Customer Reviews

Fly for Your Life

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I read this book about 15 years ago. It was very descriptive about the person and situation. I had always remembered Tuck and it was interesting that when he passed away in 1988 it made the front page in the local paper here in Houston. I just recently purchased a lithograph of some Hurricanes that was signed by Tuck. I'm really intrigued by this guy and his story.

Forrester did a wonderful job writing this book in 1956. Bob Tuck shot down 29 German planes in WW II, in an amazing career that was cut short when he was shot down by flak in January, 28, 1942, and then was made a prisoner of war. He was the authentic "fighter heroe", a wild fighter and a great leader with accute eyesight. The narrative style of the writer is fantastic, and you read the book fastly.

This book is so hard to find nowadays, and it should be reprinted on the double! Larry Forrester described Tuck exploits in a sucinte way, never tending so much to the "heroic" role of fighter pilots, but never underestimating his feats. It's a short, touching history.

This is an awesome account of one of the second world war's greatest air aces. I read this originally in the 70's, and wanted to re-read it. I enjoyed it as much the second time through as I did the first.

This product came promptly and was as advertised.I was happy to find it on amazon.

The story of Tuck is the most amazing one in the RAF. If you are interested in pilots and the Battle of Britain and the war in general, you will love this book. It reads like a novel, you will love it.

I had received the young reader's edition of 'Fly for Your Life" in the late '50s and read it and re-read it many times over, so I consider myself fortunate to get hold of a good, hard copy adult edition.

Larry Forrester, the author, paints wonderful word pictures throughout the book allowing one to visualize things quite easily. His style does tend to romanticize things a bit and occasionally reflects the '40s and '50s in a way that makes one wince, e.g., he refers to a young woman becoming "a happy and efficient housewife" after the war.

The book gives a good, well-paced account of Tuck's pre-war RAF life and his war-time combat flying. The personal side of squadron life is well-described. The book describes his prickly relationship with Douglas Bader and his close relationship with Roger Bushell (Big X of the Great Escape), which developed in prison camp from the subordinate-superior relationship that existed before Bushell was shot down at Dunkirk.

The book is well-rounded and I recommend it. Also highly recommended is 'A Thousand Shall Fall' an autobiography by Murray Peden (truly excellent in every way).

Excellent story about British WWII Ace Robert Stanford Tuck's life from a young teenager through the end of WWII. While well known in the UK, he is less known here in the States. The story covers his time at sea as a young man, flight training and the difficulties he had, his exploits during the Battle of Britain, getting shot down, life as a POW, his escape to the Russians, and finally his post war life. Lots of good air combat descriptions as well as some of his thoughts on other 'Ace' pilots both friendly and enemy. I found it interesting that he was involved early on with the events leading up to the famous "Great Escape". All in all a very enjoyable read for any WWI aviation enthusiast. Highly Recommend.

Larry Forrester volunteered with the Royal Air Force when WW II started and trained in Pensacola Florida. He flew in Europe and Southeast Asia. After the war he worked as a reporter and writer. This is his biography of Robert Stanford Tuck the ace fighter pilot (29 victories) who won the Distinguished Service Order and a second bar to the Distinguished Flying Cross. Tuck was shot down in January 28, 1942 and spent the rest of the war as a prisoner. Tuck was not a great student but excelled in sports (the best shot of St. Dunstan's rifle team). He joined the Merchant Navy as a cadet on a refrigerator ship. After 3 years he volunteered for the RAF seeking adventure (the British planned an expansion in 1935). After some initial problems, Tuck was graded "above average" but "apt to be overconfident". This book lacks an `Index" and `Table of Contents'.

The chapters tell about Tuck's career with the RAF. He became one of the top fighter pilots in the war. "In military flying there were unpredictable factors which killed the best and the worst pilots with terrible impartiality" (Chapter 4). The `Spitfire' was a revolutionary new concept in design. There are a lot of stories about men, machines, and other events. `Hurricanes' were used in action in France, the better `Spitfire' was held in reserve for home defense. Both were used in the Battle of Britain that prevented an invasion of Great Britain. The carburetor in the `Spitfire' initially had a problem with vertical dives (Chapter 8). The higher pedals on the Me 109 reduced the effects of positive `G'. During the Battle of Britain aircraft production greatly increased but there was a shortage of experienced fighter pilots (Chapter 11). Tuck recommended using 20mm cannon to replace the .303 machine guns on `Spitfires' to be more effective (Chapter 12).

Tuck met his future wife Joyce (Chapter 13). The RAF began to fly to France for practice (Chapter 14). German night raiders would attack training fields. They took the offensive in June 1941 to attack various targets. In October 1941 Tuck was sent to America on a special tour (Chapter 15). American pilots seldom flew over 15,000 feet because of an ineffectual oxygen apparatus. They flew too close together for combat. Tuck tested the prototype P-47 and found it suitable for combat. The British advised against daylight bombing (which led to high casualties). On January 28, 1942 Tuck was shot down near Boulogne (Chapter 17). He spent the rest of the war as a prisoner of war. When the prisoners were being marched away to avoid the advancing Russians in January 1945 Tuck was able to escape. Chapter 18 has his adventures. They reached the Soviet Union and contacted the British Air Mission who arranged for their transport back to England by sea. Tuck married Joyce within a week. Many of Tuck's friends did not survive the war.

There are lots of books out there about the Battle of Britain, and some of them very good indeed. The two best I know of aren't really about the Battle per se, but are biographies of two of the fighter leaders of that battle. "Reach for the Sky", by Paul Brickhill (who also wrote "The Great Escape"), tells the story of Douglas Bader, who lost both legs in an auto accident in the `30s, but went on to become one of Britain's top fighter pilots. Not just an outstanding pilot and superb shot, he was instrumental in sweeping aside outmoded tactics and teaching a crop of warriors how to fight and survive in the air.

This is the second book. It tells the story of Robert Tuck, who also joined the RAF in the `30s, managed to survive while testing and pushing the envelope every time he went up, and quickly got bumped up to Wing Commander during the Battle. Like Bader, he was not only an instinctive pilot and marksman, he was a natural leader of men. He took over the "Burma Squadron", a down-on-their-luck, ineffective, demotivated Hurricane Squadron, and in only weeks, transformed into a crack front-line fighter unit. Also like Bader, he innovated new tactics that helped keep his crews alive, and was tireless in pushing his ideas up the chain of command. With an official score of 29 kills, he was shot down flying "rhubarbs" over France in Jan 1942, and spent the rest of the war as a POW.

I personally find Bader's story a tad more riveting than Tuck's, but only by a bit. Both are outstanding books, and must-reads for Battle of Britain fans. Buy one!