Operation Big Ben The Anti-V2 Spitfire Missions 1944-45

by Cabell, Craig; Thomas, Graham A.

• ISBN13: 9781862273610
• ISBN10: 1862273618
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-10-01
• Publisher: Spellmount

Summary

Operation Big Ben was one of the best kept secrets of World War II. Through Squadron histories, log books, official reports, and interviews with the people who flew clipped winged Spitfire to dive-bomb VI and VII rocket sights towards the end of the war, the story is at last fully told. The book includes detailed squadron histories as well as clear details of the strategies employed and missions executed by the Spitfire squadrons that flew. It has firsthand recollections of the men who completed the dive-bombing raids, and the cutting edge technology they used.

Author Biography

Craig Cabell is the author of Ian Fleming's Secret War and the coauthor of Snipers: Profiles of the World's Deadliest Killers.

Table of Contents

About the Authors	p. viii
Author's Note	p. ix
Acknowledgements	p. xii
Foreword	p. xiii
Introduction	p. xv
Memories	p. xvii
Fearsome Silhouette	p. 1
Anti-V2 Sorties	p. 3
Early Days	p. 13
Operation Big Ben	p. 29
Success or Failure?	p. 81
Where was the Luftwaffe?	p. 105
The Men Who Flew	p. 109
Afterword: Those Magnificent Men	p. 112
303 Polish Squadron History	p. 113
124 Squadron History	p. 139
229 Squadron History	p. 156
603 Squadron History	p. 175
A Tribute to 453 Squadron	p. 183
602 City of Glasgow Squadron	p. 188
List of Spitfires that flew with 602 Squadron	p. 190
603 City of Glasgow Squadron	p. 191
List of Spitfires that flew with 603 Squaron	p. 192
124 Baroda Squadron	p. 193
List of Spitfires that flew with 124 Baroda Squadron	p. 195
229 Squadron	p. 197
V1, V2 Target Statistics	p. 199
Source Material	p. 200
Index	p. 201
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.