tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79878967466484315722024-03-16T12:13:02.414+11:00Aircrew Book ReviewEstablished 2009. Reviews of books featuring aircrew of the RAF, FAA and Commonwealth air forces during the Second World War with occasional reviews of other titles covering the conflict.Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.comBlogger219125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-24152141258166292482023-12-27T15:02:00.003+11:002023-12-27T15:02:44.868+11:00Flying with the Navy – Steve and Heather Bond<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOKrCHnQOFeWX6sFkT9cQVDAYavC7NllecRiDqHgRc4Fgz-xyqLJbNXWuUph4YFX7mUWtNjw1b_CtAGYmDqZiWBAzwUzI7Ylhxhn_1zHXSwT8uxlDmkd9J6VVW8nA_ZqTLZ7VnbTu6GYzY4xeBqYFNtuDKyK4y4iQRT5y4iOmDUTKBE-A9wcqnzaVmUAM/s1662/FlyingWiththeNavy%20SBond%20HBond%20cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1240" data-original-width="1662" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOKrCHnQOFeWX6sFkT9cQVDAYavC7NllecRiDqHgRc4Fgz-xyqLJbNXWuUph4YFX7mUWtNjw1b_CtAGYmDqZiWBAzwUzI7Ylhxhn_1zHXSwT8uxlDmkd9J6VVW8nA_ZqTLZ7VnbTu6GYzY4xeBqYFNtuDKyK4y4iQRT5y4iOmDUTKBE-A9wcqnzaVmUAM/w400-h299/FlyingWiththeNavy%20SBond%20HBond%20cover.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I can't say I've ever seen a landscape format book from <a href="https://grubstreet.co.uk/product/flying-with-the-navy-author-signed-copy/" target="_blank">Grub Street</a> before, especially an aviation title. It's a surprising package from cover to cover (almost as surprising as ABR showcasing a book with a 'Brick' on the cover!). As a sucker for anything to do with wartime naval aviation, and therefore absorbing anything to do with the subject either side of 1939–45, I expected to see some familiar images, but none were. The photos are the 'cast offs'; those not used in the author's <i><a href="https://grubstreet.co.uk/product/fleet-air-arm-boys-volume-four/" target="_blank">Fleet Air Arm Boys</a></i> series. That says a lot for the quality of the images in that series as this book is quite magic.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The subject matter, which of course guides the images (or was it vice versa?!), covers almost all aspects of life in the Royal Navy's air arm, from far flung bases and theatres to life at sea and 'coming home'. Just about every aircraft type used by the air arm gets its own chapter and photo spread, as do some of the roles that make everything happen and the cultural norms familiar to the naval family. Some of the captions are quite pithy too.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">At first glance, you could argue <i>Flying with the Navy </i>is a potted history of the RNAS and FAA, but it goes so much deeper than that. This is the illustrated story of an air arm that, but for a few long years in the mid-1940s, has always had to justify its existence. Its people have always played the cards they've been dealt and always, always, delivered more than could ever be expected. The proof is in the images and breadth of narrative.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Visit <a href="https://shop.navywings.org.uk/collections/new-ideas/products/flying-with-the-navy?fbclid=IwAR1OXjozTO_DVVo3pjNfnGt6gdxSpZOTxIwwX_-JSiI21CwnI5nClhLxRoU" target="_blank">Navy Wings</a> and support them by buying the book from their store. </i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Please be mindful the Grub Street website links above are only of use if you are in the UK. For various reasons, the publisher no longer ships outside the UK. Please speak to your local bookshop to buy/order a copy, visit the Navy Wings link above, access your preferred buying website or use <a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/R5oLrN" target="_blank">this Abebooks link</a> to acquire a copy.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/R5oLrN" target="_blank">ISBN 978-1-91171-4-033</a></span></p>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-83409888545311037412023-09-05T14:50:00.000+10:002023-09-05T14:50:26.432+10:00Mosquito Intruder Pilot – Jeremy Walsh<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilIHR6A93DlyJ7XBq7JcNm3xcllx7sUcJ7W-HQlMvfj-7_IKDBCyunJddnnGNb8MZ3Trdyv2H2DgtVPI027wNmTzpkWFzG8PLHWCXJX9-iVOp8WLZAH_qgKIJxkw2HDBdxoQBAcvKB-ygJSIVSMz1zcF3mRjFWqyyFEEuwX8O0ynCP4MH-ohgEnYnmbu4/s2090/MosquitoIntruderPilot%20JWalsh%20cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2090" data-original-width="1366" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilIHR6A93DlyJ7XBq7JcNm3xcllx7sUcJ7W-HQlMvfj-7_IKDBCyunJddnnGNb8MZ3Trdyv2H2DgtVPI027wNmTzpkWFzG8PLHWCXJX9-iVOp8WLZAH_qgKIJxkw2HDBdxoQBAcvKB-ygJSIVSMz1zcF3mRjFWqyyFEEuwX8O0ynCP4MH-ohgEnYnmbu4/w261-h400/MosquitoIntruderPilot%20JWalsh%20cover.png" width="261" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Far East. That’s how you get my attention. Right, the book is off the shelf. Read the back cover description and/or blurbs: ‘Intruder’, ‘night fighters’, ‘strain’, ‘twitch’, ‘Oscar’. Okay, good. Inside flap: ‘lied about his age’, ‘Boston’, belly landings’, ‘engine failures’. Somewhat standard, but what’s this about his age? He turned 21 in February 1945; he flew his first op in the fourth quarter of 1942. I’ll leave that for you to figure out. <i><a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Mosquito-Intruder-Pilot-Hardback/p/21373?aid=1118" target="_blank">Mosquito Intruder Pilot</a></i> makes all the right moves in selling itself as the complete package – the ideal aircrew biography – and, bar a scattering of issues, it does just that.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Ben Walsh, missing the camaraderie of his older friends who had already enlisted and wanting to do his bit, managed (amazingly) to get his parents to sign a letter saying he could enlist when he was 18. Through further acts of subterfuge, he signed on with the RAF quite short of that milestone. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Training complete, he was posted to No 418 Squadron to fly Douglas Boston intruders; the unit was new to the role and had suffered heavy losses for little return. These losses continued steadily, the system of two nights on/two nights off – with there being a good chance of not even being called for an op when ‘on’ – meant it really was the luck of the draw, despite some casualties from non-operational accidents. Duty crews, as the night progressed, were stood down one by one if nothing was in the offing. Besides the stress of being on call, the nervous energy that must have dissipated when a crew stood down or built as those remaining continued waiting, would have done a number on any man. Indeed, knowing you were flying that night would have been a release, a known quantity to some extent.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">By mid-1943, with 18 ops under his belt, and an interminable number of hours at readiness, it is clear Ben has been struggling with his nerves for some time. This was perhaps exacerbated by his desire to remember his friends and colleagues who were lost; throughout his service he maintained a ‘roll of honour’. By this stage, there were 32 on the list. As the squadron began to convert to the Mosquito, however, and the operational tempo increased, Ben could finally see an end to his first tour. The unit, though, as part of the RCAF in the RAF, had become more Canadian and, as a British NCO, Ben’s conversion to the new type didn’t appear to be much of a priority, although he did complete it. It was then he and his navigator were told they were off to the Far East.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">An eventful ferry journey east ended with the delivery of the recalcitrant Mosquito to Allahabad. Senses overloaded by a very foreign land, the two men were briefly posted to a PR unit, much to their frustration given their experience (it was all because they were a Mosquito crew), before finally landing with No 27 Squadron in late November 1943.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Initially, the tempo of ops resembled those in the UK. By April 1944, Ben had only notched up another four trips. The decision of 27 Squadron to retain its Beaufighters, however, forced a move to No 45 Squadron. The unit, consisting mostly of Australians and New Zealanders, came under a different command and Ben was told his ops didn’t count and he would have to start his tour all over again! On top of the surprising and distressing loss of his mother earlier in the year, not to mention his obvious homesickness, it is clear the literal and figurative drop in our hero’s shoulders, and subsequent hospitalisation, had little to do with the oppressive climate of the region. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Still, he fought on, returning to the unit as an ‘outsider’ in some respects. The grounding of the Mosquito in the theatre due to issues with water ingress and the much-vaunted glue issues was just another thing to be overcome if his luck, relatively speaking, held. With the squadron’s aircraft strength reduced after intensive investigations and assessments, its eventual return to operations was welcomed. No one appreciated this more than Ben. Finally, in December 1944, he hit his straps, flying an incredible 19 ops during the month.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Four months later, having reached 75 operational sorties, surviving Japanese flak and fighters in what proved to be the flying he yearned for – challenging, consuming, consistent – Ben was posted out to a communications unit, eventually ending up with a maintenance unit where he flew several initial air tests on Mosquitos before the effects of accumulated stress returned with a vengeance. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Back home by late 1945, Ben was demobbed in mid-1946. Understandably, he didn’t readjust very well, but his blossoming relationship with his future wife proved the foundation upon which he rebuilt his life. Menial jobs saw him through to a long and successful career in the pharmaceutical industry, his dogged determination led to starting a successful business from scratch and overcoming health issues. He passed away in October 2008.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Mosquito-Intruder-Pilot-Hardback/p/21373?aid=1118" target="_blank">Mosquito Intruder Pilot</a></i> goes a lot deeper than just recounting a wartime service career. The depth of understanding and analysis brought by the author, as Ben’s son and a former RAF serviceman himself, extends far beyond the aircraft, the flyers, their operations and the greater war. There is a successful attempt to get inside Ben’s head, based on his letters and other records, to extrapolate the effects of the immeasurable factors that contributed to his mental load, factors that manifested themselves physically one way or the other.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The examination of stress felt by aircrew, Ben specifically, is no mere undercurrent. Indeed, the first chapter, what sets the scene for the rest of the book – therefore one of the author’s most effective tools – sees the subject under examination in 1946 as RAF medical types try to get to grips with Ben’s bouts of fainting. Immediately, the focus is on this man’s mental and physical state. What got him here? The author’s subsequent deft touch in this area, while influenced by his own experiences living under the same roof, raises as many questions as it answers, revealing an understanding of the subject while making it clear just how much more there is to learn in this understudied area of the aircrew experience.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">With this early investment in the ‘principal character’s’ wellbeing, the reader develops an affinity with him – the aim of all good biographies – and feels his frustration as the tour drags on. Equally, it is pleasing when he finally gets a good run on operations, flying 50 or so in short order before he is finally rested. However, there is also concern for his willingness to record the losses of his friends and colleagues, even those in other theatres he learns of through the grapevine. While it is clear he wanted to remember these men, did the exercise affect him adversely? We all know the generally accepted ‘line’ or method, often recounted, was to get on with the job, apparently without a second thought for those lost, so seeing something like this (the list is included in an appendix), something outside the ‘accepted’ norm raises an eyebrow or two. It also asks the question as to what was more effective – addressing the losses as Ben did or ignoring them and having the effects of doing so manifest as who-knows-what later in life. No two people are the same, but it is clear both ‘methods’ have their downsides, as you’d expect, with Ben’s laid out for all to see.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Wrapped around this ongoing intrigue is a decent discussion of intruder operations in both Europe and the Far East, as well as the minutiae of life on a squadron and the impact of lives and family outside the RAF. To place all of this in context, while keeping the focus on Ben, most of the superbly titled chapters begin with a small list of major events happening at the same time. While these are useful, they highlight a problem encountered throughout the book – an incomplete grasp of the technology, terminology and ‘basics’ of the era. Don’t get me wrong, everything about Ben is what you want from a biography; it’s the details that let things down. While no doubt the author’s doing, some of the issues need to lay at the feet of the publisher. Typos like Welham (Geoff Wellum), Gypsy, Turpitz, Aircraftsman, Boxcar (the Nagasaki B-29) and Chindwits are inexcusable for a major military publisher. British ships at Midway, anyone? The author’s relative ‘newness’ to the era is also clear with his research leading him to moments of confusion such as Pratt & Whitney Cyclone engines, the Airspeed Oxford being powered by Wasps (less than 300 were) and, similarly, the inference that all Bostons/Havocs had Pratt & Whitneys, not to mention talking to the tower to request permission to take off for an intruder op, there being no autopilots or electronic aids, and clunky references like ‘German riots at Amsterdam Jews’. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Repetition is also an issue with, most glaringly, ‘Ben’ being used many times in the same paragraph or even sentence (more so that what I’ve used above!). Minor details also regularly crop up, such as the marriage of Ben’s sister or the specifications of the Mosquito. Most obvious is the map on page 198 reappearing on page 206. An author may not see the woods for the trees, understandably, but that’s what editors and proof-readers are for and, as well-intentioned as family members always are, the majority of the time they will accept what is written when it comes to detail and fact. Again, though, I must stress the examples mentioned above made it through several stages, the final ones being the ‘eyes’ of a major military publisher. The buck stops there and in this case prevent the book from crossing the threshold from ‘very good’ to ‘excellent’.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I was always going to <a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Mosquito-Intruder-Pilot-Hardback/p/21373?aid=1118" target="_blank">buy this book</a> and I cannot wait for the author’s forthcoming <i><a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Mosquito-Intruders-Target-Burma-Hardback/p/24336?aid=1118" target="_blank">Mosquito Intruders – Target Burma</a></i>, which is sure to be equally well illustrated and produced. <i><a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Mosquito-Intruder-Pilot-Hardback/p/21373?aid=1118" target="_blank">Mosquito Intruder Pilot</a></i> is everything you look for in a biography, albeit a little rough around the edges, with the subject barely moving from the centre of the narrative; the author avoids major tangents and rabbit holes, with even the Mosquito’s issues in the Far East (the one great failing of the type) recounted with just sufficient detail to add depth to Ben’s journey. The editor in me came away frustrated at what might have been, but the reader and aircrew enthusiast/aficionado/activist revelled in experiencing another life lived. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Mosquito-Intruder-Pilot-Hardback/p/21373?aid=1118" target="_blank">ISBN 978-1-39908-4-772</a></span></p>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-57196653345514156642023-08-31T15:42:00.005+10:002023-08-31T17:19:15.178+10:00Flying to the Edge – Matthew Willis<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrd6vQ2-qE4khpoGTcMuGd2HKZoh6xUjpSnmBmETzgIR-8T5ljU6ezEogsNPGQRWYGl5mYSJyUbhJCxWqa7gMy39FaX_0xp4ocnbf557qjYNrGRBAIM3dNBsmvjO80Nv0TGgpgBLlqtYjQDi3wyg6RxRueZzwheVRwG97PHzXmnYaLXJfQ17potvVwBeI/s1892/FlyingtotheEdge%20MWillis%20cover.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1892" data-original-width="1314" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrd6vQ2-qE4khpoGTcMuGd2HKZoh6xUjpSnmBmETzgIR-8T5ljU6ezEogsNPGQRWYGl5mYSJyUbhJCxWqa7gMy39FaX_0xp4ocnbf557qjYNrGRBAIM3dNBsmvjO80Nv0TGgpgBLlqtYjQDi3wyg6RxRueZzwheVRwG97PHzXmnYaLXJfQ17potvVwBeI/w278-h400/FlyingtotheEdge%20MWillis%20cover.png" width="278" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Mention ‘test pilot’ to anyone with even just a passing interest in aviation and their mind will inevitably turn to the likes of <a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/vNQ4dy" target="_blank">‘Chuck’ Yeager</a>, perhaps the astronauts of the ‘Space Race’. Widen the net and <a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/OrO9Ar" target="_blank">Jeffrey Quill</a>, <a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/ZQLxAg" target="_blank">Alex Henshaw</a>, Hanna Reitsch and <a href="<a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Winkle-Extraordinary-Britains-Greatest-Pilot/dp/0718186702/ref=sr_1_1?crid=NQKW0BBQ84BF&amp;keywords=winkle+paul+beaver&amp;qid=1693460442&amp;sprefix=winkle+paul+bea%252Caps%252C451&amp;sr=8-1&_encoding=UTF8&tag=airboorev-21&linkCode=ur2&linkId=5dee723ea402c74ddd57176ce6465453&camp=1634&creative=6738">Winkle</a>" target="_blank">Eric Brown</a> are sure to be mentioned. What about <a href="https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/mach/author/mike-lithgow/" target="_blank">Mike Lithgow</a>, <a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/WqA6kZ" target="_blank">Peter Twiss</a>, <a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/baPDdb" target="_blank">Don Lopez</a>, <a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/dak9d7" target="_blank">Roland Beamont</a> and, a personal favourite, <a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Up-in-Harms-Way-Paperback/p/1003?aid=1118" target="_blank">‘Mike’ Crosley</a>? Besides the obvious Western origins, there is one thing they all share. They all came to prominence, and I mean approached being household names, for their exploits during and after the Second World War. What about Duncan Menzies? Never heard of him? Well, you have now and the opportunity to learn more is provided by <a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/WqA6nM" target="_blank">a book</a> that is a lesson in efficiency and focus.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Born to a Scottish farming family in 1905, Menzies’s future was to follow his father on the family’s land in the Scottish Highlands. What he wanted, though, was freedom and flying appeared to offer that. Perhaps seeing his future in his father made him feel hemmed in; joining the RAF offered a broadening of horizons.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Broaden they certainly did as Menzies trained in Egypt for much of 1928, flying Avro 504Ks before progressing to the ‘bomber’ flight and DH.9As. In the final quarter of the year, he was posted to No 45 Squadron, south of Cairo, to continue flying the DH.9A. Promoted to flying officer early in the new year, he was sent to No 47 Squadron in the Sudan in mid-June, but not before flying the Fairey IIIF as his old squadron began to convert to the type.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The RAF in Africa and the Middle East, and beyond, performed the role of ‘aerial policeman’ throughout the 1920s and 1930s. The Sudan was no exception although there is no evidence Menzies was involved in any raids at the time. He was certainly not underemployed, however. Flying Fairey IIIFs again throughout the region proving routes and performing aerial photography and surveys, he even tried for some endurance records. He returned to the UK in mid-1930, trained as an instructor and, as fate would have it, returned to Egypt, and the school he learned to fly at, to teach.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">With hours building, Menzies found the time between instructing to hone his aerobatics; he would be called upon to perform flying displays. With the culmination of the first course, he led a flight of, interestingly, Armstrong-Whitworth Atlases to Iraq, effectively graduating the class while also acting as a show of force to the region. It is a particularly evocative part of the book, with accompanying images, as the aircraft traverse vast tracts of exceptionally inhospitable desert (and not without mishap).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">An oft-expressed desire to fly a wider range of types, coupled with his instructing prowess and reputation, saw Duncan posted to the Aeroplane & Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE), the centre of the test-flying world. During his almost three years at Martlesham Heath, after finding his feet, Menzies achieved his goal, albeit most types seemed remarkably antiquated for the time. While he had glimpses of the future, including flying the Heinkel He 64, his testing career gravitated towards naval types and he was part of the team that tested what would become the Fairey Swordfish. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Coming to the end of his medium-service commission, and now a highly regarded test pilot, Menzies took the opportunity to resign his commission to stay employed doing what he loved. Faireys took him on and he was soon back in the Swordfish programme before moving to the long-overdue Hendon bomber. It was a Fairey light bomber, however, that stole the limelight the following year, 1937, when the first Battle rolled off the production line. Menzies flew this aircraft for most of April, testing it and proving that, weighed down with operational equipment, the Battle fell short. He had his first brush with the aircraft that would define his career, the Fulmar, in mid-1937, but much of the remaining years leading to war were taken up with testing Battles.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Fleet Air Arm desperately needed a modern fighter and ended up with the Fulmar. Underpowered and carrying a crew of two, this graceful and ‘friendly’ (important when landing on aircraft carriers) aircraft remains the highest-scoring fighter fielded by the Royal Navy. It was the typical FAA type of the period, loved by its crews but lamented for not quite being up to the job given it. This aside, Duncan Menzies was there to test all the improvements and refinements made to the type throughout its operational career, no doubt being one of the main contributors to <a href="<a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Winkle-Extraordinary-Britains-Greatest-Pilot/dp/0718186702/ref=sr_1_1?crid=NQKW0BBQ84BF&amp;keywords=winkle+paul+beaver&amp;qid=1693460442&amp;sprefix=winkle+paul+bea%252Caps%252C451&amp;sr=8-1&_encoding=UTF8&tag=airboorev-21&linkCode=ur2&linkId=5dee723ea402c74ddd57176ce6465453&camp=1634&creative=6738">Winkle</a>" target="_blank">‘Winkle’ Brown’s</a> comment about the ‘basic rightness’ of the Fulmar.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">After a Fulmar disintegrated around him, the g-force of the destruction throwing the test pilot clear, in early February 1941, Menzies spent the next few years of the war flying whatever Fairey had on offer – prototype and early production Barracudas, reconditioned Battles and even Fairey-built Beaufighters. He worked as an FAA liaison from 1944, taking advantage of being able to spend a few days at sea, ostensibly to see how aircraft handled on and off carriers of course, away from what was becoming an increasingly technical and somewhat troublesome job. He even headed to the Far East to investigate issues with operational Fireflies.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Throughout the later years of the war, the Fulmar, despite being withdrawn from operational service, continued to feature prominently in Duncan’s life; the prototype, having languished at Faireys for some time, was rejuvenated and became the company ‘hack’. It continued in this role post-war, proving useful during the development of the Firefly trainer, a project Menzies pushed hard for upon realising the power differential between trainers of the day and new aircraft like the Sea Fury. After a year in Australia helping with the Royal Australian Navy’s new Fireflies, and 25 years after dragging an Avro 504K into the hot Egyptian air, Menzies stepped from a cockpit as pilot for the last time in February 1952. Fittingly, his last flight was in the company Fulmar. He retired in 1964 and passed away in 1997.