{"title":"Brian Cull","description":"\u003cp\u003eDelve into meticulously researched historical accounts with Brian Cull. Explore pivotal moments in aviation history and naval warfare, brought to life with compelling detail. Browse now to uncover hidden stories.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"249-at-war-book-brian-cull-9781898697497","title":"249 At War","description":"A history of one of the RAF's foremost fighting squadrons. Formed in 1940, 249 saw action in the Battle of Britain before moving to Italy where it participated in fighter-bomber attacks with Spitfires and Mustangs. 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The main assaults by ever-increasing formations of Luftwaffe bombers, escorted by Bf109s and Bf110s, were initially aimed at British merchant shipping convoys plying their trade of coal and other materials from the north of England to the southern ports. These attacks by the Germans often met with increasing success although RAF Spitfires and Hurricanes endeavoured to repel the Heinkels, Dorniers and Ju88s, frequently with ill-afforded loss in pilots and aircraft. Within a month the Channel was effectively closed to British shipping. Only a change in the Luftwaffe's tactics in mid-August, when the main attack changed to the attempted destruction of the RAF's southern airfields, allowed small convoys to resume sneaking through without too greater hindrance.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49562987069713,"sku":"GOR009135560","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49733969969425,"sku":"NGR9781781556252","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1781556253.jpg?v=1751430860"},{"product_id":"diver-diver-diver-book-brian-cull-9781904943396","title":"Diver! Diver! Diver!","description":"During the summer months of 1944, a daily onslaught by V-1 jet-propelled flying bombs, heading for London and southern England, was countered in the skies of Kent and Sussex. To the pilots, British press, and bewildered public, Hitler's 'secret weapons' became known variously as Divers, Buzz Bombs, Flying Bombs, Doodlebugs, Dingbats, Robots, Jet-Ships, P-Planes, Witches and even Farting Furies. But they were dangerous, with thousands of civilians losing their lives. Launched from the Pas de Calais, the V-1s came in over the Channel at between 1,000 and 2,000 feet at speeds approaching 400mph. They proved a difficult target to intercept, much less to bring down. However, many fighter pilots did become 'aces', one alone accounting for 60 of them. By March 1945, when the aerial bombardment ended, a staggering 10,000 V-1s had been launched (including 1,500 from the air). However, with 42 per cent being destroyed by the defences, half of these alone by the RAF, it is clear tens of thousands of people were saved. In this significant work, respected historians detail every known success by the defending pilots of over 13 nationalities, and where detected, record all locations and casualties of V-1 impacts in London and the south east. In doing so, they rely heavily not only on official documents and combat reports, but also on the vital accounts of the pilots themselves and those on the ground, many of which are quoted verbatim.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49566858445073,"sku":"GOR007032744","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51173835669777,"sku":"CIN190494339XVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51904316735761,"sku":"CIN190494339XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52862258643217,"sku":"GOR012117597","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/190494339X.jpg?v=1751314694"},{"product_id":"with-the-yanks-in-korea-book-brian-cull-9781902304496","title":"With the Yanks in Korea","description":"Illustrated throughout, this work tells the story of the war in the air during the first 18 months of the Korean War, both through the words of pilots and stategists themselves and through official documentation. 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Meanwhile, the Luftwaffe commenced intermittent nocturnal raids over eastern and north-eastern counties of England, resulting in the first night actions by RAF Blenheim night fighters. In the other direction, RAF night bombers were making forays over Germany and the occupied Low Countries. During the first week of July, Luftwaffe reconnaissance aircraft were overflying the south-east coastal areas and harrying shipping in the Channel. All of these actions are highlighted in First of the Few, many of the RAF aircrews experiencing combat for the first time survived as the 'first of the few' to participate in the forthcoming defence of Britain. 