Billy Drake, Fighter Leader
eBook - ePub

Billy Drake, Fighter Leader

The Autobiography of Group Captain B. Drake DSO, DFC and Bar, US DFC

  1. 192 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Billy Drake, Fighter Leader

The Autobiography of Group Captain B. Drake DSO, DFC and Bar, US DFC

About this book

Born in London of an English father and Australian mother and educated in Switzerland, Billy Drake was to become one of the most illustrious RAF fighter pilots of World War II, indeed of all time. He flew in many theaters with various squadrons on different aircraft - starting with 1 Squadron in France in 1940 on Hurricanes, then with 421 Flight (later 91 Squadron) on Spitfires over the Channel, then in West Africa with 128 and the Desert with 112 'Shark' Squadron (of which he was a very successful commander) on Kittyhawks. Taken off ops at the end of 1942, he was posted to Malta leading the Krendi Wing. On return to the Uk he led a 2nd TAF Typhoon Wing, flying numerous sorties over the French coast prior to the Invasion. He eventually accounted for more than 20 enemy aircraft destroyed or damaged.He was then dispatched to Fort Leavenworth USA with Peter Brothers, then to Operations Staff SHAEF HQ for the rest of the war. Postwar he was to be found in Japan, at HQ Malaya and Singapore, followed by a succession of staff appointments, including Air Attaché in Switzerland. His final posting was a Group Captain commanding RAF Chivenor, Devon, until retirement in July 1963. His adventures continued, however, during over 20 years in Portugal, and he is now living and working (at the age of 84!) in London.An extremely colorful personality, he gives Christopher Shores and the reader tremendous insights into his exceptional career, his widely differing experiences, the characters he knew and flew with and the often amusing highlights of an RAF lifestyle. Includes never before published photographs and a cover painting by Nicolas Trudgian.

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Yes, you can access Billy Drake, Fighter Leader by Christopher Shores,B. Drake in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Military & Maritime History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. Introduction
  6. Chapter 1 Early Years
  7. Chapter 2 Training Days
  8. Chapter 3 War
  9. Chapter 4 The Battle of Britain
  10. Chapter 5 A New Era
  11. Chapter 6 To the Western Desert
  12. Chapter 7 Stalemate at El Alamein
  13. Chapter 8 Alem el Halfa and Alamein
  14. Chapter 9 Training Again
  15. Chapter 10 With the 2nd Tactical Air Force
  16. Chapter 11 New Worlds and New Duties
  17. Chapter 12 Peacetime
  18. Chapter 13 Meteor Wing Leader
  19. Chapter 14 Air Attaché
  20. Chapter 15 Life on the Other Side of the Wall
  21. Chapter 16 Retrospect
  22. Appendices: I Grp Capt Billy Drake, DSO, DFC & Bar, DFC(US); Royal Air Force Record of Service
  23. II Claims Against Enemy Aircraft from My Logbook
  24. III Personalities Mentioned in the Text – Biographical Notes
  25. IV Chronological Fighter Aircraft Performance Data
  26. Index