Author: Mike Roussel Publisher: The History Press ISBN: 0752492403 Category : Transportation Languages : en Pages : 539
Book Description
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: Leo McKinstry Publisher: Hachette UK ISBN: 1848545037 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 300
Book Description
In June 1940, the German Army had brought the rest of Europe to its knees. 'Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world will move forward into broad, sunlit uplands,' said Churchill. The future of Europe depended on Britain. A self-confident Herman Goring thought that it would be only a matter of weeks before his planes had forced Britain to surrender. The courage, resourcefulness and brilliant organisation of the RAF were to prove him wrong. By late September 1940, the RAF had proved invincible, thanks to the Vickers Supermarine Spitfire. It exceeded anything that any other air force possessed. RJ Mitchell, a shy and almost painfully modest engineer, was the genius behind the Spitfire. On the 5th March 1936, following its successful maiden flight, a legend was born. Prize-winning historian Leo McKinstry's vivid history of the Spitfire brings together a rich cast of characters and first hand testimonies. It is a tale full of drama and heroism, of glory and tragedy, with the main protagonist the remarkable plane that played a crucial role in saving Britain.
Author: Mike Roussel Publisher: The History Press ISBN: 0752492403 Category : Transportation Languages : en Pages : 539
Book Description
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: Jon E. Lewis Publisher: Hachette UK ISBN: 1472107829 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 336
Book Description
A celebration of the machine and the men who took to the skies in defence of Britain. It is also the dramatic illustration of a little understood truth: the Spitfire did more than win the Battle of Britain - it won the war. It was not Stalingrad which turned the corner of the war against Hitler, it was the Spitfire in the summer of 1940 when RAF Fighter Command destroyed the myth of Nazi invincibility. Praise for his previous books: London: The Autobiography: 'Fascinating ... brings the story of London to life' Good Book guide The English Soldier: The Autobiography: 'A triumph' Saul David, author of Victoria's Army 'Harrowing, funny and often unbelievable book.' Daily Express '[A] compelling tommy's eye view of war from Agincourt to Iraq' Daily Telegraph
Author: Richard Dredge Publisher: Crowood ISBN: 1847977049 Category : Transportation Languages : en Pages : 315
Book Description
For a whole generation of car enthusiasts, Triumph was the manufacturer to turn to when buying a sports car. Whether it was a Spitfire or GT6 - or the more costly TR models - this Coventry manufacturer was the sports car king during the twentieth century. Now that these machines are fully fledged classics, nothing has changed. While the Spitfire has the MGB as a formidable adversary, the GT6 is still in a class of its own. Triumph Spitfire and GT6 details the history and development of these classic cars, with specification guides for each of the five Spitfire derivatives and three GT6 models. Topics covered include the development and production of the five Spitfire derivatives from 1962 - 1980, the Spitfire 4, 4 Mk2, Mk3, MkIV and 1500; the GT6 models from 1966-1973, the Mk1, Mk2 and Mk3; the Spitfire and GT6 in motorsport - 24 Hours Le Mans, Alpine Rally and Tour de France, and racing in the US; full buying guide and tips on modifying, with colour and trim options, and details of optional extras available for each model. Also includes an insight into what the press thought of each Spitfire and GT6 derivative, with pages devoted to how the cars were marketed. Superbly illustrated with 291 colour photographs.
