[PDF] Spitfire Wingman From Tennessee eBook

Author : James Haun
Publisher : Col. James R. Haun
Page : 627 pages
File Size : 44,39 MB
Release : 2011-03-16
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0979000246

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E-Book Edition of SPITFIRE WINGMAN FROM TENNESSEE, which is the autobiography of a self-taught aviator who flew virtually every military aircraft (except jets) during the years 1939 to 1960. Col. Jim Haun, 1911-2001, with unusual honesty and wit, allows a "back door glimpse" into the USAF at the highest levels of command, including the Presidential Air Fleet in Washington, D.C. He flew fighters in WWII, transports in India, the Berlin Airlift, Japan and the Far East - eventually becoming Chief Pilot of the Military Air Transport Service. After retirement he built a stunt biplance in his garage and wowed audiences with "death-defying" performances. Col. Haun concurrently taught hundreds to fly, many later becoming airline captains and one, even became an instructor in the supersonic Blackbird.

Author : Clinton mhic Aonghais
Publisher : Trafford Publishing
Page : 497 pages
File Size : 30,98 MB
Release : 2015-06-08
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 1490756515

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The true account of the life of 485 New Zealand Spitfire Squadron sergeant pilot from South Auckland, who in the words of fellow WW2 fighter pilot Johnnie Houlton,, was a happy-go-lucky type, with a gift for getting himself into trouble without even trying. In the words of another friend and pilot, Max Collett, he was as mad as a March hare...! As an average young colonial lad exemplifying exuberance in youth, the author's namesake, Clinton McInnes, would challenge his father in stepping up to the challenges and hardships of the war, and ultimately life itself ...... He would achieve his aspiration and dream of flying for his hoped for squadron, along with finally being awarded Pilot Officer status. In living his young life to the full he would discover friendship and his love in family, to leave his mark for posterity. In so doing he would unwittingly prove Pilot Officer Prune's contention that apples, if they were our genes, do not fall far from their tree.

Author : Andrei Cherny
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 612 pages
File Size : 17,35 MB
Release : 2008-04-17
Category : History
ISBN : 1440635951

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In the tradition of the great narrative storytellers, Andrei Cherny recounts the exhilarating saga of the unlikely men who made the Berlin Airlift one of the great military and humanitarian successes of American history. “What an exciting, inspiring, and wonderfully-written book this is....Each page has lessons for today, and it is also a thrilling narrative to read.”—Walter Isaacson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Steve Jobs The Candy Bombers is a remarkable story with profound implications for our own time. Cherny tells the tale of the ill-assorted group of castoffs and secondstringers who not only saved millions of desperate people from a dire threat, but also won the hearts of America’s defeated enemies, inspired people around the world to believe in America’s fundamental goodness, avoided World War III, and won the greatest battle of the Cold War without firing a shot. With newly unclassified documents, unpublished letters and diaries, and fresh primary interviews, The Candy Bombers takes readers along as American pilots, with only a few small rickety planes, manage to feed and supply West Berlin completely by air for nearly a year; as Harry Truman exploits the very real threat of war to win an upset reelection campaign; as America’s first secretary of defense descends into madness in the midst of a dangerous military crisis; and as a lovesick American pilot shows that acts of basic human kindness can send powerful ripples through the course of history.

Author : Norman Franks
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
Page : 277 pages
File Size : 38,6 MB
Release : 2003-07-19
Category : History
ISBN : 1909808776

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The author of Another Kind of Courage takes a deep dive into the World War II heroics of the pilots and aircrew of the single-engined amphibian airplanes. This book covers the adventures of 283, 284, 293 and 294 Walrus Squadrons, operating from North Africa, Sicily, Italy and Sardinia. The pilots, like their counterparts in England, knew of the dangers of landing on the sea. It was a daunting task attempting to rescue downed airmen as they had often to operate in bad weather, and near hostile coasts. Airmen who were bobbing about in dinghies, or even just in their Mae West life jackets, were difficult to locate. Rescues from the cold sea needed to be speedy affairs, especially of those survivors not in dinghies, and the Walrus aircrew were always aware that time was of the essence. Moreover, rescues near a hostile shore often resulted in gunfire from German or Italian gunners. Many Walrus pilots have added personal recollections to the narrative and so too have some of those airmen who were rescued. As well as RAF and SAAF airmen, there were numerous USAAF units involved in the air war over the Mediterranean and Italy, and Norman has been in contact with several Americans whose lives were saved by these gallant men who flew the Walrus amphibian single-engined biplane. Men who knew only too well that to pick up more than two or three airmen generally meant a hard sea-borne taxi ride back to base, which conditions never guaranteed. The stories of these rescues give one a sense of sincere pride in the men who daily risked their lives to save others from a very hostile environment.

Author : Middle Tennessee WWII Fighter Pilots Association
Publisher : McGraw Hill Professional
Page : 346 pages
File Size : 39,1 MB
Release : 1998
Category : Fighter pilots
ISBN : 9780070016491

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From bailouts to belly landings, flaming cockpits to lurching carrier decks, here are the heoic tales of pilots from all backgrounds, united by a desire to fight their country's enemy to the finish. Drawn from a small corner of Tennessee, these men flew in all theatres of combat, in every front-line fighter aircraft. They soared to victory in the air--and fled from capture on the ground. This is a memorable anthhology of combat tales with great appeal both for veterans and historians.