Product Description

Night after night, they swallowed their fears and flew long distances through packs of enemy fighters to drop the bombs that could destroy Hitler and bring about the end of the war. Tens of thousands of young men never came back, blown up or bailing out from burning aircraft to drop helplessley into enemy hands. Yet history has condemned their brave and valiant actions, denouncing them for the destruction of German cities and civilians, rather than acknowledging them for the heroes that they are. For the first time John Nichol and Tony Rennell tell the story of the controversial last battles of Bomber Command through the eyes of the heroic men who fought them.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30430 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 504 pages

Review
It was the destruction of the historic city of Dresden that irrevocably besmirched the reputation of Bomber Command and its commander-in-chief, Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris. After the war, instead of treating these airmen as the heroes they undoubtedly were, the nation chose to shun their efforts. That 55,000 comrades gave their lives during the bombing campaigns mattered not. John Nichol - himself shot down and taken prisoner in the first Gulf War - and Tony Rennell thought it was about time that the airmen of Bomber Command had their reputations restored and their brave sacrifices acknowledged. Theirs is a moving account of the missions flown night after night over enemy territories, when airmen risked ghastly death or capture in their attempts to crush Hitler's Third Reich. Britain was fighting for its life and the Tail-End Charlies, for so long the forgotten heroes of that fight, are finally given the respect they are due. (Kirkus UK)

Daily Telegraph
'In this detailed, vivid and moving account...Nichol and Rennell have made an important contribution towards righting a historical wrong.'

Daily Mail
'A spellbinding new book.'

Customer Reviews

A truly wonderful book
This is a wonderful book - it is such an emotional and rollercoaster of a read, to coin a phrase, "it's difficult to put down".

I have a couple of relatives who flew in Bomber Command and they all say that this is the most "true to life" account of their war that they have ever read. It really captures the fears and emotions of the time and portrays the horrors the men endured in such a realistic way that you feel as if you are sitting in the aircraft with them.

It is a magnificant tribute to the bravery and heroism of the time.

Excellent history of Bomber Command
It's long been popular to denigrate the actions of Bomber Command during the latter days of WW2. Harris' policy of area bombing population centres was, and certainly has been, extremely controversial, and the actions of his airmen have been compared to war crimes in the years since the war.

In the main this book attempts to explain the air war though the eyes of the men who fought it, largely through testimony of the men who fought in this campaign. It succeeds, for me, by making clear the conditions these men were expected to fight under, the stresses they bore day, in day, under odds of survival far worse than any other armed service. John Nichol's sympathy for these men is clear, and if this book is an attempt to redress the injustice that these men have been dealt since the war then it works very well. At the end of the day, irrespective of the orders, these men carried out their duty, night after night, despite terrible odds and the knowledge of a very unpleasant end. That in itself deserves recognition

That's not to say this book is wholly supportive of Bomber Command's actions - there are passages dealing with the callous treatment of airmen so traumatised by battle that they were unable to continue fighting. The opposition to area bombing during the latter days of WW2 is described in detail. The description of the bombing of Dresden is particularly interesting, setting it as it does as an entirely defendable action.

In summary, an excellent, well written book which in my opinion does justice to the largely ignored sacrifice these brave men made for the Allied war effort at a time when war was not optional or debatable, but purely for survival.

Humbling Account of Real Men
Having read many Bomber Command books, i found this one particularly good. The authors bring out a roller coaster of emotions within the reader... sorrow, joy, anger and pride to name but a few.

It is a very full and riveting read with extremely brave and moving accounts of the exceptionally well disciplined men of Bomber Command (all volunteers) led by an equally disciplined and robust commander (Harris).

The book is very well balanced in its views, making the reader aware of the fact that the 'tail end' of the war was a very uncertain time and certain logistical decisions, such as Dresden, were certainly justifiable at the time considering the climate of 'total war' and the fact that there could not be any 'give' whatsoever, not to mention the fact that Harris was leaned upon from above to hammer Dresden (which was actually bristling with war industry, contrary to popular belief) to assist Russian movements into Germany.

Some of the more personal accounts left me with a lump in my throat. Sad, sad tales of aircrew dying on thier very last op, often just shy of the airfield after getting through a very rough Ruhr Valley sortie, and the sad tale of the POW who'd been incarcerated since 1940 and kept motivated by letters from his loyal wife to be, whom at the end of the war, excitedly put banners up and gathered family for his return, only for him to be killed as the overloaded Lancaster bringing him home crashed.

The pyschological strain on the aircrews was massive, going from the relative comfort of rural English airbases to horror of major bombing raids deep into Germany, losing comrades at an alarming rate, witnessing gory death in its dirty glory then returning to the almost tranquil countryside of England a few hours later to sit and ponder whether they were next for 'the chop'.

After the war the aircrews were shunned and no specific campaign medal was allotted to them which leaves the reader angry and dismayed. The public effectively turned against them.

To quote one Lanc airman, Miles Tripp... 'The plain fact is that when one's survival is threatened, one is grateful to those who offer protection. Once the danger is past, one is ashamed that ones intellectual theories were so easily overruled by a primitive instinct or emotion and the erstwhile helpers are an immediate target for the hostility caused by this sense of shame'

Fantastic book