Author: Nick Meikle Publisher: Casemate ISBN: 1612002528 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 321
Book Description
This is the story of the pursuit of a dream. Spitfire PK350 is the only late-mark Spitfire, an F Mk 22, to have ever been restored to full flying status. She had no restrictions on her airframe and with four fully serviceable 20mm cannons, she was as good as the day she came off the production line in July 1945 near Birmingham, England. She first flew as a restored aircraft on 29 March 1980 at the hands of one John McVicar Jack Malloch. By then a legend in his adopted country, Rhodesia, Malloch had in 1977 been entrusted by the hierarchy of the Rhodesian Air Force to restore SR64, as she was then known. In two and half years, Jack Malloch and his trusted engineers, with critical help from the Rhodesian and South African air forces, completely restored SR64 to flying condition. The fact that she was fitted with a propeller made by a German company added a sweet irony to a project that had to contend with sanctions imposed by Britain, the original country of manufacture, and highlighted the enterprising spirit of the team. This was possible because Malloch, with the backing of the Rhodesian government, had built up a successful charter airfreight company that assumed different guises, depending on where it was operating, to bypass sanctions. Malloch's network thus facilitated his quest to restore and once again fly a Spitfire such as he had flown in the RAF during the Second World War. Some fascinating insights are revealed in this account. From the test pilot who first flew her as PK350 on 25 July 1945, the reader is taken on a journey through the aircraft's complete life, with the project's lead engineer and most of the surviving pilots who flew her gracing the story with their memories. For two years PK350 delighted those fortunate enough to see her fly, mostly around Salisbury (Harare) airport. Then, on what was planned to be its last flight, Malloch's Spitfire never returned to base.
Author: Christopher Shores Publisher: Grub Street Publishers ISBN: 1910690678 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 682
Book Description
The third volume in the epic military aviation series focuses on the Allied invasion of North Africa during World War II. This work of WWII history takes us to November 1942 to explain the background of the first major Anglo-American venture: Operation Torch, the invasion of French North Africa. Describing the fratricidal combat that followed the initial landings in Morocco and Algeria, it then considers the unsuccessful efforts to reach northern Tunisia before the Germans and Italians could get there to forestall the possibility of an attack from the west on the rear of the Afrika Korps forces, then beginning their retreat from El Alamein. The six months of hard fighting that followed, as the Allies built up the strength of their joint air forces and gradually wrested control of the skies from the Axis, are recounted in detail. The continuing story of the Western Desert Air Force is told, as it advanced from the east to join hands with the units in the west. Also covered are the arrivals over the front of American pilots and crew, the P-38 Lightning, the Spitfire IX, and the B-17 Flying Fortress—and of the much-feared Focke-Wulf Fw 190. The aerial activities over Tunisia became one of the focal turning points of World War II, yet are frequently overlooked by historians. Here, the air-sea activities, the reconnaissance flights, and the growing day and night bomber offensives are examined in detail.
Author: Christopher Shores Publisher: Grub Street Publishing ISBN: 191069097X Category : History Languages : en Pages : 736
Book Description
This second volume in the seminal series on aerial combat, pilots, and tactics in Libya and Egypt in the middle of World War II. In volume two of this series, historian Christopher Shores begins by exploring the 8th Army’s movements after Operation Crusader when they were forced back to the Gazala area in northeastern Libya, as well as their defeat in June, 1942, the loss of Tobruk, and the efforts of Allied air forces to protect their retreating troops. Shores continues with the heavy fighting that followed in the El Alamein region. This features the Western Desert Air Force and the arrival of the first Spitfires. The buildup of both army and air forces and the addition of new commanders on the ground aided the defeat of Rommel’s Deutsche Afrika Korps at Alam el Halfa, after which came the Second Battle of El Alamein. With the arrival of the United States Army Air Force, the Allied air forces gained dominance over the Axis. Shores recounts the lengthy pursuit of the Italo-German forces right across Libya, including the capture of Tripoli and the breakthrough into Southern Tunisia. This allowed a linkup with other Allied forces in Tunisia (whose story appears in Volume 3). Included with the action are stories of some of the great fighter aces of the Desert campaign such as Jochen Marseille and Otto Schulz of the Luftwaffe, Franco Bordoni-Bisleri of the Regia Aeronautica and Neville Duke, Billy Drake, and “Eddie” Edwards of the Commonwealth air forces. Finally, Shores touches on the Allied and Axis night bombing offensives and the activities of the squadrons cooperating with the naval forces in the Mediterranean.
Author: Mike Roussel
Author: Leo McKinstry
Author: Mike Roussel
Author: Jon E. Lewis
Author: Richard Dredge
Author: Nick Meikle
Author: Christopher Shores
Author: Christopher Shores
Author: 
Author: Alfred Price
Author: Bruce Robertson