You are welcome to email me.
Author : Alan Cooper. 1993 Independent Books, 3 Leaves Green Crescent, Keston, Bromley, BR2 6DN UK. 00 44 1959 573360 . ISBN 1 872836 03 8. GBP 14.95.
Alan Cooper's work would serve well as an introduction to the subject but has little to offer beyond what information which can be found elsewhere. Researched at surface level and padded with unrelated or insignificant facts, the book does little to show the reader who was the enigma of Guy Gibson. Thin on photographs (many of which are well known), omitting key aspects of the subject, and equally thin on material descriptive of the persona, the book pales into insignificance against Richard Morris' outstanding work. Not recommended, and not typical of Cooper's other works which are generally much better than this.
Author : Richard Morris. 1994 Penguin, 27 Wrights Lane, London W8 5TZ UK. ISBN 0 14 012307 5. GBP 8.99.
Here is the definitive work! Closely researched and covering all aspects of the man, his achievements and failings, his war and attitude to it, Morris has hit the nail squarely on the head. Meticulous attention to detail shows throughout and all sources of information are identified. With a most responsible and sympathetic attitude to the subject showing a close ethos with his man, Morris has demonstrated that Guy Gibson, far from being the superhero the wartime propaganda claimed him to be, was a dedicated if unspectacular pilot. He was highly focussed on the job of winning the war, and catapulted to fame largely because he had sufficient luck to survive long enough. His later unpopularity with the very men he cherished was directly attributable to his own confusion as to his status once the furore of the Dams Raid was over, and his womanising, a subject missed or omitted by Cooper, is presented in a sympathetic light.
Morris sums it up very aptly :- "His essence was simplicity and irrepressible spirit. His beliefs were few, clear and uncomplicated. He approached issues, tasks and relationships with uncommon directness. He seldom dissembled. Although utterly practical, he was also emotional, a sentimentalist."
Factors surrounding Gibson's death in action at the controls of a Mosquito on the night on 19/20th September 1944 are, by both authors, explored, with similar conclusions drawn by both. Gibson, having not flown on operations for well over a year, was out of date on operational technique and unfamiliar with both the aircraft and the target-marking procedures then in use. Morris, however, delves deeper into the matter and presents the reader with far more information than does Cooper. This level of writing is common throughout the book, which is highly recommended, if not essential, to anyone interested in the subject.
Author : Tom Simpson. 1995 Libra Books Pty Ltd, 39 Maning Avenue, Sandy Bay 7005, Tasmania. 00 61 02 251 479. ISBN 0 909619 15 8. GBP 12.00
"Tammy" Simpson, rear-gunner to the legendary wartime pilot Micky Martin, could have a large number of fascinating stories to tell on not only his own operational career but also in terms of insights into his pilot and the other crew members. Simpson's book, however, is completely riddled with the most ridiculous and easily-checkable errors which indicate that the manuscript has not been read and corrected by someone who knows what they are talking about.
To quote one example:- "The Sergeants' Mess at Scampton had a couple of particularly nice portrait oil paintings, quite large ones. One was a portrait of Sgt Hannon, VC, the first VC awarded in the RAF in the war. It was a posthumous award for a very fine act of bravery." It would be difficult to introduce any more errors into this trio of sentences. The paintings were in the Officers' Mess, and the airman's name was Sgt John Hannah. I am sure that the 12 Squadron airmen F/O Donald E Garland and his observer Sgt Thomas Gray, who won the real first Air VCs of the war on 12th May 1940, would have something to say on the subject. Although Hannah certainly won the VC for a fine act of courage and bravery, he, unlike Garland and Gray, survived the incident, only to die of tuberculosis in 1947.
Other example of such errors include:-
"Manchesters had a triple tail [only the very early ones] and two in-line Merlins" [Vultures]
"In recent years Scampton housed the Roulettes, the RAF's aerobatic unit" [Red Arrows]
"O'Shannesy and his crew went into the Wash for some reason" [O'Shaugnessy]
"The height of the plane above the water surface had to be fifty feet exactly, the air speed 200 mph … all told, we lost eight out of twenty one crews" [sixty feet, 230 mph, 8 out of 19 crews]
"Hopwood was on Gibson's starboard side …" [Hopgood]
I appreciate that (in Guy Gibson's own words) "a memory is a short thing, and flak never did it much good" and that 50+ years on, remembrances are easily blurred, but errors such as this are extremely common throughout the book and show an almost complete lack of research. This is especially unforgivable as most of the mistakes are easily picked up by anyone who is reasonably knowledgeable on the background, and to have been made by one such as Simpson, who was actually there at the time, shows poor attention to detail.