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Flying had been Duncan’s path to freedom and it kept him gainfully employed, and challenged, for a quarter of a century. When it became overly technical and bureaucratic – constricted by gadgets, technology and rules – he felt the freedom had gone so, without any apparent qualms, he simply stopped. He did so without fanfare; quietly and modestly, he just stepped aside. That modesty is reflected in <i><a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/WqA6nM" target="_blank">Flying to the Edge</a></i>. While there are some gaps in the account of his pre-war service, per what remains of his records, the author seamlessly fills them with reference to other sources backed by intelligent analysis and conclusions. There is no padding, though, and little in the way of contextual scene setting once Menzies returns to the UK for good. It’s not needed as the focus is kept firmly on the subject.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The accounts of service in Africa are vivid, almost ‘last frontier’ stuff, and are remarkably well illustrated, not by generic photos of the era and region, but by images featuring Menzies and his colleagues. An image of the Atlases flying to Iraq over a forbidding landscape is particularly striking. The focus exhibited in the narrative extends to the photo selection throughout, each having a direct link to Menzies if he’s not actually pictured.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Pre-war test flying was, obviously, the crest of the wave and Menzies was right on it. Descriptions of the types under development with A&AEE border on the exquisite, without disappearing down any number of rabbit holes, and are the product of an author well versed in the technical, and sometimes quirky, aspects of the machines and their time. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For a book of a modest 120 pages, it is astonishing how much is included. The thoughtful layout helps, but this is certainly a book that punches well above its weight. Like Duncan Menzies, it might have flown under the radar, especially as the author has since been ‘scooped up’ by larger, more prolific aviation publishers, but track it down and set off on a heady journey with the Faireys.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/WqA6nM" target="_blank">ISBN 978-1-44566-4-415</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-10372835523472818592023-07-18T19:04:00.007+10:002023-07-18T19:04:46.470+10:00Barracuda Pilot - Dunstan Hadley<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw3pkoNsuJqnQiTk91tyNVVhM6CwiaAJcqfGqkP3n_GSJK0IZxe6s2yYGhfZ8PZf6oHbCjvIZ0gR_sqjK2uwb2s-bMxpfR0nmFsuMO_r-toZWP2vDxQ2Tz6u96pmt2E8hbjklSPTQ2MJYNlsOVoNzWHZC2UU4BUByh_k-ZQux3rVCUM5i-RoXRx0SQuA8/s998/BarracudaPilot%20DHadley%20cover.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="998" data-original-width="672" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw3pkoNsuJqnQiTk91tyNVVhM6CwiaAJcqfGqkP3n_GSJK0IZxe6s2yYGhfZ8PZf6oHbCjvIZ0gR_sqjK2uwb2s-bMxpfR0nmFsuMO_r-toZWP2vDxQ2Tz6u96pmt2E8hbjklSPTQ2MJYNlsOVoNzWHZC2UU4BUByh_k-ZQux3rVCUM5i-RoXRx0SQuA8/w269-h400/BarracudaPilot%20DHadley%20cover.jpeg" width="269" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>To give you an idea of how busy I've been and how absolutely neglected ABR has been in 2023, besides the obvious sole review to date appearing on 1 January, this review, written by regular contributor (to both ABR and Flight Line Book Review) Adrian Roberts, was sent to me at the end of January. It's taken me this long to remember I had it at the same time as having some time to publish it. I do hope to have more reviews up before the year is out; we'll see how we go. It is interesting to note Adrian's comment about the author's positive views on the Barracuda, certainly in the minority in this age of 'stories' and 'reputations' that take on a life of their own. While I agree some of the criticism towards the Barracuda is justified, Hadley's impressions mirror those of the great Roy Baker-Falkner, as detailed in Drucker's excellent biography 'Wings over the Waves'. Andy Wright</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Dunstan Hadley left his studies as a medical student and joined the Fleet Air Arm in 1941. He was selected for training on the Fairey Barracuda torpedo bomber, which implied a greater level of aptitude than those destined for the Swordfish. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Given the negative view of many aviation enthusiasts of the Barracuda (more of which were produced than any other British naval aircraft), it was interesting to read the views of a pilot with first-hand experience who has a largely positive view of the type. Many pilots will have a prejudice in favour of types on which they spent a large proportion of their career; Hadley seems to find very little reason to be negative about it. Possibly the worst faults had been ironed out before he got to fly them; he acknowledges that the wings came off some of the early examples but does not mention this happening to anyone he knew. One of his friends was killed when he apparently lost control during manoeuvres, but Hadley was prepared to go up and replicate the incident and work out how to deal with it. Readers may have come across some rumours of the undercarriage collapsing into the observer’s position during heavy landings, but Hadley does not even mention this so maybe it was not considered a frequent issue. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In the end, Hadley only flew one combat operation, from HMS <i>Victorious</i> against Sigli on Sumatra. He is critical of the Admiralty’s decision to withdraw the Barracuda in favour of Avenger squadrons due to their longer range. Readers solely interested in accounts of combat may be disappointed. They would be missing out, however, as Hadley is a very entertaining writer and takes us through the entire process of basic training of a naval recruit, primary flight training and operational training including practice landings on small escort carriers. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The anecdotes are often humorous and self-deprecating. Obviously, writing 50 years after the events, he must be fictionalising the conversations and possibly re-inventing some characters, but the story opens onto a forgotten world involving people as well as technology. Either way, the small details of life in the 1940s are rapidly moving out of human memory and worth preserving. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hadley gives no details of his later life, but the book’s flyleaf implies he went back to Medicine after the war. A Google search turned up a document from University College Oxford (where the book says he was a student) suggesting he died in 2000, aged 79. Aviation enthusiasts have reason to be grateful he committed his flying career to paper. This book is long out of print but well worth searching out on the second-hand market.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">ISBN 978-1-85310-1-953</span></p>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-7998056169029371992023-01-01T19:50:00.003+11:002023-01-01T19:50:52.324+11:00Looking Backwards over Burma – Dennis Spencer DFC<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbjEDUJrvBXQQoLDkJYeRjrhGNP-btVZE-rtIlE2fWHZ8utdEeAPxzeNjAR4dcarWTHouafY-YvE8yIZczbHX_t5MRbg5mfeVIne0aIyYgHVvIef-2H0tg7reDkk10qu7mU2Ej9l1fjQHWFylH-fHytuXkpO--cpio1_DvkAH_BhkZWQcAkf8-zBwF/s2405/LookingBackwardsoverBurma%20DSpencer%20cover.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2405" data-original-width="1638" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbjEDUJrvBXQQoLDkJYeRjrhGNP-btVZE-rtIlE2fWHZ8utdEeAPxzeNjAR4dcarWTHouafY-YvE8yIZczbHX_t5MRbg5mfeVIne0aIyYgHVvIef-2H0tg7reDkk10qu7mU2Ej9l1fjQHWFylH-fHytuXkpO--cpio1_DvkAH_BhkZWQcAkf8-zBwF/w273-h400/LookingBackwardsoverBurma%20DSpencer%20cover.jpeg" width="273" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Like this simple <a href="http://www.woodfieldpublishing.co.uk/contents/en-uk/p295_looking-backwards-over-Burma-beaufighter-navigator-RAF-211-Squadron.html" target="_blank">192-page paperback</a> from Woodfield Publishing, I’m getting straight into this review. Dennis Spencer was a No 211 Squadron Beaufighter navigator, flying a tour of operations over Burma, hence the title, with the same pilot he flew the ferry flight from the UK with. As expected, their bond was strong and the book is simply dedicated ‘for Geoff’ (Vardigans).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It took them 20 days to reach India (Allahabad), slowed by two spare parts delays, and then almost the same again for the author to reach Calcutta, his pilot having been admitted to hospital. The account of their journey to this point reads almost like a travelogue, once the ferry flight from the UK is underway, the author proving exquisitely observant (something that becomes exceptionally useful, both for intelligence officer and reader alike, during his tour) with good descriptions of weather, terrain and people.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Dennis is also particularly good at an almost overwhelming dose of self-doubt. He is consistently worried about his ability and skill as a navigator and, in general, a serviceman. This is evident early on before he flies on ops. Having to travel to Bhatpara (East Bengal, now Bangladesh, just north-east of where the Ganges flows into a major distributary, the Padma River) on his own, despite travel warrants and the like, is daunting. Indeed, this chapter is titled ‘Lonely Journey in a Foreign Land’. His uncertainty is further assaulted by the ‘seething mass of humanity’ he encounters and the general culture shock of experiencing India, both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Dennis is eventually warmly welcomed to the squadron, having travelled by Dakota, train, river steamer and truck to get there, and takes up residence on a ‘dead man’s bed’, a fact his new basha mate tries to hide (the standard coping mechanism for most aircrew).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Flying his first op six days later (this is March/April 1944 so the time of Kohima and Imphal) across the Irrawaddy with a ‘mad’ Canadian who felt he did not need a navigator, the author, having been told by his colleagues that map reading was of far more use than keeping an accurate plot, experiences a rollercoaster of emotions as he feels compassion for the Burmese they scare the living daylights out of at low level and then burning hatred for enemy soldiers who try to man an anti-aircraft gun. The realisation sinks in – ‘For me this was the day the war had really started.’<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Pilot and navigator were reunited soon after as, by mid-May, Geoff and Dennis were approaching double figures for ops flown. Their tour progresses through to early December, with a few adventures on the way as you would expect, both men earning the DFC as a result and the author starting a rest tour with a Mosquito Conversion Unit near Bangalore; he also casually mentions he’s there as the navigation officer so any doubts about his abilities were clearly all in his head! If you’ve read anything about low-level work over Burma, you’ll be familiar with how these strikes were carried out and how the environment – the terrain and the weather – were as dangerous as the Japanese. What stands out, however, is the author’s description of the flying, the attacks and the sheer effort just to get home. Coupled with his memories of squadron life and life in India, the narrative is on par with Andrew Millar’s <i><a href="https://fighting-high-books.myshopify.com/collections/fighter-pilots/products/the-flying-hours-the-compelling-memoir-of-squadron-leader-andrew-millar-dso-2" target="_blank">The Flying Hours</a></i> and Atholl Sutherland Brown’s <i><a href="http://affiliates.abebooks.com/kjnqbd" target="_blank">Silently into the Midst of Things</a></i> in terms of painting a colourful, harrowing, debilitating, and even fragrant picture of the aircrew experience over Burma. The downtime between ops is exacerbated by Dennis being very good at worrying when he has nothing to do. His ‘expanded Inner Self awareness’ means he knows he lets his mind run; these internalisations – the fear, overcoming it, etc. – receive as much weight on the page as the flying.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Lightly illustrated, a small bibliography is included, as are some small, useful appendices. While very much a descriptive account of the ‘highlights’ or, at least, what he could remember – there are a few dates and aircraft/technical details mentioned, but their paucity hardly registers given the rich narrative – a lot is learned about Dennis and, to a lesser extent, Geoff, his pilot. To do so in less than 200 pages is something special. This is the ideal aircrew memoir.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.woodfieldpublishing.co.uk/contents/en-uk/p295_looking-backwards-over-Burma-beaufighter-navigator-RAF-211-Squadron.html" target="_blank">ISBN 978-1-84683-0-730</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">*Dennis Spencer passed away in September 2020.</span></p>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-59028040396750436012022-12-08T23:10:00.001+11:002022-12-08T23:21:38.612+11:00Christmas Countdown - 25% off at Helion & Company!!!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGPSnvm69Q7BEbf6HfoX7X5im-7NsfoB8x3EQfVhTnraRuLQhMTMAYuRtBG7goIkTXYzpRyXvPerTtQP_UNSxImrXBBCgOEATjL6OhfNPdoRM2_Pw7VBb4gcuikjh9DdS8vjFAp4fAQ22svy0i1F3j9wUtJH839sfzrhRTVESPlFkknroFONxJyIU/s1600/EaglesoverHusky%20AFitzgerald-Black%20cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Eagles over Husky cover image" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1100" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGPSnvm69Q7BEbf6HfoX7X5im-7NsfoB8x3EQfVhTnraRuLQhMTMAYuRtBG7goIkTXYzpRyXvPerTtQP_UNSxImrXBBCgOEATjL6OhfNPdoRM2_Pw7VBb4gcuikjh9DdS8vjFAp4fAQ22svy0i1F3j9wUtJH839sfzrhRTVESPlFkknroFONxJyIU/w275-h400/EaglesoverHusky%20AFitzgerald-Black%20cover.jpg" width="275" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This Helion & Company discount, is exclusive to <i>Aircrew Book Review</i> followers. Until 31 December, using the code <b>RAFDEC25</b>, you can get 25% off <i><a href="https://www.helion.co.uk/military-history-books/eagles-over-husky-the-allied-air-forces-in-the-sicilian-campaign-14-may-to-17-august-1943.php?sid=760a557a849cb1325570b2aa110f743d" target="_blank">Eagles over Husky</a></i> by Alexander Gilbert David Fitzgerald-Black and <i><a href="https://www.helion.co.uk/military-history-books/commanding-far-eastern-skies-a-critical-analysis-of-the-royal-air-force-air-superiority-campaign-in-india-burma-and-malaya-1941-1945.php?sid=760a557a849cb1325570b2aa110f743d" target="_blank">Commanding Far Eastern Skies</a></i> by Peter Preston-Hough.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The titles are self-explanatory and both books look at how the Allied air forces contributed to particular campaigns. The notes in both titles are worth the read alone, with Preston-Hough in particular using this literary device to its full extent. His book, being based on his thesis, might appear the drier of the two (it is certainly less well illustrated), but it flows well (not as well as Alex's book) and is a must if you are a student of the air war over Burma and beyond. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">With <i><a href="https://www.helion.co.uk/military-history-books/the-eyes-of-malta-the-crucial-role-of-aerial-reconnaissance-and-ultra-intelligence-1940-1943.php?sid=760a557a849cb1325570b2aa110f743d" target="_blank">The Eyes of Malta</a></i> by Salvo Fagone due from Helion next year, now is the time to get to grips with the Sicilian air campaign if you haven't already. <i><a href="https://www.helion.co.uk/military-history-books/eagles-over-husky-the-allied-air-forces-in-the-sicilian-campaign-14-may-to-17-august-1943.php?sid=760a557a849cb1325570b2aa110f743d" target="_blank">Eagles over Husky</a></i> is the ideal way to do this. Get into it!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3jQV2XsvYev-nDyjIqGVjqui04slhShstm2oslfSsClWTOMDnW6b4YN70SP2Ua1YU5JMH5jfOmM3F6KWt9qE1v59ijq2Zv7LFAi6WHgRD6dvLrqt0WTHnh8-ZNflDd5F_hFN3UVw-E16nwa6GgcjrPn1D4fvNvKsdhcIcNHl1i12I2vvuNDfyk1fU/s400/CommandingFarEasternSkies%20cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Commanding Far Eastern Skies cover image" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3jQV2XsvYev-nDyjIqGVjqui04slhShstm2oslfSsClWTOMDnW6b4YN70SP2Ua1YU5JMH5jfOmM3F6KWt9qE1v59ijq2Zv7LFAi6WHgRD6dvLrqt0WTHnh8-ZNflDd5F_hFN3UVw-E16nwa6GgcjrPn1D4fvNvKsdhcIcNHl1i12I2vvuNDfyk1fU/w268-h400/CommandingFarEasternSkies%20cover.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Helion also has a couple of other discounts available at present. These are available to everyone so should be included here so you can partake as well! The first is 25% off, until 31 December, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">the North Coates Strike Wing book </span><i style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.helion.co.uk/military-history-books/to-force-the-enemy-off-the-sea-the-story-of-the-rafs-north-coates-strike-wing.php?sid=c230deb4411617c6bd87686161fb18e9" target="_blank">To Force the Enemy off the Sea</a></i><span style="font-family: arial;">. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Also running to the end of the month is a 'buy one get another 50% off' deal. This applies to all of Helion's extensive range of @War titles, including the excellent and recently released <i><a href="https://www.helion.co.uk/search-results.php" target="_blank">The Darkest Hour</a></i> two-volume series on Japanese naval activities in the Indian Ocean. Use the code B1G1WAR to take advantage of this @War offer. Lots of bang for your buck with the @War books.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMMWkGe_3FjycnrvEx8qZgg5QUFM6C7QSqhckh8TGOckORW-aUBeWkOWkkJVahiFGs6WI_YVIFpxz6nsLdRpTshBKsmNYiCLxoYv7cCygavySVO12YsI0Q43Vd4t1mCgiYlyJxCYT_33HiOAqzsoRM6a_Hm5uOkQdrrtHFsJIN4kQdfQaUMvdADopO/s2926/ToForcetheEnemyofftheSea%20JVimpany%20DBoyd%20cover.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2926" data-original-width="2117" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMMWkGe_3FjycnrvEx8qZgg5QUFM6C7QSqhckh8TGOckORW-aUBeWkOWkkJVahiFGs6WI_YVIFpxz6nsLdRpTshBKsmNYiCLxoYv7cCygavySVO12YsI0Q43Vd4t1mCgiYlyJxCYT_33HiOAqzsoRM6a_Hm5uOkQdrrtHFsJIN4kQdfQaUMvdADopO/w290-h400/ToForcetheEnemyofftheSea%20JVimpany%20DBoyd%20cover.jpeg" width="290" /></a></div></div><p></p>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-80981977154123639292022-12-08T22:52:00.001+11:002022-12-08T22:52:20.399+11:00Operation Oyster - Kees Rijken, Paul Schepers and Arthur Thorning<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfCsDLNzGVtXCBVzBF84vENjy5UczknVhf4--tiNlfqM1Z6lrG9bk5SGscCSCizOPNe842be_FJM72GDh-k6T0B_FQu4rBLoZZ8oV-J1wUfqzfa9gMcIEBo626lBBF5t1Bppgyzt1IzGlEeUEIf4vdcZ1Aike3E3lCh_XU_zppc4gjT5SwovDOvwhY/s2496/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-08%20at%207.37.14%20pm.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2496" data-original-width="1738" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfCsDLNzGVtXCBVzBF84vENjy5UczknVhf4--tiNlfqM1Z6lrG9bk5SGscCSCizOPNe842be_FJM72GDh-k6T0B_FQu4rBLoZZ8oV-J1wUfqzfa9gMcIEBo626lBBF5t1Bppgyzt1IzGlEeUEIf4vdcZ1Aike3E3lCh_XU_zppc4gjT5SwovDOvwhY/w279-h400/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-08%20at%207.37.14%20pm.png" width="279" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Usual story, everyone, but I'm fortunate to be able to feature another guest reviewer. Colin Ford will be known to many of you as the 'Historian by Appointment' of the No. 268 Squadron Association. He is, therefore, an authority on the world of tactical reconnaissance, especially the use of the North American Mustang in the role. I first worked with Colin a few years ago when I had the honour, albeit with a good dose of dismay, of whittling down (to magazine feature length) his extensive account of two Australians who flew the Tac/R variant of the Hawker Typhoon. To say the original work, effectively an extract of Colin's 268 Squadron history, '</i></span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>ADJIDAUMO "Tail in Air"', was magisterial would be an </i></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>understatement. Tactical work being Colin's forte, I have no hesitation in featuring the comprehensive review below. Andy Wright.</i></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This book sets out to tell the story of the raid by bombers of No. 2 Group, Royal Air Force, conducted against the Philips Radio Works located in two locations in Eindhoven in the Netherlands on 6 December 1942. The raid was conducted at low level by Douglas Bostons, Lockheed Venturas and de Havilland Mosquito bombers, escorted part of the way by Supermarine Spitfires of RAF Fighter Command.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The origin of the book lies primarily with the two listed Dutch researchers and authors who live in Eindhoven – one who, as a young child, witnessed the raid and its aftermath; the other the son-in-law of another witness. They sought to set out the details of the day from various perspectives, that of the attacking aircrew, the Dutch civilians and responding Dutch civil defence and emergency services personnel on the ground, and, to a lesser degree, the defending German personnel with various Luftwaffe and anti-aircraft units. Therefore, it draws on much original material held in various archives, along with immediate post-event interviews and interviews conducted some years afterwards. It is in part a tribute to those who took part in the raid, the Dutch civilian casualties and emergency services workers.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The third member of the team, in the UK, also had family connections via a family member who flew with one of the squadrons participating in the raid. He combined his research to produce this edition of the book in English.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Operation-Oyster-WWIIs-Forgotten-Raid-Paperback/p/21385?aid=1118" target="_blank">Operation <i>Oyster</i></a> was one of the first, if not the first, large scale, multi-squadron raids, utilising most of the operational strength of 2 Group, to attack a target in occupied Europe in what could be considered a ‘precision strike’, largely flown and conducted at low level. Its target, two factories of the Philips Radio Works in Eindhoven in the Netherlands, was intended to remove a source of critical electronic components, especially radio valves, produced in the factories and utilised by the Germans in a range of military electronic equipment, including radar units. The target was one of a number, identified by special technical committees in the British Government, of facilities producing items of great military value to the German armed forces and where interruption to supply of these items would have an adverse effect on the German military. The final choice of target was in part dictated by its location and, being within striking range of the aircraft of 2 Group, the ability of Fighter Command to provide some escort to and from the target area, the nature of the target, including potential for civilian casualties for those living in areas around the factory complexes, and the vulnerability of the manufacturing plant to the weight and type of ordnance to be delivered from low level by the attacking aircraft.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Operation-Oyster-WWIIs-Forgotten-Raid-Paperback/p/21385?aid=1118" target="_blank">The book</a> does give a degree of detail and devotes a short chapter to the diversionary operations conducted by heavy bombers; B-17s and B-24s of the USAAF, escorted by Spitfires from multiple RAF fighter wings, and one USAAF fighter group operating Spitfires, against a range of targets in northern France and Belgium (primarily Luftwaffe airfields and transportation nodes). These operations were designed and timed to draw Luftwaffe fighter units away from the incoming Eindhoven raid. Other diversionary operations conducted by the RAF over other areas of the Netherlands, Belgium and northern France, as a part of the overall plan in support of the raid, receive scant or no coverage.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Potentially because the research and writing of <a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Operation-Oyster-WWIIs-Forgotten-Raid-Paperback/p/21385?aid=1118" target="_blank">this book</a> was a ‘labour of love’ for the two primary Dutch researchers/authors, it comes across in part as uneven in its coverage and understanding of the events associated with the raid. There are, in some parts, some basic errors in relation to details provided of the 2 Group aircraft types involved; looking at the aircraft type references quoted as sources, many are quite dated. There is no appreciation or insight into the senior RAF officers who were involved in the initiation of the plans to raid the Philips Works at Eindhoven, the raid’s planning and eventual decision to mount the operation. Lastly, the coverage of the action from the perspective of the various 2 Group squadrons is somewhat patchy and tends to focus on only a couple of the units involved, possibly a result of availability, or lack of it, of material in the archives used in their research and access to surviving personnel for interviews, their personal material or published memoirs. Where RAF aircrew material is included, it is interesting to see the different perspectives on the lead up to the raid, its conduct and aftermath, depending on the role the participant played and the type of aircraft they flew.