Product Description

It is no accident that the RAF's Battle of Britain Memorial Flight consists primarily of three aircraft types, the Spitfire, the Hurricane and the Lancaster. The Spitfire and Hurricane, of course, are famous for their roles during the Battle of Britain over the skies of southern England in 1940. The Lancaster, on the other hand, did not enter operational service with the RAF until 1942, long after the 'official' Battle of Britain was over. Yet the aircraft has more than earned its place in the Battle of Britain flight. The Lancaster has carved its place in history in its own unique way. During the Spitfire's lifetime, more than 20,000 were built while the Lancaster's total is less than half of that. Yet the Lancaster had a crew of seven, with at least as many again in each Lanc's ground crew. More personnel, therefore, had a close association with the Lanc than with the world's most famous fighter plane.Neither should it be forgotten that, when Britain defended its shores as an island fortress during the darkest days of WW II, the Lancaster and its crews were taking the fight to the enemy, delivering their deadly payloads to targets deep in the heart of Germany. A tangible reminder to everyone suffering in Britain that we were still striking back, still fighting, the Lancaster and its crews won the affection of the British people. Lancasters dropped Barnes Wallis' 'bouncing bombs' on Germany's Ruhr Valley dams to earn 617 Squadron its 'Dam Busters' nickname and Tony Iveson was among those Lanc pilots whose aircraft crossed the North Sea to sink the battleship Tirpitz.In "Lancaster", Tony Iveson has created a riveting biography of the aircraft, focussing not just on its operational history, but on the crews who flew and maintained Lancs, even talking to German fighter pilots who flew against them. The stories in "Lancaster" run from the time of its initial design right through the war to when variants such as the Lancastrian entered civilian service, BOAC using the aircraft on scheduled services between Britain and Australia from May 1945. A salute to the men and women who built, flew and maintained the Lancaster, this book stands as a tribute to a truly great British icon.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12201 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

About the Author
Squadron Leader Tony Iveson joined 616 Squadron at Keley on 2 September 1940 flying Spitfires. In May 1942 and his second operational tour was with Bomber Command. He joined 617 Squadron (the Dam Busters) in 1944. Tony is Chairman of the Bomber Command Association. Brian Milton has worked with Tony to write this compelling book. A journalist and broadcaster, Brian is also an aero enthusiast and flyer, having flown a microlight aircraft around the world in 1998, recording his adventures in the book Global Flyer.

Customer Reviews

Another Lancaster book
This is a very disappointing book, not worth getting even for completeness sake. If you have read the story of the Lancaster elsewhere then this will tell you nothing new. It doesn't even contain any photos that have not been seen many times before. If you are new to the subject it is passable. If you want detail get "The Avro Lancaster" by FK Mason, if you want photos then any in the "Lancaster at War" series.

Lancaster the biography
For anyone who has read the history of bomber command this book adds very little. The pages are filled with citations for the Victoria cross which are simply copied and seem to be used to fill the book in lieu of the main subject, the lancaster bomber. The sections on German defences are interesting and covered new ground for me. However, I was disappointed by a book that I felt would be of interest to me.

Excellent, first class, literally "notputdownable".
An excellent book with many harrowing accounts of the progress and development of the Lancaster Bomber, without which the outcome of the Second World War may well have been very diferent.