Ignoring the plethora of such errors, the remainder of the book is dull stuff which Simpson would have done better to have left in his log book. The whole narrative comes across as a rambling, almost unlinked series of reminiscences and shows little insight into Micky Martin or any of the others. Here and there are amusing anecdotes, and there are occasional snippets of real information. I did like the story of the time Barnes Wallis had a go with the controls of Simpson's rear turret, firing a short burst at the butts. Such little gems are rare, and a member of the cognoscenti will find the rest of little significance. Not recommended and not to be taken as a research aid; the details aren't reliable.
Authors : Philip Kaplan & Jack Currie DFC. Cassell, 1993. Villiers House, 41/47 Strand, London, WC2N 5JE. ISBN 0 303 34370 6.
This is an interpretation of the compromise between Air Chief Marshal Harris, C-in-C RAF Bomber Command, whose force was equipped to fly and attack by night, and Brigadier General Ira C Eaker, his counterpart in the U.S. 8th Army Air Force, whose force was equipped to fly attack by day. These two commanders hatched the concept of bombing the enemy "Round The Clock" and this book portrays the great differences between the two complementary Air Forces.
This is not, and does not pretend to be, a book for serial-number informationalists. It draws a vivid picture of the parallel, yet starkly different lives and deaths of RAF and 8AAF airmen, their aircraft and aerodromes, and puts the reader in the cockpit, gun turret, or servicing bay of either Air Force. No one could ignore the book's bias towards the American side, but this avoids gung-ho, and delivers its content in an extremely acceptable way. It's an ideal coffee-table book for the Bomber enthusiast to pick up and browse, and not many of my books fall into that category, so the description should be taken as a compliment.
It does not make much attempt to expound on the strategy of the bomber war, and would be harmed by doing so. The book's strength is its careful meld of comparative experiences of each side of the offensive, Jack Currie's easy text and storylines flowing effortlessly around Philip Kaplan's collection of photographs, many (especially of Bomber Command) in unexpected colour. The only credit for these is the Imperial War Museum, but the style suggests that they originate from the well known wartime camera of Charles Brown.
Photo captions don't get bogged down with trivia; there is an occasional uncaptioned photograph. Whether this is an oversight, or a subtle acknowledgement of the likely reader's level of pre-knowledge, is hard to say. Let's give Jack and Philip the benefit of the doubt. I would liked to have had a little more technical information, but accept the argument that this might very well have detracted from the book's style, which is human, rather than nuts-and-bolts, airspeeds, wingspans and gun calibres. I admit little expertise on the 8AAF side but I didn't see much new photographic material on Bomber Command. But as an aerodromologist myself, the atmospheric photos of old aerodromes warmed my heart.
I liked this book's easy style. It's not for the dedicated number-collector and would grace any wartime air enthusiast's table. I didn't like the Americanisation, but I suppose it has to be spelled either their way or ours, and with the gentle but evident 8AAF bias, the American spellings are inevitable. No, it's good. Buy it. Well done Jack - who I had the pleasure of meeting a couple of times, and who has on several occasions helped me with my own research. How many pints did this one take, Jack?
postscript, December 1996
I was very saddened to hear from Don Charlwood that Jack Currie DFC died on October 19th 1996, aged 74. I will remember him not only as one the many so brave men who despite appalling losses, flew on bomber operations during the War, but also as a broad, lively storyteller whose dry and sometime offbeat humour raised many a smile. His books chronicling his flying career (Lancaster Target, Mosquito Victory and Wings Over Georgia) are a constant source of pleasure as well as being informative.
Jack was also well known in aviation circles for his television appearances in documentary films, either in support of his own writings or in such marvellous pieces as The Watch Tower (producer, Douglas Smith) the celebrated documentary about haunted aerodromes.
I have absolutely no doubt that although Jack's prop has stopped turning, he is Ad Astra in the finest company; "there at all the parties, seated far above the salt" and renewing many lapsed acquaintances. Who could ask for more? Goodbye Jack, we are the poorer without you. Thank you very much for your letter, Kate; I am sure you know that Jack is gone, but remembered, especially at the overhead growl of Merlins.
