Tag: aviation history

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Bomber Command to Royal Command: A Lancaster Pilot’s Journey from Bomber Raids to Civil Aviation Pioneer

Coming soon from Air World is From Bomber Command to Royal Command: A Lancaster Pilot’s Autobiography: Thousand Bomber Raid’s to Civil Aviation Trailblazer, which tells the story of Albert “Johnny” Meagher from his service flying dozens of missions over Germany through introducing the Bristol Britannia airliner into BOAC service and flying royalty.

Though he was in a reserved occupation, Albert Meagher, known to everyone as ‘Johnny’, volunteered for training as a pilot and was called up in July 1941. He duly completed his training as an RAF bomber pilot and joined the Avro Lancaster-equipped 61 Squadron in June 1942.

Johnny’s first operational sortie – an attack on Bremen – came on the 25th of the month. During the next six weeks Meahger’s crew attacked eleven more cities including Frankfurt, Munich, Kiel and the industrial targets in the Ruhr. On 16 January 1943, Bomber Command attacked Berlin, and for the raid the prominent American NBC reporter, Stan Richardson, was assigned to Meagher’s crew. After 34 sorties over Germany, it might be thought that Squadron Leader Meagher would have sought a less precarious posting. But nothing was further from his mind. Instead, he flew another 20 missions before finally leaving the frontline to become an instructor. Continue reading Bomber Command to Royal Command: A Lancaster Pilot’s Journey from Bomber Raids to Civil Aviation Pioneer

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Tidal Wave: Highly Anticipated Saga of Courage and Survival in WW2 Now Available

Now available from NYT Bestselling author Adam Makos and Ballantine Books is Tidal Wave: The Pilots, the Princess, and the Enemy Ace – A True Story of Courage and Survival in WWII.

It’s summer 1943, and the world is on fire. Lieutenant Ernie Poulson, a twenty-two-year-old outdoorsman from Utah, finds himself at the controls of America’s most advanced bomber, the B-24, brought to North Africa for a top-secret mission. On the far side of Europe, Lieutenant Constantin Cantacuzino, Romania’s most daring ace, duels Soviet fighters on the Eastern Front while searching for purpose in an unwinnable war.

In Nazi-aligned Romania, Princess Catherine Caradja walks a perilous line between loyalty to her country and quiet defiance, as German forces dig in around the oil refineries in her backyard. And in the royal palace, twenty-one-year-old King Michael of Romania—mocked and sidelined by a Nazi-backed dictator—quietly plots to seize his nation’s destiny before it is lost forever. Continue reading Tidal Wave: Highly Anticipated Saga of Courage and Survival in WW2 Now Available

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“Enemy Engaged” Explores the RAF’s Aerial Offensive from the Blitz to Dieppe

Coming soon from Air World and author Dilip Amin is Enemy Engaged’: The Story of the Battle of Britain Bunker as The RAF Goes on the Offensive from the Blitz to the Dieppe Raid, which details Fighter Command’s transition from defense to offense as an integrated air defense system as well as nocturnal battles, high-stakes raids, and coordinated operations over occupied Europe and Dieppe.

‘Enemy Engaged’ follows the men and women of the RAF’s Fighter Command, fresh from victory in the Battle of Britain, as it begins to adapt from a defensive stance to one of a more offensive nature. Central to the story is the world’s first integrated air defence and control system, as well as Fighter Command’s Operations Rooms and Sector Stations, particularly that of No.11 Group at Uxbridge. In doing so, Dilip Amin weaves a tapestry of individual accounts and official documents to cover a backcloth of military and political upheaval.

Following on from the author’s ‘Enemy Sighted’ (Product Page), the journey continues beyond ‘Battle of Britain Day’ as the RAF duelled for air supremacy over Southern England to prevent Britain from being invaded. Then, as the bombers turn on London, Dilip transports the reader to the period known as the Blitz, as Fighter Command rises to meet the nocturnal assault. Read accounts from those at Uxbridge who witnessed the bombing and the night fighter pilots hunting the raiders in the night sky. Then, using source material, the author sets out Fighter Command’s policy of ‘Leaning towards France’ as it takes the fight to the enemy over Occupied Europe. Continue reading “Enemy Engaged” Explores the RAF’s Aerial Offensive from the Blitz to Dieppe

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Catalina Flying Boat Captain: A Pilot’s War from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean

Coming soon from Air World and author Denis Saunders is Catalina Flying Boat Captain: A Pilot’s War from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. The book is a survivor’s wartime voyage, chronicling long, perilous Catalina flights / missions, and steadfast leadership amid oceanic dangers and relentless duty.

Aged 21, Bruce Daymond enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in 1941. He had joined to serve the British Empire, as it then was, knowing he would serve thousands of miles from Australia.

