Biblio Library

The authors of 'Combat Codes' have painstakingly researched the codes used by the RAF to replace unit markings during World War II in order to attempt to confuse the enemy.

On September 25, 1939 Melvin Young reported to No. 1 Initial Training Unit. He was selected as a bomber pilot and promoted to Flying Officer. Having undertaken a Lancaster conver ...

The first hours and days following the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944 have a strong claim to be amongst the most crucial in world history. Spearheading this vast undert ...

Frank Broome was a 15 year old schoolboy when he experienced the three major blitzes in his home city of Coventry and at the age of 17 volunteered for the Royal Air Force Volunteer ...

This is a first-hand account of the author’s grandfather, Guy Mainwaring Knocker and his experiences as a pilot in the R.F.C. in the First World War written as a series of letters ...

Douglas Bader was a legend in his lifetime and remains one today 100 years after his birth. A charismatic leader and fearless pilot, he refused to let his severe disability (loss o ...

Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh – later Lord – Dowding was one of the greatest Englishmen of the 20th century. He created Fighter Command with its unique early warning system (radar) f ...

Air-dropped supplies were a vital part of the Allied campaign in Burma during World War II. The transportation of munitions, food and medical supplies was undertaken in the most d ...

On 15 May 1957 Vickers Valiant V-Bomber X.D.818 under the command of Wg. Cdr. Kenneth Hubbard, O.C. 49 Squadron R.A.F., dropped Britain’s first live thermonuclear bomb. The success ...

David James was in Motor Gunboats (with Robert Hichens of Gunboat Command.) Captured in February 1943 after abandoning ship as a result of a fierce engagement with three German arm ...

Britain under German bombardment is a topic associated with World War II, but in fact the Germans launched major bombing raids against populated areas of the United Kingdom in Worl ...

On 27 August 1939, Flugkapitan Erich Warsitz became the first man to fly a jet aircraft, the Heinkel He 178 and in June of the same year he flew the first liquid-fuel rocket aircra ...

Alois Siska was born in Czechoslovakia and learnt to fly. He escaped to the UK after the German invasion and joined the R.A.F. He describes his experiences flying Wellington bomber ...

During a twenty-five year flying career in the RAF, Jerry Pook has flown Hunter Fighter/Ground Attack aircraft in the Gulf, Harriers in West Germany, the supersonic Starfighter wit ...

Originally conceived as a carrier-born maritime attack aircraft, the Blackburn design included many original features such as Boundary Layer Control, a system which blew hot air ov ...

Gron’ Edwards joined the RAF in 1936 on a Short Service Commission and went solo on his eighteenth birthday. After gaining his wings he joined No 233 General Reconnaissance Squadro ...

To survive baling out from a doomed aircraft or a crash-landing in enemy occupied territory certainly required a large element of luck. To then manage to return to Allied shores in ...

Hell's Highway is the dramatic name given to the vital stretch of road that the British 3rd Guards Armoured Division had to advance down rapidly on their route to relieve the Ameri ...

Hitler's Armada examines the aborted German invasion of 1940 in a fresh and original manner by looking past the myths and legends which have subsequently surrounded it, in order to ...

Hitler's Secret Commandos is the history of the K-Verband naval commando unit, established in 1943 to reek havoc amongst invading allied forces involved in amphibious landings or a ...

The Second World War battleship HMS Rodney achieved lasting fame for her role in destroying the pride of Hitler’s navy, the mighty Bismarck, in a thrilling duel. This splendid book ...

While his extravagant and glamorous lifestyle is well known, little has been published concerning Ian Fleming's contribution during the Second World War.In the very early days of t ...

Vice Admiral Cuthbert (Cuddy) Collingwood may have been 10 years older than Horatio Nelson but he was Nelson's close friend from the outset. They served together for over 30 years ...

As World War Two drew to a close, jet-powered aircraft were beginning to be introduced into service. To take advantage of this major development it was necessary for all the world’ ...

For most British people the weekend of 27/28 October 1962 could so very easily have been their last weekend on earth, yet astonishingly the fact that Britain's nuclear deterrent f ...