Air Heroes of World War II

The heroes of the skies… The story of the Second World War is the story of ordinary people performing extraordinary feats, often with great courage. Nowhere was this more true than in the air, where technical troubles and unpredictable weather caused as many problems as the enemy. This book tells of courage in the air, from a valiant low-level attack by RAF bombers on the German fleet on the second day of the war, to a suicidal, lone dive against a Japanese destroyer by a navy pilot when the war was almost over. The stories in between show courage in all its manifestations. The Russian pilot who crawled through the snow for nineteen days with no feet; the men who risked their lives night after night in flimsy aircraft to land agents in occupied Europe; the film star who saved an American bomber squadron from destruction; French bomber crews who had the agonizing task of bombing their own capital city. Robert Jackson expertly reveals the inspirational true stories of men who became heroes in the sky between 1939 and 1945, but whose legacies would live on long after the war. Air Heroes of World War II is above all a story of skill and courage, of risking everything in the name of duty and honour.
Praise for Robert Jackson ‘The descriptions of weaponry…are authentically detailed.’ - Publishers Weekly 'Takes you to the heart of the action.' - Tom Kasey, best-selling author of Cold Kill. Robert Jackson was born in 1941 in the North Yorkshire village of Melsonby. A former pilot and navigation instructor, his active involvement with aviation lasted many years. Following his retirement from the RAFVR in 1977 as a squadron leader, he became a full-time aviation writer and aerospace correspondent and lectured extensively on strategic issues. He speaks five languages, including Russian, and has written more than forty nonfiction works on military affairs. He is also the author of the popular Yeoman series.