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Where <a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Operation-Oyster-WWIIs-Forgotten-Raid-Paperback/p/21385?aid=1118" target="_blank">the book</a> does shine is in the level of detail and coverage of the raid from the perspective of the people of Eindhoven who were eyewitnesses, which includes firsthand accounts drawn from many sources, including the archives of the Philips Company, which operated its own fire brigade and emergency services within the two factory complexes, as well as survivors of the raid. The impacts of the raid on the production of the two complexes in Eindhoven, and the consequences arising from that, are also well covered. The danger to factory workers being deported to Germany and the loss of skilled workers to the demands of the Todt organisation after the raid, while repairs were made to the two factories, were well appreciated by Philips management and the measures they took to protect their staff is another aspect covered.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The narrative is well supported by maps showing the key geographical locations covered in the book as well as the routes used by the 2 Group bombers. A wide selection of photographs is also included, some taken by the strike cameras fitted to the bombers and others showing the damage to the various factory buildings and surrounding areas.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This book fell a bit short of what it could have possibly achieved as a work focussed on a specific raid, its planning, conduct, aftermath and the events surrounding it. The coverage and sources used as noted are patchy in parts, yet excellent in other parts. It is that lack of consistency that detracts from the end product.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Operation-Oyster-WWIIs-Forgotten-Raid-Paperback/p/21385?aid=1118" target="_blank">ISBN 978-1-39901-9-767</a></span></p>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-54319414787131567262022-12-02T13:33:00.002+11:002022-12-08T22:35:40.019+11:00Christmas Countdown – 20% off at Fighting High!!!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuo6hsjtQBxA3LaS7YRlP1Wo5MY277MTjle4ohBC_FqkJMHu-p3OMQCmnUuvr0cquH_IT3pR8nA1fUHhCxh4ftOrEayWNvJWQTNeCDH7GLtdSL95H5JS9cMjzA5OFdaQef8i2NIgtImnQmleU55n6ZmEhlICOrfucXVPO1PY3eQzRBXZ8uIrC4cqRW/s2658/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-02%20at%2010.03.10%20am.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Fighting High website showing categories of books available." border="0" data-original-height="1244" data-original-width="2658" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuo6hsjtQBxA3LaS7YRlP1Wo5MY277MTjle4ohBC_FqkJMHu-p3OMQCmnUuvr0cquH_IT3pR8nA1fUHhCxh4ftOrEayWNvJWQTNeCDH7GLtdSL95H5JS9cMjzA5OFdaQef8i2NIgtImnQmleU55n6ZmEhlICOrfucXVPO1PY3eQzRBXZ8uIrC4cqRW/w447-h210/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-02%20at%2010.03.10%20am.png" width="447" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In the first of this year's Aircrew Book Review Christmas Countdown discounts, Steve Darlow of <a href="https://fighting-high-books.myshopify.com" target="_blank">Fighting High Publishing</a>, one of ABR's earliest supporters, has generously offered a 20% discount off all books purchased from the FH website from Friday 2 December.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Who said following and supporting ABR was just putting up with reading long reviews?!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As many of you know, Fighting High is an industry leader in the aircrew book genre; from subject matter to the final product, everything this publisher does exudes quality. Its continued support of the Bomber Command Memorial in Hyde Park and the International Bomber Command Centre in Lincoln, not to mention several other RAF-related charities, shows that, while an obvious commercial venture, producing aircrew books is all about keeping the stories alive and remembering what these flyers did in the darkest of times.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Go and have a look at the <a href="https://fighting-high-books.myshopify.com" target="_blank">Fighting High website</a> and treat yourself. There's nothing better.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-26055044761534687552022-10-10T15:00:00.003+11:002022-10-10T15:00:53.311+11:00Mosquito Intruder - Dave McIntosh<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGOUHWn778jLRtnrTds58Ku0JmD9ucJ89CB2QcmyrlNTVB59BNZQvWNCduyppHQcKoUGtur2nNES4Ew4nOD-WIh4GwFGWHvpjwK8zNRdqKxkw2ukg7vZAE62Tuk9Y1Gl0mOaMP5Ra9XzEfhVYjDcYXpKacLNyjsbPn8j0dJoGQ1KGRsoiOjBzhn3f/s1681/MosquitoIntruder%20DMcIntosh%20cover.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1681" data-original-width="1050" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGOUHWn778jLRtnrTds58Ku0JmD9ucJ89CB2QcmyrlNTVB59BNZQvWNCduyppHQcKoUGtur2nNES4Ew4nOD-WIh4GwFGWHvpjwK8zNRdqKxkw2ukg7vZAE62Tuk9Y1Gl0mOaMP5Ra9XzEfhVYjDcYXpKacLNyjsbPn8j0dJoGQ1KGRsoiOjBzhn3f/w250-h400/MosquitoIntruder%20DMcIntosh%20cover.jpeg" width="250" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">I am definitely starting to sound like a broken record now: the editing work has not allowed me to get any review writing done recently. Anyway, as ever, I have had a guest review (or three) sitting around waiting to be published. Robert Brokenmouth, a regular ABR guest reviewer, sent this in over a year ago and it has taken me this long to remember to find a half-decent image to use as the cover. I have the later edition of <a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/e4LOEX" target="_blank">Mosquito Intruder</a>, retitled <a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/qnaexj" target="_blank">Terror in the Starboard Seat</a>, and it is one of those books that I have always felt warm and fuzzy about at the prospect of eventually reading it. No pressure now to crank out a review now! Andy Wright</span></i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Now then. There aren’t that many books by the chaps in the Mossies who went into hostile territory at night to hunt Luftwaffe night fighters and the occasional target of opportunity. And there aren’t that many books on the aviation war in the Second World War that are actually funny, nor are there that many which focus on the fear felt by the aircrew; <i>Mosquito Intruder</i> ticks all three boxes and for that reason deserves a place on your shelf. And, if you’re one of those nutters who like to have at least one book by a veteran of every squadron possible, McIntosh was with No. 418 Squadron, so that will keep you happy as well.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Not sure what the reason for this is. Certainly Mossie night ops were regarded as ‘safer’ than night bombing by the ground staff, but get in your wayback machine and tell that to the young Dave McIntosh and you’ll get a disbelieving look.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">See, young Dave is utterly bloody petrified most of the time and, to read him you’d think he was a mostly incompetent navigator. He (and his pilot) manage to arrive home safely (41 ops) and play this for laughs in the mess to their colleagues. The contrast couldn’t be more stark; while we, as parties interested in wartime aviation, are accustomed to reading hair-raising stories told with aplomb after the years have allowed fear to be stifled or forgotten (at least for an audience), McIntosh’s method offers a critical insight into the reality of that war.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I won’t speculate on the reasons for McIntosh’s obvious ongoing terror (particularly given the relative safety of the Mossie), but I will say that flying accidents while training would not have helped (especially one which could, simply, have happened to anyone). There’s also one particularly ghastly story which I won’t repeat, but it absolutely hammered me when I read it. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Also amusing is his description of him preferring women to have a large bust because otherwise they’re not worth bothering with; as we continue it becomes apparent that McIntosh is reflecting on his younger, more callow self from a distance of several decades.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That said, despite being an engaging and informative read, I also found it a bit lopsided, as if certain parts of the book were written at different times in the author’s life, or as if some parts were written, then edited before writing the rest. Speculation, of course; the lopsidedness comes from the combination of a rather flip way of expressing things as well as describing things more seriously.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But this is to carp, and anyway, I only have one actual moan and it’s to do with the publisher, not the book; in my copy, pages 62–63, 66–67, 70–71 and 74–75 are all blank – not good odds over 184 pages. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">But such flaws in the publishing world are rare; <i><a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/e4LOEX" target="_blank">Mosquito Intruder</a></i>, or the later, probably better-known, edition <i><a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/qnaexj" target="_blank">Terror in the Starboard Seat</a></i>, is a must have. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">ISBN <a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/e4LOEX" target="_blank">978-0-71953-9-183</a> or <a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/qnaexj" target="_blank">978-0-77373-0-892</a></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7xTcjkr1vsH_PXnuAB6RCI51_v25k1dQzVm69dTPwJ65-GAj116Zx4hF-sJILKzpGS0w3AmvQYxB8QOnfc3uT0BWAPa80E_5gHW6wt8nvIt8Dd8jfDFNwPunwIl8JL09sAfP0zQovVKYrLIzyndjS9H5OxSrwiSRVf8_kRWwlCOGidtLEEV7R9Syk/s950/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-10%20at%2011.53.37%20am.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="950" data-original-width="614" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7xTcjkr1vsH_PXnuAB6RCI51_v25k1dQzVm69dTPwJ65-GAj116Zx4hF-sJILKzpGS0w3AmvQYxB8QOnfc3uT0BWAPa80E_5gHW6wt8nvIt8Dd8jfDFNwPunwIl8JL09sAfP0zQovVKYrLIzyndjS9H5OxSrwiSRVf8_kRWwlCOGidtLEEV7R9Syk/w259-h400/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-10%20at%2011.53.37%20am.png" width="259" /></a></div>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-54585569607471496912022-07-21T11:53:00.007+10:002022-07-21T13:20:13.416+10:00Bristol Beaufighter - John F. Hamlin<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyJMClrIuYH1hnRZd-Jjn6aje6w7TwDvUmqL1SALBXXp4I_ApUeFAfe8akPd6anoUZUrS0YPjD33Ld9hw7J0YUSO9G583FeK7uIGAtvP05RXHeRHRV8E5tnknxpg8iI2ikU8rFWJ3xiWISIgh-S20VI-Z4EJ3SnwzJ8CqdFgogZGRXjZk0kKCjIIo9/s465/BristolBeaufighter%20JFHamlin%20cover.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="338" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyJMClrIuYH1hnRZd-Jjn6aje6w7TwDvUmqL1SALBXXp4I_ApUeFAfe8akPd6anoUZUrS0YPjD33Ld9hw7J0YUSO9G583FeK7uIGAtvP05RXHeRHRV8E5tnknxpg8iI2ikU8rFWJ3xiWISIgh-S20VI-Z4EJ3SnwzJ8CqdFgogZGRXjZk0kKCjIIo9/w291-h400/BristolBeaufighter%20JFHamlin%20cover.jpeg" width="291" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">There I was sitting at my local cafe, kids-back-at-school celebratory coffee and book session delayed by one day, when I get a phone call from the post office to say I had a parcel that had somehow missed the day's delivery. A short walk and 4.5 kg of Air-Britain magic was in my hands. Flintham's <i><a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/Vy9Qk3" target="_blank">Truculent Tribes</a></i> bargain and the 2022 <i><a href="http://www.propliner.co.uk" target="_blank">Propliner</a></i> were incidental to the real reason for the order: John Hamlin's <i><a href="https://www.air-britain.co.uk/actbooks/acatalog/BristolBeaufighter--174.html#SID=13" target="_blank">Bristol Beaufighter</a></i> made up most of the weight, 420+ pages of glossy A4 hardback goodness to be exact.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">It is a beautiful book and is loaded with superb photos, all magnificently reproduced on quality paper and leaving few aspects, if any, of the aircraft to the imagination. There is a surprising amount of colour too, from ‘sidebars’ to period advertisements and a great number of clean profiles that feature some of the rarer markings seen on Beaufighters.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">I am not an Air-Britain aficionado or member. While I love all aviation to varying degrees, my focus is fairly obvious, so I’ve never been able to justify membership of an organisation with a much broader (and understandable) remit. The few A-B books I’ve seen – Hamlin’s earlier <i><a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/OR0aDN" target="_blank">Flat Out</a></i>, the history of No. 30 Squadron, for example, was bought secondhand – are unsurpassed on the quality front, but I’ve never been one for lists of serial numbers, as useful as they are for regular referencing. The 240 pages of Beaufighter serials, a la Morgan and Shacklady’s <i><a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/NKWeqK" target="_blank">Spitfire: The History</a></i> (but on far superior paper stock!), are the raison d'être of this book and clearly the product of years of work. That’s a big chunk of an expensive book. What’s left is roughly 20 pages of the type’s development, including a column and a half on the Australian production line, ten pages of an ‘Operational overview’ and then a comprehensive 100 pages of potted histories of the units (squadrons, wings, OTUs, etc.) and air forces that flew the Beaufighter, which is effectively a longer ‘operational overview’. The appendices are also of interest, but everything outside of the serials section is all too brief. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">The unit listing is impressive and there’s some fascinating inclusions, although the South Africans deserved more than two pages, despite only having the two units. Happily, the Royal Australian Air Force – squadrons and support units – gets a decent ten pages, the USAAF five and everyone else (France, Turkey, Portugal, Israel and the Dominican Republic) seven. However, again, it’s all in overview territory. There’s little more than the occasional one-liner quote from aircrew, but that’s perhaps a rabbit hole the author didn’t want to/couldn't go down. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">Speaking of the personal connection, there is a sobering tribute in the later pages dedicated to those who became casualties while serving with a Beaufighter unit (killed, wounded/injured, prisoners, etc.). Three columns per A4 page for 20 pages. It is a lovely inclusion. Imagine, though, the power of including the words of some of those listed or their contemporaries – giving them a voice. It would have made for a much longer book, of course, or a mighty second volume, but perhaps this is one of the few paths A-B rarely treads (if at all).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">The Beaufighter’s full story continues to this day with long-term restorations to flight underway and great work being done on Hercules engineering in Queensland, Australia. Coupled with recent wreck discoveries, and even the important recovery of crew remains over the years, it is clear the type’s history did not end when the last airframe left military service. Again, the inclusion of such material was probably beyond the parameters the author was required to work within but would have highlighted the present stature of the Beaufighter in today’s historic aviation community and its exciting future. Extend that to a survey of the few surviving examples and the story is (more) complete. All this present-day material is, granted, nice to have.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;">It's a Beaufighter book and that's why I now own a copy and, if you're a fan, you should too. It is good, but it is not the comprehensive treatment expected. I wanted more, what it says on the tin, ‘The Full Story’. It is an expensive book and will be a standard reference, though the cost needs to be weighed with what the reader is after. It's more than just a serial number listing, and there are some gems throughout, but if you're after an in-depth narrative on the type, how it influenced strike operations, what it was like to live with and fly, this is not the book for you. Indeed, there's still not one book that can do that (but have a look for Neville Parnell's <i>Beaufighters over the Pacific</i>, Graeme Gibson's forthcoming <i>Road to Glory</i>, Athol Sutherland Brown's <i><a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/P0EAP6" target="_blank">Silently into the Midst of Things</a></i>, and anything relevant by the great <a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/rnr07G" target="_blank">Roy Conyers Nesbit</a>, to name a few). It is, however, certainly the most significant overall Beaufighter title since <a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/5bEqVn" target="_blank">Chaz Bowyers’s 1970s/80s works</a>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.air-britain.co.uk/actbooks/acatalog/BristolBeaufighter--174.html#SID=13" target="_blank">ISBN 978-0-95130-5-127</a></p></div>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-34764872487473905512022-06-27T12:42:00.006+10:002022-06-27T12:42:45.902+10:00Thinks He's a Bird - Ian Campbell<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ImXkBDeRvtfNgOOKqYsFVDrd6R8GEKMkSCQUOwNHjyO6rVrXYooScX9moAz1vjblldqtOpuXPDp9bEKZ4ifM08qgmlRcKO5AIBywu51-fx1lk8zXpWsriOJAlYXBdbYbHGr43vA9cTV6B8IKKinOO3MVWVb7TzSnNdHBwxkdIAmU3RkOeSOHKu9H/s651/ThinksHesABird%20ICampbell%20cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="651" data-original-width="433" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ImXkBDeRvtfNgOOKqYsFVDrd6R8GEKMkSCQUOwNHjyO6rVrXYooScX9moAz1vjblldqtOpuXPDp9bEKZ4ifM08qgmlRcKO5AIBywu51-fx1lk8zXpWsriOJAlYXBdbYbHGr43vA9cTV6B8IKKinOO3MVWVb7TzSnNdHBwxkdIAmU3RkOeSOHKu9H/w266-h400/ThinksHesABird%20ICampbell%20cover.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">I'm still flat out with manuscript editing so nothing original from me for now. However...</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Ladies and gentleman, <a href="https://tidd.ly/3xYGDNV" target="_blank">Sean Feast</a>.</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There have been a good many books on Bomber Command published recently, but not many good ones. <i><a href="https://tidd.ly/3k9olms" target="_blank">Thinks He’s a Bird</a></i>, by Ian Campbell, I am delighted to say, is one of those that is very definitely worth adding to your shelf.</span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It tells the story of Keith Watson, a young man from Queensland, who after the usual pattern of training overseas ultimately arrives in the UK to join Bomber Command before volunteering for Pathfinder Force (PFF), the corps d’elite. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Describing the story in such simple terms, however, immediately does the story a gross disservice, because it is so much more than the standard bomber pilot’s biography. It is both poignant and funny, sad and uplifting in equal measure. It manages to weave in considerable detail of what life was like for a journeyman crew in training and operations with a front-line squadron with what was happening outside of Service life, relationships both inside and beyond the station and how, for example, a chance meeting while hitching a lift by the side of the A1 can lead to a lifelong friendship being forged!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For those who have little or no knowledge of Bomber Command, <i><a href="https://tidd.ly/3k9olms" target="_blank">Thinks He’s a Bird</a></i> is a great way of finding out more about what these brave men went through, and the often perilous training they had to undertake at the various AFUs, OTUs and HCUs dotted around the UK, often in some of the most inhospitable places. Factual detail is complemented by first-hand memories from Keith’s contemporary diary and subsequent interviews and is the stronger for it. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Whereas some books are wont to gloss over the training, perhaps in fear of boring the reader or wishing (with understandable logic) to spend more time on their (‘more exciting’) operational flights, the author almost appears to take the contrary view and should be congratulated for it. Even as, dare I say it, an experienced author and – first and foremost – an avid reader of anything Bomber Command, I didn’t find myself speed reading to ‘get to the good bits’. The author’s easy style, helped by some intelligent editing, made this a very comfortable and enjoyable read from start to finish.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What I particularly enjoyed was how – intentionally or otherwise – the book helps to explode some of the myths of Bomber Command generally and Pathfinder Force specifically. The way, for example, that the pilot rejected one of the crew as not being up to the mark, which flies against the generally held belief that every crew was an unbreakable unit like a merry band of modern-day musketeers. They were not: tensions among crew members could easily spill over into something worse; personalities often clashed; competency and skill were not a given. Some were not up to the job.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Pathfinder Force, similarly, was not the well-oiled machine it is sometimes made out to be. Chaos and disorganisation were constant spectres at the feast, as evidenced by Keith’s own experiences in joining PFF. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Having initially been identified as ‘gen’ crew in training (usually because of the skill of the pilot, navigator and air bomber (PNB) team), he did not go straight to PFF as was usual. (At one stage of the war, one third of new PFF crews were drawn direct from training, with the remainder taken from crews that were currently operating or those returning from a ‘rest’). Instead, he is posted to a Main Force squadron prior to being posted to the Pathfinder Navigation Training Unit at Warboys. But even when he does finally commence his PFF training, he is sent back to Main Force, owing to an administrative foul-up. It transpired that 5 Group had sent down too many crews for training – undoubtedly the result of a miscommunication between 5 Group and 8 Group (PFF), which was similarly no doubt a by-product of the enmity that existed between the respective AOCs – Cochrane (5 Group) and Bennett (8 Group).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">So is there anything wrong with the book? Nope. Not as far as I can see. It is long, which when your glass is half full means you’re getting excellent value for money. It’s a shame it’s not a hardback, or that the quality of imagery isn’t better, but that’s only a minor issue, and in fairness – as a paperback – I would argue the production is as good as you will find. There are a few very minor points I could take issue with, but to do so would be churlish. This is a thoroughly enjoyable, well researched and well-written book which deserves every success.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://tidd.ly/3k9olms" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;">ISBN </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">978-1-92261-5-152</span></span></a></div><div><br /></div></div><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-52178646482933925252022-04-25T18:14:00.001+10:002022-04-25T18:14:23.951+10:00ANZAC Day 2022<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrPAp83z-NWoYg7bbZvTRaAu4COKWMriepm3-kQdSqvtklcHNbiYec_PuhPOSb7CLtucVhSkounIpxUpMNRSMVoc7TZmdduf1z_P-EtTMJfQ-NK0mZB7ZWCSJ-Sn3gKzEz69Hi6663wzgCwwplHhwmJkcgbjj5d56XpmKERzQxXoHdfGNJN071GBGz/s3504/2022%20Anzac%20Day%20pile.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3504" data-original-width="2268" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrPAp83z-NWoYg7bbZvTRaAu4COKWMriepm3-kQdSqvtklcHNbiYec_PuhPOSb7CLtucVhSkounIpxUpMNRSMVoc7TZmdduf1z_P-EtTMJfQ-NK0mZB7ZWCSJ-Sn3gKzEz69Hi6663wzgCwwplHhwmJkcgbjj5d56XpmKERzQxXoHdfGNJN071GBGz/w259-h400/2022%20Anzac%20Day%20pile.jpeg" width="259" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">April 25 is, as many know, commemorated as ANZAC Day in Australia and New Zealand (and wherever you find ex-pats of both countries). It is the anniversary of the Gallipoli landings in 1915 and plays a big part in the national psyche and culture of both countries. It is commercialised, yes, and it is regularly used by politicians and media alike for self-promotion, such is its importance. Once it passes, and the hoopla wanes for another year, it's like the hangover from a grand final or election. Everything seems to move on.