Customer Reviews

Wing Leader (Fighter Pilots) (Witness to War)

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

 

 

Anyone interested in the air war over Europe during World War II (WWII), as fought by British and British colonial empire pilots, should find this book to be of interest. It should be of particular interest to British readers and readers from the British Commonwealth. As a non-Britain, however, the book never managed to capture my imagination.

Perhaps I'm being overly critical, but as a non-Britain with no knowledge of England's geography or the lesser known fliers in the RAF and RCAF during WWII, I was simply swamped by too much information. I'm sure the author meant well, but he seemed to mention every movement of his squadron, every local to which his squadron was ever transferred, and every flier with whom he had ever flown. I was also disappointed by the fact that the book seemed to leave out the human side of life. Maybe I was expecting too much, but I found it hard to believe that the British and Canadian pilots thought of nothing other than flying against the Germans for the entire duration of WWII. Without some human element, the book tended to read more like a report by a senior officer to his superior rather than as a book intended for the average everyday reader.

All that said; I still found this to be an interesting and highly informative, albeit not very exciting, book. What did I like least about it? There were simply too many unknown places and names and there was little or no mention of human adventures beyond the flight line or the near vicinity of the air field. What did I like best about it? I learned more about the logistics of aerial combat as implemented following the Battle of Britain than I have from any other book which I have read. The book is exceptional in this regard. Unfortunately, I never got the flavor of the times or the sense of being there that I've gotten from other books such as "Gabby: A Fighter Pilot's Life," "The Man Who Flew the Memphis Belle: . . .," or even "Samurai!" My suggestion: If you have an interest, keep a stiff upper lip and go for it.