" The Allied bombing offensive reached an unprecedented scale as the 1939-1945 war progressed. Special Op: Bomber is an action-packed account of this battle in the skies over Europe during World War II. Throughout the unrelenting and destructive air campaign there were certain vital operations that required the airmen of the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Force to take their skills to new levels, and to display courage above and beyond the call of duty. This book draws upon a wealth of these courageous veterans' stories, many of them previously unpublished. These vivid firsthand accounts convey the peril of Allied air combat in World War II with breathtaking immediacy."

Special Op: Bomber: Daring Missions That Changed the Shape of WWII

History

Darlow, Steve

Military

David&Charles

"From the bomb-aimer's position the sight was awesome. Six thousand feet below, Dunkirk was a sea of flame glinting like a brightly spotlit plaque of beaten copper."  Steve Darlow follows the fascinating exploits of five of RAF Bomber Command's distinguished airmen. The enthralling stories transport the reader into the intensity of the bomber battle over western Europe. Collectively these men took part in some of the most devastating raids in history.  These men all come close to oblivion on numerous occasions. But, unlike 55,000 of their colleagues, they managed to survive to tell their stories, which are a fitting tribute to the youthfulness, skill, determination and sheer guts of the many.

Five Of The Many

Reminiscence Large Print

With an average age of just twenty-two, the young airmen of the Royal Air Force’s Bomber Command, all volunteers, began operating within minutes of the start of the Second World War. Continually, through to May 1945, the aircrews, with the odds heavily against them, fought in defiance of Nazi aggression. They defended the British Isles against invasion, they took the war directly back to Germany, they supported the Allied land campaigns, they opposed the enemy Navy and U-boat threats, and they countered the German V-weapon offensives. But the cost was high. From this multi-national force, made up of British airmen, Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans, Rhodesians, Indians, Poles, Czechs, French, Americans and Jamaicans, a staggering 55,573 airmen would lose their lives, 9,838 would become prisoners of war and a further 8,403 would suffer wounds. Fighting High Publishing brings together notable military aviation authors to tell the stories of some of those who ‘failed to return’ from operations. The carefully selected stories demonstrate the diversity of operational duties undertaken by the aircrews, whilst highlighting the extremes of danger they faced, often day after day and night after night. Most would not survive their ordeal, and many others would see out the war incarcerated in an enemy POW camp.The authors, drawing upon surviving veteran accounts, family archives, official documents, wartime memoirs and letters, flying logbooks, and relative and witness recollections, piece together the extraordinary, gripping, yet ultimately tragic events surrounding the losses described. Illustrated throughout with color and black and white photographs and documents, ‘Bomber Command – Failed to Return’ ensures that the memory of all the young men, some would even say boys, who sacrificed all, is kept alive. ‘Lest we forget.’

Bomber Command: Failed to Return

Bond, Steve

Feast, Sean

Fighting High Publishing

The casualty numbers are simply staggering – 55,573 airmen who served with RAF Bomber Command during the Second World War lost their lives in the fight against Nazism. A further 9,838 airmen became prisoners or war and 8,403 were wounded in action. These extraordinary and unprecedented loss statistics accumulated as the RAF bomber crews played their part in the prosecution of Allied grand strategy: defending the British Isles from invasion, blasting the enemy industrial infrastructure, supporting the Allied land campaigns, targeting the enemy Navy and U-boat threats, and countering the German V-weapon menace.In this second volume concerning Bomber Command aircrew who ‘failed to return’, Fighting High Publishing again brings together acclaimed historians to tell the stories of those who became casualties. Illustrated throughout with color and black and white photographs, the vast majority previously unpublished, Bomber Command: Failed to Return II continues to ensure that the memory of the bomber boys, who sacrificed all, is kept alive. ‘Lest we forget.’

Bomber Command: Failed to Return II

Biographies & Memoirs

Druce, Linzee

Historical

On the night of 16/17 May 1943 a select group of young RAF Bomber Command airmen carried out one of the most audacious and daring low level raids of the Second World War. Nineteen aircrews of No.617 Squadron, flying modified Avro Lancasters, each armed with a 'bouncing bomb', were detailed to attack specific dams, viewed as essential to Germany's war effort. Two were indeed breached in an extraordinary display of skill and courage, but at a cost of eight Lancasters lost. Of the 56 airmen flying these aircraft, 53 were killed and 3 were captured. In Dam Busters: Failed to Return Fighting High Publishing brings together notable Bomber Command historians to recount the lives of some of the Dam Busters who were lost that fateful night. Drawing upon family archives, official documents, wartime memoirs and letters, flying logbooks, and relative and witness recollections, and illustrated throughout with color and black and white photographs and documents, the authors piece together the extraordinary, gripping, yet ultimately tragic stories of these select young men.