Author : Don Charlwood. Burgewood Books, PO Box 326, Warrandyte, Victoria 3113, Australia, phone +61 3 9844 2512, or fax +61 3 9844 0664. Cost is AUD$24.40 and postage and packaging another AUD$15.00 for 1 book. The ISBN is 1 876425 24 5.
In No Moon Tonight, Don Charlwood, an Australian navigator on 103 Squadron, Elsham Wolds, wrote one of the great air war classics which ranks alongside Gibson's Enemy Coast Ahead. The follow-on volume cannot be correctly described as a sequel, as it amplifies so much of the original volume as to be earnestly readable in its own right. Names of aircrew, amended for No Moon Tonight, are here given in full, providing a rich haul for the researchers and informationalists.
With great frankness, Don opens his heart to the reader, telling less of Brylcreem and much, much more of human relations and the fears which dogged aircrew throughout their duties. A powerful descriptive skill, especially where fellow aircrew are concerned, gives the reader an unparalleled insight into the "ordinary men" who faced the flak and fighters, making them alive in the reader's mind.
A quiet, masterly storyteller, dwelling little on blood and guts; but the reader cannot help but feel a deep personal sense of distress when learning of the loss of such men as Johnny Gordon, Harry Waddell, Bill Charlton and Max Bryant, all killed on operations and all far, far from home. If you already own No Moon Tonight, you must buy this book. In fact, buy it anyway.
The history of Don's Twenty Men.
Author : W R Chorley, Midland Counties Publications, 4, Watling Drive, Hinckley, Leicestershire, LE10 3EY UK. 01455 233747. Fax 01455 233737.
Volume 1 : 1939/40 (1,217 losses) ISBN 0 904597 85 7 GBP 9.95
Volume 2 : 1941 (1,515 losses) ISBN 0 904597 87 3 GBP 12.95
Volume 3 : 1942 (2,035 losses) ISBN 0 904597 89 X GBP 15.95
Volume 4 : 1943 (3,100 losses) ISBN 0 904597 90 3 GBP 18.95
Volume 5 : 1944 (3,527 losses) ISBN 0 904597 91 1 GBP 19.95
Volume 6 : 1945 (1,085 losses) ISBN 0 904597 92 X GBP14.95
Bill Chorley's quite astonishing books are essential for any historian or researcher. Chorley details every single RAF Bomber Command loss; date, squadron (including training and conversion units, where a loss occurred on a regular operation), serial number, operation or target, and full crew list, with grave sites for those killed. Frequently annotated with notes and cross references, and with appendices dealing with PoW lists and loss analyses, the reader is left struck dumb with the amount of work which has gone into these volumes. Don't wait. Buy them now.
Can we have them on CD-ROM, please???
FIGHTER COMMAND LOSSES of the Second World War
Author : Norman L R Franks. Publisher as per Bomber Command Losses.
Volume 1 : 1939, 1940, 1941 : ISBN 1 85780 0556 9. GBP12.95
Volume 2 : 1942, 1943 : ISBN 1 85780 075 3. GPB 12.95
Volume 3 : 1944, 1945 : ISBN 1 85780 093 1. GBP 14.95
The sister volume sets follow a very similar layout and style and are essential for anyone researching Fighter Command operations and losses. There is less detail, especially on the grave sites.
Authors : Mike Garbett and Brian Goulding. Ian Allan Publishing, Terminal House, Station Approach, Shepperton, Surrey TW17 8AS UK. ISBN 0 7110 2397 2.
Garbett and Goulding's prior works on the Avro Lancaster are well known and this most recent edition is quite excellent. I confess that I have a vested interest, having known Mike for many years and having had an article and several photographs included in the book. But this is not just a re-hash of well-tried facts and figures, as anyone who knows the indefatigable Garbett and Goulding team will tell you that such an approach would be an anathema to such men.
LAW5's approach is deeply reminiscent of a truly remarkable and equally short era, the likes of which will never be seen again. In a few short years the Lancaster Bomber made such an impression on so many people that its stamp is never forgotten. Many first-hand accounts, backed up with hundreds of unpublished photographs and supported by the highest quality research, show the generation which has rarely (if ever) seen a piston-engined bomber and known what it was really like.
