Download Free The Wellington Bomber Story Book in PDF and EPUB Free Download. You can read online The Wellington Bomber Story and write the review.

The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber, universally known as the ‘Wimpy’. The only bomber in construction throughout the Second World War, the Wellington played a pivotal role in training and combat from its conception in the 1930s, through active service in the Far Eastern, Mediterranean and German arenas of conflict, until its final use by the RAF in 1953.This book follows the fascinating story of the much-loved and innovatively designed Wellington throughout its life, including many tales from the aircraft’s years with Bomber Command. Illustrated with a wide selection of images, both colour and black and white, this book is a fitting tribute to a wonderful servant of the RAF.
Draws not just on official documentation but relies greatly on personal accounts and anecdotes from the veterans who were there, both air and ground crew.
The Vickers Wellington was one of very few aircraft types to have been in production and frontline service throughout World War II, and more than 10,000 Wellingtons were built in the period. They took part in the first RAF bombing mission of the conflict when, on 4 September 1939, 14 examples from Nos 9 and 149 Sqns undertook a daring daylight attack on the Kiel Canal. However, after suffering high losses on follow-up raids, Wellingtons were withdrawn from daytime missions and began to operate at night from May 1940. They subsequently took part in raids against the Italian port city of Genoa in July 1940, and against Berlin the following month, followed by key missions in the 'Battle of the Barges' in September and October, as the RAF targeted the Germany's invasion fleet being assembled in French Channel ports. When RAF's strike force expanded the next year following the introduction of the improved Wellington II, the 21 squadrons equipped with the Vickers aircraft, which included Polish-, Canadian- and Australian-manned units, formed the backbone of the Bomber Command night bombing force. Over the next two years Wellingtons participated in all the major operations by Bomber Command, including the daylight raid against German battleships in Brest harbour in July 1942 and the first three 'Thousand Bomber' raids in the summer of 1942. This illustrated study explores the design, development, and deployment of the Vickers-Wellington type, charting its role in World War II from its earliest missions to its use in training after its withdrawal from frontline bomber missions in 1943. The text is supported by stunning full-colour artwork.
The Wellington Bomber was omnipresent during the Second World War, employed in a variety of contexts in the fight against the Axis powers. The pilots who flew this aircraft did so with an immense amount of pride, and there is perhaps no-one better placed to tell the story of this incredible aircraft than these men. Martin Bowman has drawn together a selection of first-hand pilot testimonies in an effort to record authentically the experience of flying the much-mythologised Wellington during one of the most challenging eras of aviation history. The book is supplemented by two plate sections of stirring black and white images.
The role of Bomber Command in World War II has been hotly debated over the years. Whatever one may think about the effectiveness and morality of the overall strategy, it is difficult to question the commitment of the individual airmen. Bomber Command suffered the greatest loss per capita of all the Allied forces, experiencing a 63 per cent casualty rate. At one point during the war a navigator could expect to survive fewer than 12 bombing operations. Duty With Honour is the story of one young navigator who served in the Royal Canadian Air Force, from 1940-1945. Flight Lieutenant Lindsay Reynolds completed a tour of operations in the Middle East and returned home in 1943 to instruct in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Canada. This is the story of the impact of his experiences in a time of war, on the life he lived when World War II was over. It is a story of one mans commitment to duty with honour.
Sir Arthur Harris - Bomber Harris - remains the target of criticism and vilification by many, while others believe the contribution he and his men made to victory is grossly undervalued. He led the men of Bomber Command in the face of appalling casualties, had fierce disagreements with higher authority and enjoyed a complicated relationship with Winston Churchill. Written soon after the close of World War 2, this collection of Sir Arthur Harris's memoirs reveals the man behind the Allied bombing offensive that culminated in the destruction of the Nazi war machine but also many beautiful cities, including Dresden.
A classic Australian war novel, inspired by the author's experiences as an airgunner in the Second World War. This new, revised and annotated edition includes chapters never before published, a fascinating biography of John Bede Cusack by his daughter, Kerry McCouat, and an informative introduction by editor Robert Brokenmouth.
They were the best of enemies – dedicated, skilled and deadly. In the night skies above wartime Germany an RAF navigator-air bomber from New Zealand and a Luftwaffe pilot seek out their targets, testing the gap between success and their own destruction as they cross each other's paths. The odds are heavily against either of them making it through the war, but as this sobering realisation displaces their initial exuberant sense of adventure, both come to see in their youthful sacrifice the survival of all they hold dear. UNDER A BOMBER'S MOON reaches across the divide of years, of geography, of nationality, to tell their story largely in their own words – describing both the breathtaking clashes in the air and the camaraderie, humour, patriotism and personal tragedies that became their war. Stephen Harris began his journey of discovery because he wanted to know the truth of his great-uncle Colwyn Jones's fate. With Col's vividly written letters and diary as a starting-point, he set out to discover what really happened on the night Col's extraordinary luck ran out. Little did he know that his quest would lead him to a meeting with a former Luftwaffe pilot who was pitted against his great-uncle in the skies over Germany. Otto-Heinrich Fries proved to be both engaging and articulate, eventually allowing Harris to tell his story in this book. The result is a unique and personal account of two highly successful airmen from opposing sides.
The story of two RAF fliers interned in Ireland during World War II.
"The sacrifice of Canadian soldiers in the Second World War was staggering. Over the course of the conflict, more than one million Canadians served in the Canadian Army, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Canadian Airforce, and in forces across the British Commonwealth, including the Royal Airforce. More than 44,000 Canadians were killed in the war, and more than 54,000 were left wounded. In Four Who Dared, author and historian Ken Cothliff lifts four Canadian volunteer pilots out of obscurity, highlighting their personal stories and acts of heroism. The four pilots in this book were unknown to each other, but they are forever united in their quest to serve their country and its allies in an unprecedented hour of need. Reg Lane joined British Bomber Command relatively early in the War, rising from NCO pilot to become a Master Bomber with the elite Pathfinder Force. Jim Moffat ended his flying combat career after twelve operations, becoming a Resistance fighter on the European mainland. Steve Puskas's comprehensive diaries and unpublished writings provide extraordinary insight into his training as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, an experience familiar to many Commonwealth and British aircrew. Bill Gracie, a Scot who had immigrated to Canada as a boy, was keen to take up the fight when the war began, with the sole aim of becoming aircrew. Sadly, he was one of the over ten thousand Canadian Bomber Command aircrew who never returned home. Equal parts riveting and humbling, Four Who Dared is a must-read for anyone interested in delving into the lives and sacrifices of our unsung Canadian heroes."--