Customer Reviews

A SEPARATE LITTLE WAR: The BANFF Coastal Command Strike Wing Versus the Kreigsmarine and Luftwaffe 1944 - 1945

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Judging from the missions described in A SEPARATE LITTLE WAR,. Andrew Bird's book really should be entitled A SEPARATE LITTLE...SAVAGE...WAR! The anti-shipping strikes flown by the Coastal Command's Banff Strike Wing were some of the most awesome, terrifying missions of the war. Flinging your Mosquito or Beaufighter against a flak ship armed with 37mm, 40mm and 88mm cannnons, often in the tight, cramped confines of a fjord almost seems suicidal. Yet those young crews did it time and again, suffering losses but sinking or damaging hundreds of German ships in return with their volleys of 20mm, rocket, bombs and torpedoes. Their fascinating story is told in this 2008 Grubb Street paperback, an expanded and updated version of the 2003 hardcover.

Early British efforts to interdict German shipping in Scandinavia waters was ineffective. Between 1940 and March 1943, 107 vessels with a total tonnage of 15,076 tons were sunk but at a cost of 638 Hampdens, Bleinheims, Hudsons and other aircraft that just weren't up to the job. The introduction of the Mossie and Beaufighter and development of more effective tactics and weapons such as rockets turned the tide; by 1945, one ship was being sunk in return for one aircraft lost!

Bird clearly knows his subject. His book is chock-a-block full of facts. As a result, A SEPARATE LITTLE WAR can be kind of hard slogging at times. His use of first-person reminiscences and combat reports certainly puts the reader in the cockpit of those Strike Wing Mossies and Beaus. I wish, though, that he broken some of those LOONNGGG paragraphs he favors; one is 1 1/2 pages long! Shorter, punchier paragraphs would have made for a smoother read.

Those comments aside, A SEPARATE LITTLE WAR offers up a well-researched look at some comparatively unknown yet vital - and viciously fought - missions flown by RAF crews during World War II. Recommended.

****

NB Roy Nesbit's THE STRIKE WINGS (1995) covers much of the same ground as Bird's book. It's an easier read and features diagrams of the major strikes that help readers understand the action more clearly.

As I wrap up reading this title, which is the first I have come across on this subject, I am appreciative of the author's passion for the material.

The presentation is somewhat dry, but he covers an amazing amount of details.

Unfortunately, the editing is lacking. "Coarse" used instead of "course", for example. There are several of these type of errors throughout the book. I would also have liked to see more paragraphs used in many areas.

I applaud Mr. Bird for his research and depth of presentation. Well done, Sir.