Sixteen days into my flying training, Bruce went solo for the first time. Having trained as pilot and navigator under the Empire Air Training Scheme, in both Australia and Canada, he went on to serve in the RAF throughout the Second World War. As a pilot of a Consolidated Catalina flying boat, he flew with a number of Coastal Command units, namely Nos. 209, 357, 628, and 240 squadrons. Throughout his service, Bruce maintained a huge, detailed, candid, and personal daily diary; it is that which forms the basis of this insightful account of one flying boat captain’s service. The result is a revealing account of one man’s dedication to service and leadership, endurance of hundreds of hours of monotonous flying interspersed with periods of terror and courage in the face of great danger. Continue reading Catalina Flying Boat Captain: A Pilot’s War from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean

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Spitfires over Tokyo: Commonwealth Air Forces in Japan 1945–1948

Coming soon from Fonthill and author Simon Gifford is Spitfires over Tokyo: Commonwealth Air Forces in Japan 1945–1948.

In the spring of 1946, the Royal Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Indian Air Force and Royal New Zealand Air Force dispatched aircraft and men to form the air element of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force of Japan. Equipped with Spitfire XIVs, P51D Mustangs and FG-1D Corsairs, seven squadrons of fighter aircraft spent the next two years backing up the American forces in the successful disarmament of Japan and the country’s transition to a democratic nation. Supporting the fighters were RAF, RAAF, RNZAF Dakotas, which flew numerous sorties linking the forces in Japan to Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. Other aircraft flown in Japan included Austers, Ansons, Harvards and Wirraways.

Spitfires over Tokyo: Commonwealth Air Forces in Japan 1945–1948 traces the formation of the occupation force, including the formation of the Spitfire squadrons in India, through their helping liberate Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong, and on to their final disbandment in Japan and the end of occupation duties in 1948. Profusely illustrated with photos of all of the aircraft flown in Japan, the majority of which have not been published previously, the book offers an illuminating window on a little-known area of post-war aviation history.

The 264 page, hardcover book is currently available for pre-order with release set for January 30, 2027.

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Scanning the Skies: Radar Research and Development Flying 1935-1977

Coming soon from Crecy Publishing and author Dennis Williams is Scanning the Skies: Radar Research and Development Flying 1935-1977

This book offers a detailed overview of a complex yet fascinating aspect of British aviation history, about which comparatively little has been published. The early development of radar in Britain culminated in the successful introduction of ground-based radar, which played a crucial role during the Battle of Britain. This was followed by the considerable challenges of designing airborne systems that had to be compact, lightweight, and energy-efficient. The widespread use of radar and other electronic systems (including countermeasures) made a significant contribution to the major operations of RAF Coastal Command in the North Atlantic and Bomber Command over Europe; these aspects are covered in detail. During the Cold War, development priorities included navigation and guidance systems for the V-bombers and guided missile projects. Equally important as the scientific advances were the aircraft on which these technologies were tested. A large part of the book is devoted to the aircraft types used in British radar research and development over five decades, from the modifications required for this specialized task and the airfields used to operate them to the operational procedures. The development of aircraft, on the one hand, and the radar and other electronic systems tested on them, on the other, combine to form a coherent history of aviation in the service of scientific research. The account essentially follows a chronological sequence and illustrates how the rapid development of airframes and engines, as well as the advances in electronics and later in computer technology, went hand in hand throughout the entire period under consideration.

The hardcover book is currently available for pre-order with release set for October 31.

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Wrecks & Relics 30th Edition: The Indispensable Guide to Britain’s Aviation Heritage

Coming soon from Crecy Publishing and author David Willis is Wrecks & Relics 30th Edition: The indispensable guide to Britain’s aviation heritage, A comprehensive, illustrated guide that chronicles more than 700 locations and 4,000 aircraft across the British Isles, detailing histories, current statuses, and where to explore preserving aviation heritage.

Wrecks & Relics remains the only publication required to discover the incredible aeronautical treasures found across the UK and Ireland. It provides a trusted, comprehensive rundown of museums and collections and their exhibits – static or flying – together with workshops, military ‘gate guardians’, stored and instructional airframes etc. It also reveals redundant and even derelict airframes being used for the most unlikely of purposes, including ‘glamping’ and at paint-ball sites.

Each edition of Wrecks & Relics is profusely illustrated with both colour and black and white photographs and is fully indexed making easy the task of where to go over the weekend, or where to find an extant example of a favourite aircraft type. Whether it travels in the car or sits on the bookshelf, this new and fully revised edition of this classic publication will continue to be the most useful and accurate companion to the aviation heritage of the British Isles, which will be referred to again and again.

The 392 page, hardcover book is currently available for pre-order with release set for August 26.