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">However, every day is ANZAC Day. Every day is a day we should be grateful for, and remember, those who served and continue to serve. If you're reading this, I doubt you need to be told that, but there it is. Pass on your passion for keeping history alive.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">While we're being thankful, take a look at the <i>ABR</i> 2022 ANZAC Day book pile above. These are the new books by/about Australian and New Zealand aircrew, or released by Aussie/Kiwi publishers, that have crossed my desk in the past twelve months. It has been a bumper year. Eighteen titles is a record since I started doing this and at least half are the result of the collaboration between the RAAF's History & Heritage Branch and Big Sky Publishing (or BSP on its own). It hints at a rejuvenation of interest in the genre, but the RAAF's centenary last year will be responsible for a fair chunk of that. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I've worked on five (*) of these and can vouch for them being a credit to their author/s. If you see something you like, get to it, support these authors/publishers and do your bit to keep these stories alive. Enjoy!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Just in case the photo doesn't zoom in well, top to bottom:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://tidd.ly/38m2jtZ" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Spitfire Pilot</i> - John Spence</span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Full Circle</i> - JM Davis</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://tidd.ly/3EJuE9S" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Ready, Willing and Able Two</i> - Sean Feast</span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://edgarpickles.company.site" target="_blank"><i>I'll be back for Breakfast</i> - Di Websdale-Morrissey</a>*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>The Gypsy Air Gunner</i> - Tony Vine</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://tidd.ly/36IYpet" target="_blank"><i>Strong to Serve</i> - Joseph Mack</a>*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://tidd.ly/398cNgZ" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Viking Boys</i> - John Quaife</span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://tidd.ly/3xL2ry2" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Best of Times, Worst of Times</i> - Jeff Steel</span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://tidd.ly/3Mvw9uO" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Bombs and Barbed Wire</i> - Jeff Steel</span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://tidd.ly/36IYGhv" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Sky Pilot</i> - Peter Davidson</span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://tidd.ly/3k9olms" target="_blank"><i>Thinks He's a Bird</i> - Ian Campbell</a>*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://tidd.ly/39jlq8R" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Australia's Dambusters</i> - Colin Burgess</span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://tidd.ly/3xUNutd" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>The Battle of the Bismarck Sea</i> - Michael Veitch</span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://tidd.ly/3MuejIY" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>South Pacific Air War Volume 5</i> - Peter Ingman and Michael Claringbould</span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/then-now-always/book/9781922615053.html" target="_blank">Then-Now-Always</a>*</span></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.bombercommandbooks.com" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>467 Squadron RAAF</i> - Chris Ward</span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.bombercommandbooks.com" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>460 Squadron RAAF</i> - Chris Ward</span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://tidd.ly/3EIRzSB" target="_blank">Aircraft of the Royal Australian Air Force</a>*</span></i></div><p></p>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-37264499781721096452022-04-12T16:43:00.005+10:002022-04-12T16:43:59.646+10:00Boys, Bombs and Brussels Sprouts - J. Douglas Harvey<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Lxx76SDFmeJQrY-btUQD44lEqtUwzsNfAw31ydllYdauO8oG6eRfRAEaPpIy8ms_jyrHNhdDbU12uvR8ckUg9oRNgRth6DtSv2LDVUKplyFhiEIAjy0HnpOol6cERCuV-o4X4OG1-2jZHL2aK5PPL9xVJqhiUZZCXxzk8zpRtBlfStBxZhIKH_Ps/s1805/BoysBombsandBrusselsSprouts%20JDHarvey%20cover.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1805" data-original-width="1184" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Lxx76SDFmeJQrY-btUQD44lEqtUwzsNfAw31ydllYdauO8oG6eRfRAEaPpIy8ms_jyrHNhdDbU12uvR8ckUg9oRNgRth6DtSv2LDVUKplyFhiEIAjy0HnpOol6cERCuV-o4X4OG1-2jZHL2aK5PPL9xVJqhiUZZCXxzk8zpRtBlfStBxZhIKH_Ps/w263-h400/BoysBombsandBrusselsSprouts%20JDHarvey%20cover.jpeg" width="263" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">More than three months into 2022 and all I've done is add several covers of new books as they've crossed my desk. As before, the manuscript editing work is keeping me busy (follow <a href="https://www.facebook.com/wrightstuffep" target="_blank">Wright Stuff Editing & Proofreading</a> if you want to get an idea of what I'm up to) and away from review writing, even reading. For the lack of content on here, I apologise. I must also proffer </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>humblest</i></span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> apologies to Robert Brokenmouth, guest reviewer, for holding on to this and two other reviews since July. It doesn't feel like that long, but the emails say </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>otherwise</i></span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">. Here, then, from a writer who knows how to get inside the head of a Bomber Command author, is a review of a book that some have said is quite </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>hilarious (in a good way). That's not something you come across too often with BC, but there you have it. It's also a book I simply have not been able to find a nice copy of for a decent price. When I do, the postage is silly. Anyway, that's too many of my woes. Enjoy. Andy Wright.</i></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We all have our favourite aviation books. You might think mine can be guessed at: Cheshire, Gibson, Charlwood, Cusack, Ollis.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0cm; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Well, those five, yes. But there are several others; Yates (see <a href="http://aircrewbookreview.blogspot.com/2021/07/luck-and-lancaster-harry-yates.html" target="_blank">here</a>) is one, and <a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/9WjxN4" target="_blank">this little cracker</a> is another.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0cm; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">While some of us buy a military autobiography because we have an interest in the historical events, the small boy inside us (certainly me, I’m afraid) wants nothing but incredible adventures. Mel Rolfe’s series of books were hugely popular for that reason. Sprouts is brimming with events and details I have never read before in an aviation biography (never mind one on Bomber Command). Harvey’s knack of recall of specific things brings into sharp focus the grimmer everyday aspects of RAF life – told in such a way that sharp cackles of laughter on the bus are so frequent that you’ll get looks from disapproving teenagers. I won’t spoil it – though I’d love to – but Harvey tells his story with frankness, comic contempt, and an astonishing tenderness. It’s <a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/9WjxN4" target="_blank">a hugely powerful book</a> and, if you've not read it, you are in for a treat.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0cm; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Harvey, a Canadian, joined No. 408 Squadron, Bomber Command, in June 1943 and survived to be screened in April 1944. Like Cusack and Ollis, he has little respect for the RAF system of promotion (arguing with the CO about the fact that officers get more pay than sergeants and all essentially do the same job; again, I won't spoil it). Unlike those two, however, he can recount a fantastic and very rare appearance by Bomber Harris.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="gmail-apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0cm; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Lastly, if there’s a sorely overlooked book of the bombing war just waiting to be written, it's about the fussy, impractical, bullet-proof officer who wangles a posting to ops and proceeds to stuff everything up with a sort of self-justified glee. Cusack and Ollis each encountered one of these ding-bats (to the point where one surmises that a principal reason for writing about their experiences in the first place is to reveal and humiliate the ding-bat). Yates was one of these training characters, but he at least comprehended that he was far from invincible and endeavoured to bring back his crew (and himself) alive. Harvey encounters not one but two (leading me to think there should definitely be more known about these characters); and, not wishing to spoil the surprise, I’ll leave it there.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0cm; min-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-stretch: normal; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Let your fingers do the walking, as they say, and fish out the credit card. This is a somewhat under-appreciated (I won’t say ‘forgotten’) work that should be a perennial like the works of the ‘famous five/six’ mentioned above.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/9WjxN4" target="_blank">ISBN 978-0-77104-0-481</a></span></p></div>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-64675135855229724462021-12-27T17:46:00.001+11:002021-12-27T17:49:06.961+11:00'Sailor' Malan, Freedom Fighter - Dilip Sarkar<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKQOpW6JHpC1dYlzqHCRQe4Jn4-aHI2ysiLjGYtrmdiKGILbSDkSohUyLAo1xkb5g02CFHDhWXmUMy9eIwdgngUnGaqvt8pVogjP21p85nfRVmW1rBPb08kf6auaGZ4tM_5geggD0OIYCxwE50JEVOTEN_EngGBS2hS6J067Sl905AlxtGz0ffuT6M=s674" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="450" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjKQOpW6JHpC1dYlzqHCRQe4Jn4-aHI2ysiLjGYtrmdiKGILbSDkSohUyLAo1xkb5g02CFHDhWXmUMy9eIwdgngUnGaqvt8pVogjP21p85nfRVmW1rBPb08kf6auaGZ4tM_5geggD0OIYCxwE50JEVOTEN_EngGBS2hS6J067Sl905AlxtGz0ffuT6M=w268-h400" width="268" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>As I continue to try to save ABR's 2021 from being the 'year of lowest number of posts since inception', I've again turned to a guest reviewer. Guest reviewers have contributed half of the content this year and I am eternally grateful to them. This time around, it's Adrian Roberts, a First World War aviation specialist who maintains a solid interest in all things maritime and in the Second World War. A retired nurse practitioner who has spent a fair bit of time at the controls of a glider, Adrian is an honest and constructive reviewer. Andy Wright.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Group Captain Adolph ‘Sailor’ Malan DSO* DFC* was probably the greatest British Empire fighter pilot of the Second World War; even ‘Johnnie’ Johnson, who had a slightly higher victory score, held that opinion. To be a great ace it is necessary to also be a great fighter leader and inspirational commander, which both men were. In his later life, Malan showed moral as well as physical courage in his struggle against apartheid in his native South Africa and his debilitating final illness. </div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">On the whole, <a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Sailor-Malan-Freedom-Fighter-Hardback/p/18990?aid=1118" target="_blank">this book</a> gives a good account of Malan’s life, but it could be better. Pen & Sword have produced some very poor-quality books recently by amateur historians: erroneous and quoting Wikipedia in their research. However, Dilip Sarkar is a respected historian specialising in the Battle of Britain. The section in this book on that period is detailed and comprehensive, as is the account of Malan’s influence on air fighting; Sarkar has clearly done the primary research. He gives a balanced account of the Barking Creek incident in which two Hurricanes were mistakenly shot down by Malan’s flight; the only conclusion that can be drawn is that Malan insisted he gave an order to abandon the attack and the pilots concerned insisted he did not. The section on the post-war anti-apartheid ‘Torch Commando’ is good. There is an index and a comprehensive bibliography. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately, there are no references for the quotes (other than those in the foreword), and no footnotes or endnotes. This is a bad decision, whether made by the author or the publisher. A book without references is entertainment at best; it cannot be a research tool. For instance, there is a quote from an Air Ministry Order of 1944 prohibiting racial discrimination in the RAF; it is important future researchers can verify the source of this. When Malan is quoted directly, it is not clear whether it is from a report from the time of the incident or something he was remembering years later. When Johnson is quoted as criticising Bader, was it in public or in private, and was it after Bader’s death? </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The author is not so good when he is outside of his area of expertise. Malan’s career in the Merchant Navy took up ten years of his life, but it is dismissed in two pages. There is no attempt to list the ships on which he served or their history; some readers are interested in maritime history as well as aviation history. We are not told anything about his wife, her family or how they met. A professional historian should have been able and willing to research these aspects. Sarkar states that Dowding had been a fighter pilot in the First World War, which derives from a single line in Wikipedia. In fact, he only flew reconnaissance aircraft until late 1916 and subsequently only had desk jobs. There is also a considerable amount of padding and background information, but this is probably necessary when writing about a single individual. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Generally, however, <a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Sailor-Malan-Freedom-Fighter-Hardback/p/18990?aid=1118" target="_blank">this is still a book worth reading</a>. Malan comes across as an officer who did not suffer fools gladly but who cared about his men and gained the respect of all who knew him, except possibly those involved in the Barking Creek episode, and his later life showed him to be a liberal humanist thinker ahead of his time.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Sailor-Malan-Freedom-Fighter-Hardback/p/18990?aid=1118" target="_blank">ISBN 978-1-52679-5-267</a></p><div><br /></div>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-8645459344789069372021-12-22T18:52:00.000+11:002021-12-22T18:52:44.265+11:002021 - a year in review<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Right, so, for the past few years, in the lead up to Christmas, I’ve been asked to contribute a recording or list of my ‘books of the year’. This invariably dribbled on a bit to include books I was looking forward to. I’ve had my head buried in manuscript edits, hence my utter failure on the review front for the website this year, and have suddenly realised I haven’t been asked to do a list this year (probably because of the aforementioned dribble). Therefore, I’m doing one now! While I’ve edited manuscripts across an array of subjects in 2021, I will, of course, only (mostly) mention those that are relevant here. Of course, by the time you read this, unless you happen to jag next day delivery or whatever other 21st century postal malarkey I’ve never seen, it will be too late for a pre-Christmas arrival. However, any good book person might expect Christmas money or book shop vouchers from Santa or the family. A book arriving early in the new year, or any time for that matter, is just as good!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Where to start? As an Australian, the biggest impact on the market here has been the books released by the Royal Australian Air Force’s History & Heritage Branch. This second year of lockdowns, vaccines and isolating was also the centenary of the RAAF, the planning of which was years in the making. Many events were cancelled, including airshows and book launches, but the H&H Branch, in particular, pressed on with its new releases. All were produced by the Branch’s publishing partner, Big Sky, and have reportedly sold well, partly due to their favourable pricing but mainly because of their incredible content. <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=RAAF&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FAircraft-Royal-Australian-Air-Force-Air-Force-History-Branch%2F9781922488039" target="_blank">Aircraft of the Royal Australian Air Force </a></i>and <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=SkyPilot&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FSky-Pilot-Peter-Davidson%2F9781922615084" target="_blank">Sky Pilot</a></i> were the only two to directly cover the 1939–45 period but, even then, only in part. The latter is an updated and revised edition of an early nineties title about the RAAF’s chaplains. The biggest success of the year, and probably the best aviation seller nationwide, was <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=RAAF&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FAircraft-Royal-Australian-Air-Force-Air-Force-History-Branch%2F9781922488039" target="_blank">Aircraft of the Royal Australian Air Force</a></i>. This 600-plus page hardback details every aircraft type (150 of them) to wear the RAAF’s A-series serials. Heavily illustrated and written by a swathe of subject-matter experts, this massive book has set the bar high. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">To close out H&H’s 2021 releases of <i><a href="https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/4e2Aa3" target="_blank">Cold War Warriors</a></i> (Australia’s P-3 Orion era to the early nineties), <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=Malayan&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FMalayan-Emergency-Indonesian-Confrontation-Mark-Lax%2F9781922488947" target="_blank">Malayan Emergency and Indonesian Confrontation</a></i> (self-explanatory) and the new edition of <i><a href="https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/qnVvgg" target="_blank">From Controversy to Cutting Edge</a></i> (Australia’s history with the F-111), another centenary title, <i><a href="https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/DVBmLb" target="_blank">Then. Now. Always.</a></i>, is starting to hit shelves and letterboxes. An illustrated history of the RAAF’s first century, this is another large book that is very attractively priced. Next year will feature a bit of a maritime theme so, if you like Australian Sunderlands …</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The aforementioned Big Sky Publishing continued its resurgence in aviation history and released <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=Steel1&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FBombs-Barbed-Wire-Jeff-Steel%2F9781922488244" target="_blank">Bombs and Barbed Wire</a></i> and <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=Steel2&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FBest-Times-Worst-Times-Jeff-Steel%2F9781922488817" target="_blank">Best of Times, Worst of Times</a></i>, both by Jeff Steel. I have yet to read either, and have very little idea what they’re about (the latter does look at the wartime careers of two flyers with very different paths, hence the title), but if you like your Bomber Command tales then these are worth a go. On that subject, one of two exciting releases for Big Sky early in 2022 (January) is Ian Campbell’s <i><a href="https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/5bKGj1" target="_blank">Thinks He’s A Bird</a></i>. Here we have a Queensland postal clerk become a Pathfinder pilot. The narrative is exceptionally well done with the author having access to his relative’s detailed diaries and letters. <i><a href="https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/QO0XKx" target="_blank">Strong to Serve</a></i>, the second early 2022 (February) release from Big Sky is by first-time author Joseph Mack. It tells the story of Fred Riley, an English-born Australian who flew Spitfires over the Normandy landings and chased V-1s over England before living a frenetic existence on the Continent in late 1944. What’s the only thing better than diaries and letters? Firsthand interviews. <i>Strong to Serve</i>’s foundation is a series of interviews between Fred and the author with everything else skilfully weaved around to create a fine biography. Before I forget, Big Sky also has <i><a href="https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/rnRygy" target="_blank">Viking Boys</a></i> almost ready to go. Beaufighters and No. 455 Squadron anyone?</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiiaDAry-0jd9roG4APXCPGtF_uaI9w1iLVKtnslOfwyS3iAzeq3Ih_e4dMGvnkpdpRLGK-w-usbc0wnlkY9Bt2QMYMPJAZYONelhBxXUqCP0qOvm9_g3sA6k6dEP_WlD7grddzQ41OeqoSnXosPpzwxzd8oXX1BDghNQPrEB4SCdRDlEmHrcAqv-mn=s651" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="651" data-original-width="433" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiiaDAry-0jd9roG4APXCPGtF_uaI9w1iLVKtnslOfwyS3iAzeq3Ih_e4dMGvnkpdpRLGK-w-usbc0wnlkY9Bt2QMYMPJAZYONelhBxXUqCP0qOvm9_g3sA6k6dEP_WlD7grddzQ41OeqoSnXosPpzwxzd8oXX1BDghNQPrEB4SCdRDlEmHrcAqv-mn=w266-h400" width="266" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Since we’re talking about Australian aircrew books, it has been quite the bumper year (the 2022 Anzac Day list is looking healthy). It looks like Geoff Raebel may finally release his delayed <i><a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Sink-the-Tirpitz-Hardback/p/18456?aid=1118" target="_blank">Sink the Tirpitz</a></i> in 2022. Some of you may be familiar with his <i>The RAAF in Russia</i> and I believe this is similar but now includes a number of images of Hampdens not previously published. Michael Veitch’s latest book, <i><a href="https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/VygK4M" target="_blank">The Battle of the Bismarck Sea</a></i>, came out mid-year and is his best yet. While I’ve seen some press about that title, and have yet to write my own review, I’ve seen nothing about the new edition of Colin Burgess’s <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=Oz617&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FAustralias-Dambusters-Colin-Burgess%2F9781760859237" target="_blank">Australia’s Dambusters</a></i> which was released at about the same time. It’s quite odd as it’s really nicely done by a major publisher with a good network and pricing.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjVhpBzqV-4nKUJjrugKU9t5X2Ew3bOML9oLk_BzBmpGdLUpK4Vxno-JN3ZI3xObqPATQNi9CJMWpuS4yt2nSVSqFFqZRWsDZ-5YW65oq0TMUNrC_rdkB8BDBX_S2PhhHq0KHQoCYVVAsXdmT4CaLv9nUn30Lwj9HmiC6bdhL0V-Fv-6n0HrP5G4eUB=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1339" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjVhpBzqV-4nKUJjrugKU9t5X2Ew3bOML9oLk_BzBmpGdLUpK4Vxno-JN3ZI3xObqPATQNi9CJMWpuS4yt2nSVSqFFqZRWsDZ-5YW65oq0TMUNrC_rdkB8BDBX_S2PhhHq0KHQoCYVVAsXdmT4CaLv9nUn30Lwj9HmiC6bdhL0V-Fv-6n0HrP5G4eUB=w261-h400" width="261" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Two privately published Bomber Command memoirs caught my eye recently. I’m currently reading the most recent one, <i><a href="https://edgarpickles.company.site" target="_blank">I’ll Be Back for Breakfast</a></i>. It is the story of Edgar Pickles DFC*, a Lancaster pilot with Nos. 100 and 550 Squadrons, and is a finely crafted tale that is, unfortunately, frustratingly, littered with technical and historical errors pertinent to Bomber Command. If you can get by them (they will be fixed), it’s actually a really good read. The slightly older title, <i>Full Circle, </i>printed by the good people at Digital Print Australia, long-time supporters of ABR, is a daughter’s tribute to her father, Howard Hendrick DFC, as No. 460 Squadron and BOAC flyer. I’ve spoken at length with the author (as I have with Pickles’s daughter) in South Australia and she said the book is selling well locally. I’ve yet to read it, and may not immediately as I’m coming off a string of Bomber Command titles and need a change of subject, but it again appears well written (and there’s no glaring errors leaping off the pages). I’ve at least convinced the author to get DPA to sell the book via their website, a service they offer for all the titles they print. Oh, keep an eye out for Don McNaughton’s <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=LPB&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FLucky-Pommie-Bastard-Donald-Mcnaughton%2F9780645018813" target="_blank">Lucky Pommie Bastard</a></i> too.