Dam Busters: Failed to Return

Owen, Dr Robert

Thorning, Arthur G.

Leaders & Notable People

On 6 June 1944 the Allies launched one of the greatest military feats of all time, forcing a re-entry in to 'Fortress Europe' - the sea borne and airborne assault upon the coastline of Normandy. Key to the success of the D-Day campaign was the contribution of the Royal Air Force's Bomber Command, who waged an unrelenting campaign in the run-up to D-Day, on the day itself, and in the months subsequent. Bomber Command aircrew attacked rail yards and communications targets to isolate the battle area from enemy reinforcement, bombarded enemy positions, supplied the French Resistance, and deceived the enemy as to the true whereabouts of the beach landings. The cost in young lives was, however, enormous. Thousands of young Bomber Command aircrew sacrificed their lives attacking invasion targets in the three months prior to the beach landings. More airmen failed to return on D-Day itself. Thousands more now either rest in French or Belgian cemeteries or are listed as missing as a result of further raids in support of the Normandy land campaign. On 1 July 1944 Commander-in-Chief of Bomber Command Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris wrote to Chief of Air Staff Sir Charles Portal expressing his concern over the lack of recognition in respect of his command's support to the invasion. 'There are 10,500 aircrew in my operational squadrons. In three months we have lost over half that number. They have a right that their story should be adequately told, and it is a military necessity that it should be.' On the 70th anniversary of D-Day Fighting High Publishing brings together acclaimed historians to tell the story of some of those who became casualties serving with Bomber Command. Illustrated throughout with color and black and white photographs, the vast majority previously unpublished, D-Day Bomber Command: Failed to Return ensures the memory of the D-Day bomber boys, who sacrificed all, is kept alive. 'Lest we forget'.

D-Day Bomber Command: Failed to Return

Hall, Marc

MacDonald, Andrew

Sandall, Howard

In the Summer of 1944 Nazi Germany launched its terrifying Vergeltungswaffen (reprisal weapon) attack against the population of southeast England. Under direct attack the Allies responded. The Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower was quite clear that the V-weapon counter measures were of paramount importance over everything except the urgent requirements of the D-Day and Normandy land battle, 'this priority to obtain until we can be certain that we have definitely gotten the upper hand of this particular business.’ He would use all the resources at his disposal including the Royal Air Force’s heavy bomber force.The task for RAF Bomber Command was simple. If the bomber crews could reduce the number of V1s launched, the fighter aircraft and gun defenses had a better chance to intercept and shoot down the flying bombs. But these pilot-less aircraft were not the only menace, the V2 rocket offensive would soon be launched, and the Allies closely monitored the construction of what they came to learn was the V3 ‘supergun’ site.When the war came to a close Bomber Command could justifiably claim success against the V-Weapons. There was a cost though – a cost in aircrew lives. V-Weapons Bomber Command Failed to Return tells the story of some of those airmen who were prepared to risk their lives countering the German V-Weapon offensive in direct defense of the civilian population. They had responded to what British Prime Minister Winston Churchill described as the attempt to ‘blast the viper in his nest’. Their story deserves to be told. ‘We Will Remember Them’.

V-Weapons Bomber Command Failed to Return

Europe

Bomber Command pilot George Dunn DFC L d'H completed forty four operations during the Second World War. George flew his first tour in 1943, on Handley Page Halifax bombers, during one of the most intense periods of the bombing war. Following two trips as a second pilot with No. 10 Squadron, to gain operational experience, George, accompanied by his usual flight engineer Ferris Newton DFM, then flew with No. 76 Squadron crew from May to October 1943, taking part in the Battle of the Ruhr, the Battle of Hamburg and the raid against the German secret weapon research station at Peenemünde. On completion of his tour, and a period as an instructor pilot, George then took up duties flying de Havilland Mosquitos, firstly with No. 608 Squadron and then with No. 1409 Met Flight.In Resolute, the title being the No. 76 Squadron motto, George and Ferris describe in detail their journey from novice airmen, through training, to crewing up and operational duties. It was a time at which the attrition rates in the air battle over Germany were escalating and the odds were against completing a full tour. Despite the pressures of operations George, Ferris and the crew find time to enjoy life - to the full! In the latter stages of the war, George then recalls with fondness and admiration, the opportunity to fly Mosquitos.Resolute is based on the detailed diary that Ferris kept during the war, and on accounts written by George, along with recorded interviews. Author Steve Darlow, with his extensive knowledge of the Bomber Command story, provides the context in which George, Ferris, and their crew went to war.Illustrated with photographs, and images from George's logbook, Resolute tells the gripping story of one crew's fight for survival, and their contribution to the eventual defeat of Nazism.

Resolute: To War with Bomber Command

Dunn, George

Newton, Ferris

‘Tonight you are going to the Big City. You will have the opportunity to light a fire in the belly of the enemy that will burn his black heart out.’ The message from Commander-in-Chief of RAF Bomber Command Sir Arthur Harris was clear. As the Second World War continued into a fifth year, the airmen of Bomber Command were to fly deep into hostile airspace and bring the war direct to the German Nazi capital Berlin. From the autumn of 1943 to the last days of winter in early 1944, during the hours of extended darkness, the bomber crews braved the flak, the searchlights, enemy night fighters and extremes of weather, to bombard the ‘black heart’. Prior to the all-out campaign against the ‘Big City’ Sir Arthur Harris firmly believed his bomber force could break the German will to wage war, but he also prophesied that ‘It will cost us between 400 and 500 aircraft’. Fighting High Publishing brings together acclaimed Bomber Command historians to tell the story of some of the thousands of airmen who failed to return from operations as part of the 1943 and 1944 Bomber Command Battle of Berlin. The authors, utilizing family archives, personal testimony and records, wartime memoirs, diaries and letters, witness recollections, logbooks, and official documents, piece together the remarkable, yet ultimately tragic events surrounding the losses described. Illustrated throughout with previously unpublished black and white and color photographs Bomber Command Battle of Berlin Failed to Return ensures the memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice is kept alive. ‘We Will Remember Them’.

Bomber Command: Battle of Berlin: Failed to Return

Russell, Nicole

‘For you the war is over’. ‘Last of the Kriegies’ tells the extraordinary stories of five of the last remaining Second World War RAF Bomber Command Prisoners-of-War: pilot Reg Barker, bomb aimer Charles Clarke, air gunner David Fraser, air gunner Albert Gunn and navigator Henry Wagner. Each veteran shares the journey they went through joining up with the Royal Air Force, their training and crewing up, and operational duties with RAF Bomber Command. We accompany them on raids over enemy territory as they fight to survive against the relentless flak, searchlights, and deadly enemy nightfighters. Eventually each airmen’s next of kin receives a knock on the door and the dreaded ‘regret to inform’ you telegram.Reg, Charles, David, Albert and Henry describe the circumstances in which they are shot from the sky, descending by parachute in to hostile territory, and their subsequent failed attempt to avoid capture. Interrogation follows and we hear how the downed airmen negotiate the aggressive and devious tactics employed by their captors as they try and extract secret information. Our ‘Kriegsgefangener’ soon find themselves behind the barbed wire of a German prison camp facing the trials and tribulations of daily life as a ‘kriegie’; the battle with hunger and frustration, the baiting and harassing of prison guards, friendships made, and attempts to break out and escape their captivity. In the final months of the war some of our POWs endure the grueling and harsh conditions of the forced ‘Long March’. Despite frustrating delays, as the Nazi regime enters its final death throes, our airmen eventually taste the sweetness of liberation and journey home to loved ones and family. Fighting High Publishing and Bomber Command historian Steve Darlow presents the extraordinary testimony of five veterans who endured and survived being shot down, captivity, degradation, and suffering. Illustrated with previously unpublished photographs and with a foreword from former Gulf War POW Squadron Leader Bob Ankerson RAF (Ret’d) ‘Last of the Kriegies' reveals the extraordinary strength and resilience of the human spirit struggling with incarceration and the loss of freedom.

Last of the Kriegies: The Extraordinary True Life Experiences of Five Bomber Command Prisoners of War

FRASER, David

Clarke, Charles

Barker, Reg

Gunn, Albert

WAGNER, HENRY

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