RAF in WW2

A very good first hand account of aerial warfare is "The Last Ennemy" by Richard Hillary (translated in French during the war under the title " La dernière victoire" and after the war under the more accurate title "Le dernier ennemi"). Hillary, a RAF fighter pilot, was injured in the beginning of the war. Later in the war he was killed in action. I've read this book several years ago but it remains vivid in my mind.

The Last Enemy is also titled Falling Through Space and is one of the recommended books in Richard Bach's A Gift of Wings in the chapter "The Pleasure of Their Company". I have a copy of each title. A wonderful read. Highly recommended. The books recommended by Bach in that chapter all have a common theme of the mystical call of aviation.

Len Deighton wrote several books about the RAF during World War II and I have always enjoyed his books - one Fighter is about Fighter Command and his other work Bomber told the story of Bomber command.

Robert A. Mosher

"Fighter" by Len Deighton is a non-fiction story of the Battle of Britain but I think that "Bomber" is a novel (a fictional mission of Bomber Command on the 31 th June !). I hope someone will correct me if I am not right.:-)

You are correct.

(That explains why I only have "Fighter" on my shelves!! I read both of them many years ago and enjoyed them - but didn't think to check on which was which!! To be fair then, he also wrote another novel on the air war Goodbye, Mickey Mouse which I enjoyed!!)

Robert A. Mosher

For first hand accounts - I greatly enjoyed The Big Show by Pierre Clostermann, First Light by Geoffrey Wellum, and Duel of Eagles by Peter Townsend. Wellum mentions encountering Richard Hillary in hospital (both were recovering from burns) - interesting to get an external point of view on what Hillary was like.

If you are looking for something a little different, try Focus on Europe by Ronald Foster. It's an account of flying photo reccon Mosquitos over Europe 1943-45. Incidentally, I agree about First Light an excellent book.

My favorite work of WWII aviation is 'FIREBIRDS, Flying the Typhoon in Action' by Charles Demoulin, a Belgian pilot flying for the RAF. This work approaches being called Literature-of-War and is the best written air warfare work I have ever read, and I have been consuming this genre for the past forty-five years. Nothing else comes close. It is the air warfare equivalent of ground warfare's most moving work The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer, itself written by a Belgian veteran of WWII. These are Highly Recommended.

Dear JimThompson,
An other Belgian pilot flying the Typhoon for the RAF has written his memoirs: Raymond LALLEMANT: "Rendez-vous avec la chance" but I don't know if his book has been translated in English.
Guy Sajer the author of The Forgotten Soldier is not a Belgian but a Frenchman (Alsacian who was forced to enter the Wehrmacht)
Kind regards

About 60 pages into The Big Show by Pierre Clostermann: very good so far.

No longer Top Secret: RAF wartime aerial photos

Photos here: http://aerial.rcahms.gov.uk

Hi BOB81,

I agree about The Big Show: Some Experiences of a French Fighter Pilot in the R.A.F., I enjoyed it a lot.

Thanks for the article link, it looks very interesting!

>7 rfodchuk:, 13
And I'm also just getting into Duel of Eagles; only about forty pages in, but it looks promising.

I really enjoyed Duel of Eagles for its first hand background and historic context, and the personal experience aspect. rare that both side would be as authoritative.

BillShears @ 15 and others,

If you like Duel of Eagles, you might also like its sequel, Duel in the Dark - The Sequel to Duel of Eagles, which has also been published under the title The Odds Against Us. I really enjoy Townsend's writing; he infuses a lot of thoughtfulness and humanity into his narrative even while providing fascinating technical details.

Just getting into The Few : The American "Knights of the Air" Who Risked Everything to Save Britain in the Summer of 1940.

Just started With Wings Like Eagles: A History of the Battle of Britain by Michael Korda. Enjoying it so far. I had no idea going into it that the author was the nephew of the filmmaker Alexander Korda, which I thought was kind of interesting.