Men Of Air, The Doomed Youth Of Bomber Command: Schweinfurt, Leipzig, Berlin RAF For Sale

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MEN OF AIR

THE DOOMED YOUTH OF BOMBER COMMAND

(KEVIN WILSON)

There were manyways for a combat crew to die during Bomber Command’s war of 1944. Over German territory, bursts of heavy flakcould tear the wings from their plane in a split second. Bullets and cannon shells from German fighterscould explode their fuel tanks, cut their oxygen supplies, destroy their engines. They were not even safe from their ownhigh-flying colleagues, and many RAF aircraft were downed by British bombs. In the spring of that year, thousands of youngmen were shot, blown up, or thrown from their planes five miles above the earth. If they escaped the perils of the target, theyoften then faced the subtler dangers of ice and fog as they tried to land theirbattered aircraft back home.

The winter of1944 was the most dangerous time to be a combat airman in the RAF Bomber Command:the chances of surviving a tour were as low as one in five, and morale had hitrock bottom. The daily heroism of thosefighters comes to life in this comprehensive, compelling history of that year,which encompasses the most dangerous periods of the Battle of Berlin and the unparalleledlosses over Magdeburg, Leipzig, and Nuremberg.

Personal accountsreveal how ordinary men coped with the constant pressure of flying, the loss oftheir colleagues, and the constant threat of death or capture. By exploring famous events such as the Great Escapeand D-Day, we discover how the ‘Men of Air’ finally turned the tide against theGermans.

This 2011 edition paperback is in very good overallcondition although there are some signs of wear to the cover in the form of minormarks, and light bumps and knocks to the edges and corners (seephotograph). All pages are present,tightly bound, and free from tears, creases, and significant marks. The book runs to 435 pages (19.5cm x 13cm)plus an additional 16 pages of photographs.