Having heard the tape recording made of the Docherty Crew operation detailed in the book, I am astounded that Ian Allan Publishing declined to issue, or even offer, the corresponding tape. What an oversight, as was the omission of any colour plates. I know that such were readily available but the publishers evidently decided the extra expense wasn't worth it.
Presented very much as to put the reader in any of the crew positions, Lancaster at War 5 marks 50 years since the cessation of hostilities and the crest of a rising level of interest in the subject, into which LAW5 blows fresh invigoration. Highly recommended (especially my part, p123!)
Author : Paul Francis. Patrick Stephens Ltd, Haynes Publishing, Sparkford, Yeovil, Somerset, BA22 7JJ UK. ISBN 1 85260 462 X. GBP 19.99
Paul Francis had done a great deal of homework and identifies a very wide range of military aerodrome buildings, with full description and line drawings, many photos of the various types, and Air Ministry drawing numbers.
This book is indispensable to the military aerodromologist and wraps up many queries about "what the hell is this building?" I though it was excellent and a good companion to BRITISH AIRFIELD BUILDINGS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR by Graham Buchan Innes. ISBN 1 85780 026 5, GBP 5.95 Midland Counties Publications 4, Watling Drive, Hinckley, Leicestershire, LE10 3EY UK. 01455 233747. Fax 01455 233737)
Innes produces a wider range of photos taken at a wider range of locations, and Francis covers the technical side in far more detail. Taken as a pair, they're indispensable, one complementing the other. If, like me, you like the feel of cracked Air Ministry concrete under your feet, you need both these books.
Authors : Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt. Midland Counties Publications ISBN 1 85780 033 8. GBP 19.96 (paperback).
Hardly bedtime reading, but absolutely invaluable to anyone interested in Bomber Command's Operational History. Middlebrook and Everitt detail every operation undertaken by Bomber Command, with a breakdown of the aircraft involved, information on the raid and a synopsis of the aircraft lost. End appendices give squadron histories and all the numerical information anyone could possibly require. Cross referenced with the Chorley volumes, it all adds up to a massive databank.
Again I'm staggered by the sheer volume of labour which has gone into these books, as well as being deeply grateful that there are men of such calibre who are prepared to put so much effort into it all.
Buy it immediately. Phew - can we have this on a CD-ROM database, as well, please?
FLAK AND BARBED WIRE
Author : Gordon Stooke. Australian Military History Publications, 13 Veronica Place, Loftus, 2232, Australia. 015 284 760. ISBN 0-9586693-2-5 (paperback).
Gordon Stooke's Lancaster crew were shot down on an operation to Wuppertal, 24/25-Jun-43, and unusually, all seven men baled out and survived. The author evaded capture and with considerable aid from various Belgians, was making his way to freedom when he fell into the hands of a traitorous pseudo-Resistance group who arranged for him and a party of fellow escapers to be taken by the Gestapo whilst in Paris.
Interrogated and imprisoned at the notorious Gestapo HQ in the Avenue Foch and later at Fresnes Gaol, he and other RAF evaders were treated roughly but far better than captured Resistance workers, many of whom simply disappeared. Finally handed over to the Luftwaffe, Stooke travelled the well worn route through Dulag Luft interrogation centre at Oberusel and thence to Stalag Luft IVB at Muhlburg, arriving in September 1943, where in March 1944 he celebrated his 21st birthday. When the camp was abandoned by the guards as the Allies advanced through Germany, he and a group of fellows fled and eventually made their way back to Allied lines.
This is not a book about Bomber Command, and details of Stooke's time with the RAF and 460 Sqdn are deliberately thin. Its strength is in the increasingly evident transformation from boy, catapulted from a flying career, to man, facing the Gestapo at short range and being compelled to grow up with undue rapidity. The author's style is a light yet detailed account of many months' adventures of travelling from host to host around occupied territory, and his "coming of age" when initial doubts about the suspiciously easy fluency of his assistors' help turned out to be worse than he could have imagined, as the Gestapo pounced. Later chapters cover life behind the wire, and during his final escape, when trigger-happy Russians or suspicious Americans could represent just as much a threat as had the Wehrmacht.
It is astonishing to see photographs of the author whilst on his adventures through Belgium, notably riding a bicycle lent to him by a kind local family! These were kept until after the war and then made known when he revisited the scenes of his travels.
