B 24 Liberators Of The 15th Air Force 49th Bomb Wing In World War Ii
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Author : Michael D. Hill,Mike Hill,John R. Beitling Publisher : Schiffer Military History Page : 164 pages File Size : 42,9 Mb Release : 2006 Category : History ISBN : WISC:89082369794
B-24 Liberators of the 15th Air Force/49th Bomb Wing in World War II by Michael D. Hill,Mike Hill,John R. Beitling Pdf
The first in a planned series that presents the B-24 Liberators used by the 15th Air Force in World War II, noted B-24 historians Robert Beitling and Mike Hill present for the first time the biographies of the individual B-24s used by the 451st, 461st and 484th Bomb Groups of the 49th Bomb Wing in Italy. As much information as is known about the individual aircraft is presented in biographical form: serial number, nickname, how the aircraft received its nickname, number of missions, original aircraft for the groups, and the ultimate fate of the aircraft. The volume will be of interest to historians, veterans and those who are interested in the B-24s that flew in the flak filled skies of the Third Reich.
Author : Charles E. Stanley Publisher : Simon and Schuster Page : 242 pages File Size : 40,7 Mb Release : 2022-03-15 Category : History ISBN : 9781684512829
Late in 1944, thirteen U.S. B-24 bomber crews bailed from their cabins over the Yugoslavian wilderness. Bloodied and disoriented after a harrowing strike against the Third Reich, the pilots took refugee with the Partisan underground. But the Americans were far from safety. Holed up in a village barely able to feed its citizens, encircled by Nazis, and left abandoned after a team of British secret agents failed to secure their escape, the airmen were left with little choice. It was either flee or be killed. In The Lost Airmen, Charles Stanely Jr. unveils the shocking true story of his father, Charles Stanely-and the eighteen brave soldiers he journeyed with for the first time. Drawing on over twenty years of research, dozens of interviews, and previously unpublished letters, diaries, and memoirs written by the airmen, Stanley recounts the deadly journey across the blizzard-swept Dinaric Alps during the worst winter of the Twentieth Century-and the heroic men who fought impossible odds to keep their brothers in arms alive.
The United States Air Force by John C. Fredriksen Pdf
Understand the growth and evolution of American air power with this overview of the history of the world's most successful aviation force. The United States Air Force: A Chronology captures the sweep of U.S. Air Force history from the service's inception to present times. Concise entries, arranged by date, touch upon military events such as victories and defeats; significant political, administrative, and technological changes affecting the service; and significant events in the careers of noted leaders. Daily occurrences are described within the context of greater historical events such as wars. The chronology covers all aspects of the U.S. Air Force and its historical antecedents (U.S. Air Service, Army Air Corps, and Army Air Force), commencing with the Balloon Corps in the American Civil War and extending through Operation IRAQI FREEDOM and Operation ENDURING FREEDOM in Afghanistan. Events of note, major and minor, are listed in the order of occurrence. The book includes all major air campaigns in all major conflicts, as well as such noteworthy events as record-breaking flights and the introduction of new aircraft.
Operation Mallory Major from Below by Paolo A. Dossena Pdf
The Allied Operation Mallory Major (northern Italy, July 1944) aimed at the destruction of all bridges across the Po River and its tributaries and at isolating the enemy in the northern Apennine mountains (the Gothic Line). The Allied Air Forces could count on the ground support of the guerrillas from the Great Partisan Pocket (in the Apennines south of Piacenza) and were opposed by the Flak. This army was led by aging German officers and NCOs leading young non-German women and men in Wehrmacht service: the Czech guards (Regierungstruppe), and the Italian, Slovak, Polish and former Soviet gunners (the Wehrmacht had transferred its German young men to front line units). Yet, this improbable Flak force proved to be effective and supported by Luftwaffe aircraft (outnumbered by at least 10 to 1) it faced both a hailstorm of Allied bombs and guerrilla ground attacks. Women played a major role in this campaign. Axis, guerrillas, and Allied intelligence used women to infiltrate the enemy and as auxiliaries, nurses and fighters. Another aspect of this battle was the Hitler-Beneš confrontation, an intelligence-guerrilla war which took place within the ranks of the Regierungstruppe.
