A Trenchard Brat at War

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Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 1848840160
Total Pages : 254 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (488 download)

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Book Synopsis A Trenchard Brat at War by : Stuart Burbridge

Download or read book A Trenchard Brat at War written by Stuart Burbridge and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2009-06-18 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story of Thomas Lancashire who joined the RAF in 1936 and became one of the famous 'Trenchard Brats' at RAF Halton to be educated and learn the trade of fitter. He was first posted to 7 Squadron in 1939, at that time flying Whitley bombers but decided to advance himself to become a flight engineer on the new Stirling heavy bomber. He was posted to 15 Squadron at Wyton and completed a full tour that included the famous LŸbeck raid, the Thousand Bomber assault on Cologne and the follow up on Essen during which he was almost shot down over Antwerp. In July 1942 he was rested and became an instructor until being posted to 97 Squadron flying Lancasters. On his ninth raid of this tour, 11 August 1943, the aircraft was attacked by a night fighter over Belgium but he successfully baled out and was eventually picked up by the Resistance and handed to an escape line. Eventually the group of evaders was betrayed by a German agent and placed in captivity, ending up in Stalag Luft IV at MŸhlberg. During this time he escaped but was eventually recaptured and he was forced to share the growing despair and hardships in late 1944, enduring overcrowding, hunger and cold, until the Russian Army liberated the camp and he was airlifted back to the UK. His post-war career took him to Canada where he was employed on the Avro Arrow project until it was abandoned and he was forced to seek work in the USA. He worked with Boeing until his retirement .

Flying against Fate

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Author :
Publisher : University Press of Kansas
ISBN 13 : 0700624694
Total Pages : 264 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (6 download)

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Book Synopsis Flying against Fate by : S. P. MacKenzie

Download or read book Flying against Fate written by S. P. MacKenzie and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2017-08-04 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During World War II, Allied casualty rates in the air were high. Of the roughly 125,000 who served as aircrew with Bomber Command, 59,423 were killed or missing and presumed killed—a fatality rate of 45.5%. With odds like that, it would be no surprise if there were as few atheists in cockpits as there were in foxholes; and indeed, many airmen faced their dangerous missions with beliefs and rituals ranging from the traditional to the outlandish. Military historian S. P. MacKenzie considers this phenomenon in Flying against Fate, a pioneering study of the important role that superstition played in combat flier morale among the Allies in World War II. Mining a wealth of documents as well as a trove of published and unpublished memoirs and diaries, MacKenzie examines the myriad forms combat fliers' superstitions assumed, from jinxes to premonitions. Most commonly, airmen carried amulets or talismans—lucky boots or a stuffed toy; a coin whose year numbers added up to thirteen; counterintuitively, a boomerang. Some performed rituals or avoided other acts, e.g., having a photo taken before a flight. Whatever seemed to work was worth sticking with, and a heightened risk often meant an upsurge in superstitious thought and behavior. MacKenzie delves into behavior analysis studies to help explain the psychology behind much of the behavior he documents—not slighting the large cohort of crew members and commanders who demurred. He also looks into the ways in which superstitious behavior was tolerated or even encouraged by those in command who saw it as a means of buttressing morale. The first in-depth exploration of just how varied and deeply felt superstitious beliefs were to tens of thousands of combat fliers, Flying against Fate expands our understanding of a major aspect of the psychology of war in the air and of World War II.

A Trenchard Brat at War

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780753195697
Total Pages : 336 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (956 download)

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Book Synopsis A Trenchard Brat at War by : Thomas Lancashire

Download or read book A Trenchard Brat at War written by Thomas Lancashire and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The announcement of my intention to apply for entry into the Royal Air Force was met by abject horror from my mother and she was quite adamant that no son of hers was going to join the armed forces."Thomas Lancashire joined the RAF in 1936 and became a "Trenchard Brat" at RAF Halton. He was posted to 7 Squadron in 1939, flying Whitley bombers but decided to become a flight engineer on the Stirling heavy bomber. Posted to 15 Squadron he was involved in the Lnbeck raid. In 1942 he became an instructor until posted to 97 Squadron flying Lancasters. Attacked over Belgium he successfully baled out only to be betrayed by a German agent and placed in captivity.

