Book picks similar to
Fighters & Interceptors 1945-1978 by Tony Buttler
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An Officer, Not a Gentleman: The Inspirational Journey of a Pioneering Female Fighter Pilot
Mandy Hickson - 2020
It’s a dream job that takes years of ambition, training and commitment, but for Mandy Hickson, it was a dream that became reality. Find out about Mandy’s incredible journey to become one of the UK’s first female, fast-jet pilots and how she overcame many obstacles to develop the skills to succeed in such a demanding career.
Pathfinder Pioneer: The Memoir of a Lead Bomber Pilot in World War II
Celia Straus - 2016
Like thousands of other young Americans, Ray Brim was plucked by the U.S. Army to be a combat flyer, and was quickly pitted against the hardened veterans of the Luftwaffe. Brim turned out to have a natural knack for flying, however, and was assigned to the select squadron developing lead Pathfinder techniques, while experimenting with radar. He was among the first to test the teeth of the Luftwaffe’s defenses, and once those techniques had been honed, thousands of other bomber crews would follow into the maelstrom, from which 80,000 never returned.This work gives us vivid insights into the genesis of the American air campaign, told with the humor, attention to detail and humility that captures the heart and soul of our “Greatest Generation.” Brim was one of the first Pathfinder pilots to fly both day and night missions leading bomb groups of 600-plus bombers to their targets. At the onset of his missions in the spring of 1943, B-17 crews were given a 50-50 chance of returning. Each of his raids were nerve-wracking forays into the unknown; with struggles to survive the damage to his plane due to flak and German fighter attacks, in order to bring his 10-man crew home, often wounded but still alive.
Fighting the Flying Circus
Eddie Rickenbacker - 1919
The 94th ended the war in France with the highest number of air victories of any American squadron. Captain Rickenbacker later belonged to an association of pilots and Great War air veterans who, in the years immediately following the Second World War, invited many of the new "young" aces from the Pacific and European theaters for informal lectures. These men never lost their keen interest in aviation.
The Jolly Rogers: The Story of Tom Blackburn and Navy Fighting Squadron VF-17
Tom Blackburn - 1988
Navy history. In only 76 days of combat, Blackburn's Jolly Rogers downed a record 154 enemy warplanes, and Blackburn himself emerged as one of VF-17’s leading aces with eleven aerial combat victories to his credit. A complete history of the squadron from its commissioning in January 1943 to its disbanding in April 1944—including a harrowing account of the squadron’s intense, winning campaign against the Japanese over the northern Solomon Islands and Fortress Rabaul—this book offers a fascinating look at Blackburn’s approach to organizing, training, and leading his pilots—thirteen of whom, the author included, became air aces.
Hunters Shooters: An Oral History of the U.S. Navy SEALs in Vietnam
Bill Fawcett - 1995
The U.S. Navy SEALs have long been considered among the finest, most courageous and professional soldiers in American military history– an elite fighting force trained as parachutists, frogmen, demolition experts and guerrilla warriors, and ready for combat on the Sea, Air and Land. Born out of a proud naval tradition dating back to World War II, the first SEAL teams were commissioned in the early 1960s. Vietnam was their proving ground.In this remarkable volume, fifteen former SEALs share their vivid, first–person remembrances of action in Vietnam– brutal, honest and thrilling stories of covert missions and ferocious firefights, of red–hot chopper insertions and extractions, revealing astonishing truths that will only add strength to the SEAL legend.
An Airline Pilot's Life
Chris Manno - 2020
Here's the story: Who didn't want to be a jet pilot as a kid? Yet for most, life gets in the way and charts a different course. But what if? Here's your chance to live the dream, the true story of a childhood passion for airplanes and flight to the rigorous military college that lead to Air Force pilot wings, to years as a USAF pilot in the Pacific and Asia, then into the cockpits of the world's largest airline, and decades as a captain. Live the struggle, the adventures, the flying, the ups and downs of airline crew life from an insider perspective. An airline pilot's life: strap in, hang on--it's a wild ride.
