Bomber Boys

ISBN 978-0-00791215-1
Bomber Harris I'd heard of, but I knew little, if anything about the men under his command.  This book puts that straight.  It is written about those who actually flew, the pilots, navigators, bomb aimers, rear gunners.  Most of the recollections are take from their letters.  This is because the Bomber Boys formed the front line of WWII. That meant the death rate was appalling.  You cannot get away from the sense of loss - although there is a chapter dedicated to death the spectre of it is on almost every page.
We are taken from the start of the war, through the volunteers (all of them were, even if they'd been conscripted) selection and early training.  The RAF mechanism for putting crews together - not what you'd expect.  On to the operational flights, problems with the aircraft, and good things about the aircraft.  Here some of the main characters begin to appear. 
In later chapters their friendships are examined, in particular their loyalty to their crew.  A special closeness develops very quickly when under fire from flak and fighters in the dark at 15,000 feet., Their personal relationship are also covered and some time is spent on war time romances.  Some of these come from letters kept by girlfriends for the remainder of their lives. 
For the most part the Bomber Boys believed in what they were doing, even though they were regularly the target of propaganda, they were not so easily fooled.  That Nazi Germany was waging total war, and the combined efforts of the Allies were only just enough to turn the tide.   So when you hear about Dresden, don't only think in terms of revenge for Coventry, remember that when the raid was made it was not clear that the war had only months to run.

I bought this book towards the end of my unemployment in 2008, and have just finished reading it.  Without that episode I would never have considered such a topic.  I'm glad I did.  It is not an easy read - you just start to get to know someone only to hear they have been killed, or are 'missing', or taken prisoner.  Patrick Bishop has done a brilliant job of bringing the Bomber Boys to life, and latterly showing how little their achievements and sacrifice have been officially recognised.

There is only really one criticism.  The campaigns, or battles, for the Rhur, Berlin, Hambourg etc are spread throughout the book and it is a little difficult to keep current with just where we are in the war as the topics change.  However there are extensive indexes, references., plane schematics and the like to keep you busy once the reading is done.

 The main part of the book ends with:

Went the day well,
We died and never knew,
But well or ill, Freedom,
We died for you.

 --- which Oh, so many of them did.