Air forces and warfare Books

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Book SynopsisThe Story of RAF Hixon tells the story of a Second World War Training Airbase. It was built in 1941 close to the small Staffordshire village of Hixon and operated from 1942-1945. During this period thousands of men, many from Commonwealth countries, came together to form crews and be trained to undertake night bombing raids on Germany and occupied countries. The book provides an insight into the experiences of these brave young airman, many of whom would later be killed in action. It also considers the short and long-term impact of the airbase development on the lives of villagers at the time, and the permanent changes that have resulted to the village of Hixon and the local district. Much of the story is based on personal interviews with those involved with the airbase in wartime, either as trainee aircrew, instructors, or ground staff and with others who lived in the village at the time. These first-hand accounts provide a unique understanding of the experiences of those most closely involved. The book also brings the story up to date, recalling previous commemorative celebrations of RAF Hixon and current moves to install a stained-glass memorial window in the local church as a permanent memorial. Two appendices are provided, the first being a chronology of wartime airbase development and activity, the second giving details of numerous accidents and incidents, all as recorded in the original Station Log Book, held at the Public Record Office in Kew.Table of ContentsForeword; Chapter 1 Hixon and the Second World War; Chapter 2 RAF Hixon - No. 30 Operational Training Unit; Chapter 3 Living Alongside the RAF in Hixon - Villagers' Experiences; Chapter 4 RAF Hixon - Daily Life 'on the Ground' at the Airbase; Chapter 5 Accidents and Incidents at 30 OTU, RAF Hixon 1942-1945; Chapter 6 The End of the War and Closure of RAF Hixon - What Remains Today?; Chapter 7 Personal Stories of Two Brave Airmen; Sergeant Deryck Rowse, Air Gunner; Pilot Officer W.A. (Bill) Gourlay DFC; Chapter 8 Hixon Commemorates the Wartime Years - 1992 - 1995 - 2022; Appendix 1 Chronology of No. 30 OTU RAF Hixon - 1941 to 1962; Appendix 2 Details of Accidents and Incidents as Recorded in the Original Station Log Book; Acknowledgements ; References ; About the Author

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Book Synopsis‘PAT PATTLE WAS A LEGEND IN THE RAF … HE WAS FAR AND AWAY THE GREATEST ACE THE MIDDLE EAST WAS EVER TO SEE, WITH AN ASTRONOMICAL NUMBER OF VICTORIES TO HIS CREDIT’ Roald Dahl

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Book SynopsisAirpower is credited with success in Afghanistan, Desert Storm, and Serbia, but in Vietnam all of America's aerial might could not defeat a vastly outnumbered Third World force on bicycles. With a panoramic sweep and shocking frankness unrivaled in the current literature, Ken Werrell, one of today's most experienced airpower historians, reveals the true extent of the technological evolution that fueled this transformation. Chasing the Silver Bullet traces in unprecedented detail the evolution of the Air Force's entire inventory since the Korean War, from the ill-fated F-105 fighter-bomber to the F-117 stealth fighter, but one of its chief contributions is its analysis of the strategies and doctrine that fashioned the hardware.Werrell's exhaustive research and sage analysis challenge the Air Force's mantra that precision-guided munitions delivered from long-range, stealthy aircraft are America's true war heroes. Desert Storm gave us the wrong impression about airpower technology and Werrell corrects that mistake with this landmark study, rendering superficial all other books about Desert Storm and current capabilities.Objective, even-handed, and unimpressed with the bells and whistles of new technology, Werrell understands how airpower works.

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