Britain has been menaced by foreign powers and invasive hordes, anxious either to pillage and plunder or to invade and rule over this green and pleasant land. Situated on the extreme southeastern corner of England, the county of Kent is the nearest point to continental Europe, and has so been the targeted landing point for most of these incursions. From the time of the Angles, Jutes and Saxons to the Second World War, the Men of Kent and Kentish Men have had to set up and maintain defensive structures, from Norman castles to 1940 pill boxes, from the Royal Military Canal to the anti-tank ditches carved out of the hills around the coast. This book is the story of these: the threats which led to the erection and construction of various defensive obstacles, their upkeep and garrisoning and, in some cases, their ultimate destruction.
Flying Scot: An Airman’s Story
by Alastair Mackie"This is the memoir of a 26 year career in the RAF, told with humor and modesty that belies the danger of flying over 47 different types of military aircraft in war and peace. Alastair Mackie began his operational career flying Wellington bombers over the North African desert war until converting to the B-24 Liberator. He watched the famous opening barrage at the opening of El Alamein from the air and became involved in supplying the besieged island of Malta together with hunting German ships in the Mediterranean. He was then posted to Northern Ireland converting to the DC-3. He flew during D-Day, dropping parachute troops into German held territory and continued these operations until the wars end when he was part of the operation to return British troops and released POWs to the UK. He was then posted to a long-range DC-3 squadron and flew to all points East.After the war he was posted to The Central Flying School teaching future flying instructors in a variety of aircraft from Tiger Moths to Lancasters. After a tour in the Far East where he flew his own personal Spitfire, he returned to the UK to convert to the jet aircraft then coming into service. After a spell desk bound on the Cabinet Office Joint Intelligence Committee, which he disliked, he was appointed Station Commander at Colerne which operated the Hastings transport aircraft. Alastair was then appointed wing commander in charge of flying at RAF Waddington. The job also gave him the charge of two resident Canberra bomber squadrons, Nos. 37 and 38. With them he was able to get plenty of flying in an aircraft he loved. After retiring from the RAF he commenced a career in Law and in his later years he has become a firm opponent of Britains nuclear deterrent, having seen its preparation with the Vulcan Force until the Royal Navy assumed the role it now has. "
Cockleshell Raid (Battleground French Coast)
by Paul OldfieldOperation Frankton is a story of how a handful of determined and resourceful men, using flimsy canoes, achieved what thousands could not by conventional means. The volunteers had enlisted for Hostilities Only and, except for their leader, none had been in a canoe before. However, with a few months training they carried out what one German officer described as, the outstanding commando raid of the war. They became known as the Cockleshell Heroes, having been immortalized in a film and a book of that name in the 1950s. This book covers the whole of the Frankton story including the development of the Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment, the planning and preparation for the raid, its aftermath and an account of the horrific war crimes inflicted on those who were captured. It also includes the epic escape by Haslar and Corporal Bill Sparks across occupied France into Spain.
Code Name Mulberry: The planning Building and Operation of the Normandy Harbours
by Guy HartcupThe story of the Mulberry harbours must rank among the most remarkable to emerge from the Second World War. In terms of engineering achievement, it is surely one of the greatest of all time.Allied planners correctly anticipated that the Germans would deny, either by destruction or dogged defence, the vital Channel ports in the aftermath of D-Day. If the invading armies could not be kept resupplied, OVERLORD would fail. The only solution was to design, build, transport and install two massive artificial harbours.How this highly ambitious plan was implemented is told with clarity and authority in this superb book. The text, admirably free of unnecessary technical jargon, is well supported with photographs, diagrams and tables, which demonstrate vividly the scale of this great venture. The irony is that the real enemy turned out not to be the Germans but the elements. Code Name Mulberry is a first class account of all aspects of this extraordinary chapter in the history of the Second World War.
Expedition to Disaster: The Athenian Mission to Sicily 415 BC
by Philip MatyszakThis thrillingly vivid history recounts a pivotal battle of the Peloponnesian War, bringing the drama and personalities of the Sicilian Expedition to life. The Athenian expedition to conquer Sicily was one of the most significant military events of the classical period. At the time, Athens was locked in a decades-long struggle with Sparta for mastery of the Greek world. The expedition to Sicily was intended to win Athens the extra money and resources needed to crush the Spartans. With the aid of new archaeological discoveries, Expedition to Disaster reconstructs the mission, and the ensuing siege, in greater detail than ever before. The cast of characters includes Alcibiades, the flamboyant, charismatic young aristocrat; Nicias, the ageing, reluctant commander of the ill-fated expedition, and Gylippus, the grim Spartan general sent to command the defense of Syracuse. It was he who turned the tables on the Athenian invaders. They were surrounded, besieged, and forced to ask for mercy from a man who had none. Philip Matyszak's combination of thorough research and gripping narrative presents an episode of ancient history packed with colorful characters and dramatic tension.
