A tribute to the pilots and crew who flew from airbases in Suffolk during the last war and whose actions displayed some of the finest examples of courage and devotion to duty.
More than 10,000 Australians served with Bomber Command, a highly trained band of elite flyers who undertook some of the most dangerous operations of World War II. They flew raid after raid over France and Germany knowing that the odds were against them. Stretched to breaking point, nearly 3500 died in the air. Their bravery in extreme circumstances has barely been recognised. Peter Rees traces the extraordinary achievements of these young aviators. He tells their hair-raising stories of battle action and life on the ground. And he recounts how, when they returned to Australia, they were greeted as Jap dodgers and accused of 'hiding in England while we were doing it tough'. Exciting, compelling and full of life, Lancaster Men is a powerful tribute to these forgotten Australian heroes of World War II.
Yorkshire was home to Bomber Command's 4 Group. August 1942 saw the creation of the Pathfinder Force, whose task was marking targets for the groups of bombers behind them with a precision that called for reckless heroism. In this excellently researched book Michael Wadsworth describes the air war in Yorkshire, and the young airmen who flew night after night against desperate odds. The bravery determination and resolve of the 'Bomber Men' must never be forgotten.
To Hell and Back is the story of some of the other Australian airmen who flew with Bomber Command. Laurie Woods either knew these men personally or had heard of them during the campaign.
Real-life, action-packed, personal stories of valor from the history of the RAF’s maritime arm during World War II. It took thirty minutes for one Coastal Command crew to sink two U-boats. The crew of Flying Officer Kenneth “Kayo” Moore in their 224 Squadron Liberator carried out this remarkable achievement on the evening of 7/8 June 1944. While patrolling the western end of the English Channel, Moore’s crew first dispatched U-629, followed just under thirty minutes later by U-373. The story of this remarkable engagement is just one of many recounted by the author in Heroes of Coastal Command. Established in 1936, Coastal Command was the RAF’s only maritime arm. Throughout the war, its crews worked tirelessly alongside the Royal Navy to keep Britain’s vital sea lanes open. Together, they fought and won the Battle of the Atlantic, with RAF aircraft destroying 212 German U-Boats and sinking a significant tonnage of enemy warships and merchant vessels. Often working alone and unsupported, undertaking long patrols out over opens seas, Coastal Command bred a special kind of airman. Alongside individuals such as Kenneth Moore, there were Allan Trigg, Kenneth Campbell and John Cruickshank, all of whom were awarded the Victoria Cross; Norman Jackson-Smith, a Blenheim pilot who flew in the Battle of Britain; Jack Davenport, who flew his Hampden to Russia; John Watson, the sole survivor of a Short Sunderland which was lost during a rescue mission; and Ken Gatward, who flew a unique daylight mission over Paris to drop a Tricolore on the Arc de Triomphe. Theirs are just some of the many exciting stories revealed by the author.
Since the dawn of aerial combat in the First World War, the heroism of the men who put their lives at risk in the air has known no bounds. There were no more heroic airmen than the fighter pilots and bomber crews of the Second World War - men who sacrificed their own lives in order to save their crew or who, although in extreme pain, managed to get their aircraft home rather than risk becoming PoWs. In telling the stories of more than eighty such men, Heroes of the Skies paints a picture of aerial combat from the First World War right through to Afghanistan, and allows us to celebrate the extraordinary feats of our flying heroes.
T.S.C. Cooke joined the RAF as war began in 1939, aged 18, and trained to be a bomber pilot. Rising to the rank of squadron leader and decorated three times, Cooke bombed Berlin on 7 October 1940 in a Whitley Mk V, nearly ditching in the North Sea. Throughout this tour he faced the usual dangers of wartime aircrew, his aircraft being hit by AA fire on several occasions, once almost having to order his aircrew to bail out but landed safely at the last minute. They were also attacked by night fighters, encountered icing and even shot up a train and bomber station at tree-top level.Flying Wellingtons and Stirlings, Cooke took part in the infamous 1,000-bomber raid on Cologne and Essen, before returning to operations flying Special Ops Halifax aircraft, dropping agents into enemy-occupied France. After a dozen missions, he was shot down but he and his navigator survived and evaded capture. Helped by the French resistance, they got into Spain and returned home via Gibraltar. Both men received the DFC for their bravery. While their story is not totally unique, their adventures and courage make this tale akin to an adventure novel.
The Second World War is famed for being the conflict that changed the face of warfare, and it is the last that changed the face of the world. In addition to remembering those who passed away in those dark days of war, a sincere debt of gratitude is owed to all those now in their twilight years who gave all that they had for King and Country. In this new and revised third edition, with additional material to celebrate the lives of D-Day and Arnhem veterans, Gary Bridson-Daley presents 46 of over 150 interviews he conducted with veterans over recent years, adding to the history books the words and the original poetry of those who fought and supported the war effort to ensure freedom, peace and prosperity for generations to come. From each corner of the British Isles and every armed service, from Dam Buster George 'Johnny' Johnson through to riveter Susan Jones: heroes, all.
The incredible untold World War II story of Australian hero BARNEY GREATREX - from Bomber Command to French Resistance fighter. A school and university cadet in Sydney, Barney Greatrex signed up for RAF Bomber Command in 1941, eager to get straight into the very centre of the Allied counterattack. Bombing Germany night after night, Barney's 61 Squadron faced continual enemy fighter attacks and anti-aircraft fire - death or capture by the Nazis loomed large. Very few survived more than 20 missions, and it was on his 20th mission, in 1944, that Barney's luck finally ran out: he was shot down over occupied France. But his war was far from over. Rescued by the French Resistance, Barney seized the opportunity to carry on fighting and joined the Maquis in the liberation of France from the occupying German forces, who rarely took prisoners. Later, Barney was awarded the French Legion of Honour, but for seventy years he said almost nothing of his incredible war service - surviving two of the most dangerous battlefronts. Aged 97, Barney Greatrex revealed his truly great Australian war story to acclaimed bestselling author Michael Veitch. 'fascinating . . . Veitch brings the story vividly to life' Sydney Morning Herald Pick of the Week 'Veitch has done a wonderful job . . . a fast-paced and thrilling tale' Daily Telegraph
_Reaching for the Stars_ shows why Bomber Command, in one of the largest and bloodiest campaigns of the war, with 55,000 aircrew lost and more officer fatalities than in World War I, has received so much attention and yet remains a 'lost and black sheep' among British wartime achievements. There has been little official recognition: at the 50th anniversary of VE Day there was hardly a mention and the Bomber Command story has been dogged by the controversy over carpet-bombing. The role of Bomber Command in the Second World War is still shrouded in mystery. This book provides a new and revisionary narrative of the campaign and is both a military history and an investigation of how the modern image of Bomber Command has developed. There have been hundreds of books about the RAF and Bomber Command ranging from highly researched histories, technical studies of the aircraft, to popular works; as well as countless films and plays, and television and newspaper reportage. Mark Connelly pulls all the strands together to produce a fascinating and entirely new perspective on this aspect of World War II.