Norman Franks: 30 books
Under the Guns of the Kaiser's Aces
Bohome, Muller, Von Tutschek and Wolff The Complete Record of Their Victories and Victims
Language: English
Release Date: July 15, 2008
Following their imaginative, popular and successful approach to identifying and describing all the airmen who were claimed by Manfred von Richthofen in Under the Guns of the Red Baron, and by Immelmann, Voss, Göring and Lothar von Richthofen in Under the Guns of the German Aces, air historians Franks...
BEYOND COURAGE
Air Sea Rescue by Walrus Squadrons in the Adriatic, Mediterranean and Tyrrhenian Seas 1942-1945
Language: English
Release Date: July 19, 2003
This new book covers the adventures of 283, 284, 293 and 294 Walrus Squadrons, operating from North Africa, Sicily, Italy and Sardinia.
The pilots, like their counterparts in England, knew of the dangers of landing on the sea. It was a daunting task attempting to rescue downed airmen as they...
Raw Courage
The Extraordinary and Tragic Story of Four RAF Brothers in Arms
Language: English
Release Date: December 27, 2011
This is the captivating story of the four Raw brothers, all of whom served with the Royal Air Force. The eldest three flew during WW2 and all three died.
The youngest, not old enough to see wartime flying, flew night-fighters in the postwar years, ending up flying Spitfires with the Battle...
by Norman Franks
Language: English
Release Date: November 20, 2012
Language: English
Release Date: November 20, 2012
The Sopwith Pup was the forerunner of the hugely successful Sopwith Camel, which duly became the most successful fighter of World War 1. The first proper British fighting scout, the first Pups – the Royal Naval Air Service – arrived on the Western Front in 1916. Although regarded as a 'nice' aeroplane...
Dog Fight
Aerial Tactics of the Aces of World War I
Language: English
Release Date: January 7, 2003
The history of WWI aviation is a rich and varied story marked by the evolution of aircraft from slow moving, fragile, and unreliable powered kites, into quick, agile, sturdy fighter craft. At the same time there emerged a new kind of 'soldier', the fighter pilots whose individual cunning and bravery...
by Norman Franks
Language: English
Release Date: November 20, 2012
Language: English
Release Date: November 20, 2012
This book focuses on the combat careers of the last of the famous Sopwith fighters to enter service during World War 1, the Dolphin and the Snipe, both of which were built on the strong scouting heritage of the Pup and Camel. The Dolphin featured the unique negative-staggered biplane wing arrangement,...
Flying Among Heroes
The Story of Squadron Leader T.C.S Cooke DFC AFC DFM AE
Language: English
Release Date: May 1, 2012
T.C.S. Cooke joined the RAF as war began in 1939, aged 18, and trained to be a bomber pilot. Rising to the rank of squadron leader and decorated three times, Cooke bombed Berlin on October 7, 1940 in a Whitley Mk V, nearly ditching in the North Sea. Throughout this tour he faced the usual dangers...
by Norman Franks
Language: English
Release Date: February 20, 2013
Language: English
Release Date: February 20, 2013
The Royal Aircraft Factory SE 5/5a was, along with the Sopwith Camel, the major British fighting scout of the last 18 months of the war in France. It equipped several major squadrons, the first being No 56 Sqn in April 1917. This unit became famous for the number of aces it had among its pilots, including...
Coastal Command's Air War Against the German U-Boats
Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives
Language: English
Release Date: November 30, 2014
This book summarises the story of how RAF Coastal Command overcame the German U-boat danger during the Second World War and how the escalation of the U-boat war promoted the development of anti-submarine warfare, leading to victory over this menace in the Atlantic.
At the start of the war, RAF...
Fighter Command’s Air War 1941
RAF Circus Operations and Fighter Sweeps Against the Luftwaffe
Language: English
Release Date: October 14, 2016
Following the Battle of Britain, the RAF started taking the air war to the Germans. A small number of bombers, escorted by large numbers of fighters tried to force the Luftwaffe into battle. Much air combat ensued with RAF light bombers escorted by scores of fighters, but it was not until Germany...
Black September 1918
WWI’s Darkest Month in the Air
Language: English
Release Date: September 27, 2018
The follow-up to Bloody April 1917 continues fifteen months later into World War I. Much had happened over this period. More battles had been fought, won and lost on both sides, but now the American strength was feeding in to France with both men and material. With the mighty push on the French/American...
by Norman Franks
Language: English
Release Date: November 30, 2016
Language: English
Release Date: November 30, 2016
When the Second World War began in 1939 it was thought that it would be fought along the same lines as the First World War, with the Allied air forces operating from both Britain and France. With the fall of Britain’s Northern European Allies in May 1940, all that changed. From then onwards, RAF...
by Norman Franks
Language: English
Release Date: March 30, 2017
Language: English
Release Date: March 30, 2017
By the close of 1916, the air war over France was progressing amazingly. The Royal Flying Corps, the French Air Force and the opposing German Air Service, were all engaged in fierce aerial conflict and the Allied air forces were following a particularly successful if aggressive policy. They were taking...
Veteran Lancs
A Photographic Record of the 35 RAF Lancasters that Each Completed One Hundred Sorties
Language: English
Release Date: October 14, 2016
Aviation historians will know that the Avro Lancaster bomber is the most famous aircraft to have fought with RAF Bomber Command during World War Two. They will know too that, of the 7,366 that were built, over 3,400 were lost on operations and a further 200 plus were destroyed and written-off in crashes....