My name is Leslie Joy (Les to my friends), and I was born on the 16th March 1923 in Bradford, Yorkshire. This is my true story of how at the age of 19 I joined the RAF, fell in love with a Tiger Moth, got my wings and flew as a Lancaster Bomber pilot in World War II, and survived just!

In 1939 a 21 year old joined the N.Z.R.A.F. as a reservist. When World War II was declared he was called up and sent to Woodburn training camp in Blenheim and taught to fly. In August 1940 he sailed from New Zealand for England and went to war. As the sea voyage progressed from holiday cruise to deadly dangerous, he kept a diary and then gave it to a steward to post home from LA.He was a foundation member of 485 NZ Spitfire Squadron. He watched his best friends die before his eyes,...

During World War II fighter pilots were, at times, detailed to perform out-of-the-ordinary operations. "Duck Hunting in a Hurricane" was an event that resulted in just such an operation in order to recover the Hurricane and bring back the ducks.

Our Lancaster raced over the perimeter track and then tore down the slope through the dispersal area... with its wheels thumping on the grass but still firmly on the ground. It now seemed that nothing could save us and that, in the next couple of moments, we would disappear in a great explosion. I could hear Bob saying "Get off the ground, you bastard, get off," while Harry just said nothing..."Into the Darkness" is the true story of a young Australian thown into the crucible of th...

Southern England. Late summer 1940. The nation is fighting for its very survival and the Luftwaffe's aerial offensive is unrelenting. All that lies between invasion and salvation for Britain is the 'thin blue line' of RAF Fighter Command and its pilots.This newly illustrated anniversary edition of Life as a Battle of Britain Pilot reveals what it was like to fly a fighter plane in the Battle of Britain. Who were the Spitfire and Hurricane pilots of 1940? H...

This is a fighter pilot's story of eight memorable months from May to December 1940. When the Germans were blitzing their way across France, Pilot Officer Tom Neil had just received his first posting to 249 Squadron.Nineteen years old, fresh from training at Montrose on Hawker Audax biplanes he was soon to be pitch forked into the maelstrom of air fighting on which the survival of Britain was to depend. By the end of the year he had shot down 13 enemy aircraft, seen many of his fri...

`Shimmering in the morning sun, wave upon wave of bombers, driving for London. Stepped above and behind, the serried ranks of Messerschmitts. Covering mile upon mile of sky, as far as the eye could see. It was at once magnificent and terrible. I broke hard into attack, pulling the Spitfire into a climbing, spiralling turn as I did so…`Read about the development of the Spitfire in Taking to the Skies; heroic anecdotes of the pilots in The Battle of Britain; and amazing aerial combat...

The author in flight gear after photo twelfth mission – second Air Medal (age nineteen)He still wears lucky Air Cadet ring!Hutch's third book contains short stories of boys on B-17 Flying Fortress crews in deadly missions with the Eighth Air Force in World War II and stories of his own teenage combat experiences as radio/gunner on twenty missions with the Mighty Eighth.Teenagers enlisted or were drafted, trained and went into combat before they could legally vote or ...

Just after 2100 hours, the mission’s leader Wing Commander Guy Gibson gave the signal. The red light went on and the Merlin engines of the thirteen Lancaster bombers roared into life. They had been in intensive training for eight weeks for the most famous bombing raid of World War II. RAF 617 squadron, the Dambusters, were finally ready to go...Read about the RAF’s daring Dambusters mission, along with the bombing and defence of London in the Battle of Britain and the merciless Bom...

DESCRIPTION“An excellent book to read at this time during the anniversary of the bombing of the German dams by what seemed impossible odds.” Review.**Guy Gibson: Legend of the Dam Busters tells the dramatic story of a renowned British flying legend and his leadership of the infamous raid on the Ruhr dams in May 1943, providing a fitting and timely tribute to a truly courageous aviator.This short i...

From retired Air Force pilot Marshall Harrison comes a remarkable memoir of aerial warfare in Vietnam. In his third combat tour, Harrison found himself converted from the high performance world of jets to the awkward-looking OV-10 Bronco and assigned as a FAC forward air controller. A captivating tale of valor, brotherhood, and patriotism unravels in the pages of A Lonely Kind of War, Forward Air Controller, Vietnam, a posthumous release by this published author through Xlibris. Harrison i...

"A personal and vivid view of the Royal Air Force's (RAF) engagement of the Luftwaffe in World War II . . . Exciting, valuable, and good reading." — Library JournalThis is the autobiography of Group Captain Sir Hugh Dundas CBE, DSO, DFC, who was one of the most distinguished fighter pilots of World War II. He writes of his wartime experiences, and particularly of his period as Squadron Leader and Wing Commander and his involvement in the Battle of Britain.