Sgt EDWARD HILTON and the crew of T2651
Author : Roy S Hilton. Published 2000 by Wolds Publishing Services 2 Far Street, Wymeswold, Leicestershire LE12 6TZ. ISBN 0953945804.
The author's uncle, Eddie Hilton, was one of the so many airmen killed in the dark night skies over enemy territory. Roy Hilton's gem of a booklet demonstrates that painstaking research doesn't have to be presented as a dry and dusty reference book, as he thoroughly and competently covers the service history of each of the five members of the crew and their Wellington bomber, including many useful snippets and passages of information where these are directly concerned with the crew or their aircraft.
This is a delightful work; would that every relative of an airman to contact me was so committed as to produce such a labour of respect for a member of his or her family. It's rather reminiscent of the style of David Hodgson's LETTERS FROM A BOMBER PILOT, itself a classic of its genre, and deserves a place alongside that volume on the bookshelf of anyone calling himself a bomber type.
Author : Stanley E Harrison. Publisher Sage Pages, PO Box 2171, Warwick, Western Australia 6024. ISBN 0958596123.
A pilot since the start of Bomber Command's wartime operations, the author's experiences of joining the RAF in July 1938 are described as he progressed from Hinds to Blenheims and Hampdens on his first tour, to later flying the Manchester and Lancaster. He is quite open about the early deficiencies of navigation, technique and the less than desirable standard of bombing accuracy, pulling no punches about Bomber Command’s general lack of success at this time. He describes the early do-it-yourself type operations but unfortunately omits solid information; identifying the raids and other squadron personnel is next to impossible.
One of the snippets of information actually given was that his 61 Sqdn air gunner was posted to another crew and subsequently failed to return (was it Hampden P2090?). Also, that a friend of his went missing after gaining a DFM (this is more easily tracked down to Hampden X3128). This level of information does improve a little when he describes his second tour on the Manchesters and Lancasters of 97 Sqdn, where by a last minute engine fault, he escaped being included in the famous Augsburg Raid in April 1942.
Things improve slightly as the author continues. He mentions, again omitting the name, the loss of W/Cdr D F Balsdon on 18 Dec 1941. Later, and on successful completion of a second tour and after receiving a DFC, he moved into the Air Armaments branch, where he finished the war.
The book is notable for its coverage of the early Hampden and Blenheim days, and the author's time with Air Armaments, a neglected area. I would at least have like to have seen a summary table of his completed operations, with dates, targets, a crew list and aircraft serials, but none was included.
What results is a gentle series of reminiscences, almost a ramble through memories, interesting enough if the reader is not clued up on the subject already. It’s a shame though that the lack of background information tends to spoils the story. However, memoirs from the early days are rare enough, most writers these days seeming to concentrate on Lancaster / Halifax era. But readers intent on improving their knowledge of Bonmber Command will have to squeeze the book very hard to extract any concrete information.
Student To Stalag
Robin Thomas DFC. Publisher The Basingstoke Press, Hampshire, UK. ISBN 0953173739.
Robin Thomas is technically dead, as he baled out of a Mosquito at 26,000 feet, at which altitude some medical journals would declare that the atmosphere is too thin to support life. He did, however, survive, to be taken Prisoner of War, being incarcerated at Stalag Luft III, Sagan. This book is a detailed story covering his early life, joining the RAF after an initial failure to get into the Navy, and his training, operational flying and eventual capture.
It's very much a personal account, drawing much on the human aspects of Service and PoW life, and succeeds in recounting in a cheerful (but sometimes rather blase) manner the characters and events of the time. It all seems to have been rather good fun, with the author seemingly unable to take anything particularly seriously, and presenting a very chipper outlook to the strain of operations and the drudgery of PoW life.
Although thin on facts and names, there is great detail on the personal events, the narrative focussing closely on the world through the author's eyes. It's not a book for informationalists, being more a chirpy account than a sombre narration, yet does provide some corroboration of operational events and happening at Sagan. I particularly liked the description of the many gadgets and inventions dreamed up and manufactured by experienced hands compelled into idleness and needing an outlet for their skills, such as the steam traction engines designed and built under PoW conditions and "tin bashing" or manufacturing of both legitimate and decidedly non-legitimate, or "escape", equipment.
The author has donated all proceeds of this book to the British Red Cross Society.
Recomended.
