If you are fascinated by the true, unsung heroes of WWII, and want to know what life was really like for them, don't miss this memorable read.
From rookie airman to flying officer, with seventy-nine bombing operations in his log book, the author recalls his night-time RAF experiences, flying as a rear gunner in Lancaster bombers over Germany, and in day-light operations in B-26 Martin Marauders, supporting the 8th Army, with the SAAF, in Italy.
The author flew on several of the most important RAF bombing operations of the war: Operation Gomorrah against Hamburg; Operation Hydra against the "V" terror-weapon research station at Peenemunde, and two operations against Berlin, in the early stages of the campaign that would later be called the RAF's Battle of Berlin. In the December of 1943, whilst the author was home on leave - after completing his first full tour of thirty operations - the rest of the author's Lancaster crew returned to Berlin. They never came back. All were killed in action in the night skies over the city.
Against this background of ever-present danger, the author also recalls the antics of his aircrews, very young men trying to live as normal a life as possible when not airborne. The author's many friends and fellow aircrew, in the RAF and SAAF, who died fighting for their country, get special mention.
From rookie airman to flying officer, with seventy-nine bombing operations in his log book, the author recalls his night-time RAF experiences, flying as a rear gunner in Lancaster bombers over Germany, and in day-light operations in B-26 Martin Marauders, supporting the 8th Army, with the SAAF, in Italy.
The author flew on several of the most important RAF bombing operations of the war: Operation Gomorrah against Hamburg; Operation Hydra against the "V" terror-weapon research station at Peenemunde, and two operations against Berlin, in the early stages of the campaign that would later be called the RAF's Battle of Berlin. In the December of 1943, whilst the author was home on leave - after completing his first full tour of thirty operations - the rest of the author's Lancaster crew returned to Berlin. They never came back. All were killed in action in the night skies over the city.
Against this background of ever-present danger, the author also recalls the antics of his aircrews, very young men trying to live as normal a life as possible when not airborne. The author's many friends and fellow aircrew, in the RAF and SAAF, who died fighting for their country, get special mention.
