Royal Air Force Coastal Command Losses


Book Description

First in a companion series to the acclaimed Bomber Command and Fighter Command Losses series, detailing losses suffered by coastal squadrons operating from UK bases under Coastal Command control as either full units or detachments from other RAF commands. Each chapter is prefaced by a brief description of the coastal campaign for the period under review. Appendices include squadron bases.




Bomber Offensive


Book Description

Sir Arthur Harris - Bomber Harris - remains the target of criticism and vilification by many, while others believe the contribution he and his men made to victory is grossly undervalued. He led the men of Bomber Command in the face of appalling casualties, had fierce disagreements with higher authority and enjoyed a complicated relationship with Winston Churchill. Written soon after the close of World War 2, this collection of Sir Arthur Harris's memoirs reveals the man behind the Allied bombing offensive that culminated in the destruction of the Nazi war machine but also many beautiful cities, including Dresden.




Royal Air Force Fighter Command Losses of the Second World War


Book Description

This third volume of Fighter command losses deals with the final 16 months of the war. Plans for the Allied invasion of Europe were well under way in November 1943 when the 'Fighter command' nomenclature was put aside temporarily due to the RAF's fighter force being divided into two.







The Hardest Victory


Book Description

The work of the RAF offensive against the Germans in the Second World War is described : difficulties and failures, claims of wasteful and immoral attacks, policies and personalities, organization, Intelligence, and technical developments as well as the magnitude of the Bomber Command's achievement. Stressing the great contribution made by Dominion and Allied air crews and the essential interdependence of the British and American air operations, and drawing on correspondence with some 200 surviving aircrew and groundcrew, the author offers fresh insights into the human element in the long and bloody business of bombing Britain's enemies.




RAF Bomber Command in World War II


Book Description

While Churchill acknowledged the vital contribution of RAF Bomber Command in the Second World War, it has recently come under fire from a whole generation of historians. They claim that the RAF offensive against Germany was immoral because so many civilians were killed, and wasteful because so many attacks were not on specific military targets. In this powerful book Denis Richards describes the Command's difficulties and failures, but also redresses the balance by making clear the magnitude of its achievements. His fascinating account dramatically re-creates the gruesome and protracted battle fought for almost five and half years in the night skies, in which over half the aircrew became casualties. Truly, it was 'the Hardest Victory'. Book jacket.