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Fighter Leaders of the RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF & SAAF in WW2

Author : Phil H. Listemann

Publisher : Philedition

Page : 57 pages

File Size : 27,20 MB

Release : 2015-07-15

Category : History

ISBN : 2918590665

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Book Description

The conduct of a successful air campaign requires a combination of strategy, tactics, capable aircraft, well trained pilots - and good leadership. During WW2, the RAF, Commonwealth (RCAF, RAAF, RNZAF and SAAF) and 'Free European' forces employed almost 250 fighter squadrons throughout the World, from the Aleutians to the South Pacific, throughout Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, India, Burma and the East Indies and East Africa. The RAF's basic tactical formation was the squadron, and this was the first step of independent commanders usually held by a Squadron Leader. The period in command could vary from a matter of days to over a year and so many hundreds of men were appointed as Officers Commanding (OC) of a squadron. As tactics developed and larger formations were used in action, several squadrons would operate in concert and were grouped together as a Wing, led by a Wing Leader. usually of Wing Commander rank. By the mid war years as these Wings became independent mobile formations, the command was given to a Group Captain with leadership in the air held by the Wing Leader, more formally titled as Wing Commander Flying (WingCo). Most were highly decorated, and some were very successful aces but all were highly experienced with a proven record of leadership and ability. The aim of this series is to introduce these men so far as available information allows by giving short biography and describing the operational units that they led during the war. This second volume contains 52 names: W.S. Arthur (Aus), A. Austeen (Nor), E.R. Baker (UK), L.H. Bartlett (UK), R.P. Beamont (UK), R.W. Bungey (Aus), W.M. Churchill (UK), W.G. Clouston (NZ), A.M. Colenbrander (SA), L.F. de Soomer (Bel), H.J. Dowding (Can), B. Drake (UK), M. Duryasz (Pol), J.F. Edwards (Can), J.M. Faure (SA), E.F.M.L. Fayolle (Fr), R.H.M. Gibbes (Aus), D.E. Gillam (UK), H.C. Godefroy (Can), R.K. Hayward (NFL), Z. Henneberg (Pol), E. Holden (UK), E. Horbaczewski (Pol), C.B. Hull (Rho), K.E. James (Aus), S.I. Kellas (Gr), J.R.C. Kilian (NZ), F. Kornicki (Pol), O.L. Kucera (Cz), J.J. Le Roux (SA), R.F.F.G. Malengreau (Bel), J. Manak (Cz), R.L. Mannix (USA), R.D. May (Aus), H.W. McLeod (Can), H.O. Mehre (Nor), H de M. Molson (Can), D.G. Morris (UK), R.L. Morrison (SA), T.F. Neil (UK), J.B.E. Nicolson (UK), H.H. Norsworthy (Can), C.G. Peterson (USA), J. Sample (UK), J.H. Schloesing (Fr), D.H. Seaton (UK), R. van Lierde (Bel), A. Vasatko (Cz), R.G. Watts (NZ), E.P. Wells (NZ), V.J. Wheeler (UK), W.T.F. Wightman (UK).



American Military Leaders

Author : John C. Fredriksen

Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Page : 943 pages

File Size : 24,86 MB

Release : 1999-06-18

Category : History

ISBN : 1576074692

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Book Description

A comprehensive collection of biographies of the most prominent military leaders in American history. American Military Leaders contains over 400 A–Z biographies of individuals such as Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, who ended hundreds of years of tradition by allowing women to serve on Navy ships; and, Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox, whose rules of clandestine warfare are still followed by the U.S. Special Forces. Coverage centers on the outstanding generals, sergeants, fighter aces, militiamen, theorists, doctors, and nurses who make up America's military history. This volume presents their backgrounds, contributions, and significance to America's fortunes in war. This title also cites works for further research, includes a list of leaders organized by their military titles, and a comprehensive index.



Rules & Tools for Leaders

Author : Perry M. Smith

Publisher : Penguin

Page : 258 pages

File Size : 32,80 MB

Release : 2013-08-06

Category : Business & Economics

ISBN : 1101610557

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Book Description

Rules and Tools for Leaders offers insightful and useful advice that avoids the flavor-of-the-month management theories that are long on speculation and short on practical application. This is a fully revised, updated, and reorganized edition of a classic management handbook. It never loses sight of the big picture of how any company should operate. It provides useful and time-tested advice that can be implemented immediately to the benefit of the entire organization. From defining the qualities of outstanding leaders to putting good leadership skills into practice, from managing yourself and others to handling the difficult tests that leadership brings, this book includes valuable checklists and reviews. In addition, it highlights some of the best leadership programs and presents a host of compelling and instructive anecdotes that illustrate the ideas throughout.



