Sean Feast joins Fighting High

Important and delightful news from the great aircrew book publisher, Fighting High Publishing. Aircrew Book Review has been an ardent supporter of Fighting High before it was Fighting High and, indeed, before ABR was ABR!

Indeed, Steve was the first to send me a book to review (a P&S title) for his latest venture so, in essence, is partly responsible for the creation of ABR (these past 16 years can't all be my fault!). This was back in the day when Steve, already an accomplished author, was stepping out on his own, initially looking at a 'periodical-style' of presenting aircrew stories which, in turn, became the two-volume Fighting High series. These evolved into the much-lauded, similarly large format Failed to Return series. 

Since then, Fighting High the publisher has released a variety of memoirs and biographies of unerring high quality. While most have been Bomber Command-related (and who can forget the outstanding BC Memorial and International Bomber Command Centre commemorative books), the memoirs have also featured men who flew in the Mediterranean and Far East Theatres, and during the Battle of Britain, not to mention several prisoner of war accounts, stories about US airmen, individual crews, collections of biographies and even full-colour photo essays of two American Thunderbolt units, and a Great War army unit history. 

Established authors, such as Andrew White, Robert Owen, Steve Brew, Michael Cumming, Marc Hall, Steve Bond, Nigel Julian and Graham Cross have joined first timers, including veterans, to contribute to an impressive back catalogue. None, however, have appeared as many times as Sean Feast, who first contributed to some of Fighting High's earliest works. Sean's own back catalogue comes from a number of publishers, and all are worth chasing down, but his most-impactful works – namely Missing Presumed Murdered and The Lost Graves of Peenemunde – were released by Fighting High. For him to come on board, after some shaky times for the publisher during the lockdowns and event cancellations of the early 2020s, speaks highly of Steve Darlow's enduring commitment to keep these stories alive. Fighting High just took the next step. Its foundation is strong, its future luminous.

Fighting High Publishing - 50% discount offer

As part of Aircrew Book Review's tenth anniversary celebrations, Steve Darlow, the man behind Fighting High, publisher of some of the finest hardback aircrew books on the market, and staunch supporter of the Bomber Command Memorial and the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund is offering the books pictured below for 50% off their normal price (signed editions included)!!!

All you have to do is visit the Fighting High website, select the books you want to buy, and enter the code 'ABR' in the discount field at checkout. This generous offer will run until the end of April. Enjoy!

Dam Busters: Failed To Return - Robert Owen et al

As has been quoted many times there are two constants in life – death and taxes.  Similarly, it is a given that, pretty much every year, there will be aircrew books published on one of two subjects – the Battle of Britain and the Dam Buster raid.  Both events are household names and have been the genesis of many a 1940s air war obsession (I can blame the BoB).  They have become the ‘poster boys’ of the wartime RAF and have shaped the public’s perception of the service in the years since.  There is still much to be written on both subjects although this seems less likely when comparing the two – the raid on the dams involved just one squadron so its scope of personal stories is relatively small.  A Dam Buster book will always sell well but how do you make it really stand out?

I’ve written about a large format book by Fighting High Publishing before.  That book was, and continues to be, a resounding success and a benchmark for quality and presentation.  The latest in the Failed To Return series, Dam Busters: Failed To Return, continues this legacy.

The premise behind the FTR series is similar to author Steve Darlow’s Five Of The Few and Five Of The Many – detailed biographies of aircrew collected under the one title.  As is plainly clear, the common thread in this more recent series of books (three titles with a fourth due in 2014) is that the subjects did not survive to see peace.  This serves to make the books poignant, quite moving and deserving of a treatment of the highest standard.

The losses suffered by No. 617 Squadron during the raid are very well known.  Some of the pilots’ names, in particular, are very familiar among aircrew enthusiasts and researchers.  Gibson, Shannon, Martin, Hopgood, Young, McCarthy and Munro all come to mind easily.  However, they do not even account for half of the pilots involved and are just seven of the 133 men who flew the raid.  As is often the case, those who survived have received more literary attention so this collective work by four experienced Bomber Command authors is most welcome.  Indeed, it borders on the magnificent.

