Product Details
Hornchurch Scramble: Vol 1: The Definitive Account of the Raf Fighter Airfield, Its Pilots, Groundcrew and Staff from 1915 to the End of the Battle of Britain

Hornchurch Scramble: Vol 1: The Definitive Account of the Raf Fighter Airfield, Its Pilots, Groundcrew and Staff from 1915 to the End of the Battle of Britain
By Richard C. Smith

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Product Description

Taking the reader through World War I (as Sutton's Farm), when early RFC pilots were hailed as the knights of the air, through the 1930s to the outbreak of war, household names abound - Leefe Robinson, "Sailor" Malan, Bob Stanford Tuck, Brian Kingcome, Al Deere, Paddy Finucane, Eric Lock, and many more. But it was as a main Sector Station in both the Dunkirk evacuation and the Battle of Britain, that Hornchurch achieved lasting fame. After seven years of research interviewing commanders, pilots, groundcrews and WAAFs, Richard Smith has uncovered the history of Hornchurch's distinguished record. The text also includes previously unseen photographs from private collections.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #66326 in Books
  • Published on: 2002-11-26
  • Original language: English
  • Binding: Paperback
  • 224 pages

Customer Reviews

factual but not very engaging2
Based on interviews and war diaries. As the title says, it covers the history of RAF Hornchurch from its establishment in 1915 to the Autumn of 1940. Some of the recollections are interesting, and it gives some sense of the pace of operations at a fighter station. However, I think a great story was missed. It didn't hold my attention as I thought it dry in the telling: there were a lot of "four planes went up, three came back" types of passages. I thought the section on WWI better than the later part (although I'm more interested in WWII). The picture section was fair. By way of comparison, I liked "Eagle Day" (Collier), "Most Dangerous Enemy" (Bungay) and "Tumult in the Clouds" (Hart and Steele) very much.

Sadly rather dull2
I just have to agree with the previous reviewer, the first part of the book about WW1 and Sutton's Farm Airfield (the old name for RAF Hornchurch) were quite interesting. After that it's not so good, I got about a third of the way through the book and put it down. I've no desire to pick it up again. The late Al Deere in his excellent book "Nine Lives" seemed to have a lot of affection for the place, it's a pity the author of this book couldn't convey the same. It was, after all, a very important place during the Battle of Britain. A shame.