Black Night for Bomber Command

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Author :
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 1781594422
Total Pages : 435 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (815 download)

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Book Synopsis Black Night for Bomber Command by : Richard Knott

Download or read book Black Night for Bomber Command written by Richard Knott and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2007-07-01 with total page 435 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "I am not pressing you to fight the weather as well as the Germans, never forget that." So wrote Winston Churchill to Arthur Harris, the Commander-in-Chief of RAF Bomber Command, after the terrible events of 16 December 1943. In the murky dusk almost five hundred heavy bombers, almost entirely Lancasters, set out for Berlin from their bases in eastern England, from north Yorkshire to southern Cambridgeshire. They lifted off at around 4 pm to bomb the target four hours later and were expected to return at midnight. 328 aircrew lost their lives that night they were the victims of the weather, not the Germans. This book relates the tragic circumstances of individual crews as they struggled to find their home bases in low cloud and fog. It also includes stories from the local people who remember hearing a low-flying aircraft and all too often the frightful explosion as it struck unexpected high ground or even trees. Some rescue attempts were successful, but for most aircrew it was death in a blazing wreck. Many of the crash sites have been explored by the author as he tried to imagine exactly how each aircraft came to grief. It contains many photos of aircraft as they were and the remaining impact areas that remain to this day.

3 Group Bomber Command

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Author :
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 1844157962
Total Pages : 346 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (441 download)

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Book Synopsis 3 Group Bomber Command by : Chris Ward

Download or read book 3 Group Bomber Command written by Chris Ward and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2009-04-21 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the immediate period before World War Two, the RAF modified its command structure to rationalize for rapid expansion. Bomber Command was divided into six operational groups, each flying the same type of aircraft. 3 Group had almost completely re-equipped with the Wellington by 4 September 1939 to carry out the second bombing operation of the war which was against German warships off Brunsbüttel. In 1940 the first of the new four-engined bombers, the Short Stirling, came into service with the Group, being followed in 1942 by the Avro Lancaster. On 3rd/4th November 1943, No. 3 Group played a leading part in the first bombing attack in which heavy bombers made use of the radar bombing aid known as G-H. The target was Düsseldorf; bombs were dropped "blind" and good results were obtained. In July and August 1944, aircraft of this Group equipped with G-H maintained an all-weather attack against flying-bomb sites. Through the D-Day build-up, the liberation of France and conquest of Germany, formations of No. 3 Group attacked railway junctions, marshalling yards, troop concentrations, etc. During the week ending 25th March 1945, Bomber Command made numerous attacks to prepare for the crossing of the Rhine.

The Battle of Berlin

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Author :
Publisher : Air World
ISBN 13 : 1526786397
Total Pages : 749 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (267 download)

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Book Synopsis The Battle of Berlin by : Martin W. Bowman

Download or read book The Battle of Berlin written by Martin W. Bowman and published by Air World. This book was released on 2020-05-30 with total page 749 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A fascinating look into the aircrews used and the effect on those who had to live through this constant bombing” by the RAF during World War II (UK Historian). Berlin was bombed by four Allied air forces between 1940 and 1945. British bombers alone dropped 45,517 tons of bombs, while the Americans a further 23,000 tons. By 1944, some 1.2 million people, 790,000 of them women and children, about a quarter of Berlin’s population, had been evacuated to rural areas. An effort was made to evacuate all children from Berlin, but this was defeated by parents and many evacuees who soon made their way back to the city. However, by May 1945, 1.7 million people—40% of the population—had fled the city. This fitting tribute to those who died in the relentless struggle to knock Berlin, and hopefully Germany, out of the war resonates with eyewitness accounts and background information which the author has painstakingly investigated and researched. The result is a hugely fascinating and highly readable narrative containing very real and unique observations by British and Commonwealth aircrew and, equally importantly, the long-suffering citizens of Berlin, and well as the capital’s defenders. Though not a defeat in absolute terms, in the operational sense The Battle of Berlin was an offensive that Air Marshal Sir Arthur Harris and his aircrews could not win. “Berlin won” concluded Sir Ralph Cochrane, the Air Officer Commanding 5 Group RAF Bomber Command. “It was just too tough a nut.” “An impressively informative, deftly written, exceptionally well documented, and expertly organized history . . . a seminal work of original scholarship.” —Midwest Book Review