Fifteenth Air Force against the Axis by Kevin A. Mahoney Pdf
In Fifteenth Air Force against the Axis: Combat Missions over Europe during World War II, historian Kevin A. Mahoney provides a detailed combat history of the crucial role played by this air force from November 1943 through May 1945. Presented by month in chronological order, Mahoney describes all the major bombing and fighter missions carried out by this air force within a strategic context. Each chapter includes an introduction describing developments in the evolution of the strategic air campaign against the Germans, highlights the purpose and importance of the month’s operations, and reviews the Luftwaffe’s resistance and changes in tactics and important developments in the Fifteenth Air Force’s organization. Each monthly narrative further explores most missions, detailing the number of aircraft lost during these missions. Losses are based on an exhaustively researched database compiled by Mahoney that contains details of almost 3,000 aircraft. Target damage is mentioned, while enemy opposition is also described for each mission. Appendices include four short essays on bombing operations (planning and flying of missions, tactics and techniques, bomb types, and bombing accuracy), tactics employed by fighter escort in aerial combat and strafing, combat crews and their aircraft (including a comparison of American fighters and bombers, the training of the crews, and their combat tours), and the Fifteenth Air Force command structure (including the use of intelligence, photo and weather reconnaissance, and the considerable effect of weather on Fifteenth Air Force operations). This work of military history is ideal for students and scholars of the air war in Europe.
Author : Philip A. St. John Publisher : Turner Publishing Company Page : 172 pages File Size : 45,6 Mb Release : 1990 Category : B-24 (Bomber) ISBN : 9780938021995
Special Operations Consolidated B-24 Liberators by William Wolf Pdf
Despite being America’s most produced bomber, the Consolidated B-24 Liberator has forever flown in the shadow of its more famous and glamorous B-17 rival. The workmanlike B-24 performed multiple unheralded roles in all theatres beyond its also multiple offensive missions, making it the war’s most versatile heavy bomber. Besides its offensive bombing, anti-submarine, and mining missions, the Liberator performed many little known “inoffensive” duties. Undoubtedly the most colorful of all Liberators were the so-called assembly ships of the Groups of the 2nd Air Division. Their unique paint schemes of stripes, polka dots, and checkerboard, were designed to make them ultra-conspicuous for their task of acting as leaders on which a Group formation could assemble their combat formations more quickly for a combat mission The Consolidated F-7 was a photographic reconnaissance version of the B-24 Liberator. The F-7 saw service in most theatres of the war. The long range of the Liberator also made it well suited to mapping missions during the war and post-war. Beginning in early 1944, to aid the Allied liberation of Europe, Carpetbagger B-24s were utilized to parachute spies, called “Joes” or “Janes”, or provide aerial supply of weapons and other matériel to resistance fighters in occupied Europe. Liberators also participated in the dropping of 2.75 billion propaganda leaflets using various techniques and delivery devices. Electronic Warfare played an important part in Allied global pre-invasion plans to discover the location of enemy radars, and, if possible, destroy them. This interception and analysis of an enemy electronic radiation was the origin of present day ELINT (ELectonicINTelligence). Modified RAF B-24D Airborne Electronic Reconnaissance Liberators, codenamed Ferret, were Radio Counter Measures and Electronic Intelligence aircraft that played a major role in European air opera¬tions. During 1942 the AAF became interested in aerial refueling as a means to bombing Japan. A shorter-range B-17E was selected as the receiver aircraft while the more spacious B-24D acted as the tanker. Although these tests were considered to be successful, the availability of longer-ranging B-29s and bases ever closer to Japan diminished the urgency of wartime aerial refueling. During the war, eighty-three B-24s crashed or made forced landings in Switzerland, sixty in Sweden, and several in Russia, Spain, Portugal, and Turkey. Many of these Liberators landed undamaged or were repaired to be flown by these nations. Of particular interest are the six Liberators that were captured and flown by the Luftwaffe. Packed with a unique collection of photographs. Special Operations Consolidated B-24 Liberators reveals the most unusual and little-known facets of the Second World War’s most versatile bomber.
