This collection of stories from Royal Air Force groundcrew reveals the critical operations and thrilling drama of Cold War hangars and airfields. Groundcrew Boys shares true stories of life on the flight line, written by those who served. Twenty engineers recall stories from combat zones around the world, working with aircraft as diverse as the Phantom, the Shackleton and the Sea Harrier. From humorous and ribald tales to thought provoking remembrances, these stories leave no doubt about the dedication and professionalism of those who served. Aviation author David Gledhill presents helpful historical context for each story, while numerous photographs, many from the groundcrew themselves, help bring their experiences to life.

They called them the “Brylcreem boys” -- the young flyers who streamed into England from the first declaration of war, the kids with the jaunty grins and the willingness to take terrible risks. Among them were thousands of young Canadians, many barely out of high school, all delighted to leave behind humdrum lives in dusty, post-Depression Canada for the irresistible chance to learn to fly and help beat the Germans. Doug Harvey was one of them -- a nineteen-year-old from Toronto who joined the RCAF, and in 1942 found himself a pilot in the elite Canadian No. 6 Bomber Group.

Boys' Life is the official youth magazine for the Boy Scouts of America. Published since 1911, it contains a proven mix of news, nature, sports, history, fiction, science, comics, and Scouting.

The story of 488 RNZAF Squadron during the fall of Singapore early in 1942. This gripping history has been written using the diaries, letters, photographs and personal reminiscences of members of 488 Squadron, who were based just outside Singapore City and valiantly kept planes in the air against Japanese attacks until just before the city was overwhelmed. The story of their day-to-day life at a time of crisis, their hard work and their valour is eye-opening. The remaining ground crew were granted passage on one of the last ships to leave the island, when the Japanese were just 1 kilometre from the city centre. The ship had accommodation for 23 passengers, yet there were approximately 3000 people crammed on board. The overcrowding was the least of their worries...

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 buy a drink. They volunteered to fly in the Army's Air Cadet Program and became a part of the greatest air armada in the world. Most of the gunners on a bomber crew were teenagers and the average age of officers was twenty-four. Veterans' memoirs and diaries give amazing reports of fighter attacks, flak damage and those who survived being shot down out to become Prisoners of War. These youngsters manned the planes that bombed and destroyed Germanys military and war industry. The price of victory was high, with an extreme loss of aircrews and planes. Eighth Air Force losses were among the highest of any military unit. Like the author, teenagers who survived to tell the stories of those great air battles are now in their mid-eighties and rapidly passing into history. See previous books "Through These Eyes" and "Bombs Away!" See a free DVD at http://video.smithville.net/?p=17 for interviews of the author with actual WW II combat film footage.

Tales of love, fear, bravery and survival, from one of the world's most acclaimed archives of World War II.

True tales of heroism and the men who fought and died in the skies of World War II Europe. In World War II, there were all too many ways for a fighting man to die. But no theater of operations offered more fatal choices than the skies above Nazi-occupied Europe. Inside of a B-17 Bomber, thousands of feet above the earth, death was always a moment away. From the hellish storms of enemy flak and relentless strafing of Luftwaffe fighters, to mid-air collisions, mechanical failure, and simple bad luck, it’s a wonder any man would volunteer for such dangerous duty. But some very brave men did. Some paid the ultimate price. Some made it home. But in the end, all would achieve victory. Here, author Travis L. Ayres has gathered a collection of previously untold personal accounts of combat and camaraderie aboard the B-17 Bombers that flew countless sorties against the enemy, as related by the men who lived and fought in the air—and survived. They are stories of heroism, sacrifice, miraculous survival and merciless warfare. But they should all be remembered... INCLUDES PHOTOS