The Fear in the Sky: Vivid Memories of Bomber Aircrew in World War Two
by Pat CunninghamThe young men who flew with RAF Bomber Command in World War Two were a complex mixture of individuals but they all shared the gift of teamwork. A crew of seven may have comprised all non commissioned men and some crews included commissioned officers but not always flying as pilots. The outstanding fact was that each man relied on every other member of his crew to return from each mission safely.This book contains ten intriguing reminiscences of bomber aircrew; some were pilots, others navigators, flight engineers, bomb-aimers or gunners. They flew as both commissioned or NCO airmen..Understandably, a common problem was that of coping with fear. Many former aircrew hold that anyone who claims to have felt no fear on operations is either lying or has allowed the years to blank out that fear. But there are a few who do maintain that they never felt afraid. For the majority, though, handling fear was something to be worked out by the individual. Some hit the bottle, others womanized to excess; others tightened the gut and bit the lip; or drew the curtain and focused upon the plotting table or the wireless set.The passing years may have silvered what hair remains, dulled the eye that formerly registered on the merest speck; lent a quiver to the hand that once controlled the stick, penciled in the track, manipulated the tuning dial, set the bombsight, tapped the gauge, or rotated the turret. And yet for all the attributes of age their irrepressible youthfulness shines through.
Ambush: Surprise Attack in Ancient Greek Warfare
by Rose Mary SheldonThere are two images of warfare that dominate Greek history. The better known is that of Achilles, the Homeric hero skilled in face-to-face combat to the death. He is a warrior who is outraged by deception on the battlefield. The alternative model, equally Greek and also taken from Homeric epic, is Odysseus, the man of twists and turns of The Odyssey. To him, winning by stealth, surprise or deceit was acceptable.Greek warfare actually consists of many varieties of fighting. It is common for popular writers to assume that the hoplite phalanx was the only mode of warfare used by the Greeks. The fact is, however, that the use of spies, intelligence gathering, ambush, and surprise attacks at dawn or at night were also a part of Greek warfare, and while not the supreme method of defeating an enemy, such tactics always found their place in warfare when the opportunity or the correct terrain or opportunity presented itself.Ambush will dispel both the modern and ancient prejudices against irregular warfare and provides a fresh look at the tactics of the ancient Greeks.
Bombers Over Berlin: The RAF Offensive, November 1943–March 1944
by Alan W. CooperFirst published to acclaim in 1985, this book is set to be a timely release, in line with the 70th Anniversary of the outset of the Raids, near approaching in November 2013. Berlin itself was 'the Big City'. It was deep in the heart of Germany and heavily defended with flak and night fighters, not only because it was the administrative capital but also because it was vital for the German war production machine. Heavy losses could be expected on any raid to Berlin. So when the curtain was swept back on the briefing map to reveal the red ribbon stretching towards Berlin there was added tension for the bomber crews. Between November 1943 and March 1944, Berlin was the target no less than sixteen times. 9,112 sorties were flown and 495 aircraft were lost.As in his previous books, Alan Cooper has painstakingly researched all the details of the raids, telling the stories of individual crews who flew on them, of those who returned safely and those who were shot down, becoming POWs or evading capture, either returning to the UK or remaining at large in occupied Europe. He tells of the heroism of the pilots and crews grappling with heavily -loaded bombers against night fighters, often nursing stricken aircraft back to base, with many failing to return.Acclaim for Bombers Over Berlin:What makes this book so remarkable and interesting is its anthology of short but graphic accounts of the trials and tribulations of the dozens of bomber crews involved...Bombers Over Berlin is unique in its compilations of such a large number of personal anecdotes covering the hazards of sustained fighter and flak attacks...a thoroughly well researched chronicle Ken Batchelor, former Chairman of the Bomber Command Association.
Bruneval
by Paul OldfieldThe Bruneval Raid, launched against a German radar installation on the French coast in February 1942, was unique: it was one of the first fully combined operations put together by HQ Combined Operations under Mountbatten; for the first time a unit of the newly formed British Parachute Regiment went into action; it was the only raid carried out purely to satisfy the needs of scientific intelligence. It was highly successful and the results achieved were out of all proportion to the resources committed.This book covers the development of radar, the search for German radar in the Second World War, the discovery of Wrzburg radar at Bruneval, the planning and preparations for the audacious raid, its highly successful execution and the aftermath. There is a wealth of colorful characters involved, from world-class scientists, outstanding reconnaissance pilots, Resistance agents, famous sailors, soldiers and airmen, an escaped German Jew and, most importantly, a vast number of ordinary people involved doing extraordinary things to win the war against Hitler's Germany.