In November 1940, a remarkable prototype aircraft made its maiden
flight from an airstrip north of London. Novel in construction and
exceptionally fast, the new plane was soon outpacing the Spitfire, and
went on to contribute to the RAF's offensive against Nazi Germany as
bomber, pathfinder and night fighter. The men who flew it nicknamed
this most flexible of aircraft 'the wooden wonder' for its composite
wooden frame and superb performance. Its more familiar name was the de
Havilland Mosquito, and it used lightning speed and agility to inflict
mayhem on the German war machine. From the summer of 1943, as Bomber
Command intensified its saturation bombing of German cities, Mosquitos
were used by the Pathfinder Force, which marked targets for night-time
bombing, to devastating effect. Mosquito Men traces the contrasting
careers of the young men of 627 Squadron, including that of Ken Oatley
– last living member of an illustrious group – who flew twenty-two
operations in Mosquitos as a navigator. David Price's atmospheric
narrative interweaves the human stories of the crews of 627 Squadron
with events in the wider war as the Allies closed in on Germany from
the summer of 1944. Mosquito Men is rich in evocative and technically
authoritative accounts of individual missions flown by an aircraft
that ranks alongside the Spitfire, the Hurricane and the Lancaster as
one of the RAF's greatest ever flying machines – and perhaps the
most versatile warplane ever built.
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The Elite Pathfinders of 627 Squadron
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781800242319
Publisert
2023
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Bloomsbury UK
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter