The Spitfire Smiths

Author : Rod Smith,Christopher Shores
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
Page : 356 pages
File Size : 51,6 Mb
Release : 2008-09-22
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781908117557

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The Spitfire Smiths by Rod Smith,Christopher Shores Pdf

A posthumous autobiography, culled from a partial manuscript and notes, by Canada’s World War II fighter ace and his equally heroic brother. In late 2001 Rod Smith died tragically at his own hand, leaving behind a part-written autobiography and many notes. His friend, the historian Christopher Shores, took on the task of seeking to complete the story as nearly as possible to how he believed Rod had wished it to be. Rod and his brother Jerry both became Spitfire pilots during World War II, leaving their home in Canada only to find themselves—purely by chance—serving together in the defense of Malta during 1942. Jerry had already gained some fame as the first pilot ever to land a Spitfire on an aircraft carrier. Both showed immediate promise as fighter pilots, but by the end of that year Jerry was dead—last seen chasing a German bomber out to sea—while Rod had become an “ace” and would receive the D.F.C. Two years later, serving as a squadron commander in Western Europe, he claimed six Messerschmitts down within a single week, and was involved in the shooting down of the first German jet aircraft to fall to British Commonwealth fighters. He ended the war as one of Canada’s highest scoring aces, with more than 13 victories to his credit. After the war, he qualified as both an aeronautical engineer and a barrister. His untimely death was a great loss not only to his family and friends, but to the wider world of aviation history as well. This book, containing many diary entries from each of the brothers, is a testament to them.

Author : Rod Smith
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 2008
Category : Fighter pilots
ISBN : 1906502110

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The Spitfire Smiths by Rod Smith Pdf

Warfare and defence.

Author : Duncan Smith,W. G. G. Duncan Smith
Publisher : John Murray Pubs Limited
Page : 235 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 2004-07-05
Category : History
ISBN : 0719554845

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Spitfire Into Battle by Duncan Smith,W. G. G. Duncan Smith Pdf

Group Captain Duncan Smith flew and fought in front-line operations continuously from the Battle of Britain through the struggle for Malta, the invasion of Italy and the liberation of France. This account presents his dramatic story of the air war from the cockpit of the now legendary spitfire. As a pre-war RAFVR pilot Duncan Smith completed his training during the first year of war. From contact with pilots seasoned over France and in the Battle of Britain, 'Smithy', as he was popularly known, became convinced that effective air fighting required a combination of strong leadership and teamwork. This is the thrilling account if his experiences, flying in formation and solo, written with an immediacy that places the reader in the cockpit along with him.

Author : Mike Roussel,Eric Brown
Publisher : The History Press
Page : 446 pages
File Size : 48,9 Mb
Release : 2013-03-01
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780752492407

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Spitfire's Forgotten Designer by Mike Roussel,Eric Brown Pdf

The Supermarine Spitfire was a classic design, well known for its efforts in defending British shores during the Second World War. However, while Reginald Mitchell is rightly celebrated for his original design of the Spitfire, the role of Joe Smith in the development of the Spitfire is often overlooked. Smith was an integral member of the design team from the earliest days, and on Mitchell’s death in 1937 he was appointed design office manager before becoming chief designer. Smith’s dedicated leadership in the development of the Spitfire during the war, as well as his efforts on post-war jet aircraft, deserve their place in history. Charting the fascinating history of Supermarine from 1913 to 1958, when the company ceased its operations in Southampton, shortly after Joe Smith’s death in 1956, this book tells its story through the eyes of apprentices and many other members of Smith’s team. Marvellous photographs add to the sense of what it was like to work under Joe Smith at the drawing boards of one of Britain’s most famous wartime aviation manufacturers.

Author : Parke F Smith
Publisher : Little Star
Page : 334 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2020-11-19
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1732391580

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Spitfire by Parke F Smith Pdf

In a voice both timeless and distinctly greatest generational, Parke F. Smith writes about being the last US pilot accepted into the ranks of the RAF via their training exchange program at War Eagle Field, Los Angeles. After completing their course, he sailed to England on board the HMS Queen Elizabeth, swore allegiance to the King, and was offered a coveted spot training as a fighter pilot. From 1942 to 1946, Smith flew 129 missions in North Africa, Italy, and over the North Sea, before returning home. Amazingly, blessedly, he made it home, unlike so many of his friends and comrades. It is to them he dedicated his writing. Smith's war stories are only the half of it. Smith is skilled at conveying the human connection and camaraderie that forms in war's trenches and skies. He has a way of revealing enduring universal truths through anecdotes made even more humorous from his perspective as a total outsider. Ultimately, Smith's is a story about finding home-no matter how foreign-and fighting for it with all you've got. Not only did Smith love the Spitfire aircraft, his true gift was how he lived his life: fiercely determined and passionate, a real spitfire.