To Scale the Skies

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Author :
Publisher : The History Press
ISBN 13 : 0752466925
Total Pages : 172 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (524 download)

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Book Synopsis To Scale the Skies by : Peter Cornwell

Download or read book To Scale the Skies written by Peter Cornwell and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2011-09-30 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With humble beginnings as an RAF apprentice, Johnny Wells progressed to pilot and rose to the higher echelons of command at the Air Ministry. From idyllic pre-war training, he would fly bombers against rebels over Iraq, combat Fw190s over England in the newly introduced and equally dangerous Typhoon; he would undertake hazardous low-level anti-shipping strikes in the English Channel, as well as train-busting sorties over occupied territory at night and close-support ground-attack operations across northern Europe following D-Day. Indeed, Wells ended the Second World War as one of the most successful and highly decorated Typhoon Wing Leaders in the Tactical Air Force. This well-researched account of one man's rise through the ranks of the Air Ministry is finely illustrated with contemporary images and is an excellent testimony of what was required of air pilots during the Second World War. Wells' story is both an inspiration and a gripping account of one man's journey through a service career spanning more than three turbulent decades.

Faces of the Few

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Author :
Publisher : Air World
ISBN 13 : 1399065408
Total Pages : 220 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (99 download)

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Book Synopsis Faces of the Few by : Dilip Sarkar

Download or read book Faces of the Few written by Dilip Sarkar and published by Air World. This book was released on 2023-04-20 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There remains an enduring fascination with the Battle of Britain, and the RAF aircrew who fought and won this unprecedented aerial conflict, immortalized by Churchill in August 1940 as ‘The Few’. Unlike today, when photography is a huge part of people’s daily lives, not least because of mobile phone cameras and the sharing of images via social media, back then photography involved comparatively primitive and expensive items of equipment and was not, therefore, as accessible as it is today. Furthermore, unofficial photography on service installations in Britain was strictly prohibited for security reasons, and consequently such photographs, often taken surreptitiously, are comparatively rare (although, interestingly, amateur photography was much more popular in Germany, and German servicemen took countless photographs, especially during the Blitzkrieg years). The author’s personal relationships and friendships with many of The Few, however, enabled him to unlock their personal archives, photograph albums and personal snapshots. The result of this research represents a substantial and unique archive. These photographs are not, in the main, posed official pictures, but those snapped by air and groundcrews who were keen amateur photographers, their images often shared around their squadron mates. The photographs presented here, some for the first time, provide the reader with a fascinating window on the past, through which we get an authentic glimpse of the summer of 1940 and The Few themselves. Indeed, in some cases, these are the only known images of certain individuals, while the likeness of others has been lost to history. That fact, therefore, emphasizes the importance of this photographic record.

