Battlefields in the Air: Canadians in the Allied Bomber Command [Hardcover]

Dan McCaffery (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1995

Did the Allied bombing of Germany in World War Two needlessly brutalize and decimate a terrified civilian population? Or was it necessary to force the end of the most destructive conflict in history? Dan McCaffery seeks answers to these questions on both sides of the bombsights.

The importance of the bomber command to the Allied victory has always been hotly debated. In Battlefields in the Air, McCaffery sets out to examine the role that bomber command played and to decide if Arthur Harris's strategy of area bombing was central or incidental to the Allied victory.

Beginning with the Allies' early losses, the author describes how their position improved dramatically under the leadership of Harris. He discusses the bombing of the Ruhr dams, the raids on Hamburg, Berlin, Nuremberg, and Dresden, and he looks at the devastating effect that these campaigns had on the Germans.

Relying on a wide range of sources, including interviews with Allied pilots and eyewitness civilian accounts, Battlefields in the Air offers a fascinating look at a dramatic chapter in World War Two.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a first-rate account and one that was much needed." (Mo Morrison Air Force )

"McCaffery gives us a balanced perspective of how events unfolded and the overwhelming consequences of those events. He is able to fly us through the flak surrounding the issue without the blinders that so many people seem to wear." (Robert Wilson Record )

"In examining the role of Canadian airmen in the controversial night-bombing campaign against Germany, Sarnia newspaperman Dan McCaffery has produced a fast-paced and readable book, fleshed out with many interesting interviews with people who were there at the time... there's no doubt McCaffery has done his research... His concluding chapter, in which he weighs the pros and cons and moral conflicts of Bomber Command's campaign, is fair, well thought out and he backs his views with logic, statistics and common sense." (Pat Currie London Free Press )

"McCaffery found plenty of evidence in the record and Harris' own words to back up the claims made by The Valour and the Horror." (Barrie Cook Vancouver Province )

"Battlefields in the Air is a well-researched, reflective, and readable introduction to a complex and subject." (The Canadian Historical Review )

"In Battlefields in the Air, author Dan McCaffery has produced a balanced, well-researched response to the air force portion of CBC-TV's controversial documentary The Valour and the Horror." (Ron Lowman Toronto Star )

"Battlefields in the Air ... should be required reading for anyone who wants to know about the basics of the Second World War." (Elizabeth Cran Charlottetown Guardian )

"The slim volume is an entertaining read taking one through the history of aerial warfare from the Zepplins of the First World War to the heavy bombers of the Second World War... extensive research... McCaffery removes the romanticism of the fly boys in another ugly chapter of war." (Patrick Murphy Victoria Times-Colonist )

"...contains some riveting accounts of the terror felt by Canadian airmen who flew bombers against Germany." (John Ward Daily Herald-Tribune )

Product Details

• Hardcover: 196 pages
• Publisher: Lorimer; 1St Edition edition (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550284916
• ISBN-13: 978-1550284911
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,566,300 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Canadian View of RAF Bomber Command in WWII, November 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Battlefields in the Air: Canadians in the Allied Bomber Command (Hardcover)

This book gives a good overall view of the Canadian participation in the British Bomber campaign in World War II. The book has vignettes from Canadian aircrew, but also of Germans who were on the receiving end of their bombs. The book in it's brief 176 pages gives the reader a good feeling of what itwas to fly in the bombers over Germany at night during the war. He has many personal interviews interroven through out the book, these include stories from the author's father and uncle. The only negative is the book is a little slim for it's price. It also delves into the contoversey of carpet bombing and the ethics of the whole bomber campaign. On the whole the book is good, with old and new material included to give a good overview of what it was like to fly bombers in the war.