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0fjU0w0uhQVbv5wvXUoNVtAtlNEhbJzKwJwvE5b4-Xl5sMajFlLQYU5Oud-nigD--BvS-iVvW1CNhcG-foIvFeMGWXimZKwF4AZQ5tEekRi1DGyfFMl1mtCi3y9Hq6tnqkHC6OIogb6JJktHnuw6B04mMity1BHJQFBRACPvSIMf6t9OhfrRtZ-Z6=s589" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="589" data-original-width="378" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0fjU0w0uhQVbv5wvXUoNVtAtlNEhbJzKwJwvE5b4-Xl5sMajFlLQYU5Oud-nigD--BvS-iVvW1CNhcG-foIvFeMGWXimZKwF4AZQ5tEekRi1DGyfFMl1mtCi3y9Hq6tnqkHC6OIogb6JJktHnuw6B04mMity1BHJQFBRACPvSIMf6t9OhfrRtZ-Z6=w256-h400" width="256" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Before leaving Australian-centric books, don’t forget about <a href="https://avonmorebooks.com.au" target="_blank">Avonmore Books</a>. Their <i>South Pacific Air War</i> trilogy has turned into four volumes, soon to be five, and there is a promise of another Pacific campaign series on the way. </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Watch out for some very Western Australian history with Ian Duggan's </span><i style="font-family: arial;">Black Swans over Java</i><span style="font-family: arial;">. It's available from the publisher, <a href="http://www.hesperianpress.com/index.php/booklist/titles-a-d/b-titles/1147-black-swans-over-java" target="_blank">Hesperian Press</a>, but Avonmore also has stock.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEicNRCVkSO_wlXPr1roKVOwlwgujtV7pRJDFs4YL0-IQOG3KH2XkqMz_SVuSSovicfAuMxrnFIjIR0f0yVawcnMsrtq713OfWZvWfSFLfCiX_aHOCYeNQrniCEqIhdzpXML1J0nOb9KIT6YgEoRfr03HP9PaAJwmOnBMepmaPFivfXal6MGdV7CZtMI=s1914" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1914" data-original-width="1350" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEicNRCVkSO_wlXPr1roKVOwlwgujtV7pRJDFs4YL0-IQOG3KH2XkqMz_SVuSSovicfAuMxrnFIjIR0f0yVawcnMsrtq713OfWZvWfSFLfCiX_aHOCYeNQrniCEqIhdzpXML1J0nOb9KIT6YgEoRfr03HP9PaAJwmOnBMepmaPFivfXal6MGdV7CZtMI=w283-h400" width="283" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I’ve also recently finished Will Iredale’s <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=Iredale2&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FPathfinders-Will-Iredale%2F9780753557815" target="_blank">The Pathfinders</a></i> and found it an ideal way to refresh basic knowledge of the PFF. A good chunk of a book, the narrative skips along nicely, perhaps too much over the technical stuff, but this is indicative of the more general audience it is written for. It certainly keeps the focus on the aircrews, however, which is the point of the whole thing. This is one of those landmark books that can be remembered for sending readers down the rabbit hole.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjnWs-Rg8cWWpekvylvrUMx6P4ga0wIyrfrmdvIQy2wIqvkcS-eSmEYUtdwJ8g8C5VFqiVVZigJXPAxGgbqQJYrpJTIPPzM6uOsVqMe-qV25n8ICM58_z5yU8oO7e0xAS-uohu-VQ81xoiVNhrdKahoUkksZAiM59l-uULox5EHWuvLOKzXfekPxYlu=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1337" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjnWs-Rg8cWWpekvylvrUMx6P4ga0wIyrfrmdvIQy2wIqvkcS-eSmEYUtdwJ8g8C5VFqiVVZigJXPAxGgbqQJYrpJTIPPzM6uOsVqMe-qV25n8ICM58_z5yU8oO7e0xAS-uohu-VQ81xoiVNhrdKahoUkksZAiM59l-uULox5EHWuvLOKzXfekPxYlu=w261-h400" width="261" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That rabbit hole will lead to the likes of Fighting High Publishing, Grub Street and Bomber Command Books. Fighting High has continued along quietly, most recently releasing typically beautifully produced books like <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=Resolute&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FResolute-George-Dunn%2F9780993415203" target="_blank">Resolute</a></i>, <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=Extremes&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FExtremes-Fortune-Andrew-White%2F9781999812881" target="_blank">Extremes of Fortune</a></i> and <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=Peenemunde&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FThe-Lost-Graves-of-PeenemuNde-Sean-Feast-Mike-Mcleod%2F9781999812898" target="_blank">The Lost Graves of Peenemünde</a></i>. I’m not quite up to speed with what books Fighting High has planned for 2022, but they’ll be worth adding to your shelf. Grub Street has added to its Boys series with <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=FAABoys2&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FFleet-Air-Arm-Boys-Steve-Bond%2F9781911667179" target="_blank">Fleet Air Arm Boys</a></i>, <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=GCBoys&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FGroundcrew-Boys-David-Gledhill%2F9781911667025" target="_blank">Groundcrew Boys</a></i> and, more topically, the paperback edition of <i><a href="https://aircrewbookreview.blogspot.com/2019/12/beaufighter-boys-graham-pitchfork.html" target="_blank">Beaufighter Boys</a></i>. I’ve also just received a copy of Andy Saunders’s <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=Dowding&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FDowdings-Despatch-Andy-Saunders%2F9781911621959" target="_blank">Dowding’s Despatch</a></i>, a very heavy 220-page hardback featuring Dowding’s history of the Battle of Britain fleshed out by Saunders and heavily illustrated with less well-known images of the era. Not your normal BoB book which is quite the relief to be honest. Before we leave Grub Street, find a copy of Gavin Hoffen’s <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=RestForce&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FRestoration-Force-Gavin-Hoffen%2F9781911667131" target="_blank">Restoration Force</a></i> to understand hard core aviation obsessions! I’d argue books are less mobile in some cases though! Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.bombercommandbooks.com" target="_blank">Bomber Command Books</a>, Simon Hepworth’s publishing house, has had a flurry of releases in the second half of the year. I’d like to say I’m impressed with <i>The Battle of the Barges</i> and Steve Smith’s No. 218 Squadron histories, <i>Courage was not Enough</i> and <i>In Time</i>, but they’ve been intercepted for Christmas! If the revised and updated editions of Chris Ward’s <i>467 Squadron RAAF</i> and David Gunby’s <i>Sweeping the Skies</i> are anything to go by, they’ll be well received albeit while causing more headaches for the rapidly shrinking available space on the large format shelves.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhW4QB2cQMvXbdzKYN0SPE84tZ0eDfCtyY1MJRWM9pPV8mEiypZWNb44A2YEZUi6TM1PSUvhD0ev2TLytUCYRfZOX22CQc-VX8WECTu9v2dV4viw4bassJ1OcZnclBJeck8dEu_1OdbnXDvDMRKmJCIBYb04je1pnTb913LZy88wNwg-5In3Os0CcY0=s1600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1069" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhW4QB2cQMvXbdzKYN0SPE84tZ0eDfCtyY1MJRWM9pPV8mEiypZWNb44A2YEZUi6TM1PSUvhD0ev2TLytUCYRfZOX22CQc-VX8WECTu9v2dV4viw4bassJ1OcZnclBJeck8dEu_1OdbnXDvDMRKmJCIBYb04je1pnTb913LZy88wNwg-5In3Os0CcY0=w268-h400" width="268" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sean Feast has been published by all three of these publishers in the past year or so and, as a favourite, currently writing author, regularly consumes shelf space. I was just about to say I need to add his recent <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=Halton&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FHalton-Boys-Sean-Feast%2F9781911621942" target="_blank">Halton Boys</a></i> (by Grub Street) but turned around and saw it on the shelf. I don’t have a problem. Not at all. While other favourites like Anthony Cooper, Kristen Alexander, Graeme Gibson, Steve Darlow and Peter Ingman are neck deep in other projects, authors like David Hobbs and Matt Willis have pending releases, <i><a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-Fleet-Air-Arm-and-the-War-in-Europe-19391945-Hardback/p/20289?aid=1118" target="_blank">The Fleet Air Arm and the War in Europe</a></i> and <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=Swordfish&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FFleet-Air-Arm-Legends-Fairey-Sword-Mathew-Willis%2F9781911658498" target="_blank">Fairey Swordfish</a></i> (<i>Fleet Air Arm Legends</i> Book 2) respectively. Hobbs is, well, Hobbs, and always worth getting excited for, while Willis goes from strength to strength across a variety of genres, subjects and formats (he published the third <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Fortress-Malta-Matthew-Willis/dp/B09FCFWNL9/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1640158000&sr=8-2" target="_blank">Fortress of Malta</a></i> novella this year as well). He has massively increased his back catalogue with Key’s <i><a href="https://www.specialtybooks.com.au/product/2813/128701/fairey-firefly-an-illustrated-history-historic-military-aircraft-series-volume-9781913295899/" target="_blank">Fairey Firefly</a></i> and <i><a href="https://www.specialtybooks.com.au/product/2813/133151/mustang-the-untold-story-9781913295882/" target="_blank">Mustang: The Untold Story</a></i>, and the first volume of Tempest Books’ <i>Fleet Air Arm Legends</i>, <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=Seafire&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FFleet-Air-Arm-Legends-Supermarine-Mathew-Willis%2F9781911658290" target="_blank">Supermarine Seafire</a></i>.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjpYZes6MNgXnGqWUZVVIcENCWsKemRAtEyiAmz__nyfYIYA91imia_kkd3cHkFKG-GB0bfVhq2yaSR1urcIR5SRzz6z2jmKlmhoTJFXJRU-XufLy7Tj1NL4BR8xCYHR8IqYihs43rU3Em2j524SpC-85xJS1jEPlz31Qa6JmV-tZ-_JT-45IWGGaPF=s2048" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1513" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjpYZes6MNgXnGqWUZVVIcENCWsKemRAtEyiAmz__nyfYIYA91imia_kkd3cHkFKG-GB0bfVhq2yaSR1urcIR5SRzz6z2jmKlmhoTJFXJRU-XufLy7Tj1NL4BR8xCYHR8IqYihs43rU3Em2j524SpC-85xJS1jEPlz31Qa6JmV-tZ-_JT-45IWGGaPF=w295-h400" width="295" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Finally, two things to remember. Keep an eye out for <a href="air war college publications" target="_blank">Air War Publications</a>’ two-volume history of No. 450 Squadron RAAF. Each book is going to be a large format hardback and will be to a standard, for Australian squadron histories, we have never seen before. Be patient, as the principals have day jobs, but their work with Doug Norrie will set a new standard. Also, I know Pen & Sword has copped a bit of stick lately with regard to poorly edited books, questionable research and author dealings, but they are still producing quality work (like Hobbs through their Seaforth imprint). Keep an eye out, especially on their coming soon listings.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Well, there you have it. Looking back, looking forward, there’s aircrew books aplenty and always the possibility of the next holy grail or unknown title find. I hope it’s a fine copy, affordable and everything you hoped for when you finally settle down to read it.</span></p>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-23998292003005552912021-07-20T14:04:00.002+10:002021-07-20T14:17:27.048+10:00Luck and a Lancaster - Harry Yates DFC<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKrd_eQw9c2XYYrwtzjhyEh1dCTW3hg4dTD5nbR-Tx2AIV3OvCB_-i4NSBJSDVEHhDh38YxuQq0Xq9F6zRd0ycAisSn5FpN3BLimEKTnEDJOIPBi1rpqWPeT5K-tZ92bzpEhOomRmEsfU/s2048/LuckandaLancaster+HYates+cover.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1344" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKrd_eQw9c2XYYrwtzjhyEh1dCTW3hg4dTD5nbR-Tx2AIV3OvCB_-i4NSBJSDVEHhDh38YxuQq0Xq9F6zRd0ycAisSn5FpN3BLimEKTnEDJOIPBi1rpqWPeT5K-tZ92bzpEhOomRmEsfU/w263-h400/LuckandaLancaster+HYates+cover.jpeg" width="263" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i>Well, I'm still struggling to find the time to get reviews written, despite the increasing stack of finished books accumulating on one end of the desk. I am planning a return to 'Monday review writing' but that assumes I can continue to manage the manuscript edit deadlines. It is good to be busy! Anyway, I've pulled a guest reviewer out of my quiver and he's pointed himself at a very worthwhile target. Robert Brokenmouth, intrepid local music scene reporter, auction house denizen, and raconteur, has appeared on ABR <a href="http://aircrewbookreview.blogspot.com/2019/03/75-nz-squadron-chris-ward-and-chris.html" target="_blank">before as a reviewer</a> but, more importantly, as the editor of new, annotated editions of the Australian bomber aircrew classics '<a href="http://aircrewbookreview.blogspot.com/2011/06/quick-reference-review-listing.html" target="_blank">They Hosed Them Out'</a> and <a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=101Nights&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2F101-Nights-Ray-Ollis%2F9781743054055" target="_blank">'101 Nights'</a>. His work on these titles produced two of the greatest additions to wartime aircrew literature of the 21st century. Therefore, it is a pleasure to publish his review of a title from the end of last century, from the end of a decade that was arguably the high watermark in terms of wartime memoirs seeing the light of day. Andy Wright.</i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Originally published in 1999 by Airlife (and then Wrens Park and Crowood Park), <i><a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/rnGrRG" target="_blank">Luck and a Lancaster</a> </i>tells the oft-repeated tale of a young man who wanted to fly and ended up in Bomber Command ... but the writing, the vivid nature of the author’s recall, and his overall story, commands attention.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Yates takes us through his initial training in 1940, through his eighteen-month unwanted stint as a flying instructor, and then op by op to the end of his tour with No. 75 Squadron on 30 December 1944. It is ironic in so many ways that Yates, with his heart set on Beaufighters or Mosquitos, insisted on getting himself transferred to ops and ended up on Lancs in Bomber Command. Luck?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Running through it all is his reflection on luck, as if it is some sort of tangible imp peering down at us and occasionally cackling. Chance plays a huge part in warfare; most soldiers take part in only a few battles in their career; but almost any bombing operation was effectively a battle in itself. As aviation buffs know, a tour of operations was ... thirty battles. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">If you survived.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Yates has a story to tell and he gets on with it, occasionally contrasting related events with observations of history which are well known today, but were unknown to the airmen at the time. His easy to digest style means you power through the book, occasionally pausing to gasp in disbelief or horror (Yates’s crew had an eventful tour, to say the least). Despite the passage of the years, we are gripped by a matter-of-fact narrative of a crew in the midst of powerful events and a determination for Yates and his men to survive.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">One thing which strikes me on this reading (my fourth or fifth) is the large number of people we should know more about, but simply don’t. They either haven’t written a book or haven’t left sufficient detail of themselves to survive into the digital age. Squadron Leader Jack Leslie is a perfect example.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i><a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/rnGrRG" target="_blank">Luck and a Lancaster</a></i> does not have the bitterness of Gibson, the naivete of Cheshire, or the reflectiveness of Charlwood, but its measured, tense pace, and contrast between the young man who the old man remembers, means this book belongs on your shelf. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Nutshell? Forgotten classic.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/rnGrRG" target="_blank">ISBN 978-1-84037-0-799</a></div></div>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-87101286026035672012021-05-28T12:17:00.006+10:002021-05-28T12:19:52.370+10:00Sailor Malan - Philip Kaplan<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1bHu316JeccsRgYVpRGZeTpt7lNvqsXyCT9cN4S8ZKJTw9ovdm8DbEMPG3xvvHsy6Hz88R0MM2XyiN5lpzTct4ckKNRF5U0d6snOMXHjM89Bi26zNcdcN8S-3n1oHm26ZYwExF2wTR8Y/s673/SailorMalan+PKaplan+cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="673" data-original-width="450" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1bHu316JeccsRgYVpRGZeTpt7lNvqsXyCT9cN4S8ZKJTw9ovdm8DbEMPG3xvvHsy6Hz88R0MM2XyiN5lpzTct4ckKNRF5U0d6snOMXHjM89Bi26zNcdcN8S-3n1oHm26ZYwExF2wTR8Y/w268-h400/SailorMalan+PKaplan+cover.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: arial;">Humblest apologies, everyone. I've been incredibly busy with editing work that I haven't had a chance to get any review writing done (let alone reading!). It is great to be busy but I have been missing my, as of this year, new 'Mondays are for review writing' sessions. Anyway, here's a new guest reviewer for ABR. Andrew Kitney works for an airline in the UK. He gets around a fair bit as a result, more so eighteen months ago (!), and is a regular airshow attendee. With a passion for just about everything in aviation, he's more often seen over on <a href="https://flightlinebookreview.home.blog" target="_blank">Flight Line Book Review</a>. This is the first ABR-relevant title I've managed to get in front of him. It's a bit odd seeing the same publisher release t<a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/search/products/Malan?aid=1118" target="_blank">wo books on Malan from two different authors</a> so close to each other, but there hasn't been much focussed work on the chap of late so no major complaints on that front. Enjoy! Andy Wright.</span></i></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Anybody with more than a passing interest in the Battle of Britain will have heard of the South African RAF Ace, ‘Sailor’ Malan. He led a fascinating and varied life, so I was looking forward to <a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Sailor-Malan-Paperback/p/17874?aid=1118" target="_blank">this book</a>. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">With a somewhat different than normal path to the RAF, his early days on the family farm in South Africa are well conveyed. As a young boy he became a fantastic marksman, something that would stand him in good stead throughout his flying career. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Detailing his early career as a sailor, which is where his nickname originated, starting on a South African training ship and then into the merchant fleet, he experienced European and Atlantic ports. The city of New York and ports in Germany both had a significant influence on him. His spent a short spell training in the RN and, with war on the horizon, his application for the RAF and subsequent flight training is nicely covered.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The scene is set with a fulsome account from his friend, and fellow Battle of Britain pilot, New Zealander Al Deere, covering their relationship from the early to latter parts of Malan’s RAF career. A subsequent chapter on the Spitfire moves onto Malan’s time at Hornchurch and some of the early sorties flown during the war and in the Battle of Britain. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Describing nicely what Malan is renowned for, a chapter talks about the changes he introduced to combat formations and fighting, together with his ‘10 Commandments’, the golden rules, of air combat. These tactics contributed significantly to his success. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The frantic days at RAF Biggin Hill at the height of the Battle of Britain are well described, including the frenetic sorties and what it was like living on the base at the time. His tenure as base commander several years into the war is also covered. Accompanying combat reports spotlight the relentlessness of combat. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">With a nod to the inclusion of a like-minded character in the famous Battle of Britain movie, a later chapter covers reflections and plaudits from a number of pilots and commanders of the period as well as historians. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The book finishes with how Malan has been remembered after his death. This follows a chapter looking at his post-war life in the political turmoil of his native South Africa. The narrative is accompanied by a few black and white photos of Malan and his compatriots to add to the scene setting. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">To call this a complete and comprehensive biography of Sailor Malan would be erroneous, especially with numerous pages of his wartime life being devoted to such key compatriots as Al Deere. They do, however, provide the context for the period in which Malan served and add to the overall atmosphere of the time and place of his service. Overall, I enjoyed <a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Sailor-Malan-Paperback/p/17874?aid=1118" target="_blank">this book</a> and it took me back to my younger days where I searched high and low during my weekly library visits for similar accounts of Second World War heroes. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Sailor-Malan-Paperback/p/17874?aid=1118" target="_blank">ISBN 978-1-52678-2-274</a></span></p>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-72344342898690110032021-02-26T20:34:00.000+11:002021-02-26T20:34:11.182+11:00The Life of Barry E. Gale - Andrew Arthy<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEUeyeJYoIOIFXrc_rNX1hyphenhyphenMI5-elO4GBFG_iesw8CC0Is_s3pxNlAl-TJ0svPS2Tsl5GPBjP7iDZ3smEY1a-IDNq0BM_3kfuMllrkXQ4bK88RXk43BML8_YBRmuEin6L8nmOEss1XUuI/s1683/TheLifeofBarryGale+AArthy+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1683" data-original-width="1190" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEUeyeJYoIOIFXrc_rNX1hyphenhyphenMI5-elO4GBFG_iesw8CC0Is_s3pxNlAl-TJ0svPS2Tsl5GPBjP7iDZ3smEY1a-IDNq0BM_3kfuMllrkXQ4bK88RXk43BML8_YBRmuEin6L8nmOEss1XUuI/w283-h400/TheLifeofBarryGale+AArthy+cover.jpg" width="283" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As much as I am a fan of the physical book, I do begrudgingly accept there is a place, and a definite need, for digital editions. Most of the titles featured on <i>Aircrew Book Review</i> are now available in some digital format, making them accessible almost immediately from anywhere with a half decent internet connection. It was still a bit of a surprise, however, when I was asked to review a pilot’s biography produced by specialist publisher <a href="https://airwarpublications.com" target="_blank">Air War Publications</a>. How to tackle what is essentially appears as a long, well-researched magazine feature supplied as a PDF? The same way as everything else: fairly and honestly. What I found would put most magazine articles and shorter books to shame.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Barry Gale was an Australian Spitfire pilot, albeit born in England, who joined No 111 Squadron in mid-1942. He stayed with this unit until July 1943, initially flying on offensive operations across the Channel before the squadron moved to Algeria in late 1942 to support the Torch landings. Gale had already had some success flying the Spitfire Mk.V against the far superior Fw 190 and this would continue in Africa, although the Spitfires were now weighted down by Vokes chin filters. Conditions on the airfields were very basic and the men were subjected to regular raids by the Luftwaffe. It was an unpleasant existence, but the best was made of things and the squadron kept busy with interceptions and regular successes against their generally better-equipped enemy counterparts. Gale became a flight commander in March 1943, an indication of his experience and leadership qualities, and was awarded the DFC at the end of his tour.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The requisite rest spell followed, as an instructor at the RAF Fighter Leader School, before Gale was posted to No 165 Squadron. Now flying the Spitfire Mk.IXb, Barry and his colleagues were very much on the offensive in the second half of 1944 and converted to Mustang IIIs in January 1945. Barry was already acting as the CO of the unit and was promoted to squadron leader during this period, making him one of the few Australians to fly the Mustang in RAF service, perhaps one of the most senior too. He remained with the unit post-war but was eventually back in Australia by March 1946. He became a respected civil engineer and passed away in July 2011.