Specially selected stories reveal what life was like in WW2 Bomber Command. Of the 7,953 Bomber Command aircraft lost on night operations during the Second World War, an estimated 5,833 fell victim to Luftwaffe night fighters. In this detailed re-enactment of the air war over Western Europe and the raids flown by the men of RAF Bomber Command, the author has pieced together official data and the words and memories of the pilots and air crew who took part in fifteen chapters detailing many unique experiences during the night bombing raids that were hurled against Hitler’s war machine. They span the period between November 1939 and 1945 and the stories include ‘The First 1,000 Bomber Raid’; ‘Mine Laying in Danzig Bay’; ‘Warriors For The Working Day’ and ‘Twelve Lancasters went for Augsburg’. These truly epic stories are an appropriate epitaph to the men of RAF Bomber Command. AUTHOR: Martin W. Bowman is the author of over 80 books on military and commercial aviation and a frequent contributor of photographs and articles for Flight International, Rolls-Royce Magazine, and Aeroplane Monthly. In 1999 he was appointed an official researcher for DERA.
SELLING POINTS: . Covers the encounters between the Luftwaffe and RAF Bomber Command during its heyday . Collated from interviews by expert author Martin Bowman EXCEPT: I looked over my head towards the back of the aircraft and there was Dougie trying to open his escape hatch but turning the handle the wrong way. I yelled to him to turn it the other way, which he did and promptly left. I then found I was the only one left in the aircraft and could see that there was some smoke coming out of the starboard wing. I tried to free my trapped foot, the left one, but without success and then had a sudden brainwave, I unzipped the flying boot and out came the foot unharmed. Then it was a simple matter to exit via the pilot’s escape hatch and slide down the side of the fuselage; except that I hadn’t unplugged my intercom from the socket and found myself suspended about a foot above the ground by my leather flying helmet! 8 b/w plates/ 32 b/w illustrations/ 8 b/w plates