Author : Edmund Cosgrove
Publisher : Dundurn
Page : 175 pages
File Size : 31,15 MB
Release : 2003-06-01
Category : History
ISBN : 1459711335
Edmund Cosgrove tells of the exploits and adventures of Canadas outstanding pilots and aircrews in the First and Second World Wars.
Author : Wayne Ralph
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 289 pages
File Size : 47,50 MB
Release : 2008-09-11
Category : History
ISBN : 047015814X
A celebration and a tribute to the warriors of the air who as young men served their country with unselfish devotion. Hear their words. Join these young Canadians in combat. AN EXCERPT FROM THE ACCOUNT OF GROUP CAPTAIN RAYNE SCHULTZ, 410 SQUADRON. It was heading home very fast, a Junkers 188, in thin cloud, well out over the North Sea. We hit it badly, and it was flaming, two-three hundred yards [of] flames streaming behind... my navigator, being a serious-minded individual said, "Let's get in closer and take a good look at it, as it is a different type of aircraft and I can report on it when we get down." So I closed in, which was the stupidest thing I ever did.... The mid-upper gunner was not dead; he was sitting inside of the flames. The next thing I saw the gun traversing down toward us. I broke as fast as I could, but he put forty to forty-four 13mm cannon shells into us. I had pistons blown out of one engine and the constant speed unit blown out in the other. We were going to bail out! We jettisoned the door and the navigator was halfway out when the chap came back from the Ground Control Intercept (GCI) and said, "There is a Force 9 to 10 sea and we will never be able [to rescue] you." So we brought that aircraft back to Bradwell Bay and I can tell you it near flew again. My navigator was wounded, bleeding from the face. I could see the engines running red hot, one was actually running on molten metal... the whole thing glowing inside. The air bottles were shot away and I had no brakes for landing. The Mosquito was in ribbons.
Author : Harold Skaarup
Publisher : iUniverse
Page : 168 pages
File Size : 39,76 MB
Release : 2008-05
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0595520715
This book is a collection of "there I was" stories highlighting the experiences of Canadian Forces pilots who have had the opportunity of a lifetime to fly in the combat aircraft operated by former adversaries. Technical descriptions of key Soviet-built fighter jets such as the MiG-15, MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-25, MiG-29, Sukhoi Su-22 and Su-27 are included for general reference. The Canadian Fighter pilots mentioned in the story have generously provided their observations and comments on their specific experiences of flight in aircraft such as the MiG-29 (NATO codenamed Fulcrum), Sukhoi Su-22 (codenamed Fitter) and Su-27 (codenamed Flanker), both in Canada and overseas. The stories as told first hand by the pilots who contributed them should provide interesting reading for aviation enthusiasts of all ages. An Annex listing aircraft known to have been brought to the West by defecting pilots since 1949 is also included. The Annex briefly describes pilots and aircraft and the circumstances that brought the various defectors to the west, including the MiG-15 flown to South Korea by Lieutenant No Kum-Sok and the MiG-25 flown to Japan by Lieutenant Viktor Belenko. Brief details of Soviet-built aircraft later flown in NATO opposition force flight test programs are also included.
Author : Tony Holmes
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 145 pages
File Size : 44,58 MB
Release : 2015-07-31
Category : History
ISBN : 1473835666
American Eagles provides a photographic snapshot of the lives of the American fighter pilots who volunteered their services during World War II, as well as the Spitfires and Hurricanes they flew. Keen to help Britain stem the spread of Fascism, or perhaps seeking adventure in a foreign land, a number of American citizens defied the wishes of their government by crossing the border into Canada and subsequently sailing to Britain to join the Royal Air Force. Some were prewar civilian pilots, others were rich playboys and a few were already serving in the RAF when war was declared. Men such as Don Blakeslee, Billy Fiske, 'Gus' Daymond and Jim Dunn, as well as many other notable pilots are featured in this volume, in photographs that have been carefully sourced from official and private archives across the globe. Each image has a detailed caption, chronicling the wartime exploits of the elite 'band of brothers' known as the American Eagles.
