Worth reading even for the prologue alone, when a squadron of Vickers Wellingtons gets torn apart by German fighters over the Heligoland Bight in 1939. But read on and you get a compelling account of the plight of British pilots and the politics that created the area bombing campaign that eventually led to the destruction of Dresden in 1945 (and many other cities along the way). The growth in the capabilities and ability to deal widespread devastation from the early days of the war to the 800+ bomber raids of "heavies" in 1944 and 1945 is almost unbelievable. One particularly absurd (and oh-so-British) episode will illustrate the amateurishness of Bomber Command in the early years of the war:A pilot named Warren, flying the Whitley (a bomber that is described as looking like a distinguished pipe-smoking gentleman), got turned around on a mission to bomb an aerodrome in Holland in an electrical storm and ended up dropping his bombs on an English airfield:Warren turned to his crew and said flatly, 'According to my calculations, we can only have bombed something inside England. Christ, what are we going to do?' They flew miserably home to Yorkshire. Their magnetic compass had been thrown hopelessly out of true by the storm. They had picked up the Thames estuary in place of the Rhine, and dropped a stick of bombs with unusual precision across the runway of Fighter Command's station at Bassingbourn in Cambridgeshire. Their captain was demoted to second pilot, and known to the mess for ever after as Baron Von Warren. The ordnance experts were dismayed to discover that a stick of bombs had done scarcely any damage at all to Bassingbourn, and thus presumably would have done little more to Germany. Two Spitfires flew over Dishforth and dropped Iron Crosses...
A classic book on RAF bomber command that set the stage for all those that have followed subsequently. It offered a fresh perspective on the failure of Bomber Harris to force the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany and the failure of senior leadership at the highest levels. In some aspects the work is perhaps a little dated in comparison to some of the newer works, simply because it lacks the first hand accounts that feature in Kevin Wilson's work in particular; there are several unereferenced anecdotes and quotes that leave the reader disappointed.The book weaves chapters on real squadrons at various stages of the campaign with chapters highlighting the strategic elements and implications. The chapters on the pre-1942 phase of the bomber campaign are the highlight of this work because this period has received far less attention than the later years - the chapter describing the slaughter of the Blenheim crews in their antiquated machines in particular highlights the astonishing bravery of the young men involved.
Let’s acknowledge the truth, the Royal Air Force was unfairly scorned at the end of WWII for their efforts. In fact, you could say they were (view spoiler)[ROYALLY FUCKED! (hide spoiler)]
—Mike
One of the best books yet written about Bomber Command, Hastings clearly and critically differentiates between the political manouvrings and ambitions of the upper levels of the command structure and the experiences of the men who flew over occupied Europe every night to fulfill the orders of men who had only ever flown a desk. Hastings is clearly sympathetic to the ordinary airmen, expressing his disgust that there has never been a Bomber Command campaign medal (so richly deserved by these brave young men), and the chapters covering the operational experiences of the various squadrons and groups are the best written and most interesting in the book, as is the vivid chapter retelling the Allied bombing of the German city of Darmstadt from the perspective of the German civilians on the recieving end of this raid. This is a good introduction to the story of the bomber war, its arguable effectiveness, and the political, ethical and military wrangling surrounding it that probably cost the lives of many RAF aircrews.
—Claire
This is a wonderful study of the Royal Air Force's strategic bombing campaign of the Second World War. Hastings honours the heroism of the aircrew, is honest about their struggles, and also shows the larger picture of the campaign, the failures of the politicians and the Air Staff to be honest about their expectations of this campaign. Hastings also explores the technical questions that would lead to the loss of so many aircrew flying aircraft completely inadequate for their tasks. Our own sensibilities are also challenged, the aircrew of Bomber Command have not received the acknowledgement they deserve for their terrors they faced in the skies over Germany, because we feel that we have the right to judge them as being part of something terrible. Hastings makes it clear that these aircrew did what was required of them and more, if we are to point fingers, it should be at the military and political leaders who led and supported this campaign, and the British population who also supported this campaign.
—Sandy Ferguson