From Freedom Fighters to Jihadists

Author : Vera Mironova

Publisher : Oxford University Press

Page : 345 pages

File Size : 14,23 MB

Release : 2019-05-20

Category : Psychology

ISBN : 019093977X

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Book Description

At the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011, thousands of pro-democracy rebel groups spontaneously formed to fight the Assad regime. Years later, the revolution was unrecognizable as rebel opposition forces had merged into three major groups: Jabhat al-Nusra, Ahrar al Sham, and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Why did these three groups rapidly increase in size and military strength while others simply disappeared? What is it about their organizational structure and their Islamist ideology that helped group manage their fighters so successfully? With these questions at the forefront, this book examines the internal organization of armed groups and, in particular, their human resources. Analyzing the growth of these groups through the prism of a labor market theory, this book shows that extreme Islamist groups were able to attract fighters away from more moderate groups because they had better internal organization, took better care of fighters both physically and monetarily, experienced less internal corruption, and effectively used their Islamist ideology to control recruits. With unparalleled access and extensive ethnographic research drawn from her interviews and her year embedded with Iraqi Special Operation forces, Mironova delves deep into the ideological and practical nexus of some of the most radical groups in the Middle East. This book brings together more than 600 survey-interviews with local civilians and fighters on the frontline in Syria and a dataset of human resource policies from 40 armed groups; it is an invaluable resource for anyone who wants insight into the on the ground functioning of rebel organizations.







The Icarus Syndrome

Author : Carl H. Builder

Publisher : Routledge

Page : 294 pages

File Size : 50,34 MB

Release : 2017-07-12

Category : History

ISBN : 1351481290

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Book Description

At the end of the Reagan era, many in the U.S. Air Force began to express their concerns about the health of their institution. They questioned whether the Air Force had lost its sense of direction, its confidence, its values, even its future. For some, these concerns reflected nothing more than the maturation of the most youthful of America's military institutions. For others it was a crisis of spirit that threatened the hard-won independence of the Air Force. Although the diagnoses for this malaise are as numerous as its symptoms, The Icarus Syndrome points a finger at the abandonment of air power theory sometime in the late 1950s to early 1960s as the single, taproot cause of the problems. That provocative diagnosis is followed by an equally provocative prescription the Air Force must follow to regain its institutional health. Author Carl H. Builder begins with an overview of this crisis of values within the Air Force, along with a litany of concerns about what seems to have gone wrong within that institution. The history of the U.S. Air Force, along with the role played in it by air power theory, is explored and is used to support Builder's thesis. The remainder of the book is an analysis of what went wrong and when, how these wrongs might be corrected, and the challenges for Air Force leadership in the future. Now available in paperback, The Icarus Syndrome will be of great interest to U.S. Air Force professionals, military and aviation historians, and institutional psychologists.



Famous Bombers Of The Second World War, Volume One

Author : William Green

Publisher : Pickle Partners Publishing

Page : 395 pages

File Size : 45,79 MB

Release : 2016-03-28

Category : History

ISBN : 1786258706

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Book Description

Originally published in 1959 to much acclaim, William Green’s Famous Bombers Of The Second World War, provides the most accurate and comprehensive view of the bomber aircraft that were used by both the Axis and the Allies. In this first volume, the author covers 18 different aircraft and their variants in their approximate order of introduction to operational service and provides a brief developmental and operational history of each type. Included are: Heinkel HE111, Savoia-Marchetti Sparviero, Boeing Fortress, Junker JU87, Dornier DO17, Vickers Wellington, Junkers JU88, Consolidated Liberator, North American Mitchell, Martin Marauder, De Havilland Mosquito and the Avro Lancaster. Widely regarded as a pioneering ground from author William Green, it is particularly noted for the many excellent illustrations by G.W. Heumann and comprehensive side profiles of major sub-types, this volume also includes a highly detailed 3-view artwork.