Author : William B. O'Connor
Publisher : Zenith Press
Page : 424 pages
File Size : 38,61 MB
Release : 2012-04-16
Category : Transportation
ISBN : 0760341354
A pilot recounts his experiences flying NATO missions in a F-117 stealth fighter over Kosovo in 1999.
Author : William R. Dunn
Publisher : University Press of Kentucky
Page : 273 pages
File Size : 31,64 MB
Release : 2014-04-23
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0813146097
At the age of twelve, American William R. Dunn decided to become a fighter pilot. In 1939 he joined the Canadian Army and was soon transferred to the Royal Air Force. He was the first pilot in the famous Eagle Squadron of American volunteers to shoot down an enemy aircraft and later became the first American ace of the war. After joining the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1943, he saw action in the Normandy invasion and in Patton's sweep across France. Twenty years later he fought again in Vietnam. Dunn keenly conveys the fighter pilot's experience of war—the tension of combat, the harsh grip of fear, the love of aircraft, the elation of victory, the boisterous comradeship and competition of the pilot brotherhood. Fighter Pilot is both a gripping story and a unique historical document.
Author : David J. Bercuson
Publisher : University of Toronto Press
Page : 233 pages
File Size : 25,6 MB
Release : 2024-10-17
Category : History
ISBN : 1487509383
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) was founded in 1924 as a sort of federal air service, carrying out civilian-type operations for Ottawa. In the Second World War, the RCAF grew to more than 200,000 personnel in overseas squadrons and performed virtually every type of mission, including bombing and hunting submarines. Over the decades since, the RCAF has tried valiantly to carry out its mission of defending Canada, even when starved of funds by the federal government. Today, it is once again on the verge of becoming a modern, well-equipped air force. In Canada’s Air Force, historian David J. Bercuson shares the history of the first one hundred years of the Royal Canadian Air Force, from its inception in 1924 to its centennial in 2024. Drawing on memoirs, diaries, unpublished histories, archival sources, interview transcripts, and standard reference works such as The Bomber Command War Diaries, Bercuson traces the history of the RCAF as not only a fighting force but also a human institution. Canada’s Air Force analyses the first century of the RCAF through the clear-eyed perspective of a Canadian historian who has closely scrutinized one hundred years of the RCAF’s story.
Author :
Publisher : Turner Publishing Company
Page : 162 pages
File Size : 45,63 MB
Release : 1992-03
Category : Fighter pilots
ISBN : 1563110326
Author : Harold A. Skaarup
Publisher : iUniverse
Page : 642 pages
File Size : 21,37 MB
Release : 2009-11-16
Category : History
ISBN : 1440167591
This aviation handbook is designed to be used as a quick reference to the classic military heritage aircraft that have been flown by members of the Canadian Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the present-day Canadian Forces. The interested reader will find useful information and a few technical details on most of the military aircraft that have been in service with active Canadian squadrons both at home and overseas. 100 selected photographs have been included to illustrate a few of the major examples in addition to the serial numbers assigned to Canadian service aircraft. For those who like to actually see the aircraft concerned, aviation museum locations, addresses and contact phone numbers have been included, along with a list of aircraft held in each museums current inventory or on display as gate guardians throughout Canada and overseas. The aircraft presented in this edition are listed alphabetically by manufacturer, number and type. Although many of Canadas heritage warplanes have completely disappeared, a few have been carefully collected, restored and preserved, and some have even been restored to flying condition. This guide-book should help you to find and view Canadas Warplane survivors.
Author : Dan McCaffery
Publisher : James Lorimer & Company
Page : 100 pages
File Size : 45,25 MB
Release : 2000
Category : History
ISBN : 9781550286991
Canadian pilots flew with great distinction in the First and Second World Wars and the Cold War. This book focuses on 24 outstanding warplanes flown in those conflicts by Canadians.