Silk and Barbed Wire
Edited by Brian Whalley. Publisher Sage Pages, PO Box 2171, Warwick, Western Australia 6024. ISBN 0958596115.
This is an interesting collection of 22 "aircrew-to-prisoner-of-war" stories, arranged in chronological order of aircraft loss. It leans heavily on the experiences of Bomber Command airmen who at some stage found themselves incarcerated at Stalag Luft III, Sagan.
The short chapters made dipping into the narratives easy, and there are many instances of events in Kriegie life being cross-referenced, for example, the piece about the home-made model steamboat which was successfully sailed across the fire water tank at Luft III, or the unfortunate accident whereby RAF Typhoons strafed a marching PoW column in April 1945. Even better, is the evidence of some in depth research into crews, squadrons, and events, documented at the start of each chapter. Some of the details are absent, but nevertheless these stories are more interesting when backed up by verifiable facts.
This book is well worth an in-depth analysis, particularly if the reader has the dual interest of PoWs and aircrew. It’s well put together and informative, with enough meat on the bone to satisfy informationalists, yet friendly enough to hold the reader’s interest, readily demonstrating the sharp contrast between the sometimes hell-for-leather life of aircrew and the completely different tempo of repetitive, humdrum time in the Stalag Lufts.
It was good too to see a wide spectrum of experiences, from the earliest days of the aerial offensive right through to the period when a captured airman's time in custody might be measured in weeks or days. Again, I would have liked to have seen a technical summary as an appendix, but anyone with access to the right research tools would not have too much difficulty filling in the serial numbers and squadrons.
Recommended.
Author: Wilf Hodgson. A private publication by the author, Attadale, Perth, Western Australia.
Wilf Hodgson's last operation as bomb aimer of a 90 Sqdn Stirling is summarised in Silk and Barbed Wire so his detailed and more expanded notes on his wartime experiences are welcome. This is so much more than his memoirs, having been compiled immediately after the actual events, and significantly backed up by many photos and reproductions of official documents and letters. These range from the initial telegram informing his next of kin that he was missing on operations, to his letter to the French Authorities in 1994 asking if he was eligible for the Normandy Medal.
I'd compare this more to Don Charlwood's No Moon Tonight than anything else, as whilst it does not manage to convey the same depth of feeling, it does show that the airmen worked hard for their qualifications and flying awards, managed to enjoy themselves whilst they could, were very much part of a serious offensive and yet did not flinch from their duty.
When the author moves on to his crash, brief time as an evader and eventual capture and incarceration, the reader can't help but wonder how men so young managed to cope with such adult experiences. After all, coming close to death when shot down and then living on the edge under the noses of occupying forces, not to mention the deadly round of boring PoW life, is nothing to be taken lightly.
Without explicitly saying so, Wilf Hodgson imparts across his "Well, we just got on with it" message, leaving the reader much the wiser as to what these young fellows achieved. There is a great deal of detail in the narrative and the story contained many useful confirmations and corroborations of what I have read elsewhere. There are a few niggly errors on place names, but they certainly don't detract from the story.
Recommended.
Author: Herbert Krentz. Publisher : Kent Publishing, 124 Centre Street, Meaford, Ontario, Canada, N4L 1E8. ISBN 0-9780358-0-1
Whilst in captivity at Stalag Luft IVB, F/Sgt Krentz had the idea to record the written comments, accounts and observations of some of his fellow PoWs in a journal he called the Line-Shoot Book, which amazingly survived the war. Readers learn almost nothing from the author of his time as an airman, and little of his training, 431 (RCAF) Sqdn, unit characters or his time at RAF Croft. Instead, his book is a vehicle for the PoWs' usually short messages, many of which amplify nothing of their collective time with the bomber offensive or reasons for being in captivity. Some facts can be wrung out of the personal accounts, but the reader has to work hard to trudge through them, finding many similar passages. Now and then a longer and more detailed account is found, but I can't help feeling that the dull, everyday sameness of PoW life percolated down to the contributors' efforts.
Read it, forget it. Line-Shoot book? No. The real Line-Shoot book was a volume maintained by most operational Squadrons, contained signed and witnessed sayings and faux-pas uttered by Squadron members, such as the classic one said by one man who, having been to Berlin just the once, was overheard after another briefing to the same target saying "I'm sick of that bloody place!" or the even more time-honoured "There I was, upside down, nothing on the altimeter but the maker's name, when ... "