- 400 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
About this book
'The epic story of an iconic aircraft and the breathtaking courage of those who flew her' Andy McNab, bestselling author of Bravo Two Zero
'Compelling, thrilling and rooted in quite extraordinary human drama' James Holland, author of Normandy 44
From John Nichol, the Sunday Times bestselling author of Spitfire, comes a passionate and profoundly moving tribute to the Lancaster bomber, its heroic crews and the men and women who kept her airborne during the country's greatest hour of need.
'The Avro Lancaster is an aviation icon; revered, romanticised, loved. Without her, and the bravery of those who flew her, the freedom we enjoy today would not exist.'
Sir Arthur Harris, the controversial chief of Royal Air Force Bomber Command, described the Lancaster as his 'shining sword' and the 'greatest single factor in winning the war'. RAF bomber squadrons carried out offensive operations from the first day of the Second World War until the very last, more than five and a half years later. They flew nearly 300,000 sorties and dropped around a million tons of explosives, as well as life-saving supplies. Over 10,000 of their aircraft never returned. Of the 7,377 Lancasters built during the conflict, more than half were lost to enemy action or training accidents.
The human cost was staggering. Of the 125,000 men who served in Bomber Command, over 55,000 were killed and another 8,400 were wounded. Some 10,000 survived being shot down, only to become prisoners of war. In simple, brutal terms, Harris's aircrew had only a 40 per cent chance of surviving the war unscathed.
Former RAF Tornado Navigator, Gulf War veteran and bestselling author John Nichol now tells the inspiring and moving story of this legendary aircraft that took the fight deep into the heart of Nazi Germany.
'Compelling, thrilling and rooted in quite extraordinary human drama' James Holland, author of Normandy 44
From John Nichol, the Sunday Times bestselling author of Spitfire, comes a passionate and profoundly moving tribute to the Lancaster bomber, its heroic crews and the men and women who kept her airborne during the country's greatest hour of need.
'The Avro Lancaster is an aviation icon; revered, romanticised, loved. Without her, and the bravery of those who flew her, the freedom we enjoy today would not exist.'
Sir Arthur Harris, the controversial chief of Royal Air Force Bomber Command, described the Lancaster as his 'shining sword' and the 'greatest single factor in winning the war'. RAF bomber squadrons carried out offensive operations from the first day of the Second World War until the very last, more than five and a half years later. They flew nearly 300,000 sorties and dropped around a million tons of explosives, as well as life-saving supplies. Over 10,000 of their aircraft never returned. Of the 7,377 Lancasters built during the conflict, more than half were lost to enemy action or training accidents.
The human cost was staggering. Of the 125,000 men who served in Bomber Command, over 55,000 were killed and another 8,400 were wounded. Some 10,000 survived being shot down, only to become prisoners of war. In simple, brutal terms, Harris's aircrew had only a 40 per cent chance of surviving the war unscathed.
Former RAF Tornado Navigator, Gulf War veteran and bestselling author John Nichol now tells the inspiring and moving story of this legendary aircraft that took the fight deep into the heart of Nazi Germany.
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Yes, you can access Lancaster by John Nichol in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & World War II. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
INDEX
(Page numbers in italic refer to photograph captions)
A. V. Roe & Company, see Avro
Addison, Joe, 237
Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment, 53
Agreement of Mutual Assistance, 31
Air Defence Cadet Corps (ADCC), 39
Air Force (Constitution) Act (1917), 227
Air Ministry, 60, 162, 213, 215, 223, 230, 235, 333
Air Staff Intelligence, 242
Air Training Corps (ATC), 45
Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), 158, 202
Aircrew Europe Star, 401
Allied Expeditionary Force, 243
Angelus bells, 324, 326ā7, 388, 391, 410
anti-Semitism, 243, 339
Atencio, Xavier, 163
ATS, 216, 217
Augsburg raid, 62, 65ā79, 80, 82, 89
Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS), 36
Avro, 48, 52, 52, 58, 87, 383, 406, 407
Chadderton factory, 57, 158, 160
financial difficulties post-WWI, 48
first factory of, 158
founding of, 47
Harrisās post-war letter to, 383
HQ, 57
āsweetheartsā, 160
ātwo Roysā of, see Chadwick, Roy; Dobson, Roy
Woodford factory, 93, 158, 347, 406
Yeadon factory, 58, 161, 162, 163
Baker, Baron, 393, 394
Ball, Fred, 217ā18, 220ā2
Ball, Lucille, 344
Ball, Peter, 201
Barbarossa, Operation, 60
Barclay, Jean, 199ā202, 202
Bardney, RAF, 186, 380, 382
Barnetby le Wold, RAF, 99
Barr & Stroud GJ3, 341ā2
Barry, Joseph, 160
Bartlett, Les, 177, 216
Bate, G. J. L., 168ā9
Bat...
Table of contents
- Cover
- Dedication
- ONE: āJust Another Day in Bomber Commandā
- TWO: The Coming War
- THREE: āKeep it Simpleā: The Birth of a Warhorse
- FOUR: āA Bad Way to Spend an Afternoonā
- FIVE: Joining Up Together, Training Together, Dying Together
- SIX: āStrike and Returnā
- SEVEN: āIt Wonāt Be Long Until I See You Againā
- EIGHT: Towards the Big City
- NINE: The War on the Ground
- TEN: Pilots of the Caribbean
- ELEVEN: āFor Christās Sake, Do Something, or Weāre All Going to Dieā
- TWELVE: Face to Face with the Enemy
- THIRTEEN: āI Needed to Kill Him Before He Could Kill Me and My Crewā
- FOURTEEN: Saved by the Bell
- FIFTEEN: āThe Best Raid of the War!ā
- SIXTEEN: Looking Back
- Afterword
- Photographs
- Acknowledgements
- āSpitfireā Teaser
- āOther books by John Nicholā Ad
- Endnotes
- Bibliography
- Index
- Picture Credits
- Copyright