Aviation Books

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The Bader Wing by John Frayn Turner

Douglas Bader, the indomitable legless air ace, became a legend in his own lifetime, and is today remembered as one of the greatest air combatants to emerge during World War II. But less is known about the Bader Wing and its crucial contribution to the Battle of Britain. For the first time this book reveals the fascinating story of the charismatic Wing Commander and the five squadrons which he led: the Bader Wing, consisting of some sixty pilots in all.

The book highlights the dramatic aerial actions of the Canadian aces in Bader's own 242 Squadron - Stan Turner, Willis McKnight and G E Ball. It describes in absorbing detail their many successes, and also the inevitable moments of disaster and death. Moreover, the story is set against the broader canvas and controversy of the Big Wing. The tactics and strategy favouring the Wing are forcibly argued by the author, who comes down heavily on the side of Douglas Bader, the man whose outspoken views and forceful personality made the Wing possible. In The Bader Wing, some of the greatest names of World War II testify to Bader's leadership qualities, including Johnnie Johnson, Laddie Lucas, Sholto Douglas, Hugh Dundas and Alan Deere. Their opinions lend great weight to a book which blends the best of aviation action with a cool reappraisal of the Battle of Britain.

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Above All Unseen by Edward

Visual reconnaissance has always been an important aspect of military intelligence, particularly so for the RAF during the Second World War. Using a variety of specially modified unarmed aircraft, the RAF consistently provided an accurate and timely flow of strategic information in the form of aerial photographs of unsurpassed quality.

This is the story of the RAF's PRU from their birth , amidst inter-departmental wrangling, as the Soviet Intelligence Service Flight in November 1938, right up to 1945. During this period more than 15,000 sorties in all operational theatres of war were undertaken, with the RAF having no less than nine squadrons spread across Europe, the Mediterranean and the Far East.

As well as describing the aircraft and the cameras used by the PRU's, details of daring operations are include, such as the hunt for the Bismarck and the planning for the Dambusters raid. Using personal recollections of those actually involved, combined with extensive research, the book also covers some of the highly secret operations flown in support of the Secret Intelligence Service, the Special Operations Executive, the Special Air Service and the RAF's Special Duty Squadrons. It is illustrated with contemporary photographs, many of them aerial views of enemy territory.

Edward Leaf served as a photographic interpreter during the 1980's and here, provides a unique insight into the role and organisation of one of the RAF's most successful units in the Second World War.

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This superbly researched book gives a complete overview of all aspects of naval aviation in the First World War; its significant influence on operations and strategy, which has never before been properly explained, is detailed by R D Layman in this far-reaching survey. Furthermore, Britain's Royal Naval Air Service, sponsored by the pro-aviation First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, pioneered many aspects of aerial warfare, including strategic bombing, anti-submarine warfare and the development of long-range aircraft, and the development of ships to carry aircraft, from the seaplane carriers of 1914 to HMS Argus, the first flat-top aircraft carrier.

And finally this book lays to rest the myth of the 'Battleship Admirals', whose conservatism and dislike of aircraft were said to have prevented naval aviation achieving its full potential. On the contrary, the naval high commands on all sides were very keen to exploit the possibilities offered by aviation, and indeed made demands of their fledgling naval air arms that were beyond the capabilities of the available technology.

New light is shed on little-known aspects of the naval war in the air, including the operations of the Imperial Russian Navy's seaplane carrier squadron in the Black Sea, the world's first 'carrier strike force', the Royal Navy's use of observation balloons tethered to ships, and the vital role played by aviation in the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign.

This unparalleled history details the origins of the forces that were later to dominate naval warfare, and shows that in spite of the state of aeronautical technology at the time, they were able to exert real influence on the war at sea.

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Coastal Command in Action 1939-1945 by Roy Conyers Nesbit

During the second world war the aircraft and crews of RAF Coastal Command played the vital role of patrolling and defending the waters around Great Britain against enemy air and naval forces. These included everything from long-range fighters and patrol aircraft, like the Junker Ju88 and Focke Wulf Fw200 Kondor, to marauding U-boats, E-boats and warships.

