Air War Varsity

Author : Martin W. Bowman
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 455 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2017-10-30
Category : History
ISBN : 9781473863125

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Air War Varsity by Martin W. Bowman Pdf

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.

Author : Trevor Stone
Publisher : Air World
Page : 250 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2024-01-18
Category : History
ISBN : 9781399010849

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Forward Air Bases in Europe from D-Day to the Baltic by Trevor Stone Pdf

The largely sea-borne invasion of Northern France in June 1944, Operation Overlord, is acknowledged as one of the key actions which hastened the end of the Second World War. The RAF played a vital part in the landings. It then supported the subsequent advance of Montgomery’s 21st Army, and the Allies as a whole, through France, Belgium, Holland and into Germany. Following the breakout from the Normandy bridgehead in early August 1944, the RAF’s Second Tactical Air Force moved forward in support of the troops, occupying a number of temporary airfields as it went. The ground support for this operation was complex, a situation that was exacerbated by the fact that much of it had to be highly mobile. The advance, however, was rapid and soon ran into problems as the supply lines grew longer by the day. The planners had envisaged that capturing the Belgian port of Antwerp would eventually enable them to bring in vitally needed supplies much further north on the Continent. Although the city and its port were liberated in September 1944, the port’s route to the sea along the River Scheldt was still controlled by German forces. It took nearly three months until this was resolved, and the port opened for business. Until then, in the RAF’s equivalent of the US Army’s famed ‘Red Ball Express’, it was some 300 miles by road from Normandy with the Second Tactical Air Force largely reliant on the Army for transporting its needs. For an air force needing large volumes of fuel and ammunition, demand soon began to outpace supply. A number of emergency measures were put in place to keep the aircraft operational, which saw the RAF resorting to the use of its heavy bombers to fly in supplies. Even when Antwerp was up and running, supplying the Second Tactical Air Force remained a hand-to-mouth affair right through until the enemy’s surrender in May 1945. In Forward Air Bases in Europe from D-Day to the Baltic the author explores the challenges of supporting a mobile air force in those uncertain days as Hitler’s forces were retreating to their homeland. As the Allies found, things can go badly wrong when thinking loses touch with the art of the possible – logistics. In the end, miraculously, it worked, but it was a close-run thing.

Author : John Cushman Warren
Publisher : M A/A H Publishing
Page : 262 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 1956
Category : History
ISBN : IOWA:31858013831452

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Airborne Operations in World War II, European Theater by John Cushman Warren Pdf

This monograph describes the planning and execution of airborne operations by the Army Air Forces in the European Theater during World War II. Intended to serve as a case history of large-scale airborne operations, it seeks to analyze and evaluate them as a basis for doctrine and for the benefit of future planners. Chapters are as follows: (1) The Airborne Invasion of Normandy - Plans and Preparations, including the COSSAC Phase, deployment and training, final preparations, and deception and diversion; (2) The Assault, including various paratroop and glider missions; (3) From Neptune to Market, which focuses on organizational changes, plans and campaigns during the Campaign in France, the planning of Operation Market, and preliminary support operations; (4) Market - The Airborne Invasion of Holland, which includes descriptions of operations in various sections of Holland; (5) Varsity - The Airborne Assault Across the Rhine, including planning, training, security measures, auxiliary air operations, and lift and initial operations of the British Airborne Division, American Paratroops, and American Glider Troops; and (6) Conclusions Regarding Large-Scale Airborne Operations.

Author : Eric McGeer
Publisher : University of Toronto Press
Page : 384 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 2019
Category : Education
ISBN : 9781487503529

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Varsity's Soldiers by Eric McGeer Pdf

Based on the rich fund of documents housed in the University of Toronto archives, Varsity's Soldiers offers the first full-length history of military training in Toronto.

Author : James M. Fenelon
Publisher : Scribner
Page : 448 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2019-05-21
Category : History
ISBN : 9781501179372

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Four Hours of Fury by James M. Fenelon Pdf

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.

Author : Simon Forty,Jonathan Forty
Publisher : Pen and Sword Military
Page : 497 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2022-01-12
Category : History
ISBN : 9781399011150

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A Photographic History of Airborne Warfare, 1939–1945 by Simon Forty,Jonathan Forty Pdf

On 10 May 1940 German Fallschirmjäger stormed the Dutch fort of Eben-Emael, south of Maastricht. The brilliantly executed operation was the first signal success by airborne troops in the Second World War and it made the military world sit up and take notice. Improved parachutes and the creation of gliders that could carry troops meant that assault forces could be dropped or landed behind enemy lines. This was a significant new tactic which had a dramatic impact on several of the key campaigns, and it is the subject of Simon and Jonathan Forty’s in-depth, highly illustrated history. They tell the story of the development of airborne forces, how they were trained and equipped, and how they were landed and put into action in every theatre of the global conflict. The results were mixed. German airborne forces were victorious on Crete, but the cost was so great that Hitler vowed never to use them in the same way again. The Allies saw things differently. After Crete they built up elite units who would play important roles in later battles – in Normandy, for example, where the British 6th Airborne Division took vital bridges prior to the D-Day landings. These are just two examples of the many similar operations on the Western and Eastern Fronts and in the Pacific which are covered in this wide-ranging book. It offers the reader a fascinating insight into airborne warfare over seventy years ago.