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Having lost his arm following combat over Malta, he was fitted with an artificial limb and continued to fight - way beyond the call of duty. It was perhaps inevitable that he would lose his life in action but along the way this modest man inspired other amputees who wanted to get back into the war. Mac flew Fairey Battle light bombers during the Battle of France, winning his first DFC. He then retrained on fighters and flew Hurricaines towards the end of the Battle of Britain. Having volunteered to go overseas, he led a formation of six Hurricanes from the deck of the aircraft carrier HMS Argus to the besieged island of Malta. Here, following several weeks of intense air combat during which he accounted for eight Italian and German aircraft, he was shot down by one of the Luftwaffe's top fighter aces, Oblt Joachim Muncheberg. Severely wounded in the left arm, he nonetheless parachuted over the island and was rushed to hospital. The arm could not be saved. However, within 16 days of the amputation, he persuaded his CO to allow him to fly a Magister two-seater, initially accompanied by another pilot, before going solo! On his return to England, where he was fitted with an artificial arm, Mac was soon given command of No1 Squadron equipped with Hurricane IICs for night intruder operations. By the end of 1942 he had accounted for five German night bombers and had been awarded the DSO and a Bar to his DFC, plus the Czech Military Cross. Following a six-month goodwill trip to the United States, where he was feted as a fighter pilot hero wherever he went, he returned to operations with the Air Fighting Development Unit. In company with Geoffrey Page, he participated in the destruction of six Luftwaffe training aircraft in one single sortie; but, on his next mission, his Mustang was hit by ground fire when crossing the French coast and crash-landed, with Mac critically injured. Taken prisoner, he died in captivity on 31 July 1943. 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With the aid of his equally experienced senior observer, Lt Desmond Vincent-Jones, the young fledgling pilots, mainly straight from training school, were soon receiving expert instruction. Having survived early ops over Norway and Dunkirk, 806 was selected to fly the new fleet-fighter, the underrated Fulmar, with which it went to war in the Mediterranean aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious and won its spurs. The young pilots, led by the CO, wreaked havoc amongst the Italian navy's spotter seaplanes and bombers. This is their story.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49583928017169,"sku":"GOR011446228","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49737106358545,"sku":"NGR9781781557501","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1781557500.jpg?v=1751153800"},{"product_id":"hurricanes-over-singapore-book-brian-cull-9781904010807","title":"Hurricanes Over Singapore","description":"Hurricanes over Singapore is the companion volume to the successful Buffaloes over Singapore published in 2003. It continues the story of the RAF's gallant but futile attempt to stop the might of the Japanese invasion force in its quest to conquer not only Singapore, but also Sumatra and Java and all the other islands that constituted the Netherlands East Indies. The Hurricanes went into action over Singapore on 20 January 1942 and the last two aircraft made the final flight at Java on 8 March that year. During the intervening time the Hurricane pilots and ground crew - British, New Zealanders, Australians, Canadians, Dutch and Americans - gave their all, with many making the supreme sacrifice. The majority of survivors would spend the next 3-1\/2 years as prisoners of the Japanese - and some of their heart-rending stories are detailed here. This expertly researched account, the most comprehensive to date, and accompanied by rare photographs, is told wherever possible by the pilots themselves, the majority of whom were young and inexperienced. 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Rightly considered below par for service in the UK, the vast majority of the 170 aircraft acquired by the RAF Purchasing Commission from the United States were diverted for use in the Far East, where it was believed they would be superior to any Japanese aircraft encountered should hostilities break out there. This assessment was to prove tragically very incorret. When war did erupt, the Japanese Army Air Force - with its highly manoeuvreable Ki-27 and Ki-43 fighters - and the Japanese Navy Air Force equipped with the mighty A6M Zero, proved vastly superior in just about all aspects, and many of the Japanese fighter pilots were veterans of the war against China. By contrast, the majority of the young British, New Zealand and Australian pilots who flew the Buffalo on operations in Malaya and at Singapore were little more than trainees and many flew into battle with only the basic training of their trade. 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Spitfires would follow early in 1942 and by the time it moved to a new theatre of operations, 249 had claimed 245 air victories in the skies over Malta, producing many ace pilots such as 'Screwball' Beurling, Laddie Lucas, Johnny Plagis, John Lynch, to name but a few.