[PDF] Fighters Over Malta eBook

Author : Brian Cull
Publisher :
Page : pages
File Size : 22,4 MB
Release : 2017-12-14
Category :
ISBN : 9781781556634

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Brian Cull's definitive Fighters over Malta: Gladiators and Hurricanes 1940-1942 is a highly detailed account of the gallant band of RAF and Commonwealth pilots who flew Gladiators and Hurricanes in defense of Malta between June 1940 and April 1942, when help in the guise of Spitfires finally arrived. Most of the Hurricanes which held this tiny outpost of the British Empire in the heart of Axis-dominated territory had been flown from the decks of aircraft carriers or from bases in North Africa, while a handful of fighter pilots arrived by Sunderland flying boats or other aircraft in transit from the UK via Gibraltar. Many of these pilots were inexperienced and quickly paid the supreme price, particularly when the Messerschmitt pilots of the elite 7/JG26 arrived in Sicily in early 1941, and later in the year when more from JG53 made their presence felt. A number of important personal diaries and journals have come to light, and these have been widely quoted to provide the atmospheric background, the thoughts and the hopes of some of the Hurricane pilots who defended Malta. Not all of the diarists survived, but their impressions provide a fitting tribute to their courage, aspirations and fears. Much of the early period of the air defense of Malta is enhanced by the personal experiences of Flt Lt (then Sgt Plt) James Pickering AFC, who flew Hurricanes with 261 Squadron.

Author : Brian Cull
Publisher : Fonthill Media
Page : 495 pages
File Size : 46,64 MB
Release : 2018-08-17
Category : History
ISBN :

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All known combat claims and lossesMany personal accounts and memories of the battleIllustrated with new and rarely seen photographs Brian Cull and Frederick Galea’s definitive Fighters over Malta: Gladiators and Hurricanes 1940-1942 is a highly-detailed account of the gallant band of RAF and Commonwealth pilots who flew in defence of Malta between June 1940 and April 1942, when help in the guise of Spitfires finally arrived. Most of the Hurricanes, which held this tiny outpost of the British Empire in the heart of Axis-dominated territory, had been flown from the decks of aircraft carriers or from bases in North Africa, while a handful of fighter pilots arrived by Sunderland flying boats or other aircraft in transit from the UK via Gibraltar. Many of these pilots were inexperienced and quickly paid the supreme price, particularly when Messerschmitt Bf 109 pilots of the elite 7/JG26 arrived in Sicily in early 1941, and later in the year when JG53 made their presence felt. Important personal diaries and journals have come to light, and these have been widely quoted to provide the atmospheric background and thoughts and hopes of Hurricane pilots who defended Malta. Not all diarists survived, but their impressions provide a fitting tribute to their courage, aspirations and fears. Much of the early period of the air defence of Malta is enhanced by the personal experiences of Flt Lt (then Sgt Plt) James Pickering AFC, who flew Hurricanes with 261 Squadron.

Author : James Douglas-Hamilton
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
Page : 237 pages
File Size : 24,44 MB
Release : 2007-01-31
Category : History
ISBN : 178159788X

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This book provides an intriguing and realistic account of the struggle for the possession of Malta during World War II. The air battle raged for two and a half years during which time 14,000 tons of bombs were dropped on a defiant population.The history is based on the diaries of Lord David Douglas-Hamilton, the author's uncle, who was the leader of a Spitfire squadron that defended the island during the worst of the crisis.

Author : Anthony Rogers
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
Page : 310 pages
File Size : 46,79 MB
Release : 2017-04-30
Category : History
ISBN : 178438190X

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In the Second World War, Malta was besieged for nearly two and a half years, during which time a decisive air war was waged between Britain, Italy and Germany.This is part of that story, from the early days in June 1940, when only a few Gladiator biplanes were available to combat Italian bombers and fighters, to the intervention of the Luftwaffe and the tenuous defense by outclassed Hurricanes, culminating in the desperate months of fighting following the arrival on Malta of the Spitfire in March 1942.What became of the many aircraft destroyed over the Maltese Islands, and what was the fate of their pilots and crews?More than a thousand aircraft were lost. Many crashed into the Mediterranean; others came down on Malta and the neighboring island of Gozo. This book focuses on the latter some 200 British, Italian and German machines, and the fate of their pilots and crews. It reveals where those airplanes fell, thus providing a record that will continue to be valued by future generations.This comprehensive volume documents all known aircraft crash sites in and around the Maltese Islands and provides the circumstances of each loss are related in detail with accounts from both sides.In Germany especially there are many still unaware of the fate of family members who never returned after the Second World War. This book reveals what happened to some who even today are still officially listed as missing.

