Ebook251 pages4 hours
A Spy in the Sky: A Photographic Reconnaissance Spitfire Pilot in WWII
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
()
About this ebook
“An enjoyable ramble . . . the memoir of an unassuming, self-doubting aviator who, despite himself, proved to be pretty bloody good.” —Aircrew Book Review
Many stories abound of the daring exploits of the RAF’s young fighter pilots defying the might of Hitler’s Luftwaffe, yet little has been written about the pilots who provided the key evidence that guided the RAF planners—the aerial photographers.
Ken Johnson joined No.1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit as an eighteen-year-old. In this lighthearted reminiscence, he relives his training and transfer to an operational unit, but not the one he had expected. He had asked if he could fly Spitfires. He was granted that request, only to find himself joining a rare band of flyers who took to the skies alone, and who flew in broad daylight to photograph enemy installations with no radios and no armament. Unlike the fighter pilots who sought out enemy aircraft, the pilots of the PRU endeavored to avoid all contact; returning safely with their vital photographs was their sole objective.
As well as flying in northern Europe, Ken Johnson was sent to North Africa, where his squadron became part of the United States Army Air Force North West African Photographic Wing (NAPRW). In this role, he flew across southern Europe, photographing targets in France and Italy.
The Spy in the Sky fills a much-needed gap in the history of the RAF and, uniquely, the USAAF during the latter stages of the Second World War.
“The sorties he flew are nothing less than heroic . . . his writing style is very good, and very humorous at that!” —Flyin’ and Ridin’ Blog
Many stories abound of the daring exploits of the RAF’s young fighter pilots defying the might of Hitler’s Luftwaffe, yet little has been written about the pilots who provided the key evidence that guided the RAF planners—the aerial photographers.
Ken Johnson joined No.1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit as an eighteen-year-old. In this lighthearted reminiscence, he relives his training and transfer to an operational unit, but not the one he had expected. He had asked if he could fly Spitfires. He was granted that request, only to find himself joining a rare band of flyers who took to the skies alone, and who flew in broad daylight to photograph enemy installations with no radios and no armament. Unlike the fighter pilots who sought out enemy aircraft, the pilots of the PRU endeavored to avoid all contact; returning safely with their vital photographs was their sole objective.
As well as flying in northern Europe, Ken Johnson was sent to North Africa, where his squadron became part of the United States Army Air Force North West African Photographic Wing (NAPRW). In this role, he flew across southern Europe, photographing targets in France and Italy.
The Spy in the Sky fills a much-needed gap in the history of the RAF and, uniquely, the USAAF during the latter stages of the Second World War.
“The sorties he flew are nothing less than heroic . . . his writing style is very good, and very humorous at that!” —Flyin’ and Ridin’ Blog
Related to A Spy in the Sky
Related ebooks
Kept in the Dark: The Denial to Bomber Command of Vital Enigma and Other Intelligence Information During World War II Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Battle for the Throne: Watchers, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRed Sun Rogue Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Red Son Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSilent Thunder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Devil's Eye (The Remnants of War Series, Book 3) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Unorthodox Soldier: The Phoenix Project, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Last Gift Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPurging Fires: Day Soldiers Book Two Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEvolution: Day Soldiers Book Four Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Last Operation (The Remnants of War Series, Book 1) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Shadow Swarm Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Doppelganger Protocol (The Remnants of War Series, Book 2) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKeep Running and Kill Zombies Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRed Sounding Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKiller To Die For Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Farpool: Marauders of Seome Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsForty-Seven Years Aloft: From Cold War Fighters & Flying the PM to Commercial Jets Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBefore, During, and After: How the Flare Ended the World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Wrecking Crew Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAll You Leave Behind Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Dead Ringer: Stanley Bentworth, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Enemy: The Project, #23 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCrime Wave Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Relic Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Fatal Touch: A Commissario Alec Blume Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5For the Amazon Nation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Meyersco Helix Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Killing Men: Dan Brennan Story 3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Cathar Secret: A Lang Reilly Thriller Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Wars & Military For You
The God Delusion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World--and Why Their Differences Matter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unit 731: Testimony Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unacknowledged: An Expose of the World's Greatest Secret Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Art of War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Art of War: The Definitive Interpretation of Sun Tzu's Classic Book of Strategy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sun Tzu's The Art of War: Bilingual Edition Complete Chinese and English Text Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Daily Creativity Journal Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City: A Diary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of War & Other Classics of Eastern Philosophy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Last Kingdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forgotten Highlander: An Incredible WWII Story of Survival in the Pacific Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Killing the SS: The Hunt for the Worst War Criminals in History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rise of the Fourth Reich: The Secret Societies That Threaten to Take Over America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Making of the Atomic Bomb Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Resistance: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In Harm's Way: The Sinking of the USS Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for A Spy in the Sky
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
A Spy in the Sky - Kenneth B. Johnson
Xw2e book_preview_excerpt.html |˒DZ寤vY%ͽji DF`6˨̨DgfхJ0;0'9Gdv
ʌ?O_}sǟ_^|4i8~uyx^>{44Շ4voSh1cSC2si4j>
5O÷1G&Lv8Vk誗X}:VKT5og4:s*st^)Uɇt|6NqLq2ռ4cM7?ơqڧ~U`g~^sglK!TݧRi;,oLqo1`?.^G-[Eϸ#VG'mcH6yg3=TM}LX+_{$>l;j%-Ϧ
{}ĨeƄ1S&-؇.q2XZs;
kOmלRj zs`{S迾>vvxH?;Nra{IF{o;ctmCnd77;*Մ}y\?Ջ?TWns8alġk';l;)<_R 0ЎX`S[:
SvE~J7_xO7i8 Ic ^*cABf;zn! FC}:E?h83]]ZncV6օOALT4|ў?