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The Observer Corps: The Hidden Defenders Tracking Enemy Aircraft in Britain’s Skies

Soon to be released by Helion and Company and author Kevin Wright is Skywatch Volume 1: A History of the Royal Observer Corps, 1925 to 1939.

During World War One, London was vulnerable to air attacks by Zeppelins and later German bombers. To defend the capital, the London Air Defence Area was created to coordinate the efforts to protect it. However, after 1918, the system was quickly abandoned.

In the early 1920s, the Committee for Imperial Defence began to reconsider the problem. In 1924, the first experiment was conducted to monitor and report the movement of aircraft overland by using small groups of aircraft observers reporting to a central point. This successful experiment led to the creation of the Observer Corps in 1925 under the control of Police Chief Constables.

Originally intended to cover just the South East of England to protect London, as the threat from resurgent Nazi Germany grew, the Corps was gradually expanded to cover nearly the whole of Gt Britain by the start of the War. Now transferred to the control of the Air Ministry, Observer Corps Groups became a key part of Fighter Commands integrated air defence system, unique in that it was the only means to track the movement of aircraft once they crossed the coast and headed inland.

Using a combination of new research and access to official files, Volume One of Skywatch charts the development of the Observer Corps from its origins, the very beginnings, formation and growth through the 1920s. It critically examines how, in the rush to prepare for War in the late 1930s, the Observer Corps began to ready itself for War and its unique role, monitoring the skies of Britain.

The 76 page publication is currently available for pre-order in paperback format. Release is slated for April 30.

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WW2 Rocket Interceptors Detailed With Immaculate Tech Drawings, Full Performance Specs

Coming soon from Fonthill Media and author Justo Miranda is Rocket Interceptors 1941–1947:

During its short life, the rocket interceptor, a concept that reached maturity towards the end of the Second World War, attracted the attention of top scientists, designers and aeronautical engineers in Germany, the USSR, the United States and Japan. It was universally agreed that an interceptor capable of flying 300 mph faster than any other aircraft would give the wielding power untouchable aerial superiority. However, this new technology was unable to adapt to the realities of war.

The complexity of the propulsion system and the need to develop new aerodynamic concepts were challenges too great for the aeronautical industries of the major powers at the time, which specialized in the mass construction of piston fighters. Nor were fighter pilots able to adapt to the high-G combat conditions that came with achieving speeds of nearly 900 mph; it was simply not possible for them to aim and fire.

In 280 immaculate technical drawings, each set within its historical context and with full performance specifications, Rocket Interceptors 1941–1947 presents 125 project, prototype and combat rocket-powered aircraft developed by Germany, the United States, the USSR and Japan in the 1940s, though initial development for some can be traced as far back as the 1920s. This is the last word on a technology that, had it been properly harnessed, might have changed the course of the Second World War.

The 288 page, hardcover book is currently available for pre-order with release set for May 30.

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The Harrowing Experiences of Doolittle Raid Pilot Donald Smith Told in New Book

Set for release later this year from Pen & Sword and author Geert Rottiers is Doolittle Raid Pilot: The Story of Captain Donald Smith, Survivor of the Bombing of Tokyo in 1942.

Donald Gregory Smith’s early years were shaped by trauma. He was 5 years old when his mother died, following which he was placed in an orphanage by his father. Despite this background, in 1940, Donald earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of South Dakota. After graduation, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the infantry, but his passion led him to a career in aviation. By March 1941, through sheer determination and discipline Smith had completed his flight training and became a pilot in the Army Air Corps. In 1942, he was selected for a top-secret mission led by Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle: a surprise bombing raid on Japan in retaliation for Pearl Harbor. The story follows Smith during his embarkation aboard the USS Hornet, alongside fifteen other B-25 Mitchell crews. During training, he successfully lifted off after only eighty-seven meters – the shortest take-off of all the Raiders. On 18 April 1942, the day of the infamous Doolittle Raid, Donald’s crew bombed industrial targets in Kobe with precision. During the subsequent diversionary flight to China, his aircraft was attacked by Japanese fighters, but Smith managed to evade them over the Sea of Japan. A shortage of fuel forced Smith to execute a perfect belly landing on water in the East China Sea before getting ashore. With the help of Chinese villagers, Smith and his crew evaded advancing Japanese patrols and eventually returned home. After returning to the United States, Smith was reassigned to the 319th Bomb Group. In November 1942, he flew a B-26 Marauder to Europe as part of a ferry operation. A few weeks later, during a transfer flight from RAF Attlebridge in Norfolk to St. Eval in Cornwall, his aircraft crashed in bad weather. Smith was killed.

The 256 page, hardcover book is currently available for pre-order with release scheduled for September 30.

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