Malta Spitfire Ace

Author : George Beurling,Leslie Roberts
Publisher : Grub Street Publishers
Page : 147 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2011-07-14
Category : History
ISBN : 9781909166295

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Malta Spitfire by George Beurling,Leslie Roberts Pdf

An aviator’s true story of WWII air combat, including two dramatic weeks in the skies above the besieged island of Malta. Twenty-five thousand feet above Malta—that is where the Spitfires intercepted the Messerschmitts, Macchis, and Reggianes as they swept eastward in their droves, screening the big Junkers with their bomb loads as they pummeled the island beneath: the most bombed patch of ground in the world. One of those Spitfire pilots was George Beurling, nicknamed “Screwball,” who in fourteen flying days destroyed twenty-seven German and Italian aircraft and damaged many more. Hailing from Canada, Beurling finally made it to Malta in the summer of 1942 after hard training and combat across the Channel. Malta Spitfire tells his story and that of the gallant Spitfire squadron, 249, which day after day ascended to the “top of the hill” to meet the enemy against overwhelming odds. With this memoir, readers experience the sensation of being in the cockpit with him, climbing to meet the planes driving in from Sicily, diving down through the fighter screen at the bombers, dodging the bullets coming out of the sun, or whipping up under the belly of an Me for a deflection shot at the engine. This is war without sentiment or romance, told in terms of human courage, skill, and heroism—a classic of WWII military aviation.

Author : Denis Barnham
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2010
Category : World War, 1939-1945
ISBN : 1848325606

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Malta Spitfire Ace by Denis Barnham Pdf

Author : Steve Nichols
Publisher : Osprey Publishing
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2008-09-23
Category : History
ISBN : 1846033055

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Malta Spitfire Aces by Steve Nichols Pdf

The siege of Malta during World War 2 is one of the great epics of aerial warfare. In 1942, it was described alternately as both a 'fighter pilot's paradise' and 'the most bombed place on earth'. During the peak of the Axis efforts against Malta, it suffered 154 consecutive days and nights of bombing, 100 nights more that London suffered during the Blitz. The destruction of Axis convoys by Malta-based aircraft proved to be one of the decisive factors in the defeat of Rommel's forces in North Africa. This vital position would have been lost if it had not been for the successful defence of the island by a handful of greatly outnumbered Royal Air Force fighter squadrons. In the brutal and unforgiving air war over Malta only the very best fighter pilots succeeded, and all too often that was no guarantee of living another day. This book details the heroic story of the Spitfire Aces based on Malta. Drawn from an international team of Australians, British, Canadians, New Zealanders, Rhodesians and South Africans these pilots fought against extreme deprivation, physical hardships and overwhelming odds in one of the most crucial and decisive air battles of World War II.

Author : Denis Barnham
Publisher : Grub Street Publishers
Page : 345 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2013-07-19
Category : History
ISBN : 9781909808683

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Malta Spitfire Pilot by Denis Barnham Pdf

An RAF fighter pilot’s “intensely vivid” account of the siege of Malta in World War II (The Times Literary Supplement). In the summer of 1942, Malta was vulnerable to air attack from the Germans and Italians, and defended by a handful of Spitfires and a few anti-aircraft guns. Denis Barnham, a young and inexperienced flight lieutenant, spent ten hectic weeks on this indomitable island; he left a well-ordered English aerodrome for the chaos and disillusionment of Luqa. His task was to engage the overwhelming number of enemy bombers, usually protected by fighter escorts, and shoot down as many as possible. The Spitfires were bomb-scarred and battered. Oftentimes they could only get two or three in the air together, and the airfields were riddled with bomb craters, but they managed to keep going and make their mark on enemy operations. Barnham has written a powerful account of his experiences in Malta, starting with his trip in an American aircraft carrier through the ceaseless battle and turmoil during the desperate defense of the island, through his departure by air back to England, having seen the reinforcements safely landed and the tide of battle turning. With thrilling and terrifying descriptions and illustrations of the air action, this account, told with humor and compassion, is one of the best firsthand accounts of aerial combat ever written.

Author : George F. Beurling,Leslie Roberts
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 235 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 1943
Category : World War, 1939-1945
ISBN : OCLC:427404419

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Malta Spitfire by George F. Beurling,Leslie Roberts Pdf

Author : DENIS. BARNHAM
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 2019
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1526766744

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MALTA SPITFIRE PILOT by DENIS. BARNHAM Pdf

Author : James Douglas-Hamilton,P.B. "Laddie" Lucas
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
Page : 237 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2007-01-31
Category : History
ISBN : 9781781597880

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The Air Battle for Malta by James Douglas-Hamilton,P.B. "Laddie" Lucas Pdf

This book provides an intriguing and realistic account of the struggle for the possession of Malta during World War II. The air battle raged for two and a half years during which time 14,000 tons of bombs were dropped on a defiant population.The history is based on the diaries of Lord David Douglas-Hamilton, the author's uncle, who was the leader of a Spitfire squadron that defended the island during the worst of the crisis.

