The Glider Gang

The Glider Gang

Author: Milton Dank

Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson

Published: 1978

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 9780304300143

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Describes the glider missions in European airborne operations during World War II and the exploits of the pilots who participated in them


Book Synopsis The Glider Gang by : Milton Dank

Download or read book The Glider Gang written by Milton Dank and published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. This book was released on 1978 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Describes the glider missions in European airborne operations during World War II and the exploits of the pilots who participated in them


Glider Gang

Glider Gang

Author: Outlet

Publisher:

Published: 1988-12-01

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9780517383933

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Book Synopsis Glider Gang by : Outlet

Download or read book Glider Gang written by Outlet and published by . This book was released on 1988-12-01 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:


Gliders of World War II: ‘The Bastards No One Wanted’

Gliders of World War II: ‘The Bastards No One Wanted’

Author: Major Michael H. Manion

Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing

Published: 2015-11-06

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 1786250683

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This study examines the role of combat gliders in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States during World War II (WWII). This thesis compares and contrasts each country with respect to pre-WWII glider experience, glider and airborne doctrine, glider pilot training, and glider production while outlining each country’s major glider operations. The author then compares the glider operations in the China-Burma-India Theater to the operations in Europe to describe the unique challenges based on the terrain and mission. Next, this thesis presents an analysis of the glider’s precipitous decline following WWII. The study concludes with recommendations for glider operations in the future based on the experiences of the past.


Book Synopsis Gliders of World War II: ‘The Bastards No One Wanted’ by : Major Michael H. Manion

Download or read book Gliders of World War II: ‘The Bastards No One Wanted’ written by Major Michael H. Manion and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-06 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study examines the role of combat gliders in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States during World War II (WWII). This thesis compares and contrasts each country with respect to pre-WWII glider experience, glider and airborne doctrine, glider pilot training, and glider production while outlining each country’s major glider operations. The author then compares the glider operations in the China-Burma-India Theater to the operations in Europe to describe the unique challenges based on the terrain and mission. Next, this thesis presents an analysis of the glider’s precipitous decline following WWII. The study concludes with recommendations for glider operations in the future based on the experiences of the past.


Bunker Hill to Bastogne

Bunker Hill to Bastogne

Author: Briton Cooper Busch

Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 435

ISBN-13: 1612342736

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America's curiosity about elite military units is greater than ever in today's crisis-ridden world. And while numerous books have examined the various elite forces, Bunker Hill to Bastogne goes much further to show the relationship between these special units and the societies that gave birth to them. Though America in general has often regarded its military establishment as an unfortunate necessity, elite formations have nearly always emerged in moments of crisis. And while their exploits have fostered the cherished image of the individualistic but loyal rifleman-ranger, these legends have not always corresponded to reality. America's roster of heroic images has long included esteemed elite units, running the gamut from Roger's Rangers at Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolution to Berdan's Sharpshooters during the Civil War and the paratroopers of Normandy in World War II. But despite Americans' reverent regard for, and patriotic depiction of, elite units, they initially distrusted the idea of a standing army given such abuses as the quartering of soldiers in citizens' homes. Indeed, the egalitarian American spirit caused the Founding Fathers to discourage a class of emperor-making military elites. And yet, elite units did emerge during every major American conflict. But the evolution of such forces has taken place in fits and starts, with units often demobilizing after a particular crisis had passed. Only since World War II have elite units become a consistently relied-upon arm of the military for dealing with constantly erupting global crises. Bunker Hill to Bastogne is a unique and timely chronicle of the birth and evolution of elite forces and the American public's reactions to them. It shows that despite Americans' wariness of a possible military elite, their love of the fabled rifleman-ranger has seldom dwindled, though in the twenty-first century their hero might wear a green beret rather than a coonskin cap.


Book Synopsis Bunker Hill to Bastogne by : Briton Cooper Busch

Download or read book Bunker Hill to Bastogne written by Briton Cooper Busch and published by Potomac Books, Inc.. This book was released on 2006 with total page 435 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: America's curiosity about elite military units is greater than ever in today's crisis-ridden world. And while numerous books have examined the various elite forces, Bunker Hill to Bastogne goes much further to show the relationship between these special units and the societies that gave birth to them. Though America in general has often regarded its military establishment as an unfortunate necessity, elite formations have nearly always emerged in moments of crisis. And while their exploits have fostered the cherished image of the individualistic but loyal rifleman-ranger, these legends have not always corresponded to reality. America's roster of heroic images has long included esteemed elite units, running the gamut from Roger's Rangers at Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolution to Berdan's Sharpshooters during the Civil War and the paratroopers of Normandy in World War II. But despite Americans' reverent regard for, and patriotic depiction of, elite units, they initially distrusted the idea of a standing army given such abuses as the quartering of soldiers in citizens' homes. Indeed, the egalitarian American spirit caused the Founding Fathers to discourage a class of emperor-making military elites. And yet, elite units did emerge during every major American conflict. But the evolution of such forces has taken place in fits and starts, with units often demobilizing after a particular crisis had passed. Only since World War II have elite units become a consistently relied-upon arm of the military for dealing with constantly erupting global crises. Bunker Hill to Bastogne is a unique and timely chronicle of the birth and evolution of elite forces and the American public's reactions to them. It shows that despite Americans' wariness of a possible military elite, their love of the fabled rifleman-ranger has seldom dwindled, though in the twenty-first century their hero might wear a green beret rather than a coonskin cap.


