Fascinating Read: A B-17 is Rediscovered in the Irish Sea
932834
This is an outstanding book, following the fateful flight of a young air crew fresh in from the States who ditched in the sea on their way to base in England, their subsequent combat stories, and the amazing rediscovery of their B-17 Flying Fortress "The Meltin' Pot" by divers just a few years ago.  I knew one of the men on this plane--Lee Kessler--and shortly before he passed away he talked about how excited he was that his original plane had been located.  It had been his hope to go see it.
The book, by Irish author Jack Scoltock, is a great read certain to interest anyone with even a passing interest in WWII bombers or diving.

--Rob Morris, Author, 'Untold Valor: Forgotten Stories of American Bomber Crews over Europe in World War Two'
4338943
This is fascinating reading.  I had read this book, on my new Amazon Fire 10 tablet.  I thought I already knew everything about the B-58 Hustler, but after reading this book, I realized there was so much more to learn about this amazing aircraft.  Not only did I learn more about the technical aspects of this airplane, but also why it's service life was cut so short, long before it's full potential could have been realized.  Highly recommended.
2485795
I highly recommend this book.  Red Eagles tells about how the TAC part of the USAF went from being the worst in fighting ability of the US Military air services to becoming the cutting edge.

This books is divided into parts of a third.  One third is related to the people, one third is related to the structure of the USAF, and one third is about the MiGs.

I was suprised by a few things.  First, the USAF had to reverse engineer the ejector seat explosives and the disk brakes for the MiG-21s.  What was weird is Finland was flying the MiG-21 at the time and it's just strange that the CIA was not able to get a chemical formulation for the seat ejector cartridge nor able to get one good brake disk for the MiG-21.  There was quite a bit of non-coordination between the various intellegence agencies of the USA.

Second, I thought it was strange that in the mid and late 70s the USAF was training pilots to fly against the MiG-17.  That school was 10 years too late for Vietnam.  Also, after the fall of East Germany the USAF/USN were asked by Germany if they wanted a full squadron of MiG-29 aircraft.  But the budgets had turned so tight in the early 90s the USAF and USN was having a hard time paying the light bill.

In full disclosure this reviewer did his first tour of service in the USAF before going over the the US Army (this writer is blind as a bat).  One of my friends ended up working on the F-117 side of the runway.  My hat is off to Mac for never talking about it and I knew the guy for 30 years.  He got to see the MiGs every working day.  What a life!

This book is fairly good.  I wish they had spend more time on the "geek" stuff of the MiGs.  I just love reading about the aircraft.  I didn't like the day to day Bee Ess of reading about the politics of the USAF.  I was sort of surprised that the Red Eagles had an accident rate of 22/100,000 sorties.  That is fairly dreadful.

This book is fully worth the money and a good read about the people who defended this nation from post Vietnam until the fall of the Berlin Wall.
2964989
This judiciously-edited collection of diary entries, letters and papers brings to life in dramatic fashion the political state of Irish-English relations in 1914, the personalities and involvements of numerous colorful characters, and a suspenseful tale of real-life derring-do on land and at sea.  Although a novel based on this story would be redundant, a movie here waits to be made.

In response to the Liberal government in London seriously proposing Home Rule for Ireland, Protestant Orangemen in Ulster began importing weapons, with the intent of resisting the imposition of any such regime.  So Southerners began to organize, drilling with broomsticks, until a clandestine committee of English and Anglo-Irish Liberals (mostly Protestants themselves) hatched and carried out a plan to purchase 1500 old Mauser rifles in Germany, sail them to Ireland on two private yachts, and unload and distribute them at a public pier in the broad daylight of a Sunday noontime.

Of special fascination in this collection are Bulmer Hobsons account (pp. 128-138) of how the landing at Howth and march back to Dublin were planned and carried out, and Mary Spring Rices diary (pp. 68-97) of her days as crew-member of the Asgard, a 49-foot ketch that made the run from Ireland to the North Sea and back.  The latter is a fine sea-story, of violent storms, a hazardous rendezvous and transshipment of cargo at sea, and a scary passage through the tall ships of the British naval fleet on night-time maneuvers.  Two of the crew of the Asgard were women.