Battle of Britain, 1940

Author : Dilip Sarkar

Publisher : Air World

Page : 394 pages

File Size : 38,91 MB

Release : 2020-05-30

Category : History

ISBN : 1526775964

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Book Description

The summer of 1940 remains a pivotal moment in modern British history – still inspiring immense national pride and a global fascination. The Fall of France was catastrophic. Britain stood alone and within range of German air attack. America, with its vast resources was neutral, Hitler’s forces unbeaten, the outlook for Britain bleak. As Britain’s wartime leader, Winston Churchill, rightly predicted, ‘the Battle of Britain is about to begin’. Famously, Churchill mobilized the English language, emboldening the nation with rousing rhetoric. In this darkest of hours, Churchill told the people that this was, in fact, their ‘Finest Hour’, a time of unprecedented courage and defiance which defined the British people. Connecting the crucial battle with Shakespeare’s heroic Henry V and Agincourt, Churchill also immortalized Fighter Command’s young aircrew as the ‘Few’ – to whom so many owed everything. The Few comprised nearly 3,000 aircrew, 544 of which gave their lives during the Battle of Britain’s sixteen weeks of high drama. Arguably, however, the official dates of 10 July – 31 October 1940 are arbitrary, the fighting actually ongoing before and afterwards. Many gave their lives whose names are not included among the Few, as of course did civilians, seamen, and ground staff – which is not overlooked in this groundbreaking book. In this unique study, veteran historian and author Dilip Sarkar explores the individual stories of a wide selection of those who lost their lives during the ‘Finest Hour’, examining their all-too brief lives and sharing these tragic stories – told here, in full, for the first time. Also included is the story of a German fighter pilot, indicating the breadth of investigation involved. Researched with the full cooperation of the families concerned, this work is a crucial contribution to the Battle of Britain’s bibliography.



Spitfire Pilot Air Commodore Geoffrey Stephenson

Author : John Shields

Publisher : Air World

Page : 354 pages

File Size : 36,15 MB

Release : 2024-11-30

Category : Biography & Autobiography

ISBN : 103610544X

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Book Description

Under cloudless blue skies, the Oakwood Cemetery Annex in Montgomery, Alabama hosts the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in the United States. Most of the graves contain young RAF trainee pilots killed during their flying training at nearby Maxwell and Gunter airfields during the Second World War. However, there is another grave, located at the edge of the plot, not from the early 1940s but, from 1954. The grave marks the final resting place of a 44-year-old senior RAF officer, Air Commodore Geoffrey Stephenson CBE. It begs the questions who was he and why is he buried there? This book sets out to answer both these questions. As a result, this is the remarkable story of not only Stephenson’s life but the people, planes and places that would leave an indelible mark on a seasoned fighter pilot. After growing up in Lincolnshire and Ireland, 18-year-old Stephenson joined the RAF in 1928 alongside Douglas Bader who would become a life-long friend. After leaving Cranwell, the pair both joined 23 Squadron. In the 1930s, Stephenson rose through the ranks to command 19 Squadron, a Duxford-based Spitfire unit, that would see his baptism of fire over Dunkirk in late May 1940. Following the downing of a Junkers Ju 87 Stuka, Stephenson was himself shot down and crash landed on the beach at Sangatte. After a brief period on the run in France and Belgium, Stephenson was taken into captivity, spending the next five years as a prisoner of war, ending up at the iconic Colditz Castle where, ironically, he was reunited with his old friend Bader. Upon his release in April 1945, Stephenson quickly resumed his RAF career commanding, instructing, and flying the latest jet fighters, both at home and overseas. He was aide-de-camp to two monarchs, including escorting a young Queen Elizabeth II during her 1953 Coronation Review. However, his already eventful career would take a tragic turn. In 1954, Stephenson flew to the United States to review their latest acquisitions, which included a flight in the supersonic F-100 Super Sabre. It would be his last flight. Nevertheless, Stephenson’s legacy lives on at his former base at Duxford in the guise of the Imperial War Museum’s immaculately restored Spitfire Mk.I N3200. This was the very aircraft in which he force-landed on 26 May 1940. Recovered from the French beach, N3200 was painstakingly rebuilt and returned to flying condition. Today, N3200 is often referred to as a ‘National Treasure’. This is the biography of a remarkable pilot, husband and father, revealing the planes he flew, the places he visited, and the incredible people he met along the way.