History of the Glider Pilot Regiment

History of the Glider Pilot Regiment

Author: Claude Smith

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2014-01-09

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 147381507X

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The untold story of this tiny, little-known British Army regiment and the daring men who piloted engineless aircraft to WWII’s major battlefields. The Glider Pilot Regiment, having been raised as the first element of the new Army Air Corps in 1942 and disbanded in 1957, can probably claim the dubious distinction of having been the smallest and shortest-lived regiment ever to form part of the British Army. Nevertheless, in those few years the regiment gained as much distinction as it has taken other units hundreds of years to achieve. Yet, strangely enough, the story of these heroic men who piloted their flimsy gliders to most of the important battlefields of the Second World War has never before been told. It is indeed a remarkable story, and no one is better qualified to tell it than Claude Smith, who himself served with the regiment and took part in the invasion of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and later in the ill-fated landing at Arnhem, where he was taken prisoner. Smith tells the story of these supremely brave men factually and dispassionately, but it is impossible to read this book without being moved by their courage. As General Sir John Hackett says in his foreword: “Those who went to battle in gliders and above all those who got them there, the Glider Pilots, deserve our enduring esteem.” Includes maps and illustrations


Book Synopsis History of the Glider Pilot Regiment by : Claude Smith

Download or read book History of the Glider Pilot Regiment written by Claude Smith and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-01-09 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The untold story of this tiny, little-known British Army regiment and the daring men who piloted engineless aircraft to WWII’s major battlefields. The Glider Pilot Regiment, having been raised as the first element of the new Army Air Corps in 1942 and disbanded in 1957, can probably claim the dubious distinction of having been the smallest and shortest-lived regiment ever to form part of the British Army. Nevertheless, in those few years the regiment gained as much distinction as it has taken other units hundreds of years to achieve. Yet, strangely enough, the story of these heroic men who piloted their flimsy gliders to most of the important battlefields of the Second World War has never before been told. It is indeed a remarkable story, and no one is better qualified to tell it than Claude Smith, who himself served with the regiment and took part in the invasion of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and later in the ill-fated landing at Arnhem, where he was taken prisoner. Smith tells the story of these supremely brave men factually and dispassionately, but it is impossible to read this book without being moved by their courage. As General Sir John Hackett says in his foreword: “Those who went to battle in gliders and above all those who got them there, the Glider Pilots, deserve our enduring esteem.” Includes maps and illustrations


Going for Broke

Going for Broke

Author: James M. McCaffrey

Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press

Published: 2013-04-30

Total Pages: 478

ISBN-13: 0806189088

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When Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Americans reacted with revulsion and horror. In the patriotic war fever that followed, thousands of volunteers—including Japanese Americans—rushed to military recruitment centers. Except for those in the Hawaii National Guard, who made up the 100th Infantry Battalion, the U.S. Army initially turned Japanese American prospects away. Then, as a result of anti-Japanese fearmongering on the West Coast, more than 100,000 Americans of Japanese descent were sent to confinement in inland “relocation centers.” Most were natural-born citizens, their only “crime” their ethnicity. After the army eventually decided it would admit the second-generation Japanese American (Nisei) volunteers, it complemented the 100th Infantry Battalion by creating the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. This mostly Japanese American unit consisted of soldiers drafted before Pearl Harbor, volunteers from Hawaii, and even recruits from the relocation centers. In Going for Broke, historian James M. McCaffrey traces these men’s experiences in World War II, from training to some of the deadliest combat in Europe. Weaving together the voices of numerous soldiers, McCaffrey tells of the men’s frustrations and achievements on the U.S. mainland and abroad. Training in Mississippi, the recruits from Hawaii and the mainland have their first encounter with southern-style black-white segregation. Once in action, they helped push the Germans out of Italy and France. The 442nd would go on to become one of the most highly decorated units in the U.S. Army. McCaffrey’s account makes clear that like other American soldiers in World War II, the Nisei relied on their personal determination, social values, and training to “go for broke”—to bet everything, even their lives. Ultimately, their bravery and patriotism in the face of prejudice advanced racial harmony and opportunities for Japanese Americans after the war.