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">While I printed off my copy of <i><a href="https://airwarpublications.com/life-barry-gale-earticle-available/" target="_blank">The Life of Barry E. Gale</a> </i>(because I stare at a screen enough as it is!), the eArticle is designed to be viewed and read on a screen with all the advantages that offers (scalability, clarity, colour etc). While not restricted by space, although perhaps working to a predetermined in-house length and layout, the author (Western Australian Andrew Arthy) keeps the focus firmly on Gale yet manages to capture some of his contemporaries in passing. The fine control of the narrative indicates an author across his subject, at ease with it and definitely not flying his first solo. Considering the subject didn’t leave behind a diary or bundle of letters, there is a lot here; the references listed, consuming almost a page and a half of the eighteen-page document, put a lot of books to shame. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This is not a long read, of course, and might barely consume thirty minutes. That said, taking your time with it, absorbing the supporting tables and the excellent map, will easily chew up an enjoyable hour. The useful glossary and ‘life at a glance’ sit on the inside front cover and, with the map on the following page, provide the ideal snapshot of Gale’s war.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The important thing about this work is it tells the story of a pilot who, at best, probably just gets a mention when featured elsewhere in photos or operational reports. A more than capable fighter leader, Gale falls into the ‘one of the many’ category, the thousands of remarkable aircrew who got the job done. We can only hope the author has the chance to apply this treatment to other Australian airmen. Who knows, perhaps a book of collected stories might eventuate. In the meantime, consider this and other titles from <a href="https://airwarpublications.com" target="_blank">Air War Publications</a> and you’ll discover a small publisher doing big things, and a Western Australian aviation historian ranking among fellow West Aussies like Cyril Ayris and Charles Page.</span></div></div>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-31717469964919373782021-02-23T16:55:00.003+11:002021-02-25T16:25:44.887+11:00We Together - Adam Lunney<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRRp_liE87l8WYjEkAOO26gaEjvk99olCzNJZ7baPDCPW7MDES8EPAG7v65M-3gV0vNlIWAa-45Q-UWXNLCJLdJrbWm351ypPsTikLOkQ-cMqPY4Y2AxRKw_6RtRLbfQVXLTWlsLhSTeQ/s1600/WeTogether+ALunney+cover" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1139" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRRp_liE87l8WYjEkAOO26gaEjvk99olCzNJZ7baPDCPW7MDES8EPAG7v65M-3gV0vNlIWAa-45Q-UWXNLCJLdJrbWm351ypPsTikLOkQ-cMqPY4Y2AxRKw_6RtRLbfQVXLTWlsLhSTeQ/w285-h400/WeTogether+ALunney+cover" width="285" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Titles featuring the Spitfire can always be counted in aviation best seller lists yet, even with such a focus on its history, there remains areas waiting for their time in the sun or, perhaps worse, that have been written about and forgotten. As a whole, Australian-flown Spitfires don’t fall into this category. However, once Truscott and co returned from the UK, and the focus understandably turned to the defence of Darwin, the remaining Australian-manned Spitfire units in the European theatre effectively ‘disappeared’. Indeed, there’s even been very few memoirs/biographies published about those who were there. Compare this to the comparable New Zealand RAF fighter squadrons who, it is fair to say, have more than made up the shortfall of published works. Even the renewed interest in Bomber Command over the past decade, and <a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=Cooper&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2Fsearch%3FsearchTerm%3DAnthony%2BCooper%26search%3DFind%2Bbook" target="_blank">Anthony Cooper books</a> highlighting what Australian aircrew were doing ‘away from home’, have failed, so far, to direct any ‘overflow’ elsewhere. It was not really until Adam Lunney released his first book, <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=ReadyStrike&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FReady-Strike-Adam-Lunney%2F9780648355229" target="_blank">Ready to Strike</a></i>, that a lot of pennies dropped. With <i>We Together</i>, the author returns to the familiar No 453 Squadron to complete its wartime story, a story involving No 451 Squadron towards the end and, therefore, requiring a book with a greater scope and a lot more threads to bring together. <i><a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/We-Together-451-453-Squadrons-at-War-Adam-Lunney/9781911658351" target="_blank">We Together</a></i> does this and more.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If 453 Squadron was effectively overlooked, due mainly to a (continued) local preference to focus on the war against Japan, then what of 451 Squadron? Another Article XV unit, the squadron’s first operations were flown in the second half of 1941 in North Africa in the army co-operation/tactical reconnaissance role. It then moved to the Eastern Mediterranean for a long, quiet and frustrating stint flying newer Hurricanes from Cyprus and the likes of Palestine. This period rolled into 1943, but, slowly, the squadron began to see improvements and, having earlier received several Spitfires to better intercept high-flying German recce aircraft, eventually evolved into a Spitfire unit deployed to Corsica. In the meantime, among the occasional operational ‘spike’, it helped assess the Hawker Typhoon in desert conditions. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The squadron now began to resemble many other Spitfire units in that it was equally as capable escorting bombers as it was flying armed recces, the aircraft dive-bombing and strafing a multitude of targets. The invasion of southern France, Operation Dragoon, in mid-August 1944 finally had the unit operating in the same country as 453 Squadron.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="http://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/b3bg7x" target="_blank">Ready to Strike</a></i> left 453 Squadron in Normandy at the end of August. September was a stop-start month of operations with the Australians moving bases several times. Poor weather contributed to the sporadic nature of operational flying and it was a worn-out group of men that flew to Coltishall, in Norfolk, at the end of the month. The squadron began ops again several days later, flying strikes across the Channel, with a focus on finding and destroying the Germans’ offensive rocketry and associated infrastructure. In among the Jim Crows, weather recces, Rangers and the like, the anti-V2 operations were a mixture of success and underlying frustration, the latter often because the pilots would see tell-tale trails of rocket launches reaching into the sky from areas they had only recently attacked.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This intensive period for 453 Squadron continued into the new year, but 451 Squadron now entered the fray. The new arrivals, who had reached the UK via Italy at the end of November, flew their first ops in January, but had a relatively quiet time of it until March when the Australian wing (of two squadrons) finally became an operational reality. Combat sorties really began to slow down in April before the eventual end of the war in Europe. Both squadrons were based in Germany to support the occupation and the repatriation of personnel, a regular feature throughout the final eighteen months of the European theatre, ramped up substantially. The lack of enthusiasm to stay on to man an Australian occupation force into the future led to both units disbanding in January 1946.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As suggested above, the scope of <i><a href="http://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/3PAM7B" target="_blank">We Together</a></i> far exceeds that of the author’s earlier <i>Ready to Strike</i>. The style, of course, is similar (and improved), but the entire work is presented in a far more impressive package. Published as a jacketless hardback, the book has a superior shelf-presence, combining Mortons’ black-based house style with a dynamic cover design. All of the supporting endpapers – notes, index (sadly missing in <i>Ready to Strike</i>), bibliography etc – are there and contribute more than forty pages to this 320-page book. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The biggest problem, however, was the traditional glossy photo insert. A section of 46 nicely reproduced images, it includes important photos from 451 Squadron’s time in the Mediterranean. It would have made for a better reading experience if these photos were sprinkled throughout the narrative to better illustrate events and break up the swathes of solid text. Not usually an issue with something like a novel, or even a memoir, but when there are inescapable periods of unit history where little can be done to spice up the operational record (even by an author like Lunney with an inexhaustible capacity to hunt down and inject ‘colour’), things drag a bit and a few well-placed photos with good captions would have done wonders (and help put faces to names in a timely manner). Shorter chapters would also help, but each does encapsulate a defining period, particularly for 451 Squadron.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Speaking of injecting colour, the flesh on the bones of the operational record, this was particularly well done in <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/0648355225/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=247&creative=1211&creativeASIN=0648355225&linkCode=as2&tag=aircrewbookre-22&linkId=e24c9c2f5c5729f12006b046f39a9593" target="_blank">Ready to Strike</a></i> and has reached new heights with <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/1911658352/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=247&creative=1211&creativeASIN=1911658352&linkCode=as2&tag=aircrewbookre-22&linkId=0a78f75b06fa7723f67874e5d49baaf3" target="_blank">We Together</a></i>. Firsthand accounts are the pinnacle, but the best kind, the author’s interview, are, regrettably, harder to achieve these days (although they are a strong contributing factor here). Despite the paucity of published accounts mentioned above, and the loss of 451 Squadron’s records from its first stint in the desert, a major strength is in the plethora of personal accounts drawn from a variety of sources. These are not limited to operational details either. They extend to following pilots as prisoners of war (some revisited as they are incarcerated for the duration), pilots on the run after being shot down, and, importantly, into the immediate post-war period, revealing the frustrations of having to hang around in Europe, the needless loss of men in accidents and dealing with the Russians. It is as comprehensive as it gets; nothing will come close in terms of these two units. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Personnel, where possible and even if only appearing briefly, are generally introduced with the typical ‘Joe John Bloggs was born in 19XX in Anytown to John and Sue Bloggs (nee Smith) etc etc’. While not repetitive in terms of detail, they all read the same and the longer ones interrupt the flow or focus. Footnotes are not used (endnotes instead), but such details would still add value using such a format (like in Mark Lax’s <a href="https://www.454-459squadrons.org.au/diariesandmemoirs" target="_blank"><i>Alamein to the Alps</i></a> and <a href="http://affiliates.abebooks.com/QOPxJ3" target="_blank">his works with Leon Kane-Maguire</a>). This slight style issue aside, the character building throughout is exceptionally strong, even if limited to a line or two. The reader invests in an airman and is keen to see how he fares. The important term here is ‘airman’ as the detail, and personal reminiscences, is not restricted to the pilots. For 451 Squadron in particular, a unit that celebrated its 1000th day overseas in early 1944, the groundcrew were long-term members of the unit and they are certainly not forgotten; they are more in the background during the frenetic final months of the war in Europe though. While a pilot’s time with a squadron could be measured in months, sometimes far less, groundcrew often counted the years. They formed a bond as strong as that recounted in most aircrew analyses. Their losses, therefore, were incredibly keenly felt and no more is this evident than in the aftermath of the May 1944 German air raid on the squadron’s airfield. Eight members of the unit were killed. This episode is handled well, revealing the impact on the squadron and causing the reader to reflect on the undercurrent of ‘repatriation fever’ that sometimes surfaced among the ‘old timers’ during quieter times. Even for the pilots of 451 Squadron, many of whom did spend a long time on strength because of the lack of flying hours required for a transfer out, the deaths hit hard, stepping around the usual coping mechanisms. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=WeTogether&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FWe-Together-451-453-Squadrons-at-War-Adam-Lunney%2F9781911658351" target="_blank">We Together</a></i> is a solid, well-structured history. There are periods where the reading bogs down, where even the tenacious author has found nothing to add, but these also reflect the flying at the time. Briefing, fly, debriefing, repeat, survive. Not much more can be said, but Lunney does latch on to the smallest of details and the book is the richer for it. Like the airmen, the reader must press on. Enjoy the ride, the highs and lows, and revel in the history of two Australian Spitfire squadrons now very much remembered.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=WeTogether&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FWe-Together-451-453-Squadrons-at-War-Adam-Lunney%2F9781911658351" target="_blank">ISBN 981-1-91165-835-1</a></span></div></div>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-60287767087980764922021-02-19T14:27:00.002+11:002021-02-23T16:56:43.636+11:00Sticky Murphy - James H Coley<p style="text-align: center;"> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHFuH1pj5Qw0aqLKXyEc4uQhdZSSc4yLf1ql50UfaAO4rhQsGXehFUSx7sqx6iYsI6GQSLSdGxtDPa3PkXP8zkiaHGH7sUgefhcDYr5o_lRZJSrfrW9sE2BG1VEAxnmPSWIt5oEdZsHJk/s1600/SMLOL+JColey+cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1083" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHFuH1pj5Qw0aqLKXyEc4uQhdZSSc4yLf1ql50UfaAO4rhQsGXehFUSx7sqx6iYsI6GQSLSdGxtDPa3PkXP8zkiaHGH7sUgefhcDYr5o_lRZJSrfrW9sE2BG1VEAxnmPSWIt5oEdZsHJk/w271-h400/SMLOL+JColey+cover.jpg" width="271" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Every now and then a book comes along that reminds why you got into this ‘game’ in the first place. You know, the exuberant flyer who worked hard, played harder, led by example and, somehow, seemed unruffled by what he had seen, done and narrowly escaped. If that all seems a bit of a cliché, it is, and the reality, as we are so often reminded, and should always be cognizant of, was a hell of a lot harsher. No one can go through a war and emerge completely unaffected. Some didn’t emerge, of course, so their character, and how they’re remembered, remains frozen in time. One man who fit the cliché like a glove was Alan ‘Sticky’ Murphy, lauded as a special operations Lysander pilot and intruder Mosquito squadron CO. His wartime biography, written more than thirty years ago, and published by <a href="https://fighting-high-books.myshopify.com" target="_blank">Fighting High</a> in 2018, has the perfect title: <i><a href="https://fighting-high-books.myshopify.com/products/sticky-murphy" target="_blank">Sticky Murphy, Lover of Life</a></i>.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Joining the RAF before the war, Sticky graduated from Cranwell and flew Battles and Hampdens with No. 185 Squadron. Evidently chafing at the bit to get into action after years of training, culminating in a specialist navigation course, he wangled an op as second pilot of a 3 Group Wellington in June 1940. He met his future wife, Jean, at Lossiemouth in late 1940. Sticky was posted to No. 1419 (Special Duty) Flight at Stradishall in March 1941 and commenced flying clandestine ops with Whitleys and then Lysanders. As the latter type proved itself in this role, care of men like <a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/5baY6D" target="_blank">John Nesbitt-Dufort</a>, demand for pilots to fly it increased. Sticky’s first operational Lysander trip in December 1941 (as part of what was now No. 138 Squadron) almost became his last. The dramatic description of the events that unfolded, partly gleaned from German records and even the agent involved (found and interviewed by the author in the 1970s), is indicative of the author’s dogged pursuit of primary sources, albeit a mere thirty years after the fact.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">All good things, and perhaps the pushing of one’s luck in a certain field, must come to an end, and Sticky reluctantly left Lysanders behind in May 1942 for a ten-month rest, mostly flying a desk with the Navigation Branch at the Air Ministry. While continuing to fly several different types, it was, as you’ll no doubt already understand, not to his liking. Solo in a Mosquito in late June 1943, having already crewed up with navigator ‘Jock’ Reid, led to a ferry flight to Malta to become a flight commander with No. 23 Squadron. This unit was flying night intruder sorties over Italy and soon moved to an airfield in the country as the Allies advanced up the peninsula. Conditions were far from ideal, but Sticky’s leadership and his joie de vivre helped contribute towards turning the squadron’s morale around. The hot weather greatly affected the performance of the Mossies so, coupled with suspected contaminated fuel (traced to open drums at Naples) and the hilly terrain over which they operated, nothing was easy for the aircrews or the men who maintained the aircraft. However, operate they did with Sticky somewhat learning on the job and gaining the trust of his colleagues. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The squadron returned to the UK in mid-1944 to become one of the Mosquito units to fly from the famed airfield at Little Snoring. Sticky, now a father, wing commander and the CO of the unit, never missed a step, flying intruder ops with Reid and, despite his seniority, causing mayhem and hilarity with his hi-jinks on the ground. On the night of 2 December, however, his luck well and truly ran out when his Mosquito crashed on the way home near Oldebroek in the Netherlands, ‘in sight of the Zuider Zee’. Even his death sounds like a cliché (or even part of a movie plot): it was late in the European war; a staff posting pending, he’d told his wife ‘Just one more trip, darling’; Reid was off sick so he flew with a different navigator; and his mother suffered ‘excruciating pains’ at the time of his crash. Whatever it sounds like, the RAF had lost another two men, another daughter had lost her father, another wife had lost her husband, and another squadron mourned the loss of its leader.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Throughout, <i><a href="https://fighting-high-books.myshopify.com/products/sticky-murphy" target="_blank">Stick Murphy, Lover of Life</a></i>, trips along despite a liberal dose of minutiae that helps build a well-rounded, colourful picture of the subject. This apparent lightness is due in part to the fond memories and amusing, reflective stories told by friends, relatives and colleagues. There is barely a negative word said about Sticky, such was his larger-than-life personality and presence (six feet tall with a typically epic moustache), and many of the reminiscences include a tale of hi-jinks or, at the very least, talk of the unflappable nature of the man. Indeed, his wife, who only knew him during wartime, said ‘I never saw him unhappy’. It seems almost impossible, knowing what we do now about the effects of war on an individual, that Sticky did not have a moment or two of introspection, but I suspect to do so he would have had to let his mind wander (possibly when flying home wounded) and, by all accounts, he pressed on in all aspects of his life. Perhaps this was his coping mechanism, albeit evident well before he joined the RAF. The overwhelmingly positive comments and memories do, therefore, smack of blinkered hero worship on behalf of the author and his interviewees. Written by a junior flyer under the command of the subject (the author was a nav with 23 Squadron), this would not be the first time such a book has ventured into such territory. However, the breadth of memories collected by the author from an impressively large population of people, including some of the agents Sticky flew in and out of France, doesn’t support this. Having cast his net so wide, and so relatively recently after the war (compared to now), the author would have ‘landed’ people who perhaps didn’t remember Sticky as favourably. He did, but they are in the minority. Author’s prerogative aside, you can reach the conclusion Sticky truly was an irrepressible character as well as a capable flyer.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Of course, save the several family members and friends featured, none of the heavily quoted sources (at least a quarter of the narrative is given over to valuable memories), were to know a post-war Sticky Murphy. How would the prospect of demobilisation or, at best, much reduced flying duties, have affected him? Would the war years have caught up with him somehow, like they arguably do for everyone, or would he have kept ahead of them by continuing to live life to the full? No one knows. Like so many, Sticky’s life exists only in the memories of those who are left and a finite collection of photos and written records. His service persona defines him and is etched in the minds of those who knew him. While his loss is naturally lamented, he is fondly remembered without exception. If anything, that’s a life well lived.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As this is a book from <a href="https://fighting-high-books.myshopify.com" target="_blank">Fighting High</a> it is, of course, about the finest hardback of the genre money can buy. Cover to cover, the design is crisp and clear and the glossy photo section features some fantastically interesting group and aircraft imagery. A useful index at the end of this 190-plus page book follows six appendices and an epilogue. Five of the appendices apply to clandestine flying and are written by those who flew with Sticky; the great Nesbitt-Dufort being one. He was one of many remarkable flyers who were either interviewed by the author or ‘star’ in the three periods of Sticky’s operational flying.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As is obvious, and alluded to above, <a href="https://fighting-high-books.myshopify.com/products/sticky-murphy" target="_blank">this book</a> is a tribute to Sticky Murphy. The author, an aircrew veteran himself, could easily have written about his own clearly extensive experience, but only mentions it in passing. This is typical, heap adulation on someone else. Indeed, even Sticky’s post-operation reports are modest and, despite flashes of understated humour, without the flourish expected from such a character. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">While this manuscript was written more than three decades ago, and the second half lost for years before being rediscovered in the family’s attic, such is the quality of the author’s research and writing (occasional meandering aside), and his eye for the ridiculous, as often accompanied Sticky in his travels, that, like an older classic, it stands the test of time. Many unsung people are remembered as a result. Telling their stories is what matters and the last words in that vein deserve to come from the ‘Author’s Note’:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The world of old comrades, now grandfathers galore, must be those of the gladiators of Rome – morituri te salutamas (We who are about to die salute you). Soon no man will survive to tell his story, and history is notoriously academic.</span></div></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://fighting-high-books.myshopify.com/products/sticky-murphy?_pos=1&_sid=2af3f51a8&_ss=r" target="_blank">ISBN 978-1-99981-284-3</a></span></div></div>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-24043917712059412522020-12-18T17:57:00.002+11:002020-12-19T00:46:48.019+11:00From Sapper to Spitfire Spy - Sally-Anne Greville-Heygate<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8OfstMHLwLSna8tlbx_Jsg2DVSjeZLX9JaYgcgMtZxlz3E5nba3amxuu90egOkE3cyEU3Z52tIzru_67SVJ8b5jpmpXSniwDn0rJNvArna85Sr8aPR2e-718GOmvU21oamIY_PVIkzp0/s648/SappertoSpitfireSpy+SGreville-Heygate+cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="450" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8OfstMHLwLSna8tlbx_Jsg2DVSjeZLX9JaYgcgMtZxlz3E5nba3amxuu90egOkE3cyEU3Z52tIzru_67SVJ8b5jpmpXSniwDn0rJNvArna85Sr8aPR2e-718GOmvU21oamIY_PVIkzp0/w278-h400/SappertoSpitfireSpy+SGreville-Heygate+cover.