The Colditz Myth

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Author :
Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 0191513989
Total Pages : 480 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (915 download)

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Book Synopsis The Colditz Myth by : S. P. MacKenzie

Download or read book The Colditz Myth written by S. P. MacKenzie and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2006-09-21 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Though only one among hundreds of prison camps in which British servicemen were held between 1939 and 1945, Colditz enjoys unparalleled name recognition both in Britain and in other parts of the English-speaking world. Made famous in print, on film, and through television, Colditz remains a potent symbol of key virtues - including ingenuity and perseverance against apparantly overwhelming odds - that form part of the popular mythology surrounding the British war effort in World War II. Colditz has played a major role in shaping perceptions of the POW experience in Nazi Germany, an experience in which escaping is assumed to be paramount and 'Outwitting the Hun' a universal sport. The story of Colditz has been told often and in a variety of forms but in this book MacKenzie chronicles the development of the Colditz myth and puts what happened inside the castle in the context of British and Commonwealth POW life in Germany as a whole. Being a captive of the Third Reich - from the moment of surrender down to the day of liberation and repatriation - was more complicated and a good deal tougher than the popular myth would suggest. The physical and mental demands of survival far outweighed escaping activity in order of importance in most camps almost all of the time, and even in Colditz the reality was in some respects very different from the almost Boy's Own caricature that developed during the post-war decades. In The Real Colditz MacKenzie seeks, for the first time, to place Colditz - both the camp and the legend - in a wider historical context.

Colditz Myth C

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780191532238
Total Pages : 492 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (322 download)

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Book Synopsis Colditz Myth C by :

Download or read book Colditz Myth C written by and published by . This book was released on with total page 492 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Through first-hand accounts of hundreds of ordinary prisoners of war, Paul MacKenzie strips away the mythology and presents the real picture of what it was like to be captured and interrogated and to endure the physical and mental hardships of captivity. Colditz is placed in a wider historical context.

Fighter Operations in Europe and North Africa, 1939–1945

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Author :
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1781597790
Total Pages : 267 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (815 download)

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Book Synopsis Fighter Operations in Europe and North Africa, 1939–1945 by : David Wragg

Download or read book Fighter Operations in Europe and North Africa, 1939–1945 written by David Wragg and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2012-02-29 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fighter Operations in Europe and North Africa 1939–1945 tells the story of Allied and German fighter pilots in Europe, over the Mediterranean and in North Africa during the Second World War. The book starts with the early skirmishes as each side tested the others defenses, moves through the Battle of Britain and then the Blitz, when the emphasis switched from single-engined day fighters to twin-engined night fighters, while increasingly fighters were used to sweep over enemy air fields and lines of communication in occupied France. This overlapped with the need to provide air cover for the besieged island fortress of Malta by day and by night, as well as defensive operations against Axis forces in Crete and North Africa, but as the balance of power changed in North Africa, the Desert Air Force was formed incorporating elements from many Allied air forces and the emphasis moved to offensive operations in support of ground forces. The invasions of Italy and the South of France also called for fighter cover, initially by carrier-based aircraft. The lessons learnt in North Africa were put to good use by the 2nd Allied Tactical Air Force, which accompanied the advancing allied armies towards and eventually into Germany, achieving all important air supremacy which was a major factor in the Allied victory. The book also covers Luftwaffe fighter pilots as they sought to stop the RAF by night and the USAAF by day, against increasingly overwhelming odds.

The Pathfinder Companion

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Publisher : Casemate Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1909808822
Total Pages : 450 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (98 download)

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Book Synopsis The Pathfinder Companion by : Sean Feast

Download or read book The Pathfinder Companion written by Sean Feast and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2012-10-24 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Veterans of the RAF’s legendary Pathfinder Force share their personal accounts of WWII in this authoritative history by the author of Master Bombers. During the Second World War, the Pathfinder Force was the corps d’élite of Bomber Command. Literally leading the charge in the Royal Air Force’s bombing raids over Nazi occupied territory, the aircrews of the PFF required top notch skills and nerves of steel. In Pathfinder Companion, aviation historian Sean Feast tells the remarkable stories of these brave men, drawing on extensive interviews with veterans as well as official records and archival documents. Pathfinder Companion highlights the raids and the losses, the successes and failures, the terror and the turmoil these men endured, as well as the inevitable humor in the face of tremendous adversity. Profusely illustrated throughout with photos and memorabilia, the book shows how a poorly equipped, disparate group was forged into one of the most effective fighting forces ever created.

