Ju-88 dive-bomber

Convoy PQ 17: A Story of Unprecedented Arctic Disaster

First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Dudley Pound stopped tapping his pencil on the oaken desk and slowly leaned backward in the oversized leather chair. Read more

Ju-88 dive-bomber

Leslie Howard: The Actor’s Mysterious Fate on BOAC Flight 777

By June 1, 1943, British actor Leslie Howard, 50, was one of the most famous actors in the world, one of the leading male stars of one the greatest box-office draw movies of all time, the 1939 blockbuster Gone with the Wind. Read more

Ju-88 dive-bomber

Sub Hunters Over the Bay of Biscay

“Am over enemy submarine in position …”

Cut off in mid-transmission, this contact report came from a U.S. Read more

Ju-88 dive-bomber

“John Ford’s Navy”: A Filmmaker in the OSS

With such award-winning films as Stagecoach, Young Mr. Lincoln, Drums Along the Mohawk, The Grapes of Wrath, The Long Voyage Home, and How Green Was My Valley behind him, John Ford was one of Hollywood’s most respected directors by the time World War II broke out in 1939. Read more

Ju-88 dive-bomber

George Beurling: Canadian Fighter Ace Known as “The Falcon of Malta”

In September 1943, Canada’s top air ace, the “Falcon of Malta,” Flying Officer George Beurling, was faced with two problems. Read more

Ju-88 dive-bomber

Rain of Terror: The Bombing of the British Isles

First, there was a faint drone, with black specks visible in the sunny sky. Then the drone grew into a thunder, and hundreds of bombers appeared over London. Read more

Ju-88 dive-bomber

Scandinavian Airborne Assault

The Polish Campaign in 1939 demonstrated the awesome effectiveness of aircraft as weapons platforms for close ground support. Read more