DBFTR opens, as expected, with an overview of the raid and the technology that made it possible.  It is all familiar ground but Robert Owen does well to keep this section under control and not get carried away with detail.  This is, after all, a book dedicated to the men involved.  He returns later to provide two of the five biographical chapters and the postscript analysing the effects of the raid and the subsequent post-war examinations and conclusions, for better or worse, performed by all and sundry.  His first biography of one of the very experienced pilots on the raid – Bill Astell DFC – is the perfect foil to Steve Darlow’s opener which details a young pilot for whom the raid was only his fourth operational sortie.

Sean Feast and Arthur Thorning provide the remaining chapters.  The former writes, in his usual flowing style, about two of the three men who became POWs – both were from Hopgood’s crew - while the latter presents a beautifully detailed piece on the best known of the six airmen featured – ‘Dinghy’ Young.

The authors really go to town on their charges but all present the minutiae of training and ops in a very readable style and seamlessly work in the personal aspects that bring each man to life.  Happily, they are not the only men, who failed to return, featured in the book as all 53 killed are included in a roll of honour in the final pages.  Indicative of the effort made with this title this roll is more than just a list of names.  At the very least their age, burial location, headstone inscription and crew are given.  Where possible, photos of either the headstone or the man himself (or both) are included.  It is a really nice touch.  Reading through these pages makes me hope for a second book about these men although, to match the content of this book, there would be some repetition as the circumstances surrounding the loss of five of the eight aircraft downed have already been detailed.  The roll is a fitting conclusion to a book that opens with Barnes Wallis’ moving letter of gratitude, guilt and sympathy to AVM Sir Ralph Cochrane.  This text is respectfully laid over a greyed-out photo of a cemetery.  I read this aloud to our baby son, glanced at him, then glanced at the headstones and had to stop to compose myself.

Dam Busters: Failed To Return is certainly not the only book on the raid to be published in this 70^th anniversary year (Cooper’s classic The Men Who Breached The Dams has been reprinted … to name one) but it certainly stands out as it is so very well done.  It won’t be the last book on this most famous of raids but all forthcoming Dam Busters books, including a potential sequel, now have a higher standard to achieve if they are to compete with this format, content and value for money. 

On Wings Of Fortune - Richard Pinkham and Steve Darlow

Following his confronting Flightpath To Murder (reviewed below) Steve Darlow is due to publish On Wings Of Fortune written with W/C Richard Pinkham DFC - a pilot of commensurate skill. Here's the blurb from Steve's website:

RAF veteran Wing Commander Richard Pinkham DFC presents the extraordinary and graphic account of his experiences flying 62 World War Two bombing operations. He tells his story with candour and without pulling punches although the occasional humorous anecdote lightens proceedings. The reader joins Richard in the cockpit of his bomber as he dares the bursting flak, dives to avoid penetrating searchlights and wrestles his damaged aircraft home.

Richard served with the RAF through the entire war embarking on his operational career amid the desperate fight for survival that was the Battle of Britain. He went on to take part in some of the largest bombing raids ever carried out against Germany. With odds of 5 to 1 against him, Richard, unlike so many of his fellow airmen, lived to tell his story. He was then posted to North Africa to blast the Axis forces from Tunisia and, finally, spent the last year of the war in the Far East taking up fascinating accident investigation duties.

On Wings of Fortune is an exceptional story by a distinguished and decorated RAF veteran who flew and fought in the World War Two aerial front line. Acclaimed author Steve Darlow provides the general context of the bomber war. Richard Pinkham relives his terrifying, gripping and fascinating story.

As you can see from the above, and the details on the cover, this is flying and service over and on three continents so certainly something of interest for everyone, I reckon. Due for release in April - as Steve said "the books are in some container on some ocean" - this looks like it will be a fascinating read and, at 17.99 GBP, a readily affordable one. A limited, signed edition will also be available. For further details, please visit Steve Darlow's Fighting High - On Wings Of Fortune.