Author : Brian Cull,Frederick Galea
Publisher : Fonthill Media
Page : 256 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2017-06-25
Category : History
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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249 at Malta by Brian Cull,Frederick Galea Pdf

Author : George F. Beurling,Leslie Roberts
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 247 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2002
Category : Fighter pilots
ISBN : 0143012371

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Malta Spitfire by George F. Beurling,Leslie Roberts Pdf

Author : Alan McGregor Peart
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
Page : 220 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2012-09-20
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781909166790

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From North Africa to the Arakan by Alan McGregor Peart Pdf

An ace fighter pilot recounts his experiences fighting the Germans and the Japanese from Malta to Burma in this WWII combat memoir. Born in New Zealand in 1922, Alan Peart always dreamed of becoming a Spitfire pilot. During the Second World War, he volunteered for the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and after distinguishing himself in training, joined the elite 610 Squadron. He served in numerous theaters of combat, from Italy and North Africa to India and Burma, where he took part of the Arakan Campaign. Operating from 'Broadway' airstrip, his was the only spitfire not destroyed during air strikes. In this lively account, Peart puts readers in the cockpit as he achieves ace status in heated combat against both German Luftwaffe and the Japanese Army Air Force. He also details the appalling living conditions and the issues the aircrew faced living far from civilization. After miraculously surviving World War II, Peart became president of the Burma Star Veterans association.

Author : George F. Beurling
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 1943
Category : Electronic
ISBN : OCLC:499128826

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Malta Spitfire by George F. Beurling Pdf

Author : Andrew Thomas
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 99 pages
File Size : 42,9 Mb
Release : 2016-06-16
Category : History
ISBN : 9781472812599

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Spitfire Aces of the Channel Front 1941-43 by Andrew Thomas Pdf

80 years after the Spitfire was first developed it remains an icon of military aviation. Though many associate its victory during the Battle of Britain as the high point in the history of the Spitfire, the years following were of equal importance. Having weathered the initial storm, at the start of 1941 Fighter Command took the fight to the Germans with offensive missions over the Channel. This book reveals how first using the Spitfire I and II, and then following the introduction of the Bf 109 the cannon-armed Spitfire V, RAF squadrons embarked on a range of missions which included one of the most important air battles of the war, over Dieppe on 19 August 1942. Alongside British pilots were squadrons manned by exiled Europeans and pilots from the RAAF, RCAF and RNZAF. In just three years over 100 of these pilots were to rack up ace status in the Spitfire.

Author : Uwe Jens Rudolf,Warren G. Berg
Publisher : Scarecrow Press
Page : 340 pages
File Size : 50,5 Mb
Release : 2010-04-27
Category : History
ISBN : 9780810873902

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Historical Dictionary of Malta by Uwe Jens Rudolf,Warren G. Berg Pdf

This second edition of the Historical Dictionary of Malta compiles the unusually rich and long history of the islands comprising the country of Malta. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-reference dictionary entries describing all of the major places, persons, institutions, and events that have shaped the history of the archipelago.

Author : Brian Cull,Frederick Galea
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 336 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 2016-06-23
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 178155529X

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The Diary of Sonny Ormrod DFC by Brian Cull,Frederick Galea Pdf

Plt Off Oliver Ormrod, better known as 'Sonny' to his RAF compatriots due to his youthful appearance, was just four days past his twentieth birthday when he was killed in action after his Hurricane was shot down. During his brief fighting career at Malta in February to April 1942, he was credited with only two enemy aircraft destroyed, although he shared in the destruction of three others. Ormrod also claimed three 'probables' and at least six damaged. A total of a dozen successes at a time when the Hurricane was completely outclassed by Bf 109Fs of JG53, his bravery and valor were recognized by the award of a DFC. Although extracts from Ormrod's diary have appeared in various publications over the years, the editors/authors now offer the complete story of his brief period of combat in the skies over Malta. He was one of many young lives lost in the effort to safeguard Malta and he was there when only Hurricanes were available to combat the Luftwaffe's onslaught. This is his story...

Author : Angus Mansfield
Publisher : The History Press
Page : 199 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2016-01-07
Category : History
ISBN : 9780750966887

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'I Wish I Had Your Wings' by Angus Mansfield Pdf

In August 1942, British launched Operation Pedestal in an attempt to deliver supplies to the stricken island of Malta, an Allied base which had been under Axis blockade for months. From 9–15 August a convoy of some 50 ships ran the gauntlet of Axis bombers, submarines, E-boats and minefields. Of the original fourteen merchant vessels, only five reached Malta Grand Harbour. In The Spitfire Pilot and the Sea Captain, Angus Mansfield relates the experiences of two men involved in Pedestal, Captain David Macfarlane of MV Melbourne Star and his nephew David Mejor, one of the Spitfire pilots who fought to protect the convoy. Told using their log books, letters and papers, this is the story of one family's contribution to a relief operation that cost over 400 Allied lives, but which has gone down in history as one of the most important British strategic victories of the Second World War.