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Rather fortuitously, and I am forever grateful for I have had my head buried in several manuscripts of late, this review was first published on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/aircrewbookreview" target="_blank">Aircrew Book Review’s supporting Facebook page</a> on 15 December. Colin Ford is the erudite ‘Historian by Appointment’ of No. 268 Squadron and the author of its epic history ADJIDAUMO - 'Tail-in-Air' the History of No. 268 Squadron Royal Air Force 1940-1946 (which will, hopefully, one day, be published as a widely available edition). His knowledge of the unit’s tactical reconnaissance work, and the intricacies therein, and intimate understanding of the careers of many of the pilots who flew with the squadron, makes him the perfect reviewer for a book about a ‘Spitfire Spy’. A couple of years ago I edited his comprehensive look at the only two Australians to fly the reconnaissance variant of the Hawker Typhoon (the FR.IB) into a 3000-word feature article for Flightpath magazine. The depth of his research was phenomenal and surely must be one of the very few (only?) comparisons of this version of the great ‘Tiffie’ with the almost ideal (for Tac/R) Mustang Mk.I/IA and Mk.II. Enjoy, then, this review written by quite the cluey chap! Andy Wright.</i><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/From-Sapper-to-Spitfire-Spy-Hardback/p/11275?aid=1118" target="_blank">This biography of Flight Lieutenant David Greville-Heygate DFC</a> has been written by his daughter, Sally-Anne Greville-Heygate, and is largely based around his personal correspondence, diary entries, pilot’s logbook, squadron records and other documentation. During the writing of this biography, where the source material didn’t contain, or the detail of what was noted in the source material was not clear to the author, she made good use of a number of aviation specific forums, especially ‘RAF Commands’, to post questions and seek answers. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The overall account is an interesting one and despite the publisher’s hyperbole of the subject</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">‘one of the few men who served in both the army and the Royal Air Force during the Second World War’</span><span style="font-family: arial;">—</span><span style="font-family: arial;">it was a more common occurrence than is generally known (my examination of the aircrew rosters of RAF Army Co-operation Command, and later Second Tactical Air Force Tac/R squadrons, shows a variation between units of 20-35 per cent of their RAF/RAFVR pilots at various times being ex-Army or seconded-Army). What we have is a story typical of many young men who had joined the Army just before or at the outbreak of the Second World War, who then answered the call for aircrew trainees from 1940 onwards. What is more interesting in this instance is the subject followed the path open to commissioned Army officers seconded for aircrew training with the expectation from the Army the role he would find himself in, when he qualified as a pilot, would be with one of the RAF's Army co-operation squadrons in support of Army operations and activities. Also, not surprisingly, a number of them did not always end up in the ACC or Tac/R type roles and could be found in the aircrew rosters of transport squadrons and Special Duties units, as well as being represented in smaller numbers in fighter, bomber and Coastal Command squadrons.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In David Greville-Heygate’s (DGH) case, completing his flying training in the UK, he passed through the Army Co-operation/Tactical Reconnaissance 41 OTU at Old Sarum and eventually joined No. 16 Squadron. There he initially flew Westland Lysanders in support of Army exercises in the UK, then when the squadron re-equipped with the Allison-engined North American Mustang Mk.I in April 1942, he flew the wide range of operational sorties being conducted by RAF ACC squadrons at that time. This included shipping reconnaissance, low-level photographic reconnaissance, Rhubarbs, Rangers and Populars, plus continuing support and participation in Army exercises in the UK including Exercise <i>Spartan</i> in early 1943.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In July 1943, with the disbandment of ACC, and the interim period before 2TAF was formed, there was the opportunity for him to sample the Supermarine Spitfire in the shape of the PR.IV. At that time, it was proposed 16 Squadron would move from the low-level to high-level reconnaissance role, however, due to a number of factors, that ended up being delayed so operations continued on Mustangs until early 1944.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In early November 1943, DGH was deemed to be tour expired and was sent to fill an instructor’s role at 41 OTU. That brought its own challenges and frustration, especially being ‘on rest’ when D-Day occurred. Seeking a way back to operational flying, DGH went down the path of converting onto the Hawker Typhoon, the demand for pilots for the 2TAF Typhoon squadrons being high at the time due to the number of combat losses. So, in early December 1944, he joined No. 168 Squadron flying the Typhoon largely on armed recces at low altitude over the Netherlands and western Germany. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">However, due to a chance encounter with an old friend, and a bit of old fashioned ’string pulling’, he was able to get himself posted across to No.II (AC) Squadron (‘Shiny Two’), as a part of No. 35 (Recce) Wing, flying Spitfire XIVs. This is where he saw out the remainder of his wartime operational flying which included first-hand experiences relating to Operation <i>Bodenplatte</i>—the Luftwaffe attacks on Allied airfields on 1 January 1945—and the series of Allied operations, including the forced crossing of the Rhine, leading to the eventual defeat of Germany. Naturally enough, with hostilities over in Europe, there is the period of uncertainty that follows and the change from a wartime to peacetime Air Force, but with developing tensions with the Soviet Union in the areas of Europe they had occupied and the conflict still ongoing in the Far East.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There are a couple of areas in <a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/From-Sapper-to-Spitfire-Spy-Hardback/p/11275?aid=1118" target="_blank">this biography</a> where I felt somewhat uncomfortable reading his views on certain people. That partly arose from knowing a number of those people personally or, in a few instances, knowing the other side of the story as to why certain decisions and actions were being taken. For example, DGH objects to the demands for pilots to fly a certain number of hours and the introduction of specific training programs after VE-Day and berates his OC of the time regarding this. The OC, however, was following the TAF HQ/British Air Forces of Occupation </span><span style="font-family: arial;">requirements which dictated that aircrew who may be required for deployment to the Far East, or if the situation in Europe destabilised, were to maintain their operational skills and readiness through regular flying and training activities. This was not helped, of course, by the rapid drawdown in many squadrons caused by the repatriation of aircrew from Allied Air Forces (RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF etc) with the conclusion of hostilities in Europe.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As well, there are a few other places in the narrative where, given the focus of the biography, the bigger picture and the part DGH, and the units he was with, played is not particularly clear. Someone who may not have read about the role of ACC and 2TAF may be left wondering about certain aspects of what is conveyed and why things were done the way they were. As an example, the biography gives some detail of the low-level photography of the French coastline including Normandy conducted by DGH but does not explain the reasons for it, why this specific type of photography was required and why obtaining it was so risky for the pilots involved.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The other thing to be aware of is that, as a large part of the narrative is drawn from diary entries, letters and other documents of the time, some of the views and sentiments expressed by those at the time may seem out of place or somewhat incongruous in the current day; it’s all about how we view things now and how they were viewed then. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Photos from DGH’s wartime logbook and personal collection, plus those sourced from the family of wartime friends, combined with a number of photo extracts from the logbook and maps showing his key areas of operation, help round out and literally illustrate the story.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Overall, a good biography that is probably somewhere between autobiography and biography due to the high percentage of first-person source material used and the author’s obvious connection to the subject. For those interested in a different type of WWII pilot biography, and a view into a different part of the air war in Europe, <a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/From-Sapper-to-Spitfire-Spy-Hardback/p/11275?aid=1118" target="_blank">this book</a> will provide that difference.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">ISBN <a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/From-Sapper-to-Spitfire-Spy-Hardback/p/11275?aid=1118" target="_blank">978-1-47384-3-882</a></span></p></div>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-56697765865332689262020-12-06T21:23:00.002+11:002020-12-07T13:49:25.758+11:002020 - a year in review<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">While we have seen the release dates of a few books get pushed back for the various reasons that have made this year a tricky one, we’ve been very fortunate to see a steady stream of titles hit the market. As is now fairly standard, there has been a trickle of memoirs proper as time marches on for those who are left from the RAF and Commonwealth air forces of the Second World War. The closest we have now really are, of course, the biographies written by family members. Regular readers will know I have my moments with these books as some are well done, with considerable effort made to understand the world of eighty years ago, while others feel like they have been thrown together. I can be critical of such things, yes, but at least the interest is there to share the story. There’s always something to learn!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Several biographies relevant to ABR have dominated the social media scene purely because they have enthusiastic authors behind them. I’ll say ‘dominated’ but no doubt there’ll be one you haven’t been aware of! Rosemary Parrott’s <a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=Parrott&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FPilot-Poster-Peter-Parrott-Rosemary-Parrott%2F9781839521447" target="_blank"><i>The Pilot in the Poster</i></a>, Jane Lowes' <a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=AboveUs&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FAbove-Us-Stars-Jane-Gulliford-Lowes%2F9781838595555" target="_blank"><i>Above Us, The Stars</i></a> and Henry Meller's <a href="http://aircrewbookreview.blogspot.com/2020/11/the-boy-with-only-one-shoe-john-henry.html" target="_blank"><i>The Boy With Only One Shoe</i></a> (written with his daughter Caroline Brownbill) have seemingly popped up everywhere and at least the latter two have received some attention from the popular press. I’ve only read the Parrott book to date, however, and it’s quite the ride (in Peter Parrott’s own words) that ranges from the Battle of France to Italy, post-war test flying and beyond. The initial print runs have done exceptionally well, and Peter’s daughter, Rosemary, is continually improving the manuscript. This book has a bright future with a new edition with better distribution forthcoming.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=Parrott&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FPilot-Poster-Peter-Parrott-Rosemary-Parrott%2F9781839521447" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="884" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYj2UWfJrpYiPxGIYMmFQ1b6npZoIRWwxVOpMl2rJdCmmfmzjUxz5HoS8uwq6BW26PmZY3tyFlvRehTeZC4htvja-EWV6d1-yDssLzaAlQFVUuow_6DBZIjGuIG47mntLItMeif1kJVKc/w276-h400/ThePilotinthePoster+RParrott+cover.jpg" width="276" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Two books popped up in the past week and both couldn’t be any more different in subject matter. The first one I was made aware of came via an email from the compiler/editor. James Dunford Wood is the author of the <a href="https://cdcdw.wordpress.com" target="_blank">A Story of War</a> blog that, several years ago, finally finished seven years of diary entries; it followed ‘one man's war day by day, 70 years on, from Waziristan and the North West Frontier, Habbaniya, the Burma campaign, India & the Rhine’. That man was James’s father, Colin Dunford Wood, who initially served in the Army on the NWF before cheating an eye test to train as an RAF pilot (that’s the Habbaniya, Burma, India and the Rhine bit!). James has now released the first volume of <a href="https://amzn.to/3qFpCUD" target="_blank"><i>Big Little Wars</i></a> covering India and Iraq from 1939 to 1941. At the moment, it’s a limited run available on Amazon, but, as you can see from the blog, the entries are fascinating and have a sense of immediacy about them (along the lines of Andrew Millar’s <i><a href="http://aircrewbookreview.blogspot.com/2016/07/the-flying-hours-andrew-millar.html" target="_blank">The Flying Hours</a></i>, but ultimately wider ranging). The other book to recently ‘appear’ is Ian Redmond’s <i><a href="https://amzn.to/3gncYVl" target="_blank">Bloody Terrified</a></i>. It’s ostensibly the story of his dad, Canadian navigator Colin Redmond, but time spent with his pilot has immensely fleshed out the story to the extent it’s now ‘the true story of a Pathfinder crew’. That’s a 608 Squadron Mosquito crew of the Light Night Striking Force. If that’s not enough to sell the book to you, nothing will! I have not seen <i>Big Little Wars</i> or <i>Bloody Terrified</i>, but probably will after Christmas. We’re lucky to have new material like this, so let’s support it!</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I’m currently still reading Adam Lunney’s <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=WeTogether&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FWe-Together-451-453-Squadrons-at-War-Adam-Lunney%2F9781911658351" target="_blank">We Together</a></i>, the story of Nos 451 and 453 Squadrons and their contribution to the war in greater Europe. I say ‘greater’ as 451 spent a few years in North Africa and the Middle East before moving to France. You might remember 453 Squadron’s time in Normandy was the subject of Adam’s first book, <i><a href="https://aircrewbookreview.blogspot.com/2019/08/ready-to-strike-adam-lunney.html" target="_blank">Ready to Strike</a></i>, and <i>We Together</i> is more of the same, but this time drawing together the threads of two units and better presented due to the collaboration with Mortons Books. I’m still reading it as I’ve had to tackle several manuscript edits, and even a new book for review, with time critical deadlines. Reading for fun or the usual review stops when there’s work-work on!</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=WeTogether&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FWe-Together-451-453-Squadrons-at-War-Adam-Lunney%2F9781911658351" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1139" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIM-KAPYqCp-lJu6lymkR-2qoO66gE0Cd2CUYVgRCb10taxpXgxsPFEngqDIMa6e_jwkbQatyhbF4e85M_TORIyp-z9cnDu8U3IMxwVEN5Kn3xuiNFJG5olgkszR2EG4fLpX60tVXQBtw/w285-h400/WeTogether+ALunney+cover" width="285" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Speaking of squadron histories, a book from late 2019 I've only just managed to acquire is <i><a href="https://aircrewbookreview.blogspot.com/2020/11/worth-wait-how-to-do-squadron-history.html" target="_blank">Through to the End</a></i> by David Palmer and Aad Neeven. This is the story of 487 (NZ) Squadron RAF and its wartime flying of Lockheed Venturas and DH Mosquitos. The detail and heart evident in the narrative is a beautiful mix of Palmer's 'storyteller's flights of fancy' and Neeven's 'advocacy for hard historical fact'. It's a big book, published in the Netherlands by Neeven, and my leading contender for aircrew book of the year. There’s a <a href="https://aircrewbookreview.blogspot.com/2020/11/worth-wait-how-to-do-squadron-history.html" target="_blank">more detailed review here</a>.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://aircrewbookreview.blogspot.com/2020/11/worth-wait-how-to-do-squadron-history.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1437" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMw43_ZZoHA0wf8EatbMeHOCSnE62m8AascuCqCWqPmZbiZ5cQrhNCRmVP27Vd56R5SgDtGqLMZzchpQ3cN7bV_3T05r0kNKMXmr9L4IUh5W4SU4fJx438oQvlex1AHtsl54daar4Ocg/w281-h400/ThroughtotheEnd+DPalmer+ANeeven+cover.jpeg" width="281" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Another big book that got worked me up into a lather is Edward Young's <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=10thAF&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FTenth-Air-Force-World-War-II-Strategy-Command-Operations-1942-1945-Edward-M-Young%2F9780764359323" target="_blank">The Tenth Air Force in World War II</a></i>, published by Schiffer Military. It is phenomenal, not perfect, but there's never been something as comprehensive as this when we're talking the USAAF in India and Burma. The Tenth Air Force worked very closely with the RAF, in case you’re wondering about relevance to ABR, and the book features a substantial number of images and information pertaining to the work of the RAF and Commonwealth air forces in the region. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">While we’re on the subject of American-based titles (let’s get them out of the way!), <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=Jayhawk&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FJayhawk-Jay-Stout%2F9781612008837" target="_blank">Jayhawk</a></i> by Jay Stout with George Cooper, and published by Casemate, will have you hooked if you have even the slightest interest in low-level B-25 Mitchell strafers. Cooper grew up in the Philippines and eventually flew strikes against Rabaul et al, hence the regional interest from this end. It makes a nice addition to the recent list of strafer books, including Stout’s own <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=AirApaches&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FAir-Apaches-Jay-Stout%2F9780811738019" target="_blank">Air Apaches</a></i> and John Bruning’s excellent <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2Lgg9mt" target="_blank">Indestructible</a></i>. On the other end of the scale is the sobering <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=NoWayOut&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FNo-Way-Out-Untold-Story-B-24-Lady-Be-Good-Her-Crew-Steven-R-Whitby%2F9780764360374" target="_blank">No Way Out</a></i> by Steven Whitby. Another book from Schiffer Military, this is the (not quite so) untold story of the ‘Lady Be Good’, the B-24 Liberator lost in the desert and found decades later. A lot of aspects of the discovery in this book are very familiar, but it’s the detail of the following USAF expeditions to find the crew, and the phenomenal and haunting images they produced that pushes this book above its predecessors.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It wouldn’t be a report on highlights unless there was some Fleet Air Arm content! The biggest success this year is no doubt Rowland White’s <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=Harrier809&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FHarrier-809-Rowland-White%2F9781787631595" target="_blank">Harrier 809</a></i>. He knows how to tell a story. The great ABR news of the year, however, has been the relatively recent release of two books from Matt Willis (he of <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=FlyingEdge&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FFlying-Edge-Matthew-Willis%2F9781445664415" target="_blank">Flying to the Edge</a></i> and <a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=Harpoon&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FHarpoon-Matthew-Willis%2F9781072620198" target="_blank">the Edmund Clydesdale trilogy</a> and, incidentally, the artist behind my ABR Christmas cards sent out as a small thank you to those I have worked with this year). He's written the first instalment of Mortons Books 'Fleet Air Arm Legends' series—<i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=Seafire&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FFleet-Air-Arm-Legends-Supermarine-Seafire-Matthew-Willis%2F9781911658290" target="_blank">Supermarine Seafire</a></i>—and has written the second (<i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=Swordfish&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FFleet-Air-Arm-Legends-Matthew-Willis%2F9781911658498" target="_blank">Fairey Swordfish</a></i>), while Key Publishing has also just released his <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=Firefly&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FFAIREY-FIREFLY-Matthew-Willis%2F9781913295899" target="_blank">Fairey Firefly</a></i> book. Both are slim volumes (think Osprey Aircraft of the Aces), but they pack a wallop.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=Seafire&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FFleet-Air-Arm-Legends-Supermarine-Seafire-Matthew-Willis%2F9781911658290" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1513" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZNblCzu7NQisIzSqSMm-1zup26602Juja1CwpX7Kwb-liOBJUL-Dr4NLFSXZMa9EBS4ecUtL-A-cAI4TmTFKnv9Wl5jpeMnOdKhvfiaRwsj6PSVE2J5XeY5MAI7OyKdVY6FwvkS0944c/w295-h400/SupermarineSeafire+MWillis+cover.jpg" width="295" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hikoki Publications released the first volume of Vic Flintham's <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=CloseCall1&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FClose-Call-RAF-Close-Air-Support-Mediterranean-I-defeat-France-el-Hamma-1939-1945-Vic-Flintham%2F9781902109640" target="_blank">Close Call - RAF Close Air Support in the Mediterranean</a></i>. This is a subject we needed covered well. Don't be put off by the 'Defeat in France' on the cover of a Med book as it also looks at the evolution of close air support. Have to start somewhere! I'm already looking forward to the second volume next year. Other much anticipated books are <i><a href="https://fighting-high-books.myshopify.com/collections/2020-books/products/resolute" target="_blank">Resolute</a></i> from Fighting High (the George Dunn DFC and Ferris Newton DFM story), the third volume of the great series <i><a href="https://www.greeks-in-foreign-cockpits.com" target="_blank">Greeks in Foreign Cockpits</a></i>, <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=SPAW4&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FSouth-Pacific-Air-War-4-Michael-Claringbould%2F9780648665977" target="_blank">South Pacific Air War 4</a></i> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">(the fourth book of a planned and very successful trilogy!) </span><span style="font-family: arial;">and </span><i style="font-family: arial;"><a href="http://aircrewbookreview.blogspot.com/2020/11/landmark-title-from-avonmore-books.html" target="_blank">Eagles over Darwin</a></i><span style="font-family: arial;"> from Australia’s Avonmore Books, Anthony Cooper’s <i><a href="http://aircrewbookreview.blogspot.com/2020/10/anthony-coopers-latest-cover-released.html" target="_blank">Sub Hunters</a></i>, and the great David Hobbs's <i><a href="https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Taranto-Hardback/p/18611?aid=1118" target="_blank">Taranto and Naval Air Warfare in the Mediterranean 1940-1945</a></i> (if you want something a little lighter, try Lowry and Wellham’s <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=AttackTaranto&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FAttack-on-Taranto-Thomas-Lowry%2F9780811726610" target="_blank">The Attack on Taranto</a></i>; that will set you on the well-trodden path to Charles Lamb’s <i><a href="https://amzn.to/36JPYg7" target="_blank">War in a Stringbag</a></i>, let it happen!). </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://aircrewbookreview.blogspot.com/2020/10/anthony-coopers-latest-cover-released.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1135" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXCztYGTcugPQf_utErR6y2XGQzt6mSavKquLyrpAP52Hq8au8Cesc7fuQZzBEHLG7siaYcKaxaZ-gkd_u8Jr48LkLMGncB6CKXB6fOhNmEwCBeDK0n9-b6xRcNw3P-fVGa1J4fNT-ETo/w284-h400/SubHunters+ACooper+cover.jpg" width="284" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Finally, I'd like to give a shout out to the RAAF for their new Air Campaign series and its first book <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=Okra&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FArmageddon-and-OKRA-Lewis-Frederickson%2F9781922387554" target="_blank">Armageddon and Okra</a></i>, comparing Australian military aviation involvement in the Middle East a century apart (the second addition to the series is already well advanced and looks at a conflict in the fifties). Indeed, with the Royal Australian Air Force celebrating its centenary in 2021, keep an eye out for an impressive range of titles. Kathy Mexted, the author of <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=AWP&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FAustralian-Women-Pilots-Kathy-Mexted%2F9781742236971" target="_blank">Australian Women Pilots</a></i>, also deserves much praise. Her book, a collection of original biographies of female aviators from all walks of life and all periods of Australian aviation is selling like hot cakes because, besides the subject matter, it is wonderfully written and carefully researched. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Well, it’s been a fun year, not without its challenges, but I’m glad you’re reading this. Season’s greetings to you and yours and all the best for 2021.</span></p>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-48342258732533000752020-11-27T15:26:00.004+11:002020-11-27T15:38:52.577+11:00Worth the wait - how to do a squadron history<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2kXdkqBr3O8AxzuvrAUgxqwnxt8knMPz7KCGc7D1zweQDOvixksFA3UpEw8KU5JViX522lQ4jnAfbdHEztJeE_BoodHhDZ9sednfA-9qWKSLYLDWzH7CP7H0v0j29bDIZoGJXN88Ge1g/s2048/ThroughtotheEnd+DPalmer+ANeeven+cover.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1437" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2kXdkqBr3O8AxzuvrAUgxqwnxt8knMPz7KCGc7D1zweQDOvixksFA3UpEw8KU5JViX522lQ4jnAfbdHEztJeE_BoodHhDZ9sednfA-9qWKSLYLDWzH7CP7H0v0j29bDIZoGJXN88Ge1g/s400/ThroughtotheEnd+DPalmer+ANeeven+cover.jpeg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">One of the operations for which the de Havilland Mosquito is best known is the low-level attack on the prison at Amiens in France - the Amiens raid. The main striking force consisted of aircraft from two squadrons predominantly crewed by airmen from the Southern Hemisphere. These two units - the Australian No 464 Squadron and the New Zealanders of No 487 Squadron - worked closely during their wartime service, but, until now, save <a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/GPRYk" target="_blank">the various books about Operation Jericho</a> and the <a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/94yBy" target="_blank">Leonard Trent biography</a> for example, there hasn't been a detailed treatise of the Kiwi unit. It's been worth the wait.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Like the Australian squadron, superbly profiled in <i><a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/gMaQB" target="_blank">The Gestapo Hunters</a></i> by Mark Lax and Leon Kane-Maguire, 487 began life as a Lockheed Ventura bomber squadron and committed to the RAF offensive over Europe. The Ventura, a replacement for the venerable Hudson, was not ideally suited to the role of medium bomber, but it was available and, like the Douglas Bostons, Short Stirlings, and the Bristol Blenheims before those, it could be used to entice German fighters into the air for the escorting RAF fighter wings to engage. The bombing force on such raids was hardly ever enough to cause significant damage to the targets selected, and the Luftwaffe could choose to engage at its leisure, but there was never any doubt of the courage exhibited by the airmen on both sides. The Venturas are perhaps best remembered for their raids on the Eindhoven Philips factory (Operation Oyster) and the disastrous Ramrod in early May 1943 when only one 487 Squadron aircraft, of the eleven that crossed the Dutch coast, made it home. The type did a lot more than that, of course, but the Aussies and Kiwis were not sad to see the back of the Venturas when they were replaced by the Mosquito, an aircraft ideally suited to the intruder work that epitomised the work of the Second Tactical Air Force.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The Mosquito operations of 487 Squadron are, partly due to their success and also because of the eternal popularity of the Mossie, the stuff of legend. Considering <i>The Gestapo Hunters</i> was published in 1999, it is surprising we've had to wait this long for a similar Kiwi effort. Add issues with the publisher initially selected in New Zealand, believed to have delayed publication for several years, and it's been quite the frustrating wait, especially for 'airheads' in the antipodes (a surprising number in Australia). What we finally have in <i>Through to the End</i>, however, is nothing short of pure unadulterated brilliance. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This book is a large format hardback of more than 360 pages (bibliography, glossary, roll of honour, index etc included). It is printed on a semi-gloss paper stock that allows the photos to be clearly reproduced throughout. Such a thing is a necessity for a unit history. The multitude of personalities, in particular, need to have 'faces put to names' as the narrative progresses, not relegated to a single glossy photo insert as can often be the case. Similarly, on the subject of images, lovely clear maps are often presented at the start of relevant chapters, allowing for quick referencing should the need arise. These maps are often of the same areas, but the relevant targets for the period are highlighted. Again, this is much preferred over one or two maps placed in fore or endpapers. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Then there's the story itself. Happily, more than 130 pages pass before the Mosquitos arrive. Considerable effort is made to reflect the impact of the massive losses suffered by the squadron during the Ventura era (and in no way is this discounting the later Mosquito losses). This is what lifts this book above the relatively standard unit history with the Operations Record Book at its heart. Throughout, the writing is evocative, while remaining grounded, and paints quite the picture of squadron life and, combined with the memories of those who were there (in the air on both sides, on the ground, military and civilian alike), makes for the most captivating read. Indeed, in preparing this 'first impression', I was regularly lost, emerging several pages later either wrung out from an operation or shaking my head at just the thought of what these men did. This is the effect of David Palmer and his ability to bring everything together historically, creatively and accurately, tempered from his admitted 'storyteller's flights of fancy' by Aad Neeven's advocacy for 'hard historical fact'. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Interestingly, some of the chapters are more or less dedicated to a particular airman, following his path to, and life on, the squadron. This is an effective tool as it allows the authors to concentrate on a particular individual, and his place in the unit history, and avoids disrupting the flow of the 'operational narrative' with an extensive biographical tangent.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Through to the End </i>is the perfect literary tribute to 487 Squadron. While its size, and resultant cost, does not make it as accessible as contemporary squadron histories, some recently released, it is the equivalent of Graeme Gibson's <i><a href="http://aircrewbookreview.blogspot.com/search?q=path+of+duty" target="_blank">Path of Duty</a></i> and Owen Clark's <i><a href="https://fighting-high-books.myshopify.com/products/under-their-own-flag-a-history-of-47-squadron-1916-1946" target="_blank">Under Their Own Flag</a>, </i>and in some respects surpasses the benchmark set by those magnificent titles. I didn't think that was possible. While it took me a year after the book's release to buy a copy, thereby adding to the 'wait', all that time fades away as 487 Squadron is so wonderfully brought back to life.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;">ISBN 978-9-08264-7-532 </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>I bought my copy from the <a href="https://www.airforcemuseum.co.nz/shop/through-to-the-end-487-nz-squadron-raf/" target="_blank">Air Force Museum of New Zealand</a>. Given 2020 has not been terribly kind to museums, please consider, if you are in Australia or New Zealand, buying your copy from this organisation. With postage costs as they are at present, the mid-year worldwide increase making things just that much more difficult, and this being a large book, those of you in the Northern Hemisphere, would be best served by ordering from Aad Neeven's <a href="http://www.aviation-warbooks.nl/boeken_items/book_S33620.html" target="_blank">Aviation Warbooks </a>(he's also the publisher of Through to the End).</i></span></div>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-38330951398989679182020-11-19T15:08:00.003+11:002020-11-23T13:37:18.334+11:00Landmark title from Avonmore Books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl1wvBmDcWcRny_jYKl9_FZ0_3bu26CSQg_9Wm7FlgPh8vn5t8KMQW521yZSgrpKTFNO4OFU2qAHH9HdfM3GXrA52lBrJnEblCZR_e2Cqi1O14s7_Tb5nB3PBMhUh2u9EQ3tp8Ioh7SKs/s1280/EoDcover.jpeg.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="901" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl1wvBmDcWcRny_jYKl9_FZ0_3bu26CSQg_9Wm7FlgPh8vn5t8KMQW521yZSgrpKTFNO4OFU2qAHH9HdfM3GXrA52lBrJnEblCZR_e2Cqi1O14s7_Tb5nB3PBMhUh2u9EQ3tp8Ioh7SKs/w281-h400/EoDcover.jpeg.jpg" width="281" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://avonmorebooks.com.au" style="font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Avonmore Books</a><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;">, now in its tenth year, is probably Australia's highest profile aviation history publishewith an established international distribution network (i.e. stock in stores overseas) and continued and justified accolades for its continuing </span><i style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=SPAW&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FSOUTH-PACIFIC-AIR-WAR-Michael-Claringbould%2F9780994588944" target="_blank">South Pacific Air War</a></i><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"> and relatively recent </span><i style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=PacAdv&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FPacific-Adversaries-One-Michael-Claringbould%2F9780646803142" target="_blank">Pacific Adversaries</a></i><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"> series. The first book from this South Australian-based business was the groundbreaking </span><i style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://aircrewbookreview.blogspot.com/2011/07/zero-hour-in-broome-dr-tom-lewis-peter_10.html" target="_blank">Zero Hour in Broome</a></i><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: 10pt; text-align: justify;">, a book that set a lot of things straight and challenged accepted truths about the disastrous attack on one of Western Australia's north-west centres. Not taking things at face value, no matter how entrenched, has been an enduring theme for Avonmore's books ever since.</span></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: 10pt;">Tom Lewis was there from the start, co-authoring <i>Zero Hour</i> with owner Peter Ingman. They followed up with <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=CAD1942&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FCarrier-Attack-Darwin-1942%2F9780987151933" target="_blank">Carrier Attack Darwin 1942</a></i>. Tom published several other books with Avonmore, <i><a href="https://flightlinebookreview.home.blog/2020/08/21/the-empire-strikes-south-dr-tom-lewis-oam/" target="_blank">The Empire Strikes South</a></i> for example, and Peter joined forces with Michael Claringbould for the <i>South Pacific Air War</i> series (<a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=SPAW4&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FSouth-Pacific-Air-War-4-Michael-Claringbould%2F9780648665977" target="_blank">Volume 4 coming soon!</a>). </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: 10pt;">With <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=EOD&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FEagles-Over-Darwin-Tom-Lewis%2F9780648665984" target="_blank">Eagles over Darwin</a></i> we see Tom return to the very first air combats over Australia as it and its allies reeled in the face of the Japanese onslaught. From the back cover blurb:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: 10pt;">A massive Japanese attack on Darwin on 19 February [1942] had left the town and its air base in ruins. An understrength squadron of USAAC P-40E Warhawks had fought a gallant defence but was all but wiped out.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p><i><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: 10pt;">Northern Australia was now at the mercy of Imperial Japanese Navy Betty bombers and Zero fighters whose crews were both skilled and experienced. However, help was on the way. The 49th Fighter Group was the first such group to be sent from the US after the start of the Pacific War. Its destination was Darwin.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p><i><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: 10pt;">From modest beginnings on make-shift airstrips, the 49th FG entered combat with its feared Japanese adversaries. Its P-40E Warhawks were poor interceptors but were rugged, reliable and well-armed. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><o:p><i><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></i></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: 10pt;"><i>Over several months the 49th FG pilots fought a brave and innovative campaign against a stronger enemy that did much to safeguard Australia in its darkest hour. Today, lonely and long forgotten airfields still bear the name of American pilots who made the ultimate sacrifice.</i><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-size: 10pt;">This is going to be an important book when it's released. I don't think much has been written on the subject, about American Warhawks defending Darwin, for a few years, and the last book I can remember reading on the subject was James Morehead's <i><a href="https://affiliates.abebooks.com/v5MkW" target="_blank">In My Sights</a></i>. The most recent work I can think of is the well-regarded <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=DarwinAW&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FDarwinS-Air-War-1942-1945-Bob-Alford%2F9780980771305" target="_blank">Darwin's Air War</a></i> by Bob Alford. The Ferguson and Pascalis <i><a href="https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmid=10921&awinaffid=771051&clickref=P%26A&ued=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bookdepository.com%2FProtect-Avenge-49th-Fighter-Group-Wwii-Steve-W-Ferguson%2F9780887407505" target="_blank">Protect & Avenge</a></i> is perhaps the largest work on the 49th FG, but, a product of the mid-nineties, it's getting long in the tooth now and can be found wanting. Tom Lewis has been investigating Warhawks ops over Darwin for a while now and uncovering new information that will surprise and, as usual, challenge. A vignette of Australia's defence, and USAAC/USAAF history, very much deserving this treatment. </span></p></div>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7987896746648431572.post-71676010337431438662020-11-12T14:59:00.003+11:002020-11-12T15:21:28.928+11:00The Boy with Only One Shoe - John Henry Meller with Caroline Brownbill<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhld6_Ih6qve0-K18dR4faC6YV3JDulvxwFyikynFD8aoK5f8dMYOjXovXiX-AkBhZhQ10qZ9GFCJJFK0OpSx7BySAxL3p6crZI6DaD0P8dfbCrjf-3k4LjGx-pk6qR7RnJccWOA4dAeoM/s500/TheBoywithOnlyOneShoe+JHMeller+CBrownbill+cover.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="313" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhld6_Ih6qve0-K18dR4faC6YV3JDulvxwFyikynFD8aoK5f8dMYOjXovXiX-AkBhZhQ10qZ9GFCJJFK0OpSx7BySAxL3p6crZI6DaD0P8dfbCrjf-3k4LjGx-pk6qR7RnJccWOA4dAeoM/s400/TheBoywithOnlyOneShoe+JHMeller+CBrownbill+cover.jpg" /></a><span style="color: #fff2cc;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>We’ve been fortunate to see some heavily promoted Bomber Command memoirs/biographies see the light of day this year (<a href="http://aircrewbookreview.blogspot.com/2020/10/bomber-command-arrivals-how-to-tell.html" target="_blank">as mentioned below</a>). One that has been seemingly ‘everywhere’ is <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B0887NHL1N/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=247&creative=1211&creativeASIN=B0887NHL1N&linkCode=as2&tag=aircrewbookre-22&linkId=e030f0991e69f4e48dddc9d1f64066ae" target="_blank">The Boy with Only One Shoe</a>. The authors are working on a post-war sequel, which will make a nice companion, that will hopefully provide some insight into how a Bomber Command veteran adjusted to life outside the RAF. He served as a policeman after the war, so perhaps it was a more gentle transition, moving from one institution to another as it were. Anyway, BC historian, oral history interviewer, and long-time ABR guest reviewer, Adam Purcell kindly sent in his review of The Boy with Only One Shoe. You may remember him from his reviews for Norman Franks’s <a href="http://aircrewbookreview.blogspot.com/2016/12/adam-purcell-is-young-professional.html" target="_blank">Veteran Lancs</a> and <a href="http://aircrewbookreview.blogspot.com/2017/10/two-full-months-and-then-some-have.html" target="_blank">Night Duel over Germany</a> by Peter Jacobs. He also runs the <a href="https://somethingverybig.com" target="_blank">Something Very Big blog</a> about his ongoing research into a relative’s Bomber Command career. Andy Wright</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;">It’s a familiar sort of story. World War II begins. At first, the boy is too young, but he enlists in aircrew the instant he turns eighteen. Basic training follows and he’s awarded an aircrew brevet. Then comes operational training, crewing up, converting onto big four-engine bombers. The new crew joins a squadron, flies on operations and has one or two close calls. Then the war ends. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;">Call it a fairly standard career for a surviving member of Bomber Command. With greater or lesser degrees of variation, stories like this have been told in countless books over the years. Yes, the story of John Henry Meller, in the new book <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B0887NHL1N/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=247&creative=1211&creativeASIN=B0887NHL1N&linkCode=as2&tag=aircrewbookre-22&linkId=e030f0991e69f4e48dddc9d1f64066ae" target="_blank">The Boy with Only One Shoe</a></i>, follows much the same arc, but what’s notable about this book is that it’s been published in 2020, seven and a half decades since the end of the war. It’s the rarest of rare things: a recently written first-hand account by a Bomber Command airman. There just aren’t many veterans left alive these days, let alone ones who still have the drive and skill to vividly write a story about events of so long ago and then publish it. </span></div></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;">To be clear, Meller’s daughter, Caroline Brownbill, a former airline pilot, is credited as a co-author. It’s not clear how much of the work is hers, but that doesn’t matter. The narrative is cohesive and in a consistent voice. Brownbill is also, it seems, doing a lot of the publicity work around the release of the book, which was self-published via Amazon in May 2020. The authors are planning to donate proceeds from sales of the book to the RAF Benevolent Fund, and Meller signs and writes a personal message on virtually every copy they sell, which is a nice touch.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;">John Henry Meller served as a wireless operator with 149 Squadron, flying operations on Lancasters from February 1945. That experience, and all the bits and pieces that go with it, necessarily forms the core of <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B0887NHL1N/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=247&creative=1211&creativeASIN=B0887NHL1N&linkCode=as2&tag=aircrewbookre-22&linkId=e030f0991e69f4e48dddc9d1f64066ae" target="_blank">The Boy with Only One Shoe</a></i>. This book, however, has so much more to offer too. The early sections about growing up in the English town of Warrington in the 1920s and 30s are detailed, and the descriptions of life as a teenage civilian in the early years of the war are full of life. Post-war, Meller remained in the Royal Air Force for a few years and there are some very interesting sections about postings to exotic places like Egypt and Libya. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;">His personal recollections are great, and include some unusual details. I knew that RAF recruits, undergoing basic training in London, ate their meals in a restaurant at London Zoo, for example, but I didn’t know that while there they were also told they would be responsible for ‘protecting or detaining’ any of the zoo animals that might escape as a result of air raid damage. There’s also one of the better descriptions of the training and operational role of the wireless operator I’ve seen in an aircrew memoir. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;">These are the sorts of details you can’t easily get from official files and archives; you really need the recollections of someone who was there. There’s a fascinating discussion of a lecture attended during Meller’s wireless operator course, during which it was clearly communicated to the trainees exactly what risk they were taking by becoming aircrew. The fatality rate in Bomber Command at the time, they were explicitly told, was 46%. Common knowledge now, of course, and certainly by the time a crew had been on a squadron for a few months they would have been well aware of the ‘chop rate’, but this is the first time that I’ve heard of aircrew being directly told about it while still in training. It makes their decisions to continue that training all the more courageous. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><i style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B0887NHL1N/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=247&creative=1211&creativeASIN=B0887NHL1N&linkCode=as2&tag=aircrewbookre-22&linkId=e030f0991e69f4e48dddc9d1f64066ae" target="_blank">The Boy with Only One Shoe</a></i><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"> (the significance of the title is explained in a short introductory section in the book) came about after Meller’s son-in-law persuaded him to write about his wartime experiences, primarily for his grand-daughter. The book is therefore pitched at an audience that may not have much understanding of Bomber Command and the context into which it fitted. Meller provides a lot of that context with explanations of what was going on in the wider conflict at the time and, while some of these bits aren’t done as well as the parts of the story based on his own experiences, he nevertheless manages to successfully weave his own story into the wider one.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;">My only criticisms about the book are, I think, a direct result of its self-published roots. The story is great and the writing is engaging, but in some ways the execution doesn’t do the story all the justice it deserves. Editing can be hit and miss, with the occasional superfluous punctuation and, on one occasion, ‘where’ used in place of ‘were’. There are one or two minor errors in terminology that probably should have been picked up, too: cumulonimbus clouds are called ‘Cumulus Nimbus’ on page 175, for example. Formatting inside is a little inconsistent, particularly when dealing with block quotes. There is a contents page, but it’s not very useful: it only lists ‘Chapter 1’, ‘Chapter 2’ and so on, despite all the chapters being individually titled. The cover, though attention-grabbing with an illustration of a Lancaster with an engine on fire, is printed on cheap stock and not very hardy. My copy marked too easily, copping several dings from one or two trips in my bag. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;">Don’t get me wrong, I really liked this book, and Amazon’s global reach makes it very accessible to the widest possible audience, but it’s a great shame this story was not picked up by a traditional publisher, who might have had the expertise to overcome the few niggles I had with it. Putting that to one side, though, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B0887NHL1N/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=247&creative=1211&creativeASIN=B0887NHL1N&linkCode=as2&tag=aircrewbookre-22&linkId=e030f0991e69f4e48dddc9d1f64066ae" target="_blank">The Boy with Only One Shoe</a></i> is a good read. It’s honest, engaging and true to life, and it’s a never-before-heard Bomber Command story, written by someone who was there.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: arial; font-size: 10pt;">ISBN <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B0887NHL1N/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=247&creative=1211&creativeASIN=B0887NHL1N&linkCode=as2&tag=aircrewbookre-22&linkId=e030f0991e69f4e48dddc9d1f64066ae" target="_blank">978-1-83804-6-705</a></span></div>Andy Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13393306454526711621noreply@blogger.com0