Bomber Boys : The Ruhr, the Dambusters and Bloody Berlin

by Kevin Wilson

• ISBN13: 9780304367245
• ISBN10: 0304367249
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-04-01
• Publisher: Cassell

Summary

In 1943 the RAF began a bombing campaign against Germany, the like of which had never before been seen. Over the next twelve months, tens of thousands of aircrews flew across the North Sea to drop their bombs on German cities. They were opposed not only by the full force of the Luftwaffe, but by a nightmare of flak, treacherously icy conditions, and constant mechanical malfunction. Most of these crews never finished their tour of operations but were either shot down and killed, or taken prisoner by an increasingly hostile enemy.This is the story of the everyday heroism of British bomber crews in the days when it was widely believed that the Allies could win the Second World War by bombing alone. Kevin Wilson has interviewed hundreds of former airmen about what their lives were like in 1943: the stomach-churning tension of flying repeatedly over hostile territory, the terror at being shot down or captured, and the peculiar mixture of guilt and pride at unleashing such devastation on Germany.

Author Biography

Kevin Wilson has spent most of his working life as a staff journalist on British national newspapers, including the Daily Mail and latterly the Daily and Sunday Express. He is married with three grown-up sons and a daughter. This is his first full-length book.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	9
Beginnings	15
WINTER
To the Heart of Darkness	23
A Signal Success	41
Piercing the Gloom	60
Ruining the Ruhr	88
SPRING
The Bitter Taste of Pilsen	125
The Toss of a Coin	146
The Power of Water	160
Pointblank and Return to the Ruhr	205
SUMMER
The Power of Fire	241
The Peril of Peenemünde	282
Back to Berlin	317
Stretching to Succeed	340
AUTUMN
Attrition to Achievement	365
'The Greatest of Air Battles'	394
WINTER
A Miserable End	417
Closure	444
Notes to the Text	449
Acknowledgements	459
Glossary	463
Bibliography	467
Index	471