Dragged forcefully by Japan into the Second World War, the United States of America in 1942 gradually increased its presence also in the Mediterranean basin. Here, until then, the balance of the conflict had always been in the balance between the Axis forces and the British and Commonwealth ones. Technological innovation and the arms race put in the field by the American war industry meant that quickly the fate of the conflict in the Mediterranean area changed radically in favor of the Allied forces. An unprecedented firepower was unleashed first on the cities of southern Italy and, in the course of 1943, on the whole national territory, leading to the fall of the fascist regime, then to the armistice and subsequently to the declaration of war by Italy to Germany itself. In a little less than two years from Operation Torch, the Allied military force was able to conquer most of the Italian territory, reaching the capital, Rome, on June 4, 1944.
The B-24 Liberator remains to this day the world's most produced heavy bomber and multi-engine aircraft, and the most-produced military aircraft in US history, with almost 19,000 examples leaving the assembly lines of five plants. Through a broad range of photos gathered from around the world, this book, the second of two volumes on the B-24, chronicles the design, development, and wartime use of the iconic late-production aircraft, featuring gun turrets on the nose. The story of these iconic WWII aircraft is told through carefully researched photos, many never before published, which are reproduced in remarkable clarity. Large, clear images, coupled with descriptive and informative captions, unlock the secrets of this aircraft. Part of the Legends of Warfare series.
The 44th Bomb Group in World War II by Ron Mackay,Steve Adams Pdf
The 44th Bomb Group, which flew the B-24 Liberator, was the "pioneer" unit for what evolved from the "Mighty Eighth's" 2nd Bomb Wing into a full-scale Bomb (and later Air) Division. The Group amassed an impressive 343 missions and won two Distinguished Unit Citations between November 1942 and April 1945, dropping nearly 19,000 tons of ordnance in the process including the legendary August 1943 Ploesti mission. These statistics were achieved at a material cost of around 200 aircraft, and a human cost of some 2,000 airmen MIA, as the 8th USAAF focused its strategic bombing campaign in the face of determined Luftwaffe opposition.
Author : Major Charles J. Westgate III Publisher : Pickle Partners Publishing Page : 81 pages File Size : 48,6 Mb Release : 2015-11-06 Category : History ISBN : 9781786256560
The Reich Wreckers: An Analysis Of The 306th Bomb Group During World War II by Major Charles J. Westgate III Pdf
This paper presents an analysis of the 306th Bomb Group’s contributions during World War II. Rather than providing a simple recounting of the various dates and accomplishments, the paper analyzes some of the key indicators and statistics of the group’s performance. In particular, the paper focuses on comparing aircraft losses and bombing results of the 306th with the Eighth Air Force’s. The analysis also examined other areas, such as: mission aborts, enemy aircraft claimed destroyed, weather conditions over target, bombing methods used, presence of fighter escorts, and strength of enemy air defenses (enemy fighter aircraft and flak). The purpose of the analysis was to gain a better understanding of the group’s overall performance within the bigger scope of the Eighth Air Force’s war effort. The analysis was conducted in three steps. First, the archives of the Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA) were searched for statistics on the 306th. Next, similar statistics were collected for the Eighth Air Force. Finally, the data for the two units was analyzed and compared, to aid in determining conclusions. To facilitate the last step of the research, the air war was divided into four periods. The goals and objectives for each period were used as criteria to grade the unit’s effectiveness. In general, the study concluded that the 306th Bomb Group was a “typical” B-17 bomber group in World War II. When comparing the various statistics and graphs provide in this paper, we see that in most cases there was little difference in the data for the 306th and the Eighth Air Force. However, the statistics do not tell the whole story. As one of the cadre groups of the Eighth Air Force, many of the improvements and lessons learned during the early period of the war were at the expense of the 306th. These early lessons and experiments were important and led to the improvements that saved many lives and brought an end to the war.