Final Approach
Christopher Hodder-Williams - 2016
John Emerson, brother of the deceased, is suddenly the owner of an international airline. Problem is he doesn’t know much about flying. And the Board is full of people who’d rather he didn’t interfere in things. Funnily enough they felt the same about his brother. As John learns more about the airline, certain discrepancies and irregularities lead him to question his brother’s death. Why are pages missing from the log book? What is the meaning of his brother’s last letter? And did someone know the plane was not fit to fly the day it crashed? Up in the air in Final Approach is death itself. Praise for Christopher Hodder-Williams: ‘original, realistic…combining the elements of science fiction, the straight novel and the thriller’ -
The Guardian
“Mr. Hodder-Williams deliberately keeps his extremely exciting story to the thriller level in a way that makes its moral impact all the greater.” -
Sunday Times
“ … an exciting new form of detective fiction … ” -
Evening News
Christopher Hodder-Williams was an English writer, mainly of science fiction, but he wrote novels about aviation and espionage as well. Before his career in writing, Hodder-Williams joined the army in 1944, and served in the Middle East and lived in Kenya and New York, later settling in the UK. Many of his books are early examples of what would later be called techno-thrillers. He also worked as a composer and lyricist, and wrote numerous plays for television. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.
Flying Fury: Five Years in the Royal Flying Corps
James McCudden - 1918
From September 1916 until his death in July 1918 he shot down fifty-seven German planes. Flying Fury is his remarkable story, written a few months before his last flight, and records in fascinating detail the life of a World War One fighter pilot ace. McCudden’s account provides fascinating insight into the development of aerial warfare. He began his life with the Royal Flying Corps in 1913 as a engine-fitter and records the early flights that were made by the British military. At the outbreak of the First World War he left England for France and by 1915 he was in the sky as an observer and gunner. It was only in 1916 that he began to train as a pilot before he took to the skies and became an exceptional fighter pilot; on one occasion shooting down three enemies in as many minutes. His work records in brilliant detail the confusion of the dogfights, the camaraderie of the men who knew they were putting their lives on the lines, the boredom of being grounded and the thrill taking to the skies. Tragically McCudden’s life was cut short just four months before the end of the war, not during combat with enemy planes, but instead due to engine failure that caused his plane to plunge into the ground below. Flying Fury: Five Years in the Royal Flying Corps is essential reading for anyone interested in finding out more about the development of aerial combat and how one man rose to become one of the most formidable aces of the First World War. With his six British medals and one French, McCudden received more awards for gallantry than any other airman of British nationality serving in the First World War. He was also one of the longest serving. By 1918, in part due to a campaign by the Daily Mail newspaper, McCudden became one of the most famous airmen in the British Isles. He died on 9 July 1918 at the age of twenty-three. His work was posthumously published as Five Years in the Royal Flying Corps in 1919. “His skill and daring speak for themselves. Only the finest courage and an unsurpassed mastery of the art of flying and fighting in the air could account for such a record of unflagging work and incessant victory. His work was as thorough as it was brilliant and his thoroughness was an important cause of his success.” Lord Trenchard, Marshal of the Royal Flying Corps “I am confident that he would agree with me when I say that the secret of his remarkable success lay in the fact that he fought with his head as well as with his great heart.” Sir John Salmond, Chief Air Marshal
Ghost Fleet
D.A. Boulter - 2011
Experts say they are scanner echoes tossed out of the past by the Phenomenon. The rumors and a cryptic entry in an ancestor's diary propel Lieutenant-Commander Mart Britlot of the Confederation navy into the dangerous Sivon sector of space. There, Britlot hopes to find help for the Confederation, now facing a two-front war. As the last living Confederation descendant of the Adian nation, Britlot is obsessed with finding the ghost ships, believed destroyed during a mass emigration 300 years in the past. He dreams of riding to the rescue at the head of the never defeated Adian fleet; he dreams of finding family after the death of all his near relatives at the hands of the Combine. He'll drive his ship and crew beyond endurance to achieve this. The felid Tlartox Empire, eager to avenge their humiliating defeat at the hands of the Confederation, has voted to annul the long-standing peace treaty. The glory of The Hunt beckons. Admiral Tood Tlomega has focused on the human planet Lormar, with its great naval base, as a fitting target for retribution. She will return dignity to the people of Tlar. She will return them to the path that Tlar illuminated so many centuries ago.But a small band of Tlartox subversives intend to rake a claw across the plans of the war-mongers, and give both the Empire and the Confederation something they hadn't counted on.