RAF Handbook 1939-1945

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Author :
Publisher : The History Press
ISBN 13 : 0752495992
Total Pages : 312 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (524 download)

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Book Synopsis RAF Handbook 1939-1945 by : David Wragg

Download or read book RAF Handbook 1939-1945 written by David Wragg and published by The History Press. This book was released on 2007-01-18 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It opens with a brief history of the service, followed by a chapter that reviews its situation on the outbreak of war. The chapters that follow look at the structure of the RAF, from the Air Ministry and Chief of the Air Staff down to squadron level, to include each of the Commands, including Transport Command (a creation of the war years). The main aircraft types used are listed, as well as a full listing of squadrons and airfields in the British Isles. The training of personnel, and such matters as uniforms, rank insignia, medals and life on a typical airfield, are also covered. The main battles or campaigns in which the service was involved are also described.

A Trenchard Brat at War

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Author :
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 1473819911
Total Pages : 199 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (738 download)

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Book Synopsis A Trenchard Brat at War by : Thomas Lancashire

Download or read book A Trenchard Brat at War written by Thomas Lancashire and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2009-06-18 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the story of Thomas Lancashire who joined the RAF in 1936 and became one of the famous 'Trenchard Brats' at RAF Halton to be educated and learn the trade of fitter. He was first posted to 7 Squadron in 1939, at that time flying Whitley bombers but decided to advance himself to become a flight engineer on the new Stirling heavy bomber. He was posted to 15 Squadron at Wyton and completed a full tour that included the famous Lbeck raid, the Thousand Bomber assault on Cologne and the follow up on Essen during which he was almost shot down over Antwerp. In July 1942 he was rested and became an instructor until being posted to 97 Squadron flying Lancasters. On his ninth raid of this tour, 11 August 1943, the aircraft was attacked by a night fighter over Belgium but he successfully baled out and was eventually picked up by the Resistance and handed to an escape line.Eventually the group of evaders was betrayed by a German agent and placed in captivity, ending up in Stalag Luft IV at Mhlberg. During this time he escaped but was eventually recaptured and he was forced to share the growing despair and hardships in late 1944, enduring overcrowding, hunger and cold, until the Russian Army liberated the camp and he was airlifted back to the UK.His post-war career took him to Canada where he was employed on the Avro Arrow project until it was abandoned and he was forced to seek work in the USA. He worked with Boeing until his retirement .

The Other Few

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Author :
Publisher : Red Kite / Air Research
ISBN 13 : 0954620127
Total Pages : 302 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (546 download)

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Book Synopsis The Other Few by : Larry Donnelly

Download or read book The Other Few written by Larry Donnelly and published by Red Kite / Air Research. This book was released on 2004 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This title pays tribute to the achievements of Bomber and Coastal Command pilots who made such a vital contribution to the war, but whose efforts have gone largely unrecorded.

Fighter Pilots of the RAF 1939-1945

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Author :
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 0850527864
Total Pages : 235 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (55 download)

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Book Synopsis Fighter Pilots of the RAF 1939-1945 by : Chaz Bowyer

Download or read book Fighter Pilots of the RAF 1939-1945 written by Chaz Bowyer and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2000-09-13 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author has selected some twenty RAF fighter pilots of the Second World War, not only to give overdue recognition to their prowess and courage, but also to exemplify the wide diversity of the individual characters of those men whose war was fought from the cockpit of an RAF fighter. A few were familiar names but most received little or no public acclaim, being part of the silent majority which provided the real spine of the RAF's fighter effort throughout the conflict.

Heroes of Bomber Command

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Author :
Publisher : Heroes of Bomber Command
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 196 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis Heroes of Bomber Command by : Graham Smith

Download or read book Heroes of Bomber Command written by Graham Smith and published by Heroes of Bomber Command. This book was released on 2008 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.