J.E. Johnson

Air Vice Marshal James Edgar Johnson, CB, CBE, DSO & Two Bars, DFC & Bar, nicknamed "Johnnie", was a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot and flying ace—defined as a pilot that has shot down five or more enemy aircraft in aerial combat—who flew and fought during the Second World War.

Johnson grew up and was educated in the East Midlands, where he qualified as an engineer. He served as an Assistant Engineer at Ilkeston and latterly to the Chigwell Urban District Council at Loughton. A sportsman, Johnson broke his collarbone while playing rugby, an injury that later complicated his ambitions of becoming a fighter pilot. Johnson had been interested in aviation since his youth and applied to join the RAF. He was initially rejected, first on social, and

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Bert Stiles was an American author of short stories who was killed in action during World War II while serving as a fighter pilot in the U.S. Army Air Forces.

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Anthony Richardson

Anthony Thomas Stewart Currie Richardson (1899 – 4 February 1964) was an English writer of adventure fiction and non-fiction books.

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Max Hastings

Sir Max Hugh Macdonald Hastings, FRSL, FRHistS is a British journalist, editor, historian and author. His parents were Macdonald Hastings, a journalist and war correspondent, and Anne Scott-James, sometime editor of Harper's Bazaar.

Hastings was educated at Charterhouse School and University College, Oxford, which he left after a year.After leaving Oxford University, Max Hastings became a foreign correspondent, and reported from more than sixty countries and eleven wars for BBC TV and the London Evening Standard.

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Alexander McKee

Alexander McKee was no "yes-man", he dared to criticise many military, political, economic, media and academic icons and he always kept an open mind. He was fanatical about making his works as accurate as he possibly could. He was ever alert to plain-wrong, biased, distorted or sloppy reports and hidden agendas; wickedly delighting (the more so as a self-educated man) in criticising and exposing assertions that did not fit the evidence. Among his targets were those who tended to emphasise media-image-managment, the accumulation of personal wealth and career progression over both personal integrity and respect for other people's contributions. He gleefully highlighted all the many lapses of integrity that he found. Equally, many established
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Richard Townshend Bickers

Richard Leslie Townshend Bickers has written more books about the RAF and its predecessor, the RFC, than any other author past or present - some under a pseudonym. Being multilingual, he does his own research in foreign archives and by interviews and correspondence. His short stories and newspaper articles were first published and broadcast while he was a serving RAF officer. By the time he left the RAF his first four novels had appeared. His biography of his friend "Ginger" Lacey, the top-scoring pilot in the Battle of Britain, was published to acclaim in 1962.Bickers volunteered for the RAF on the outbreak of war and served, with a Permanent Commission, for eighteen years. In England he operated with Fighter and Coastal Commands; in North
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Pierre Clostermann

Pierre-Henri Clostermann DSO, DFC & Bar was a World War II French ace fighter pilot.

During the conflict he achieved 33 air-to-air combat victories, earning the accolade "France's First Fighter" from General Charles de Gaulle. His wartime memoir, The Big Show (Le Grand Cirque) became a notable bestseller. After the war, he worked as an engineer and was the youngest Member of France's Parliament.

In 1951, Clostermann authored an account of his wartime experiences entitled Le Grand Cirque (published in English as The Big Show). One of the first post-war fighter pilot memoirs, its various editions have sold over two and a half million copies. William Faulkner stated that "The Big Show" was one of the finest aviation books to come out of World W
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Geoffrey Wellum

GEOFFREY WELLUM, a veteran of the Battle of Britain, was the youngest fighter pilot (at 18) in the Royal Air Force (RAF) to have fought in that battle.