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49739259117841,"sku":"NGR9781781555545","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50390522593553,"sku":"CIN1781555540G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1781555540.jpg?v=1750898040"},{"product_id":"twelve-days-in-may-book-brian-cull-9781898697206","title":"Twelve Days in May","description":"For 12 days in May 1940 the Hurricane squadrons of the Royal Air Force faced the might of the German Air Force and carved a glorious chapter in the annals of aerial warfare. Using contemporary accounts, official records and personal interviews, from both sides, the authors have produced a detailed day-by-day study of the efforts of the outnumbered RAF fighters during the decisive initial stage of the Battle of France.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49877878800657,"sku":"GOR003378083","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50320372695313,"sku":"GOR005004989","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52416501547281,"sku":"GOR010152440","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":52816493609233,"sku":"CIN1898697205A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1898697205.jpg?v=1750996274"},{"product_id":"hurricanes-over-malta-book-brian-cull-9781902304915","title":"Hurricanes Over Malta","description":"Based on the factual and historical \"Malta: The Hurricane Years\", this is a fully revised and updated account of the gallant band of RAF and Commonwealth pilots who flew Hurricanes in defence of Malta between June 1940 and 1942, when help in the guise of Spitfires finally arrived. Most of the Hurricanes which held this tiny outpost of the British Empire in the heart of Axis-dominated territory had been flown from the decks of aircraft carriers or from bases in North Africa, while a handful of fighter pilots arrived by Sunderland flying boats or other aircraft in transit from the UK via Gibraltar. Many of these pilots of the elite 7\/JG26 arrived in Sicily in early 1941, and later in the year when more from JG53 made their presence felt. Since the earlier publication, a number of personal diaries and journals have come to light, and these have been widely quoted to provide the atmospheric background, the thoughts and the hopes of some of the Hurricane pilots who defended Malta. Not all of the diarists survived, but their impressions provide a fitting tribute to their courage, aspirations and fears. Much of the early period of the air defence of Malta is enhanced by the personal experiences of Flt Lt (then Sgt Plt) James Pickering AFC, who flew Hurricanes with 261 Squadron, who also provides the foreword and many of the previously unpublished photographs.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50264766808337,"sku":"GOR002398936","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50840350982417,"sku":"GOR001788283","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1902304918.jpg?v=1751187091"},{"product_id":"spitfires-over-malta-book-brian-cull-9781904943303","title":"Spitfires Over Malta","description":"This book tells the story of the RAF's gallant stand in 1942 to hold Malta against all odds and to save the island from invasion, which, had it happened could have changed the whole course of the war in the Middle East. Between March and October 1942, some 400 Spitfires reached the beleaguered island, flown mainly from the decks of aircraft carriers that had ventured at great risk into the hostile waters of the Mediterranean. Once established on the three bombed-scarred airfields of Luqa, Takali and Hal Far, the Spitfires flew daily sorties to repel the might of the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica based in Sicily, just 60 miles away. The cost was high. Very few of the Spitfires survived more than a few weeks, sometimes only days. Moreover, almost 100 Spitfire pilots paid the supreme price, young men from Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Rhodesia, together with volunteers from the United States serving with the RAF or RCAF. At times the fighting was intense. In April 1942, Malta suffered a greater tonnage of bombs than the UK did in any one month at the height of the Battle of Britain. More than 1,000 Maltese civilians lost their lives in 1942. But the sacrifice was not in vain. Malta held out and finally the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica conceded the battle was lost with Malta's Spitfire pilots being credited with at least 600 aerial victories during this period. Told in true Brian Cull style, this well-researched, well-written and very detailed book is accompanied by rare photos and contains much new material, especially from the logbooks and diaries of the pilots themselves. 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