Book Synopsis Going for Broke by : James M. McCaffrey

Download or read book Going for Broke written by James M. McCaffrey and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2013-04-30 with total page 478 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Americans reacted with revulsion and horror. In the patriotic war fever that followed, thousands of volunteers—including Japanese Americans—rushed to military recruitment centers. Except for those in the Hawaii National Guard, who made up the 100th Infantry Battalion, the U.S. Army initially turned Japanese American prospects away. Then, as a result of anti-Japanese fearmongering on the West Coast, more than 100,000 Americans of Japanese descent were sent to confinement in inland “relocation centers.” Most were natural-born citizens, their only “crime” their ethnicity. After the army eventually decided it would admit the second-generation Japanese American (Nisei) volunteers, it complemented the 100th Infantry Battalion by creating the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. This mostly Japanese American unit consisted of soldiers drafted before Pearl Harbor, volunteers from Hawaii, and even recruits from the relocation centers. In Going for Broke, historian James M. McCaffrey traces these men’s experiences in World War II, from training to some of the deadliest combat in Europe. Weaving together the voices of numerous soldiers, McCaffrey tells of the men’s frustrations and achievements on the U.S. mainland and abroad. Training in Mississippi, the recruits from Hawaii and the mainland have their first encounter with southern-style black-white segregation. Once in action, they helped push the Germans out of Italy and France. The 442nd would go on to become one of the most highly decorated units in the U.S. Army. McCaffrey’s account makes clear that like other American soldiers in World War II, the Nisei relied on their personal determination, social values, and training to “go for broke”—to bet everything, even their lives. Ultimately, their bravery and patriotism in the face of prejudice advanced racial harmony and opportunities for Japanese Americans after the war.


Four Hours of Fury

Four Hours of Fury

Author: James M. Fenelon

Publisher: Scribner

Published: 2020-05-12

Total Pages: 448

ISBN-13: 1501179381

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“Compellingly chronicles one of the least studied great episodes of World War II with power and authority…A riveting read” (Donald L. Miller, New York Times bestselling author of Masters of the Air) about World War II’s largest airborne operation—one that dropped 17,000 Allied paratroopers deep into the heart of Nazi Germany. On the morning of March 24, 1945, more than two thousand Allied aircraft droned through a cloudless sky toward Germany. Escorted by swarms of darting fighters, the armada of transport planes carried 17,000 troops to be dropped, via parachute and glider, on the far banks of the Rhine River. Four hours later, after what was the war’s largest airdrop, all major objectives had been seized. The invasion smashed Germany’s last line of defense and gutted Hitler’s war machine; the war in Europe ended less than two months later. Four Hours of Fury follows the 17th Airborne Division as they prepare for Operation Varsity, a campaign that would rival Normandy in scale and become one of the most successful and important of the war. Even as the Third Reich began to implode, it was vital for Allied troops to have direct access into Germany to guarantee victory—the 17th Airborne secured that bridgehead over the River Rhine. And yet their story has until now been relegated to history’s footnotes. In this viscerally exciting account, paratrooper-turned-historian James Fenelon “details every aspect of the American 17th Airborne Division’s role in Operation Varsity...inspired” (The Wall Street Journal). Reminiscent of A Bridge Too Far and Masters of the Air, Four Hours of Fury does for the 17th Airborne what Band of Brothers did for the 101st. It is a captivating, action-packed tale of heroism and triumph spotlighting one of World War II’s most under-chronicled and dangerous operations.


Book Synopsis Four Hours of Fury by : James M. Fenelon

Download or read book Four Hours of Fury written by James M. Fenelon and published by Scribner. This book was released on 2020-05-12 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Compellingly chronicles one of the least studied great episodes of World War II with power and authority…A riveting read” (Donald L. Miller, New York Times bestselling author of Masters of the Air) about World War II’s largest airborne operation—one that dropped 17,000 Allied paratroopers deep into the heart of Nazi Germany. On the morning of March 24, 1945, more than two thousand Allied aircraft droned through a cloudless sky toward Germany. Escorted by swarms of darting fighters, the armada of transport planes carried 17,000 troops to be dropped, via parachute and glider, on the far banks of the Rhine River. Four hours later, after what was the war’s largest airdrop, all major objectives had been seized. The invasion smashed Germany’s last line of defense and gutted Hitler’s war machine; the war in Europe ended less than two months later. Four Hours of Fury follows the 17th Airborne Division as they prepare for Operation Varsity, a campaign that would rival Normandy in scale and become one of the most successful and important of the war. Even as the Third Reich began to implode, it was vital for Allied troops to have direct access into Germany to guarantee victory—the 17th Airborne secured that bridgehead over the River Rhine. And yet their story has until now been relegated to history’s footnotes. In this viscerally exciting account, paratrooper-turned-historian James Fenelon “details every aspect of the American 17th Airborne Division’s role in Operation Varsity...inspired” (The Wall Street Journal). Reminiscent of A Bridge Too Far and Masters of the Air, Four Hours of Fury does for the 17th Airborne what Band of Brothers did for the 101st. It is a captivating, action-packed tale of heroism and triumph spotlighting one of World War II’s most under-chronicled and dangerous operations.


