Spanish Republican Aces

Download or read book Spanish Republican Aces written by Rafael A López Permuy and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-03-20 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first book published in English to focus exclusively on the exploits of the fighter aces of the Aviación Militar in their fight against the elite pilots of the better armed Nationalist force. At the start of the Spanish Civil War, most young fighter pilot officers joined the rebels, while the high ranking officers, grupo or escuadrilla commanders, and the NCOs, sergeants and corporals remained loyal to the government. Mostly flying the obsolete Nieuport Ni.52s these loyalists were soon outpaced by the more modern Fiat CR.32s and Heinkel He 51s. However, at this early stage of the war, there were several Republican airmen who became aces and famous in the process, despite the small numbers of enemy aircraft shot down. Widely speaking, the Republican military aviation did not keep an exhaustive record of individual shooting claims. However, sufficient documentation exists to make a reasonable assumption as to which pilots fall into the ace category. This volume details the exploits of those pilots, ideal for fans of previous works in the Osprey Aircraft of the Aces series on Nationalist CR.32 Aces and Polikarpov I-15, I-16 and I-152 Aces.

Download or read book Fiat CR.32 Aces of the Spanish Civil War written by Alfredo Logoluso and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-02-20 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An operational history of the most successful fighter plane of the Spanish Civil War, and the aces that flew it. The CR.32 Falco was a handsome and highly manoeuvrable biplane fighter. During General Franco's fight with the Republicans for the control of Spain from 1936 – 39, no fewer than 477 CR.32s were involved, with an astounding 709 confirmed aerial victories, and an additional 320 kills claimed, for just 62 losses. As these statistics reveal, the CR.32 was the unrivalled master of the skies over Spain. By the war's end, the five leading aces of the conflict were all Spanish CR.32 pilots. Their exploits, and those of the other leading CR.32 aces, are examined for the first time in English in this exciting volume.

Download or read book Five Down, No Glory written by Richard Kenneth Smith and published by Naval Inst Press. This book was released on 2011 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An in-depth biography of the top American ace under contract with Spain during the Spanish Civil War that recounts his rise from a teen enlisted seaman to a top fighter pilot and published author who socialized with Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn.

Download or read book Aces of the Legion Condor written by Robert Forsyth and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-01-20 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story of the 29 fighter pilot aces of the Legion Condor who became aces flying Messerschmitt Bf 109 C-Es, Heinkel He 51s, Henschel Hs 123s, Arado Ar 68 E-1s and Heinkel He 112s during the Spanish Civil War. For Germany, the Spanish Civil War proved a perfect testing ground for new technologies and tactics. During the war, some 19,000 German 'volunteers' formed an aviation group called the Legion Condor in support of the fascists. Originally flying He-51s, they were soon upgraded to 109s. These fighters proved dominant in the Spanish skies, and many members of the legion scored five or more kills during the fighting. This compact, illustrated volume tells the story of the first German aces and charts the evolution of aerial tactics kick-started by this 'baptism of fire'.

Download or read book Polikarpov I-15, I-16 and I-153 Aces written by Mikhail Maslov and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-02-20 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the heat of Spain to the frozen wastelands of Finland, this book reveals the combat stories of the pilots who flew the Polikarpov fighters from 1936 until the end of World War II. The I-15, I-16 and I-153 fighters were the world's first mass-produced fighters. Some 17,000 Polikarpovs had been manufactured by the time production ceased in 1941. They served with the Republicans in the Spain, the Chinese against Japan in 1937–38, and the Soviets against both Japan in the Nomonhan Incident and Finland during the Winter War. By 1941, more than 20 Soviet pilots had made ace in Polikarpovs, and many more attained that status during the first months of the German invasion. Though thoroughly outclassed, this book shows how the Polikarpov was the backbone of the Soviet air force during the early months of the war in the east, and continued to serve, as training aircraft and as frontline fighters, some right through to 1945.

Download or read book Some Still Live written by F. G. Tinker and published by . This book was released on 2023-02-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Frank G. Tinker Jr was a freelance US pilot who signed up with the Republican forces in Spain because he didn't like Mussolini. He was also attracted by the prospect of adventure and a generous pay cheque. Once over in Spain he took on the bombers and fighter pilots lent to the Fascist rebels by Hitler and Mussolini, who used the Spanish Civil War as a practice ground for the mass bombing of civilian populations. Tinker chalked up the largest number of acknowledged kills with a total of 8 Junkers, Fiats and Messerschmitts. When he returned to the US he was unable to rejoin the Armed Forces and, depressed by Franco's victory, he was found in a hotel room in June 1939 with an empty bottle of whisky and a bullet in his head. This is his account of his experiences in Spain.

Download or read book The German Aces Speak written by Colin D. Heaton and published by Zenith Press. This book was released on 2011-11-15 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: DIVDIVFor the first time, four German WWII pilots share their side of the story./divDIV/divDIVFew perspectives epitomize the sheer drama and sacrifice of combat more perfectly than those of the fighter pilots of World War II. As romanticized as any soldier in history, the WWII fighter pilot was viewed as larger than life: a dashing soul waging war amongst the clouds. In the sixty-five-plus years since the Allied victory, stories of these pilots’ heroics have never been in short supply. But what about their adversaries—the highly skilled German aviators who pushed the Allies to the very brink of defeat?/divDIV/divDIVOf all of the Luftwaffe’s fighter aces, the stories of Walter Krupinski, Adolf Galland, Eduard Neumann, and Wolfgang Falck shine particularly bright. In The German Aces Speak, for the first time in any book, these four prominent and influential Luftwaffe fighter pilots reminisce candidly about their service in World War II. Personally interviewed by author and military historian Colin Heaton, they bring the past to life as they tell their stories about the war, their battles, their lives, and, perhaps most importantly, how they felt about serving under the Nazi leadership of Hermann Göring and Adolf Hitler. From thrilling air battles to conflicts on the ground with their own commanders, the aces’ memories disclose a side of World War II that has gone largely unseen by the American public: the experience of the German pilot./div/div