Eamon de Valera, later President of Ireland, was on the pier at Howth on July 26, 1914 as a captain of the Irish Volunteers.  His brief 1961 speech on the occasion of the Irish government accepting the aged Asgard as a naval training vessel stands as the Forward to this book.
2653440
This book amazed me.  I read it 10 years ago and looked up the title today because I was looking up reviews on BLACK MAY: THE EPIC STORY OF THE ALLIES' DEFEAT OF THE GERMAN U-BOATS IN MAY, 1943.  I am pleased that IRON  COFFINS is back in print! What struck me 10 years ago and still strikes me  about IRON COFFINS is that this story was almost "lost" several  times -- at sea as the tide of battle turned against the U-boats in 1943,  and on land after the Germans surrendered; in the days immediately  following the war, the author used his wits to escape death by the Russians  and end up in the hands of what history has shown to be the more merciful  victors.
3604154
May, 1939-Europe was on the brink of war, and the United States had just launched her newest submarine, the Squalus.  She was the pride of the submarine fleet and contained many features not found on older submarines, including air conditioning.  However, on Tuesday, May 23, 1939, something went terribly wrong.  A valve, which was shown to be closed on the submarine's contol pannel, was left open and thousands of gallons of sea water poured into the Squalus as she started one of her last test dives.  Fifty nine men were suddenly trapped at the bottom of the  Atlantic ocean.  Never before had surviving crewmen ever been rescued from a sunken submarine-until now. "Swede" Momsen, a U.S. Navy officer, risked his own life numerous times to rescue the trapped crewmen.  Momsen was the man who developed the Momsen lung, a breathing device which allowed crewmen to ascend to the surface by using controlled breathing techniques.  But perhaps his greatest achievement was the development of the submarine rescue chamber; a bell-shaped device which attached directly to the submarine over the hatch.  By using this apparatus, Momsen and his men were able to successfully rescue the thirty three men left alive in the submarine after she went down.  However, Momsen's job was not finished.  After the crew was rescued, attempts were made to raise the submurged Squalus, and Momsen's team was again at the forefront of these efforts.  On September 11, 1939-after over 600 individual dives and over 100 days after disappearing into the Atlantic, the Squalus was raised.  Momsen's contributions to the Navy did not end with this mission.  He helped correct the problem that submariners were having with the detonaters on their torpedoes by test firing them against a rock cliff and designing a new detonator.  Also, it was Momsen who came up with the idea of deploying submarines in "wolfpacks" to attack enemy shipping.  The results of these "wolfpacks" were devastating to Japanese shipping.  This is an excellent book of how a determined man and his crew risked their lives to save the lives of others.  If you enjoy submarines or just good hero stories, then read this excellent book.
1829568
Crickwood was an air traffic controller when he first became interested in the Blackbird. Since the super-secret Blackbird missions were flown in near-total radio silence, the ATCs and the pilots were among the few who knew a plane's whereabouts. Moreover, Blackbirds had totally unique descent requirements and a good ATC was critical for keeping the traffic pattern clear. No wonder Crickwood became intrigued. His first photos, taken strictly for himself, were eventually published in a magazine which led to one book commission after another. Over the years, he says, his friends in the Blackbird community have given him "unprecedented access" to material for his books.

He quickly takes the reader from Cold War, U2, U.S. President Eisenhower's "Open Skies" initiative, Skunk Works etc. to a discussion of the A-12, aircraft sensors, Area 51 development, and navigation aids. This sort of pace may be a bit much for the reader who knows only a little of the Blackbirds. The advanced reader on the other hand will appreciate the fine discussion of the air induction system and its challenges to the then single pilot who had to cope with an extremely high workload constantly manipulating the inlet spike and bypass door positions in order to optimize fuel/engine use and temps. This level of magnification is indicative of the rest of the book and is what sets Crickwood's apart.

What data there is pertains to performance not aeronautics or engineering. The text is interspersed with quotes, suitably illustrated, and augmented with supporting material such as maps and lists. The photo selection includes a nice set of M-21/D-21 shots and an uncommonly large number of crew photos. The color photos are bundled into three separate sections. All photos identify the plane and the photo source.

Other highlights are an entire chapter dealing with the YF-12 and a detailed technical description of SR-71 components. For the detail hound, the gems are always in the Appendices and here we find: various detachments' mission records; first check flights by plane/pilot; the current whereabouts of A-12, YF-12A and SR-71 airframes; commanders, awards, crews; chronology of significant events; records; aircraft losses; NASA flight details; and--drum roll--a list of SR-71 intercepts by a MIG-31 and reproduction of a log book page of the Russian pilot who was interviewed earlier in the book. A separate section contains technical and cutaway drawings including the entire plane as well as front and rear cockpit diagrams, both fully annotated.

Full review at <speedreaders.info>. Copyright 2010, Sabu Advani
3732013
Since I was the Radio Officer of this ship I could be a bit biased but I did enjoy reading it. The authors spent many years in the research and interviewing of the surviving crew and other people who were envolved. They did a good job and I believe this story would be of interest to anyone who wishes to know more about this phase of WW2. Almost all the survivors are no longer living now. So it is fortunate that we have this record for the people who will be interested in years to come. Thanks Don Foxvog and Bob Allota.
1628031
Many years ago I saw a picture in one of my Battle of Britain books of an armourer working on a beautiful Spitfire with the squadron code QV-K.  That plane was flown by the author of this book, and he scored some of his victories whilst* flying it.  I had always wanted to find out more about this man who was one of "the Few" who stopped the Luftwaffe's blitz in the opening years of WWII.  These are the words of a young Englishman who loved his country and ended up giving his life to protect it.  I think the best thing about the book -- slight as it is with only 116 pages of text -- is that it was written while the events were still fresh in the author's memory.  Anyone who collects books on the Battle should understand that their collection is not complete without this memoir.

By the way, I have to mention that the volume is filled with typos and punctuation marks showing up in random places.  Still, it's well worth the time to enjoy this inspiring story filled with wit, courage and, ultimately, sacrifice.

* I had to put a "whilst" in here as the book is full of them.
3303842
This is a very good book. I've read many books about the B-17 over the years and I thought I knew pretty much everything was was to know about B-17s.  But I was wrong. I learned several things from Steve's book. Highly recommend.
3930253
After reading Into the Fire about the Ploesti raids, I wanted to hear more about the crews of the B-24's. I grabbed this seeing it was from Martin Bowman, an author I trust - didn't read the product description, so I was very pleasantly surprised. I was expecting a paperback of war stories.

It's a hardback, with high glossy color pages, excellent WW2 B&W photos of the crews, photos of some of the memorabilia (equipment, medals, unit patches, 1st aid kits, accessories). There is a very brief description of the B-24 design & development, this is not a nuts and bolts story and the each chapter tells of the crews' experiences by position - bombardier, pilot, waist gunner, etc. The color photos of the restored planes make this book for me.

It's unbelievable the conditions these guys faced in a plane not designed for high level missions over Europe. Seeing the details of the cockpit, nose, turrets (some of the best photos I've seen), weapons is just amazing.

This book is helpful for modelers with an eye for super detailing of the interior, although the exterior is not as well represented here. Anyone interested in WW2 aviation, B-24 buffs who want to flesh out more technical books such as Rugged But Right, War Bird Tech Series will enjoy this book. The book addresses only the European front, but is a very good primer on the Liberator and a real treat for aviation buffs.
2108040
Like in other reviews, one has probably read the fact that this work omits aircraft noteworthy of being mentioned, such as the Junkers Ju 52 "Auntie Ju" Trimotor or the Douglas C-47 Dakota; then again, these are not "combat aircraft", but I can understand their dilemma being that I too am an avid aviation/WWII buff. There is one IMPORTANT aircraft that SHOULD HAVE BEEN included,however; many would agree with me on this, and it's almost a crime that it's inclusion was neglected: the plane Churchill labelled "The Scourge of the Atlantic"--a.k.a. The German Focke Wulfe FW 200 Condor. I was shocked NOT SEEING this aircraft because, although it was renowned mostly for its operations against convoys in the North Atlantic ( popularly known as The Battle of the Atlantic, where the aircraft coordinated with U-boat wolfpacks) the Condor still became a famous fixture in the annals of World War II aviation. Too bad! Still, this marvelous work compensates by adding obscure aircraft, including Italy's seldom mentioned Piaggio P.1011 four-engined bomber. All in all, the book deserves a five-star rating regardless!! EXCELLENT WORK!!!
3807399
I chose this book because I had the good fortune to know a number of B-17 aircrew members.  This book clearly portrays the early days of the B-17 bombings in 1942 and 1943.  Death wasn't something to be feared, it was more like death in the air was an inevitable.....it was just a matter of time, in so many cases that time was just days from arrival in England.  Read this book and for sure you will understand what it meant to be a "Lucky Bastard".  Highly recommend to anyone who wants to know and understand  why these bomber crews had the highest casualty rate of any military organization in WWII.
32541
I thought that this was an excellent description of the development, building, and deployment of the B-52.  In addition it tells of the disposal of the fleet as it was modified,re-fitted and assigned over the years including those still in active service to this day.  Also I found it interesting that the author did not discuss more the reasons why the carpet bombing jungle in Vietnam and subsequent BDA's were so negative; grid coordinates for the strikes had to be cleared through Saigon and spies there passed them on to the NVA well ahead of the strikes.  I read in reports of POW interrogation that the enemy knew the exact location and times of the attacks before they occurred.  In my year with the S-2 shop in the 101st Div, we had only one good arclight BDA and that was when the flight was diverted to a secondary target.
2059644
The H.L. Hunley Submarine was the first combat submarine to sink an enemy warship (the USS Housatonic) in 1864, but the Hunley did not survive that attack, took her 8 man crew to the bottom with her, and was lost for over 100 years.  My wife and I have been fascinated by the details of this story since we read the Wikipedia article a few months ago and this video provided a wealth of information, including the very latest discoveries as of February 2013.

Few written records of the Hunley remain, but since she was recovered in 2000, archaeologists have learned much about her mission, construction, and crew.  Maybe by 2020 they will have enough new information to release a third updated video, but until then, this is the Hunley video to watch (the Hunley will be in a cleaning bath for the next 6 years).  The earlier National Geographic video, "Raising the Hunley" captures the excitement and details of actually recovering her from the ocean floor, but I found the story of the Hunley's original mission and the investigations they are using to piece together that story to be much more interesting than the retrieval.

The ballistics segment is particularly exciting, but what captivates me about the Hunley is the story of 8 men who were willing to squeeze themselves into a home-made sardine can that had sunk twice before, put an explosive charge on the end of it, and pump it 4 miles into the ocean in the dark and cold without any supplementary air or power to attack an enemy ship.  Technology on the edge in desperate times.
1539583
With the capture of the Marianas Islands (Saipan, Tinian, and Guam), the United States possessed bases for their new B-29 Superfortress bombers.  These planes could now hit targets deep within Japan.  Flying at speeds well in excess of 300 mph and packing a formidable armament of remote-controlled machine guns, these planes could defend themselves extremely well in battles with Japanese fighters.  Plus, they could haul bomb loads approaching 20,000 pounds to targets in Japan.

In this fine book, author Gorden Robertson Jr. gives a first-hand account of what it was like to pilot one of these massive bombers deep into Japan.  Flying 35 missions during his tour of duty, Robertson and his crew faced flak, fighters, and the constant fear of mechanical failure.  Many of Robertson's missions were flown at low altitude, which made their plane even more vulnerable.  Despite these constant threats, Robertson and his crew managed to survive the required 35 missions.  Some writers believe that the European theater was more difficult for bomber pilots to fly in, but the Japanese also inflicted heavy damage on the B-29s.

I am a big fan of first-person accounts of events in World War II, and author Robertson does a fine job of describing what it was actually like to pilot a B-29.  He details each of his crew's 35 missions and describes his encounters with fighters, searchlights, and flak.  He also tells the reader what it was like to land a crippled plane on Iwo Jima.  The story reads like a novel, and I learned a great deal that I didn't know before about the B-29 offensive.

I give this fine book my highest recommendation.  Fans of World War II aviation will surely enjoy reading about Robertson's missions.
1516856
A guide to each and every airfield in the UK that was used by Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain.

Following the regualr structure used by After the Battle magazine and its many and varied drill-downs on history, the book features then and now photos and text which describe how an airfield was used during the battle and - to put it bluntly - is it worth going to visit.

It is the concentration on this issue - what's there now - that made this book so valuable to me. Like many others I have an edition of The Battle of Britain - Then and Now; in my case it's the Mk. II. I had considered buying an updated edition many times to - ahead of a visit - to queue up which airfield I would go to. However, I never did. This was mainly because of cost. One has to acknowledge most of the data are unchanged from one version to another, so the hefty cost did not, at least to my mind, warrernt buying another.

So - with the very clear reminder of how Hawkinge went from a fully extant airfield to a glorious museum, but nonetheless a diminshed hidtoric site - I tried the Pen & Sword "Airfields of 11 Group' as a substitute. While good, I yearned for what AtB could have done.

And then, they did it.

I bought it and it is glorious!

I measure a book by what it tells me I don't know. This book achieves that in heaps.

Did you know there were two other Groups in the UK (Nos 9 and 14)? I didn't. While their location was on the edges of the aerial battlefield, I have never, ever, seen this referenced before.

But, here is the piece of information that left me gobsmacked. Just north of Heathrow lies the Heston Service Area, on the M4. During the war, it is a secondary airfield; some places to which units were diverted. Prior to the war, it had been a significant airport. In fact, it was where Chamberlain returned with the agreement selling out the Czechs. There is a photo in the book showing the spot where he stood, waving the agreement and intoning "...peace in our time."

History, living history.