Flightpath To Murder - Steve Darlow

Murder is something you only really read or think about in passing in books about Commonwealth aircrew. Death is sadly prevalent but, depending on your views of the bombing campaigns conducted by both sides, murder only seems to 'directly' rear its ugly head when books venture into the realm of prisoners and downed airmen. Of course as I write this I am bouncing the idea around in my head trying to think of other circumstances in the genre covered by this site. Anyway, this is how I approached Steve Darlow's latest effort. I had to chuckle, as you may recall from the Seafire review below I read that book to take a break from Australian aircrew, when I found the airman involved was an Australian flying with the RAF. However this was the very last scrap of misguided mirth I was to utter with relation to this book. FTM is not your average 'derring-do' aircrew book and the story within is as disturbing as it is emotionally draining.

If you read books about aircrew with any sort of regularity you develop a 'sixth sense' of knowledge and the ability to read between the lines. You know the basic path a pilot or gunner will take before he flies on operations and you expect the searchlights and/or flak and fighters etc. In reading widely you will no doubt encounter stories of aircrew parachuting from their stricken aircraft only to be set upon - and injured or worse - by angry civilian 'lynch mobs'. In some cases there'll be a footnote, paragraph or appendix detailing those responsible being tried as war criminals. These accounts of 'terrorfliegers' are always confronting but are often lost in the myriad of edge-of-your-seat action and adventure. Imagine an entire book devoted to one such account...

Bill Maloney is one of the many – the many thousands of Commonwealth fighter pilots who will never be household names. However their contributions – and sacrifices – were no less important than those of Bader, Johnson, Caldwell or Kain. Maloney, though, belongs to a select and unfortunate group of young airmen whose death became the subject of a war crimes investigation and, ultimately, led to further loss of life. Other than that there is little that we know of Maloney. His story is supplied from official records, his logbook, family memories and his letters home. Detail and context are added by his squadron mates and contemporaries of the time. Other than that, there’s not much to go on so the author has done an admirable job in turning the Australian pilot into someone the reader can relate to and reflect upon.

Joining 80 Squadron in May 1944, Maloney flew their Spitfire IXs over Normandy on convoy patrols and provided escort to bombers hitting V1 launch sites. The obligatory fighter sweeps took on a whole new meaning when the squadron re-equipped with Tempests in August of that year. A busy month later (indeed, the day before Operation Market Garden) Maloney’s Tempest was hit by flak while attacking a train and he force-landed on the Dutch-German border near the town of Elten. While the majority of the book examines the war crimes tribunal, the lives of the civilians involved and the effect of the war itself on the local population, it is the pages following the account of Maloney’s loss that are by far the most moving. Letters to his family from the squadron and his mates are an indication of the esteem in which he was held. However, it is the letters to his mother – from the mothers of a good mate and acquaintance also killed and even from one of the staff of an officers’ club in London – from women who only knew of Mrs Maloney through her son that really hit home. Sharing an intense loss and voicing what Mrs Maloney would have no doubt felt, these letters – fully transcribed in the text – are most powerful and, sadly, provided the family with the most up to date news on the fate of the Australian. Believe it or not, the Maloney family was not aware of the war crimes investigation and subsequent prosecution until the author made contact.

Having established the mystery from the opening chapter and then showing Maloney in the thick of things while on operational service, the author dives head first into witness accounts of the pilot’s death. He introduces the ‘characters’ and major players in the story with great detail – examining their lives before and during the war. What struck me was the witnesses and civilian ‘participants’ in the crime appear to have been completely normal family men (for the most part). Ordinary men thrown into extraordinary circumstances.

The events following the forced landing are laid out from a variety of viewpoints and, of course, are detailed during the trial of the accused. The author follows the fortunes of those involved in the period leading up to the trial. The local population was, apparently, sickened by what had happened to Maloney and this seems to have had some influence on the suspects eventually handing themselves in although I suspect the belief they were ‘following orders’ was enough to clear their conscience.

