Customer Reviews

Enemy Coast Ahead (Literature & History of Aviation Series)

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This story of 617 Squadron's Dams raid in WWII was written by the original leader, who won the VC for his leadership , skill, and bravery in battle. You won't put down this insider's look into the plan and attack on the dams, at night, using custom rotating/ bouncing bombs at 60 feet in the fog !! Also read The Dam Busters, on the same squadron, continuing the story to the end of the war, with even more harrowing ops to follow, including the great raids , and final sinking, of the Tirpitz.

I first read it when I was at the military aviation school in Venezuela and I was fascinated. It is very well written and you actually feel the intimacies of the bomber pilot. I recommend it to everyone who is interested in WWII history.

One of the best WWII memoirs I have ever read, this coming from a reader who does not like"Flying Stories". If an old friend had returned this book I'd have read it more than once.

Guy Gibson was one of the most important British pilots of the Second World War. As leader of the Dambusters raid, he did as much to damage the Nazi war machine as anyone. He has been criticized by some as a womanizer and as hated by his crew and colleagues. We can only let those with first-hand experience make such claims. It's hard to think of any public figure whose name has not become associated with one sordid affair or another. He can be forgiven for not mentioning any personal moral failures. I'm sure that if our fathers and grandfathers who served in military conflicts oversees were completely honest, we might discover another side to them too. The fact is that without men like Gibson, the west could possibly have lost the war. The Nazis were only a few months away from having the atom bomb. The book is well written, full of suspense and highly entertaining. Gibson deserves our unconditional respect and gratitude.