Author : Colonel Mark C. Vlahos
Publisher : Lulu.com
Page : 498 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2019-10
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9780359952601

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"Men Will Come": A History of the 314th Troop Carrier Group 1942-1945 by Colonel Mark C. Vlahos Pdf

Revised Second Edition. The roots of Tactical Airlift and Air Mobility Command Missions were founded in the Troop Carrier Groups of World War II. Meticulously researched and documented, Col Mark Vlahos' "Men Will Come" A History of the 314th Troop Carrier Group 1942 - 1945, will not only be the definitive history of this unit, but fills a major void in USAAF History. Activated March 9, 1942, the 314th participated in every major Airborne Operation in the Mediterranean and European Theaters of Operations. Through the school of hard knocks, tough lessons were learned as the new Airborne, Air-land, and Glider missions matured in WWII. The 314th played a major role in this evolving process. As we celebrate the 75th Anniversary of D-Day, this book is a must read for anyone interested in WWII Airborne, Troop Carrier Operations and the contribution of our Greatest Generation. -Gen Carlton Everhart II, USAF-Ret, former Commander Air Mobility Command. 327 photos, maps, documents; index. NOTE: This revised second edition includes a small number of typographical corrections but most importantly a number of additions in Appendix 9, specifically a number of aircraft were inadvertently missing from "Operation NEPTUNE #1 Mission Flight Crew Listing, June 5 - 6, 1944" and "Operation NEPTUNE #2 Mission Flight Crew Listing, June 7, 1944". A Merriam Press World War II History.

Author : Bernd Horn,Michel Wyczynski
Publisher : Dundurn
Page : 377 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 2003-08
Category : History
ISBN : 9781550024708

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Paras Versus the Reich by Bernd Horn,Michel Wyczynski Pdf

This book traces the development of airborne forces from earliest mythology to their earth-shattering debut in the Second World War.

Author : Gene Adcock
Publisher : AuthorHouse
Page : 439 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2012-10-24
Category : History
ISBN : 9781477269961

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CCT-The Eye of the Storm by Gene Adcock Pdf

Volume II is 438 pages in length and contains interviews, anecdotes and descriptions of missions by Air Force Combat Controllers. GWOT stands for Global War on Terrorism.

Author : Alan W Cooper
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 223 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2012-11-26
Category : History
ISBN : 9781781591086

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Air Battle for Arnhem by Alan W Cooper Pdf

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.

Author : John Andreas Olsen
Publisher : Naval Institute Press
Page : 281 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 2017-05-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9781682470763

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Airpower Applied by John Andreas Olsen Pdf

Airpower Applied reviews the evolution of airpower and its impact on the history of warfare. Through a critical examination of twenty-nine case studies in which various U.S. coalitions and Israel played significant roles, this book offers perspectives on the political purpose, strategic meaning, and military importance of airpower. By comparing and contrasting more than seventy-five years of airpower experience in very different circumstances, readers can gain insight into present-day thinking on the use of airpower and on warfare. The authors, all experts in their fields, demystify some of airpower‘s strategic history by extracting the most useful teachings to help military professionals and political leaders understand what airpower has to offer as a “continuation of politics by other means.” The case studies emphasize the importance of connecting policy and airpower: operational effectiveness cannot substitute for poor statecraft. As the United States, its allies, and Israel have seen in their most recent applications of airpower, even the most robust and capable air weapon can never be more effective than the strategy and policy it is intended to support.

Author : Michael E. Haskew
Publisher : Macmillan
Page : 224 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 2017-08-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9781250124470

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The Airborne in World War II by Michael E. Haskew Pdf

D-Day, Operation Market Garden, Battle of the Bulge—the US Airborne divisions were integral at all these major points in World War II. But they also played a significant role in North Africa, where they first saw action, and in Italy in 1943. Right on the tail of these planes, this expert history follows the airborne divisions from the redesignation and initial training of the 82nd in 1942 through to their final, momentous missions in the Pacific. Featuring the equipment, division structure, and uniforms, as well as first-hand accounts, this book is the true history popularized by such titles as Band of Brothers, A Bridge Too Far, and The Dirty Dozen. With one hundred and sixty photographs, maps, and illustrations, The Airborne in World War II is an accessible account of remarkable men and the battles that they fought.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : DIANE Publishing
Page : 516 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2024-05-17
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9781428915312

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Green Light!: A Troop Carrier Squadron's War From Normandy to the Rhine by Anonim Pdf

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 600 pages
File Size : 48,9 Mb
Release : 1973
Category : World War, 1939-1945
ISBN : UCAL:B4958043

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United States Army in World War II. by Anonim Pdf

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 596 pages
File Size : 48,9 Mb
Release : 1973
Category : World War, 1939-1945
ISBN : PURD:32754060104738

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United States Army in World War II.: The European theater of operations by Anonim Pdf