I have deliberately not gone into the circumstances of Maloney’s death or the detail of the trial. To do so would require considerable time and, well, you’re better off reading the book. However, at the very heart of the investigation, is the determination of how the pilot died (and the ramifications this has on the accused). Was the beating he received from the soldiers enough to kill him or was it the rifle shot to the head fired by the civilian official (the coup-de-grace to put him out of his misery apparently)? As you can imagine, to examine such interpretations the author would have gone to some pretty dark places and he freely admits this. Similarly, it does not make for easy reading. Readable, yes, but completely confronting and disturbing.

The discussion about what caused Maloney’s death is mirrored, ironically, in the only execution of one of the accused. Hanging, as it turned out, was often not the cause of death for war criminals. They were hanged, yes, but a study ‘post-gallows’ often revealed the existence of a heartbeat in many cases. Death then came by way of a chloroform injection. I marvelled at the irony but it didn’t make it any more pleasant to read (or write this paragraph).

Time to look at the book as a whole as the tone is darkening. At the core of FTM is the death of a young man who was loved by his family and admired for his character. To some under his guns and bombs, he was evil and the source of all of their suffering. Indeed, this is a book of suffering – from the German civilians under constant bombardment to Maloney’s distraught family in Australia. Even the author is not immune. However he injects heart into what otherwise would have been a cold account of a war crimes trial (and that wouldn’t have made it into mainstream publication). The motivations and backgrounds of every single person featured in the trial are revealed to the reader so they are more than just names on a page. A sense of foreboding prevails right from the start and lasts for more than 50 pages. The business of meting out justice then takes over but this is slowly replaced by a growing frustration. Only one of the accused was hanged, the others managed to distance themselves from any violent act and had their lengthy sentences shortened to the extent they were free men by the mid-1950s - how quickly attitudes can change. That is, the accused who could be identified. The soldiers who did the bashing may still be with us enjoying their long lives.

But for the author’s efforts to write this book, Maloney’s family may never have known the complete circumstances of his death and the subsequent investigation. For them a great service has been done. For us, the general reading masses, we are fortunate the life of an otherwise forgotten pilot has been given the attention it deserves. While far more confronting than enjoyable, this book is a challenge and a departure from the standard Steve Darlow fare but that doesn’t make it any less interesting. If you’re a fan of the author or you like to maintain a well-rounded ‘education’ with regard to Commonwealth aircrew, FTM should be in your collection.

The reviewed copy is published by Haynes - Haynes - Flightpath To Murder. Best known for their motor vehicle manuals, Haynes has recently branched out into books of this genre. I believe FTM is one of their earliest publications along these lines and, if their production quality is anything to go by, they’re off to a good start. The photographs are reproduced in one section on ‘glossy’ paper and complement the text exceedingly well – faces to names etc.

I found it best to tackle this book in chapters. I know that sounds obvious but you will need to ‘break away from the darkness’ at times. Maybe that was just me but it’s worth suggesting it.

Reviewed copy published by J H Haynes & Co Ltd in 2009. ISBN 978-1-84425-541-2

Mosquito: Menacing the Reich - Martin Bowman

Martin Bowman has written extensively on the Mosquito and his latest effort is perhaps the most wide-ranging of them all. Through almost 300 detailed pages and more than 80 photographs, he explores ops across the whole gamut of Mossie ‘jobs’ – low-level strike, Pathfinders, anti-shipping, “Cookie” bombing, target marking, intruders, photo-recce, USAAF usage and, pleasingly, ops in the Far East.

Mosquito will appeal to all readers as it provides an excellent summary (for want of a better word) of just what this wonderful aircraft and her crews were employed to do. However, it is not infallible and I found the chronological blow-by-blow accounts of operations in each chapter occasionally hard to follow and, at times, suffering from the use of repetitive wording. The editing is of a reasonably good standard but falls away in the second half.

