The 421st Night Fighter Squadron in World War II

The 421st Night Fighter Squadron in World War II PDF

Author: Jeff Kolln

Publisher: Schiffer Pub Limited

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 203

ISBN-13: 9780764313066

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As one of seventeen night fighter squadrons established during the course of World War II, the 421st Night Fighter Squadron carried the war into the night skies over the battlefields of the Southwest Pacific when most other fighter squadrons remained on the ground. In the squadron's years of service they would be based in a number of places ranging from New Guinea, Leyte, and finally ending up as an "Occupational" squadron in Japan after the war. The 421st NFS would be credited with thirteen kills, three damaged, one probable, and a number they simply never received credit for. On February 2, 1945 the 421st NFS would finally be deactivated and overnight become the 68th Fighter Squadron (All Weather). The history of the 421st however, would by no means end there. The 421st would again rise in later years as the 421st Tactical Fighter Squadron and fight in the skies of Vietnam, and later be one of the first squadrons flying in Operation Desert Storm â true to its tradition the 421st would fly night missions over Iraq.

United States Air Force and Its Antecedents

United States Air Force and Its Antecedents PDF

Author: James T. Controvich

Publisher: Scarecrow Press

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 9780810850101

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This bibliography lists published and printed unit histories for the United States Air Force and Its Antecedents, including Air Divisions, Wings, Groups, Squadrons, Aviation Engineers, and the Women's Army Corps.

Into the Night

Into the Night PDF

Author: Lieutenant John Waller Anderson

Publisher: Jetty House

Published: 2018-04

Total Pages: 520

ISBN-13: 9781937721541

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Into the Night chronicles the military service of Lt. Col. John Anderson from enlistment in the 105th to retirement from the Air Force. Anderson was a military photographer and this volume features hundreds of wonderful images taken by him at work and at leisure, during the years he served. Along with his personal diary, these images tell the tale of this unique young man¿s experiences, and family connections. John Waller Anderson, born 23 January 1921, enlisted in the 105th Observation Squadron, Tennessee Air National Guard when he was just seventeen years old. He re-enlisted in the Army of the United States after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and was soon accepted into Aviation Cadet Training where he received his coveted ¿wings.¿ He then went on to the 348th Night Fighter Training Squadron in Orlando, Florida, and forward in service in WWII as a pilot in the distinguished 422nd Night Fighter Squadron. The title highlights Anderson's time in the 422nd throughout the European theater of Operations in Charmy Down, and Scorton, England, Cherbourg and Châteaudun, France, Florennes, Belgium, and finally Strassfeld, and Langensalza, Germany, during which time the Germans surrendered on 5 May 1945. This memoir showcases the infamous night fighter warplane, the P-61 ¿Black Widow¿ and the 422nd NFS, the most distinguished and successful of all WWII Night Fighter Squadrons!

Marine Aviation in the Philippines

Marine Aviation in the Philippines PDF

Author: United States. Marine Corps

Publisher:

Published: 1951

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13:

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The return of Allied forces to the Philippines in the fall of 1944 further throttled Japan's already tenuous pipe line to the rich resources of Malaya and the Netherlands Indies, and with it the last vestige of her ability to meet the logistical requirements of a continuing war. The Battle for Leyte Gulf marked the end of Japan as a naval power, forcing her to adopt the desperation kamikaze tactic against the United States Fleets. The Philippine victories were primarily Army and Navy operations. Marines, comprising only a fraction of the toal forces engaged, played a secondary but significant role in the overall victory. The campaign was important to the Corps in that the Marine aviatiors, who had battled two years for air control over the Solomons, moved into a new role, their first opportunity to test on a large scale the fundamental Marine doctrine of close air support for ground troops in conventional land operations. This test they passed with credit, and Marine flyers contributed materially to the Philippines victory. Lessons learned and techniques perfected in those campaigns form an important chapter in our present-day close air support dotrines.--Foreword.

Marines In World War II - Marine Aviation In The Philippines [Illustrated Edition]

Marines In World War II - Marine Aviation In The Philippines [Illustrated Edition] PDF

Author: Major Charles W. Boggs Jr. USMC

Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing

Published: 2014-08-15

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 1782892877

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Contains 58 photos and 10 maps and charts. “The return of Allied forces to the Philippines in the fall of 1944 further throttled Japan’s already tenuous pipe line to the rich resources of Malaya and the Netherlands Indies, and with it the last vestige of her ability to meet the logistical requirements of a continuing war. The Battle for Leyte Gulf marked the end of Japan as a naval power, forcing her to adopt the desperation kamikaze tactic against the United States Fleets. The Philippine victories were primarily Army and Navy operations. Marines, comprising only a fraction of the total forces engaged, played a secondary but significant role in the overall victory. The campaign was important to the Corps in that the Marine aviators, who had battled two years for air control over the Solomons, moved into a new role, their first opportunity to test on a large scale the fundamental Marine doctrine of close air support for ground troops in conventional land operations. This test they passed with credit, and Marine flyers contributed materially to the Philippine victory. Lessons learned and techniques perfected in those campaigns form an important chapter in our present-day close air support doctrines.”-C. B. CATES, GENERAL, U.S. MARINE CORPS, COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS

Beaufighters in the Night

Beaufighters in the Night PDF

Author: Braxton Eisel

Publisher: Pen and Sword Aviation

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13:

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The 417th Night Fighter Squadron USAAF was only the fourth such unit to be formed. In the early days of WWII, the US sent observers to England to study how the latest form of air warfare would take shape and it very soon became apparent to them that a night fighting capability was of increasing importance. When they joined the battle against the Reich they found themselves without a suitable American aircraft and were forced to utilize RAF Beaufighters. Having 're-learned to fly' this British design the 417th were sent to North Africa. Most of the ex-RAF aircraft they had inherited were battle weary and no supplies of spares were available through the US supply chain. The squadron found an elderly B-25 bomber, nicknamed the "Strawberry Roan," and they ranged throughout the Mediterranean in search of Beaufighter parts. 417 soon built a healthy score of downed German and Italian aircraft and as the war progressed they were moved to Corsica to support the Italian invasion, After D-Day they were moved to Le Vallon from where they attacked the night-time movements of the German Army. Perhaps their most famous operation was to attack the low flying German Condor that ran the route from the Reich to Spain carrying Nazi gold and treasures.

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