Author : George Beurling
Publisher : Grub Street Publishers
Page : 147 pages
File Size : 24,13 MB
Release : 2011-07-14
Category : History
ISBN : 1909166294

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An aviator’s true story of WWII air combat, including two dramatic weeks in the skies above the besieged island of Malta. Twenty-five thousand feet above Malta—that is where the Spitfires intercepted the Messerschmitts, Macchis, and Reggianes as they swept eastward in their droves, screening the big Junkers with their bomb loads as they pummeled the island beneath: the most bombed patch of ground in the world. One of those Spitfire pilots was George Beurling, nicknamed “Screwball,” who in fourteen flying days destroyed twenty-seven German and Italian aircraft and damaged many more. Hailing from Canada, Beurling finally made it to Malta in the summer of 1942 after hard training and combat across the Channel. Malta Spitfire tells his story and that of the gallant Spitfire squadron, 249, which day after day ascended to the “top of the hill” to meet the enemy against overwhelming odds. With this memoir, readers experience the sensation of being in the cockpit with him, climbing to meet the planes driving in from Sicily, diving down through the fighter screen at the bombers, dodging the bullets coming out of the sun, or whipping up under the belly of an Me for a deflection shot at the engine. This is war without sentiment or romance, told in terms of human courage, skill, and heroism—a classic of WWII military aviation.

Author : Great Britain. Ministry of Information
Publisher :
Page : 310 pages
File Size : 26,19 MB
Release : 1944
Category : Gran Bretagna
ISBN :

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Beskriver RAF luftoperationer over Malta under 2. verdenskrig

Author : Brian Cull
Publisher :
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 32,21 MB
Release : 2017-06-19
Category : Malta
ISBN : 9781781555545

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Many otherwise average fighter pilots came of age in the skies of Malta--an area dubbed 'a fighter pilot's paradise'. There was seldom a shortage of targets as the Luftwaffe endeavoured to flatten the defences and destroy the small air force, in which task it failed, but only narrowly. 249 Squadron was at the forefront of the fighting for two years.

Author : R. Leslie Oliver
Publisher : Pickle Partners Publishing
Page : 278 pages
File Size : 48,98 MB
Release : 2016-07-26
Category : History
ISBN : 178720006X

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In this detailed eye-witness account the author describes the realities of the fighting over and around Malta during World War II, up to and including 21 March 1942, when Malta became the subject of more heavy attacks. Written under the incessant bombardments that the small island was subjected to, R. Leslie Oliver records the unfailing courage of the defenders of the George Cross Island.

Author : Anthony Rogers
Publisher : Spellmount, Limited Publishers
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 17,76 MB
Release : 2016-06-06
Category : World War, 1939-1945
ISBN : 9780750966108

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A unique contemporary account of the epic air battle of Malta as related by fighter pilots of No. 185 Squadron, among them Flight Lieutenant H.W. 'Chubby' Eliot, Sergeant Garth E. Horricks and Sergeant J.W. 'Slim' Yarra.For nearly eighteen months the squadron saw continual action, finally helping to win the air war over Malta before taking the fight to the enemy by bombing and strafing targets in support of Allied ground forces during the Italian campaign.From the first day of squadron operations on 1 May 1941 until the squadron was disbanded on 14 August 1945 pilots recorded events in an unofficial squadron diary. Supplemented with rare combat and intelligence reports, 185: The Malta Squadron is a humorous and often poignant account, with explanatory notes by Anthony Rogers that provide a clear and authoritative overview of events.