Beyond this periphery of minor ‘gremlins’, though, is where Mosquito really shines above anything I’ve read in recent months. Importantly, through numerous resources (excellent and very readable notes are provided in case you want to follow things further), the author has included many passages written or spoken by Mosquito aircrew. These range from anecdotes of several lines to entire accounts of raids that span several pages and make for fascinating reading. Looking at the book from this angle, the author has very cleverly provided the context, the skeleton if you will, and then let the aircrew speak for themselves to “flesh-out” the bones of the book.

The Mosquito and her aircrew have already achieved legendary status but Martin Bowman’s latest, while going over familiar territory, may just enhance that reputation.

I reviewed this title very late last year for Steve Darlow's Fighting High e-zine - http://www.fightinghigh.com/ - which is now being developed into a series of books.

The copy I have is a well-produced hardback by Pen & Sword and is available from their website and Amazon of course. There are many photos in the book including a surprising number of USAAF aircrew and Mossies.

Welcome

Welcome to a silly idea I had several days ago! I have been an avid reader of aircrew memoirs from the Second World War for as long as I can remember (not counting the various other interests that I have flitted to over time). I started collecting titles as found on Amazon but in the past few years have concentrated on books about the members of the RAF and Commonwealth air forces. I still maintain a passing interest in the operations of the USAAF, USN Luftwaffe and Japanese forces but, as an Australian, you can probably understand where my heart lies!

Around about 2000, when I started collecting in earnest, I stuggled to find vast amounts of books on the subject. For those of you in the know this is a ridiculous thing to say as there are thousands of titles on the RAF alone. My wish list for collecting and learning is a good read in itself.

In the past couple of years I have been fortunate to make some excellent friends in the UK and Australia who have helped broaden my knowledge of what's available and, in some cases, spend my money for me (I'm looking at you Toor!). In doing so, I have also corresponded with and met several authors and gained some insight into what it takes to put a well-researched book together. One of these days I hope to do the same but for the time being writing reviews (Amazon and Fighting High - Steve Darlow's e-zine) and the occasional article (I also run another blog) will see me through as I gather what I need.

I have worked as a journalist in the past and run my own online magazine which was very time consuming and eventually led to the other blog which is much easier to maintain. My interest in the aviation of the Second World War began with a school library book on The Battle of Britain when I was nine. Numerous plastic models, museum visits, movies and Commando comics later I branched out into books like Squadron Signal's 'In Action' series (cheap for a teenager) and generalist titles covering certain aircraft. My first memory of a memoir (ha) was an oldish, secondhand copy of Alex Henshaw's superlative Sigh for a Merlin bought at a primary school market - incidentally, still the best Spitfire book I have ever read. I devoured it and although I haven't read it since (early 1990s) I can still vividly remember many of Alex's adventures testing this greatest of aircraft. I'd say it's time to read it again!

My time as a journalist proper was short-lived as I had to make some decent money but it followed time as an accountant, truck driver and recruitment researcher. Most recently I was a recruitment consultant but it's now time to find something better. Throughout my various incarnations I have maintained a fascination for what aircrew experienced during the war. I have been fortunate enough to meet several veterans and have even worked alongside some on a couple of major aircraft restorations down here in Australia. To a man I have found them friendly, modest and, at times, wondering what all the fuss is about. A gross generalisation perhaps but any variance would be understandable considering what they lived through. I know I could certainly not have done what they did in their late teens/early 20s. Fortunately, I have not had the opportunity to prove this otherwise and that's largely because of what these men (and women) sacrificed for what we have today.

Each book is a pleasure to read (even the not-so-great ones) and I hope I can convey what each is like to read without giving the game away too much. I'll also endeavour to let you know when or where I bought my copy and where it is available now as I'll be reviewing old and new titles (basically whatever takes my fancy at the time). Please also feel free to recommend titles I may not be aware of or that you think would complement a reviewed title.

Cheers

Andy Wright

aircrewbooksATiinet.net.au