Wings, Wasp, & Warriors

Wings, Wasp, & Warriors

Author: Travis Monday

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 1411658833

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True stories for aviation history buffs. Topics include WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots); National WWII WASP Museum in Sweetwater; RAF (Royal Air Force) in Texas; Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas; P-47 Fighter Pilot Otto Carter and "The Sweetwater Swatter"; Pioneer Museum in Sweetwater; C-47 Crash and Memorial in Nolan Co., Texas; Charles Lindbergh in the Pacific in World War II; Military Gliders in World War II, including story of Combat Glider Pilot George Theis in Operation Varsity; South Plains Army Air Field; Silent Wings Museum in Lubbock, Texas; 348th Fighter Group; 340th Fighter Squadron (Minutemen); 460th Fighter Squadron (Black Rams); B-24 flight instructor A. N. Densmore; WASP flight instructor, Rigdon Edwards; Neel Kearby; Bill Dunham; and others. Also includes many historic photos and original artwork by Scott Morgan, Michael Vincent, and Otto Carter, III.


Book Synopsis Wings, Wasp, & Warriors by : Travis Monday

Download or read book Wings, Wasp, & Warriors written by Travis Monday and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2005 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: True stories for aviation history buffs. Topics include WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots); National WWII WASP Museum in Sweetwater; RAF (Royal Air Force) in Texas; Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas; P-47 Fighter Pilot Otto Carter and "The Sweetwater Swatter"; Pioneer Museum in Sweetwater; C-47 Crash and Memorial in Nolan Co., Texas; Charles Lindbergh in the Pacific in World War II; Military Gliders in World War II, including story of Combat Glider Pilot George Theis in Operation Varsity; South Plains Army Air Field; Silent Wings Museum in Lubbock, Texas; 348th Fighter Group; 340th Fighter Squadron (Minutemen); 460th Fighter Squadron (Black Rams); B-24 flight instructor A. N. Densmore; WASP flight instructor, Rigdon Edwards; Neel Kearby; Bill Dunham; and others. Also includes many historic photos and original artwork by Scott Morgan, Michael Vincent, and Otto Carter, III.


World War II Glider Assault Tactics

World War II Glider Assault Tactics

Author: Gordon L. Rottman

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2014-03-20

Total Pages: 66

ISBN-13: 1782007741

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Military gliders came of age in World War II, when glider assault infantry were the forerunners of today's helicopter-delivered airmobile troops. From the light pre-war sports and training machines, several nations developed troop-carrying gliders capable of getting a whole squad or more of infantry, with heavy weapons, onto the ground quickly, with the equipment that paratroopers simply could not carry. They made up at least one-third of the strength of US, British, and German airborne divisions in major battles, and they also carried out several daring coup de main raids and spearhead operations. However, the dangers were extreme, the techniques were difficult, the losses were heavy (particularly during night operations), and the day of the glider assault was relatively brief. This book explains the development and organization of glider troops, their mounts, and the air squadrons formed to tow them, the steep and costly learning-curve and the tactics that such troops learned to employ once they arrived on the battlefield.


Book Synopsis World War II Glider Assault Tactics by : Gordon L. Rottman

Download or read book World War II Glider Assault Tactics written by Gordon L. Rottman and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2014-03-20 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Military gliders came of age in World War II, when glider assault infantry were the forerunners of today's helicopter-delivered airmobile troops. From the light pre-war sports and training machines, several nations developed troop-carrying gliders capable of getting a whole squad or more of infantry, with heavy weapons, onto the ground quickly, with the equipment that paratroopers simply could not carry. They made up at least one-third of the strength of US, British, and German airborne divisions in major battles, and they also carried out several daring coup de main raids and spearhead operations. However, the dangers were extreme, the techniques were difficult, the losses were heavy (particularly during night operations), and the day of the glider assault was relatively brief. This book explains the development and organization of glider troops, their mounts, and the air squadrons formed to tow them, the steep and costly learning-curve and the tactics that such troops learned to employ once they arrived on the battlefield.


Infantry

Infantry

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 1976

Total Pages: 1344

ISBN-13:

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Book Synopsis Infantry by :

Download or read book Infantry written by and published by . This book was released on 1976 with total page 1344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: