Norman Franks: 30 books
Tally Ho!
From the Battle of Britain to the Defence of Darwin
Language: English
Release Date: March 23, 2009
Bob Foster is a well known figure at book and print signings in many parts of the UK. Although recognized as a Battle of Britain veteran, little is known of his life, or the details of his war service with the RAF. Persuaded to tell his story to air historian and well established aviation author Norman...
The Red Baron
A History in Pictures
Language: English
Release Date: October 14, 2016
Keen First World War aviation enthusiasts will be familiar with Norman Franks’ previous books covering the life of Rittmeister Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen, so why this new one? Well Manfred, the iconic Red Baron, has constantly remained at the forefront of First World War studies and, in commemorating...
RAF Fighter Pilots Over Burma
Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives
Language: English
Release Date: January 22, 2014
It is a recognized fact that, had the war gone badly for the Allies on the India/Burma front, and had the Japanese succeeded in invading the Indian Continent, the outcome of the war would have been entirely different. Yet despite this, the campaign on the Burma front is offered surprisingly scant...
My Golden Flying Years
From 1918 over France, Through Iraq in the 1920s, to the Schneider Trophy Race of 1927
Language: English
Release Date: March 23, 2011
Written some forty years ago for his own enjoyment, and twenty years before his death in 1986, this biography was given to Simon Muggleton, a collector of aviation memorabilia, and he and aviation historian and author Norman Franks recognized immediately that it was an important contribution to Britain’s...
Fighter Pilot's Call to Arms
Defending Britain and France Against the Luftwaffe, 1940-1942
Language: English
Release Date: July 13, 2010
Stunned into action by the rapid collapse of his country in 1938, Czech pilot Stanislav Fejfar escaped and traveled through Poland to serve initially with the French Foreign Legion, then as a sous-lieutenant with the French air force in early 1940. After the demise of that country, he fled to England...
Air Battle for Dunkirk
26 May - 3 June 1940
Language: English
Release Date: July 19, 2006
‘Where is the RAF?’ was the oft-quoted question asked by soldiers waiting on the beach at Dunkirk, to where they had retreated following the German blitzkrieg through northern France, and where they were now being pounded by the Luftwaffe. The air forces were there, as Norman Franks proves, detailing...
Mannock
The Life and Death of Major Edward Mannock VC, DSO, MC, RAF
Language: English
Release Date: September 22, 2008
The definitive biography of the WWI fighter pilot Edward “Mick” Mannock—and a revealing investigation into his mysterious fate.
Although he was arguably the highest scoring RAF fighter pilot of the First World War, Edward “Mick” Mannock’s life, particularly his death, is still shrouded...
by Norman Franks
Language: English
Release Date: August 22, 2010
Language: English
Release Date: August 22, 2010
When Canadian troops and British Commandos made their now famous ‘reconnaissance in force’ against the harbor town of Dieppe on 19th August 1942, they were supported and protected by the largest array of Royal Air Force aircraft ever seen in WWII until that time. Air Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory,...
Jasta Boelcke
The History of Jasta 2, 1916-1918
Language: English
Release Date: June 19, 2004
As August drew to a close in 1916, the German Air Service was reeling almost helplessly towards inevitable defeat on the Somme. The Artillery and Feldflieger Abteilungen, the Kampfstaffeln, had been quickly reduced to relative impotency by the overwhelming quantitative and qualitative superiority...
by Norman Franks
Language: English
Release Date: August 20, 2007
Language: English
Release Date: August 20, 2007
This important work was first published in German in late 1939, no doubt timed to impress the young Luftwaffe fighter pilots who were embarking on the second major air war in history.
Buckler initially served with the army when the Great War began, until he was wounded and moved to the air...
Typhoon Attack
The Legendary British Fighter in Combat in World War II
Language: English
Release Date: April 12, 2010
Lively tales of aerial combat in the legendary Typhoon fighter
History of the plane and the men who flew it in World War II
Based on interviews with the pilots themselves
The Typhoon fighter played a pivotal role in the Allies' success in the air and on the ground in World War...
Fallen Eagles
Airmen Who Survived The Great War Only to Die in Peacetime
Language: English
Release Date: March 31, 2017
The 50 pilots featured in Fallen Eagles were all decorated for bravery during The Great War. All survived the conflict only to die flying in the postwar years. The causes of their deaths ranged from being casualties of small wars, then as now rife in the Middle East, mechanical failure or pilot error....
by Norman Franks, John E Gurdon
Language: English
Release Date: August 17, 2018
Language: English
Release Date: August 17, 2018
Over and Above was first published in 1919 soon after John Everard Gurdon, aged just twenty, had been invalided out of the RAF following a brief but incident-filled stint as a flyer on the Western Front. Piloting the Bristol F.2b with 22 Squadron, his first victory was on 2 April 1918 and by 13 August...
Ton-Up Lancs
A Photographic History of the Thirty-Five RAF Lancasters that Each Completed One Hundred Sorties
Language: English
Release Date: September 19, 2015
An updated and expanded photographic history of the famed military aircraft—and the men who flew them.
Aviation historian Norman Franks updates his classic book, The Lancaster, with new information and photos. The Avro Lancaster was a four-engine heavy bomber that played a crucial role in World...