Author : Mike Roussel
Publisher : The History Press
Page : 539 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2013-03-01
Category : Transportation
ISBN : 9780752492407

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Spitfire's Forgotten Designer by Mike Roussel Pdf

The Supermarine Spitfire was a classic design, well known for its efforts in defending British shores during the Second World War. However, while Reginald Mitchell is rightly celebrated for his original design of the Spitfire, the role of Joe Smith in the development of the Spitfire is often overlooked. Smith was an integral member of the design team from the earliest days, and on Mitchell's death in 1937 he was appointed design office manager before becoming chief designer. Smith's dedicated leadership in the development of the Spitfire during the war, as well as his efforts on post-war jet aircraft, deserve their place in history. Charting the fascinating history of Supermarine from 1913 to 1958, when the company ceased its operations in Southampton, shortly after Joe Smith's death in 1956, this book tells its story through the eyes of apprentices and many other members of Smith's team. Marvellous photographs add to the sense of what it was like to work under Joe Smith at the drawing boards of one of Britain's most famous wartime aviation manufacturers.

Author : Jacky Hyams
Publisher : Michael O'Mara Books
Page : 241 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2017-10-19
Category : History
ISBN : 9781782438175

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Spitfire Stories by Jacky Hyams Pdf

Spitfire Stories, published in association with Imperial War Museums, is a fascinating anthology of first-hand stories from Spitfire heroes and heroines of the Second World War. The Spitfire is the world's most iconic aeroplane. Coming into its own during the Battle of Britain, it became famous during the Second World War as the only plane that could match the enemy fighters in the sky. Yet, even today, the history of the Spitfire contains many hitherto hidden or little-known stories of the men and women behind the plane; not only the gifted creators and inventors who brought the Spitfire to life, or the brave fighter pilots from many countries who triumphed in battle, but also the thousands of other people whose lives were affected by their personal connection to it - engineers, ground crew, factory or office workers, and their families. Spitfire Stories recounts the memories and stories of these people, from the birth of the iconic Spitfire in the 1930s to the present day. Among these accounts is the extraordinary tale of the fighter pilot who only discovered, fifty years on, the tragic truth of his last Spitfire flight, the businessman whose blank cheque changed the course of the war, the ninety-five-year-old Royal Air Force engineer who was determined to be reunited with his beloved Spit before he died, and the little girl who inspired the plane's creation - and went on to marry a movie star. Using documents, letters and photographs from the Imperial War Museums' unparalleled archive, plus exclusive first-hand interviews, these stories of the Spitfire are a revelatory collection of small but significant histories, to be treasured by all who love and admire the iconic plane.

Author : Anthony Cooper
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 404 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2013-10-23
Category : History
ISBN : 9781473830073

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Darwin Spitfires by Anthony Cooper Pdf

The Japanese air raids on Darwin on 19 February 1942 are well-known to most Australians, although not perhaps to the rest of the world. What happened afterwards, however, remains unknown to many. This publication attempts to illuminate this little-known period of war history, charting the exploits, losses and successes of the RAF's No 1 Fighter Wing and the contribution they made to the allied war effort. The stalwart Spitfire is celebrated in a narrative that is sure to appeal widely.For almost two years the airspace over North West Australia was routinely penetrated by Japanese raids, tallying about 70 in total. The 1942-43 air raids on Darwin constituted the only sustained and intensive direct assault on Australian mainland territory in the whole of World War II - and the whole history of post- 1788 Australia - yet, surprisingly, most Australians have no idea that it ever happened. And the rest of the world are yet more so in the dark.Telling the story of the RAF'S No 1 Fighter Wing, composed of both Australian and British Spitfire pilots, Darwin Spitfires explores the little known 1943 season of air combat over the top end, recovering important aspects of Australian history. It brings to the attention of the world the heroic exploits of the skilled pilots who did so much to protect Australia and support the Allied effort. This important publication attempts to celebrate and commemorate the spirit of solidarity that characterized the experiences of No 1 Fighter Wing.As featured in Aeroplane Monthly

Author : E. A. W. Smith
Publisher : Ibooks
Page : 254 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2006-05-01
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1596873736

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Spitfire Diary by E. A. W. Smith Pdf

An account of the World War II Allied fighter plane squadron's final year of the war, told from the perspective of a veteran spitfire pilot, describes its air-to-air missions on the front lines after D-Day, from combat experiences to encounters with war-scarred Belgian and Dutch citizens. Reprint.

Author : Paul Beaver
Publisher : Evro Publishing Limited
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 2016-02-15
Category : History
ISBN : 1910505056

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Spitfire People by Paul Beaver Pdf

This book presents a fresh angle on the Spitfire by examining the contribution to its development and achievements by over 65 people - some famous, others not - ranging from politicians to pilots. Published to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, this book presents a fresh angle on the Spitfire by examining the contribution to its development and achievements by over 65 people, some famous, others not. Without the courage and tenacity of some leading political and military figures and the hard work of lesser-known mortals, there would have been no Spitfire, no Battle of Britain and no ultimate victory in 1945. Many people in positions of power played their part in the ultimate success of the Spitfire, but a few staked their reputations on a radical design that brought together the best in British design, technology and ingenuity. This book tells many significant individual stories. - Political people: Sir Winston Churchill (voice in the wilderness and wartime leader), Air Marshal Sir Wilfred Freeman (senior champion of the Spitfire in the Air Ministry), Lord Beaverbrook (Minister for Aircraft Production). - Design and development people: Reginald Mitchell (chief designer 1934–36), Joe Smith (chief designer 1936–47), Jeffrey Quill (test pilot), Ernest Hives (Rolls-Royce experimental head and key player in the design of the Merlin engine), Sir Stanley Hooker (mathematician and Merlin engine developer), the ladies of Vickers Supermarine at Trowbridge (factory workers). - Operational people: James ‘Johnny' Johnson (highest-scoring Spitfire ace), Henry Cozens (first squadron commander), Geoffrey Wellum (youngest Battle of Britain pilot), Douglas Bader (Spitfire wing leader and inspirational disabled pilot). - Experimental people: Tony Martindale (RAE Farnborough test pilot), Eric ‘Winkle' Brown (chief naval test pilot and the first man to land a Seafire on an aircraft carrier). - Heritage people: Ray Hanna (Old Flying Machine company), Carolyn Grace (the only female owner/pilot in the world), Phill O'Dell (chief test pilot at Rolls-Royce and Spitfire display pilot). - Published to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 804 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 1943
Category : Aeronautics
ISBN : UOM:39015080004826

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The Aeroplane by Anonim Pdf

Author : Duncan Smith
Publisher : Reminiscence
Page : 368 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2003-09-01
Category : Fighter pilots
ISBN : 075319824X

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Spitfire Into Battle by Duncan Smith Pdf

WWII memoir. British.

Author : Giles Whittell
Publisher : HarperCollins UK
Page : 34 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2008-09-04
Category : History
ISBN : 9780007287123

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Spitfire Women of World War II by Giles Whittell Pdf

This is the incredible true story of a wartime sisterhood of women pilots: a group of courageous pioneers who took exceptional risks to fly Spitfires, Hurricanes and Lancasters to the frontlines of World War II.

Author : Christopher Smith
Publisher : Amberley Publishing Limited
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 47,8 Mb
Release : 2016-02-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9781445651255

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Supermarine by Christopher Smith Pdf

Explores the fascinating history of Supermarine.

Author : David Gibbings
Publisher : The History Press
Page : 300 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2015-04-06
Category : Transportation
ISBN : 9780750964463

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A Quiet Country Town by David Gibbings Pdf

It has been 100 years since the first airfield was established in the country town of Yeovil. Since 1915, aircraft have been designed, manufactured and tested at Westland, including the Lysander, used to transport British agents to Europe during the Second World War. In 1948 the company focused solely on helicopters and its aircraft have been sent all over the world since then, used in lifesaving with Air Ambulance and Search and Rescue and deployed in warfare such as Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan. To celebrate the centenary of the UK's only major helicopter manufacturer, David Gibbings has collated an anthology of writings that retell Westland's history and its special relationship with Yeovil, which has rarely been quiet since the first aircraft took off from the airfield that now lies at its heart.