The German forces that invaded the Soviet Union had much to fear once the Russians’ fightback got into its stride. For the Russians are fearsome warriors when roused. What the Germans feared more than anything was the night. For that was when the Nachthexen – the night witches – flew. Because, you see, when the […]
Rookie pilot Tim Nixon was keen to open his account against the Luftwaffe. But somehow his score sheet stayed blank – and he began to wonder if his lack of success was due to bad luck, or if he was just a no-hoper. Somehow he had to prove himself and silence the taunts of his […]
They called Lieutenant Robert Lloyd a coward for flying out of formation in Lazy Daisy, his Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Bomber. They blamed him for the death of over half of his crew, so they kicked him out and demoted him to co-pilot in another outfit. Lloyd got a new crate and its pilot, Lieutenant […]
In August 1942, the Allies launched Operation Jubilee, an amphibious attack on the German-occupied French Port of Dieppe. It was a disaster and a strategic failure, with harsh lessons learnt at a high cost to life. This is the story of three men: one pilot, one tank driver, and one infantryman, and their fight for […]
A little shaky before battle? Not Kapitein Robin van der Laan of the East Indies Army Air Force. In his North American B-25 Mitchell bomber, he was armed and ready to take on the enemy whatever the price. But Robin was going to find out how much it would cost —for his Mitchell was outclassed […]
Pilot Officer Andy Howard and his crew were really up against it. Forced to crash-land in the snowy wastes of occupied Norway, they had started out on foot to deliver their Lanc’s cargo of urgently-needed weapons to the resistance. Now an enemy ski patrol had stumbled on them, and despite the fight Andy and his […]
Most men of the RAF Coastal Command were brave and determined, totally dedicated to their job of saving countless ditched aircrews. But Australian navigator Red Dooley thought otherwise — he’d been posted from Bomber Command and he reckoned he was wasting his time and missing out on the real action. But Red was about to […]
Squadron Leader Jack Pearson was beginning to wonder if his first command might be his last. English‑born Jack was determined to make the most of his posting to a base outside Edinburgh —even if the locals were less than friendly about his, and his fellow countrymen’s, presence. As if that wasn’t enough, added to the […]
From the first day it arrived in Korean skies, the F-86 Sabre was the boss of the air war over that country. Only the Russian MIG-15 could come close, but it was still outclassed. Then without warning, entire formations of Sabres began to disappear without a trace. It was clear that they were being lost […]
It’s said that the helicopter came of age as a weapon during the Vietnam War. Hauptmann Karl Enberg of the Luftwaffe’s Kestrel Staffel might dispute that, though. For, in the dying days of Germany’s Third Reich, he and his command of rotorcraft hammered British ground forces and ran rings around Allied fighter aircraft —despite the […]
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