Customer Reviews

HURRICANES OVER TOBRUK: The Pivotal Role of the Hurricane in the Defence of Tobruk, January-June 1941

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In the see-saw fighting that characterized the 1940/41 land war in North Africa, possession of the port of Tobruk was of crucial importance to Allied and Axis forces alike. Captured by the British in January 1941, it subsequently was beseiged by Rommel's forces as the Afrika Korps pushed westward. Until they were withdrawn at the end of April 1941, a handful of Hurricanes flown by RAF, SAAF and RAAF units fought a desperate battle to keep Tobruk free. The story of those air battles is the subject of Brian Cull's 1999 volume from Grub Street.

Author Cull packs a lot of information in the book's 199 pages of narrative. After relating air activity in North Africa after war's outbreak, he chronicles the daily, deadly air battles fought over Tobruk by the five squadrons - 6, 73 and 274 RAF, 3 RAAF and 1 SAAF - against Italian and German fighter and bomber squadrons.

Cull does a thorough job of detailing the combats waged by those units and pilots like Peter Wykeham-Barnes, 'Jas' Storrar, Mike Beytagh and 'Kiwi' Lamb. Using data from British, German and Italian sources he accurately reconstructs each air battle, usually being able to identify who-did-what-to-whom. He also includes many, many first-person accounts from the pilots themselves. Indeed there is so much information provided that HURRICANES OVER TOBRUK is a book best savored a chapter at a time.

The book features an eight page photo insert depicting some of the Allied and German aircrew involved; their aircraft whether it be Hurricane, CR 42 or Bf 109E; crash scenes; etc.

In short, HURRICANES OVER TOBRUK is an exciting, detailed and accurate recounting of the deadly air battles that ensured Tobruk's survival in 1941 and the crucial role played by Hurricanes. Recommended.