Air War Varsity

Air War Varsity PDF

Author: Martin W. Bowman

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2017-10-30

Total Pages: 455

ISBN-13: 1473863120

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Here, Martin Bowman brings us the first book on Operation Varsity to include both British and US air and ground operations, as well as the US, British and Canadian paratroop and resupply missions, all presented together in one ambitious volume.Operation Varsity-Plunder, the last large-scale Allied airborne operation of World War II, was certainly no walk-over. Varsity was the airborne part, whilst Plunder represented the British amphibious operations by the British Second Army.The airlift consisted of 541 transport aircraft containing airborne troops and a further 1,050 troop-carriers towing 1,350 gliders. The American 17th Airborne Divisions C-46 Commando transports and Waco gliders joined the British 6th Airborne Division C-54s, C-47 transport aircrafts, Horsas and Hamilcar gliders to form an immense armada that stretched for more than 200 miles across the sky. The successful air attack involved more than 10,000 Allied aircraft and was concentrated primarily on Luftwaffe airfields and the German transportation system.The combination of the two divisions in one lift made this the largest single day airborne drop in history. In this impressive account, Martin Bowman weaves firsthand testimony and a compelling historical narrative together with a variety of photographic illustrations, many of which have never been published before, in order to create a complete and fascinating record of events as they played out in March 1945.

Four Hours of Fury

Four Hours of Fury PDF

Author: James M. Fenelon

Publisher: Scribner

Published: 2019-05-21

Total Pages: 448

ISBN-13: 1501179373

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In this viscerally exciting account, a paratrooper-turned-historian reveals the details of 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. 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.

Air Combat 1945

Air Combat 1945 PDF

Author: Donald Nijboer

Publisher: Stackpole Books

Published: 2015-09-15

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 0811716066

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The final year of World War II witnessed the decline of the piston-engine fighter and the beginning of the jet age. Taking to the skies were tried-and-true fighters, improved versions of old aircraft, and newly developed jets, including prototypes that flew for the first time just before the war ended. • Hundreds of photos chronicle these dynamic aircraft in Europe and the Pacific • Includes American Mustangs, Thunderbolts, and Shooting Stars; British Tempests, Spitfires, and Gloster Meteors; German Fw 190s, Bf 109Ks, and Messerschmitt Me 262s; Japanese Ki 100s, Raidens, and Tojos; and many more • Ideal reference for military history fans, scholars, and modelers

Air Battle for Arnhem

Air Battle for Arnhem PDF

Author: Alan W. Cooper

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2012-11-26

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 1473811686

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Over sixty years ago a battle took place that, if it had succeeded, could have shortened the Second World war by six months. The operation to take the bridges at Arnhem was given the code name 'Operation Market Garden', Market being the air side of the operation and Garden the subsequent ground operation. The main problem was communications between the ground forces and the re-supply aircraft of the Royal Air Force.Its their efforts and the courage on evident display at Arnhem that the book is based upon. Over a period of seven days troops of the 1st Airborne were taken by the RAF in towed gliders and then in subsequent days showed courage of the highest order to make sure that the ground troops were supplied with ammunition and food to sustain them in their efforts to take the bridges at Arnhem. Their efforts were costly, 309 aircrew and 79 Air Dispatchers were killed and 107 aircraft, which included the men and aircraft who supported the main re-supply armada.One of the re-supply aircraft, flown by F/Lt David Lord DFC, was shot down. Lord was later awarded the Victoria Cross. His courage and dedication are exemplary of the efforts of the men of Transport Command to make sure the men on the ground were re-supplied. The men of the Air Dispatchers, or AD's as they were known, must always be remembered when regarding Arnhem. Their efforts to make sure the supplies were released from the aircraft, and on to the besieged men on the ground, was a vital factor in getting vital supplies to the troops successfully.This is their story, vividly told, and serves a commemorative purpose, memorialising both the events and, most importantly, the men who participated.

Air Power at the Battlefront

Air Power at the Battlefront PDF

Author: Dr Ian Gooderson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-05-13

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 1136305955

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Ian Gooderson presents a study of close air support in World War II, with the analysis focusing on the use of tactical air power by British and American forces during the campaigns in Italy and northwestern Europe between 1943 and 1945.

Varsity's Soldiers

Varsity's Soldiers PDF

Author: Eric McGeer

Publisher: University of Toronto Press

Published: 2019-08-22

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 1487518110

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The role of Canadian universities in selecting and training officers for the armed forces is an important yet overlooked chapter in the history of higher education in Canada. For more than fifty years, the University of Toronto supported the largest and most active contingent of the Canadian Officers' Training Corps (COTC), which sent thousands of officer candidates into the regular and reserve forces. Based on the rich fund of documents housed in the university archives, Varsity’s Soldiers offers the first full-length history of military training in Toronto. Beginning with the formation of a student rifle company in 1861, and focusing on the story of the COTC from 1914 to 1968, author Eric McGeer seeks to enlarge appreciation of the university’s remarkable contribution to the defence of Canada, the place of military education in an academic setting, and the experience of the students who embodied the ideal of service to alma mater and to country.

Paras Versus the Reich

Paras Versus the Reich PDF

Author: Bernd Horn

Publisher: Dundurn

Published: 2003-08-01

Total Pages: 377

ISBN-13: 1459712722

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This meticulously researched book traces the development of airborne forces from their earliest mythology to their earth-shattering debut in the Second World War. More importantly, it reveals in exacting detail the story of Canada's paratroopers - from the early resistance to their establishment, the rigorous selection process and gruelling training, to their unrivalled combat record. It tells the story of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, which never failed to achieve its assigned missions, nor did it ever lose an objective once captured. Through the pages of this book the reader will experience the exceptional courage, endurance, fighting skills, and tenacity of Canada's paratroopers in the Second World War.

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