In 1943 the RAF began a bombing campiagn against Germany, of an intensity new
in the history of war. Over the next twelve months, thousands of aircrew would
face a nightmare of flak and flighter against decreasing odds of finishing a
tour of operation.
Kevin Wilson has interviewed hundreds of former airmen including the surviving
Dambusters, about their daily lives in 1943: the stomach-churning tension of
flying repeatedly over hostile territory, the terror of bale out, and the awe at
unleashing such devastation.
This is the story of everyday heroism of British and Commonwealth crews when
it was widely believed the war could be won by bombing alone.
Contents:
List of Illustrations
Beginings
Winter
- To the Heart of Darkness
- A Signal Success
- Piercing the Gloom
- Ruining the Ruhr
Spring
- The Bitter Taste of Pilsen
- The Toss of a Coin
- The Power of Water
- Pointblank and Return to the Rurh
Summer
- The Power of Fire
- The Peril of Peenemunde
- Back to Berlin
- Stretching to Succeed
Autumn
- Attribution to Achievement
- 'The Greatest of Air Battles'
Winter
- A Miserable End
- Closure
Notes to the Text
Acknowledgements
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
Review:
'Masterful ... meticulously researched and grippingly recounted, this is a
first-rate contribution to our understanding of the Second World War' - Daily
Express