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Chaz Bowyer

Chaz Bowyer (1927-2008) was an aviation historian and author. He joined the RAF, aged 16, in 1942 and left it in 1969. Then he turned his hand to his life-long passion for aviation and started writing.
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Richard Rohmer

Major-General (Ret'd) Richard Heath Rohmer, OC, CMM, DFC, O.Ont, KStJ, CD, OL, QC, JD, LLD (born in 1924). Canada's most decorated citizen, an aviator, a senior lawyer (aviation law), adviser to business leaders and the Government of Ontario and is a prolific writer. Rohmer was born in Hamilton, Ontario, and spent some of his early youth in Pasadena, California as well as in western Ontario at Windsor and Fort Erie.

The Peterborough Examiner's lead editorial of 14 January 2009 says this: "Rohmer, one of Canada's most colourful figures of the past half-century, was a World War II fighter pilot, later a major-general in the armed forces reserve, a high-profile lawyer and a successful novelist and biographer."
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Terence Robertson

An officer in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, Terence Robertson worked as the news editor of the Sunday newspaper Reynolds News from 1949 until 1959, after which he moved to Canada to join the editorial staff of The Hamilton Spectator.
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Peter Townsend

There is more than one author with this name

Group Captain Peter Wooldridge Townsend, CVO, DSO, DFC and Bar, RAF was Equerry to King George VI 1944–1952 and held the same position for Queen Elizabeth II 1952–1953. Townsend is best known for his ill-fated romance with Princess Margaret. Despite his distinguished career, as a divorced man there was no chance of marriage with the princess and their relationship caused enormous controversy in the mid 1950s.

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Andrew Wilson

There is more than one author with this name
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Frank A. Mason

Frank A. Mason is the pen name for author Robert (Bob) F. Amason, Ph.D.

Professor at Large at Northern Illinois University (Semi-Retired). He earned his Ph.D. from Georgia Tech and University of Florida. A retired USAF Lieutenant Colonel, Bob Amason was a college professor for 25 years. As an officer in the USAF, Bob flew B-52s during the Cold War, was a flying training instructor, and directed high-level staff organizations over 22 years of his early adult life.

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Winner of the 2023 Gold Royal Palm Literary Award, the highest award from the Florida Writer's Association

(Sources: Amazon author profile, F
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Pierre Clostermann

Pierre-Henri Clostermann DSO, DFC & Bar was a World War II French ace fighter pilot.

During the conflict he achieved 33 air-to-air combat victories, earning the accolade "France's First Fighter" from General Charles de Gaulle. His wartime memoir, The Big Show (Le Grand Cirque) became a notable bestseller. After the war, he worked as an engineer and was the youngest Member of France's Parliament.

In 1951, Clostermann authored an account of his wartime experiences entitled Le Grand Cirque (published in English as The Big Show). One of the first post-war fighter pilot memoirs, its various editions have sold over two and a half million copies. William Faulkner stated that "The Big Show" was one of the finest aviation books to come out of World W
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Richard Rohmer

Major-General (Ret'd) Richard Heath Rohmer, OC, CMM, DFC, O.Ont, KStJ, CD, OL, QC, JD, LLD (born in 1924). Canada's most decorated citizen, an aviator, a senior lawyer (aviation law), adviser to business leaders and the Government of Ontario and is a prolific writer. Rohmer was born in Hamilton, Ontario, and spent some of his early youth in Pasadena, California as well as in western Ontario at Windsor and Fort Erie.

The Peterborough Examiner's lead editorial of 14 January 2009 says this: "Rohmer, one of Canada's most colourful figures of the past half-century, was a World War II fighter pilot, later a major-general in the armed forces reserve, a high-profile lawyer and a successful novelist and biographer."
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Norbert Hannig

Hannig served in the Luftwaffe from 1940 to 1945.
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Ron Powell

After 32 years in the Royal Air Force, from which he retired as a Group Captain (full Colonel) commanding the first stage of flying training for the British Army, Royal Navy and RAF, Ron moved to south Wales to pursue his long held ambition of becoming a writer.
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Martin W. Bowman