The aircraft of the Command ranged far and wide, attacking coastal targets in Scandinavia, Germany and enemy-occupied Europe. Many of these strikes were captured on film, providing vivid evidence of the devastating firepower brought to bear against enemy targets by the Command's Mosquitos, Beaufighters and Sunderlands.

Using extensive archives held at the Public Record Office, author Roy Nesbit has brought to light a series of remarkable photographs taken by RAF Coastal Command crews in action during the Second World War, illustrating in vivid detail the aircraft and actions fought by the Command over six years of war. Illustrated with more than 180 photographs, each accompanied by an exhaustively researched caption, this fascinating book brings to the attention of a wider audience the wartime exploits of RAF Coastal Command.

Book serial number BK29. Price £19.99. Hardback with 182 pages.

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Richthofen - Beyond the Legend of the Red Baron by Peter Kilduff

When the aerial battles of the First World War are discussed, one name comes to mind instantly: Manfred von Richthofen, popularly known as the 'Red Baron'.

He was that war's most successful air-fighter. Through a combination of marksmanship, steel-hard nerves and luck, Richthofen shot down 80 enemy aircraft in less than fifteen months total time at the Front as a fighter pilot. This spectacular success at destroying aerial opponents made him a living legend on both sides of the lines. Revered as a seemingly invincible champion by his own forces, he was respected by his adversaries.

This book provides the first clear, fully documented view of Manfred von Richthofen as an air-fighter, exemplary leader and an important figure in the development of German fighter units and tactics in the First World War. It was made possible by extensive research and, with the end of the Cold War, the release of significant documents in eastern Germany that had been unavailable to western historians since before the Second World War. It traces the development of German aviation from early single aircraft aerial ambushes to the massed attacks of Jagdgeschwader I, the battle force that Richthofen developed into a highly effective air weapon. The author makes extensive use of a wealth of carefully researched documentation, as well as personal accounts by Manfred von Richthofen not previously translated into English. Richthofen's own Air Combat Operations Manual, completed shortly before his death in combat, is included in its entirety. Further richness and balance are assured by observations from Richthofen's comrades and admirers, as well as from his enemies. These materials and a superb selection of photographs and maps combine to give the reader a comprehensive, first-hand view of the 'Red Baron' and the open cockpit fighting that he helped to develop during the first world war.

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The complete record of Von Richthofen's victories and victims, fully illustrated.

Book serial number BK23. Price £14.99. Paperback with 224 pages.

Special price £11.99

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The Luftwaffe in Camera by Alfred Price

At the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, Reichsmarshal Herman Goering's Luftwaffe stood poised on the brink of great conquests. Equipped with the best aircraft designs that German know-how could offer, and flown into battle by highly trained and supremely confident aircrews, the Luftwaffe was arguably the most modern and powerful air force the world had ever seen.

This is the first of two volumes featuring a wide range of fascinating archive photographs of the Luftwaffe taken during the Second World War. It covers the Luftwaffe's first three years of war and depicts its aircraft, operations and men as they supported the German Army in its devastating Blitzkrieg campaign. First to fall to the victorious armies of the Third Reich were Poland, Denmark and Norway, then the Low Countries and France, followed by Yugoslavia and Greece, in a run of spectacular victories.

The only serious setback for the Luftwaffe in this period was during the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940 when it failed to win its bid to gain air superiority in the skies over southern England. Although it suffered serious losses at the hands of RAF Fighter Command, by the spring of 1941 the Luftwaffe was stronger than it had been at the start of the Battle of Britain.

In June 1941 Hitler launched another all-out Blitzkrieg offensive, this time in the east against Russia. With powerful air support from the Luftwaffe the German Army won battle after battle, but the long promised collapse of the Soviet resistance seemed always out of reach. Then, with the onset of the bitter Russian winter, the scales began to tip in favour of the Russians.

Over several years the author has toured Germany to visit and interview Luftwaffe veterans. The majority of photographs that appear in this book come from their personal albums. Together they provide a unique pictorial record of this crucial phase in twentieth-century history.

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The Navy Earns its Wings by Stan Stokes.