Sea Harrier Over The Falklands
'Sharkey' Ward - 1992
It is an outspoken account of inter-Service rivalries, and dangerous ignorance among many senior commanders.
An Introduction To Philippine History
José S. Arcilla - 1999
Conceived as "a story to be read, and not a calendar to be memorized," this concise narrative of Philippine history serves as a handy guide for understanding the important highlights of the nation's development.Jose S. Arcilla, S.J., is a member of the department of history at the Ateneo de Manila University and is at present also the archivist of the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus. He finished graduate studies in the United States and in Spain. Farther Arcilla, who has authored "Aspects of Wester Medieval Culture", has published in professioal reviews both in the Philippines and abroad. He is the Philippine coordinator for the editorial staff of the "International Jesuit Encyclopedia" being published by the Institute of Jesuit History (Rome).
The Bright Blue Sky
Max Hennessy - 1982
Dicken Quinney never forgot that first flight in a fragile contraption of sealing-wax and string, the start of a lifelong obsession with aviation. He was to spend the next four years in the deadly cut-and-thrust of aerial dogfights over France and Italy, collecting a chestful of medals, and a reputation as one of the Great War’s leading aces.He would hone his skills in an array of aircraft – the BE2, the 1½-Strutter, the Camel – and as the war reaches its climax, Dicken is maturing into a daring pilot. But then he must undergo one final test in order to emerge victorious. And with his life intact…
The Bright Blue Sky is a love letter to aviation, a brilliant read, perfect for fans of Thomas Wood, Wilbur Smith, and Mark Sullivan.
Battle for the Solomons (Illustrated)
Ira Wolfert - 2019
Wolfert was in the thick of it, facing death alongside the troops, and he reproduces events as they happen in real time, making for a tense, suspenseful read. Wolfert risked his life on several occasions for the sake of authenticity, and survived to write this, one of the most remarkable combat memoirs of World War 2.
Fighter Pilot
Mac 'Serge' Tucker - 2012
Now, for the first time, Serge takes you behind the scenes of the fighter pilot world to reveal what it's really like. Find out how it feels to be shot at by SAS snipers, to be lost in a $50 million jet over Northern Australia with nothing but car lights to guide you home, to rupture your sinuses while flying, to inadvertently bomb a yacht and to face death on an almost daily basis. Relive the adventures of a real-life Top Gun and find out what it takes to become part of this elite force. From the Pentagon to the South China Sea, the deserts of Australia to the wars of the Middle East, this book is as action-packed as it is entertaining. Sit back and strap yourself in for an exhilarating ride to the sound barrier and beyond with Mac Tucker, an Australian fighter pilot and real life Top Gun.
Dawn Patrol (The Victory Trilogy)
Richard Townshend Bickers - 2015
But the pendulum is swinging back in the Germans' favour, with the emergence of a devastating new fighter, the Albatros, and the growing obsolescence of the slower Sopwith Pup and the outgunned Nieuport 17.Three raw pilots have arrived at the Western Front: Anderson, to join the Royal Flying Corps; Fournol, to join l'Aviation Militaire; and Schonborn, to join Die Deutschen Luftstreitkräfte.They are very different men in their background and character. But the impact of air combat and the fate of other pilots is about to change all of them. While in their private, romantic lives, they about to experience both happiness and misery.But they all have the war in common.How men and machines adjust to the pressures of swiftly changing demands is absorbingly recounted against a historically accurate backcloth of the contemporary events in the campaign on the ground: culminating in the badly planned Battle of Arras, in which tanks went into action for the first time.This novel bears all the popular Richard Townsend Bickers hallmarks of technical accuracy, factual authenticity, acute characterisation, profound knowledge of air fighting, humour and good prose.Dawn Patrol was previously published as Dawn Readiness and is the first book in The Victory Trilogy saga. Praise for Richard Townshend Bickers ‘A thrilling page turner,’ - Tom Kasey, bestselling author of The Trade Off Richard Townshend Bickers volunteered for the RAF on the outbreak of the second world war and served, with a Permanent Commission, for eighteen years. He wrote a range of military fiction and non-fiction books, including Torpedo Attack, My Enemy Came Nigh and Summer of No SurrenderEndeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7