Dresden and the Heavy Bombers: An RAF Navigator’s Perspective

This is the story of a young man’s entry into the war in 1941 and culminates in his flying on the bombing raid to Dresden in February 1945. This is not a gung-ho account of flying with Bomber Command but neither is it a breast-beating avowal of guilt. These memoirs take the form of a basic narrative of the author’s RAF career and pay particular attention to fear, morale and, as the author explains, the myth of leadership. Several raids are described in detail and illustrate the variety of experience, problems and dangers involved in such hazardous warfare. So, nearly 60 years after his dramatic experiences, how does he view the bombing of factories and cities and the inevitable grave moral issues that have slowly and insidiously crept up on him? The answer will surprise many younger and older readers. AUTHOR: Frank Musgrove was a commissioned navigator in the RAF and completed a tour of bombing missions over Germany in heavy bombers during World War II. After his service he became a professor of sociology at the University of Manchester and has been published extensively in the field of social sciences. 20 b/w illustrations, 1 b/w map