Martin W. Bowman is one of Britain's leading aviation authors, with over 100 published books on the Second World War and post-war aviation history, and several on the landscape of East Anglia. He has also established an international reputation for his superb imagery and aerial photography. He has a passion for flying in military aircraft. He lives in Norwich, Norfolk.
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Robert J. Goebel

Lt. Colonel Robert J. Goebel, USAF

WWII and post-war fighter pilot. Credited with 11 aerial victories during the Second World War. Recipient of the Silver Star Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross with Silver Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Air Medal with 17 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters.
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Guy Gibson

Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson VC DSO* DFC* was the first CO of the Royal Air Force's 617 Squadron, which he led in the Dam Busters raid (Operation Chastise) in 1943, resulting in the destruction of two large dams in the Ruhr area. He was awarded the Victoria Cross, but lost his life later in the war. He had completed over 170 operations at the age of 24.
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Clarence E. Anderson

Colonel Clarence Emil "Bud" Anderson, USAF

Veteran of World War II and the Vietnam War, with a total of 30 years service in the USAAF and USAF. Credited with 16 aerial victories during WWII, making him a "triple ace." Recipient of the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal, Air Medal, and, from France, the Croix de Guerre with Palm. In total, he was decorated 25 times. Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots.
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Peter Townsend

There is more than one author with this name

Group Captain Peter Wooldridge Townsend, CVO, DSO, DFC and Bar, RAF was Equerry to King George VI 1944–1952 and held the same position for Queen Elizabeth II 1952–1953. Townsend is best known for his ill-fated romance with Princess Margaret. Despite his distinguished career, as a divorced man there was no chance of marriage with the princess and their relationship caused enormous controversy in the mid 1950s.

Peter Townsend spent much of his later years writing non-fiction books. His books include "Earth My Friend" (about driving/boating around the world alone in the mid 1950s), "Duel of Eagles," (about the Battle of Britain), "The Odds Against Us" (also known as "Duel in the Dark") (about fighting
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Tom Glenn

Tom Glenn served as a fighter pilot in Europe with the 36th Fighter Group (9th Air Force, USAAF) during the Second World War. While in the Army, he rose to the rank of Captain.
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Paul Richey

RICHEY, Paul Henry Mills, from Chelsea, London was born in Chelsea London on May 7, 1916.

Richey joined the RAF in 1937 and was posted to 1 Squadron, flying Furies. After completion of his training, Richey was posted, in March 1939, to No.1 Squadron based at Tangmere, flying Hawker Hurricane fighters.

On Sept 8th, shortly after war was declared Richey's squadron were ordered to Vassincourt in France where they flew counter-air patrols in the Metz area.

On December 23, 1939 Richey married Hon. Teresa Robinson, daughter of Roy Lister Robinson, 1st and last Baron Robinson and Charlotte Marion Cust Bradshaw.

On May 10th, 1940 with the start of the German Blitzkrieg began a period of intense fighting. In Hurricane L1679 Flying Officer Paul Richey
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James Campbell

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Vincent Orange

George Vincent Orange was a British-born New Zealand historian of military aviation. A lecturer at the University of Canterbury for many years up until his retirement in 2002, he wrote several biographies of senior Royal Air Force officers, including Hugh Dowding and Keith Park.
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Ian Gleed

Ian Richard Gleed had his first flight at Hatfield (a joyride with the London Aeroplane Club) while still at school. He later became a member of the London Aeroplane Club (thought to have joined in April 1935). He gained his licence on 12 July 1935 (No.12976) at Hatfield. However, one biographer states he qualified on 31 July 1936 (No. 8003) – after he joined the RAF in March 1936 (possibly this refers to a B-licence).

He was given the nickname 'Widge' – short for 'Wizard Midget', apparently due to his tendency to call things 'Wizard' (like people today describe things as 'Wicked'), and his short stature (he was 5 feet 6 inches / 1.65m). He mentions his RAF nickname in his part-fiction, part-autobiographical book but claimed not to know how
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