Dam Busters Failed to Return

by Robert Owen, Steve Darlow, Sean Feast, Arthur Thorning

Details

Hardback - 128pp - 275 x 210mm. Illustrated throughout in colour and b&w

World Rights - Fighting High Ltd. ISBN - 978-0-9571163-4-4.

Description

On the night of 16/17 May 1943 a select group of young RAF Bomber Command airmen carried out one of the most audacious and daring low level raids of the Second World War. Nineteen aircrews of No.617 Squadron, flying modified Avro Lancasters, each armed with a 'bouncing bomb', were detailed to attack specific dams, viewed as essential to Germany's war effort. Two were indeed breached in an extraordinary display of skill and courage, but at a cost of eight Lancasters lost. Of the 56 airmen flying these aircraft, 53 were killed and 3 were captured. In Dam Busters: Failed to Return Fighting High Publishing brings together notable Bomber Command historians to recount the lives of some of the Dam Busters who were lost that fateful night. Drawing upon family archives, official documents, wartime memoirs and letters, flying logbooks, and relative and witness recollections, and illustrated throughout with colour and black and white photographs and documents, the authors piece together the extraordinary, gripping, yet ultimately tragic stories of these select young men.

Reviews

Aeroplane Monthly Book of the Month (October 2013) - rated excellent: '... a fitting tribute... an enlightening read.'

Britain at War Magazine Book of the Month (August 2013): '... different approach to the Dambusters story.'

York Press (August 2013): 'This beautifully produced book rightly fills a gap in the story of the Dam Busters.'

Aircrew Book Review (December 2013) '... this collective work by four experienced Bomber Command authors is most welcome. Indeed, it borders on the magnificent.'