The Aussie Heroes of Bomber Command

[K4KittyCrew]

Hi Folks, just started reading ( read the first 100 pages ) 'The Aussie Heroes of Bomber Command - Lancaster Men' by Peter Rees .......... ISBN 978 1 74175 207 6

The book of course is not all what it seems. So far, most recollections have been crews in Wellingtons, Stirlings etc.
Some amazing stories of courage and dedication of aircrews combined with many stories of life whilst training both in Canada and England. HCU's ..... OTC's ..... finishing schools, etc.

Here is a snippet about Australian Dox Huxtable whilst in Canada. (The first photo of D. Huxtable is from the book.)
Cheers,
John

[K4KittyCrew]

Update - Thanks Adam for your email, yes it really is a excellent read.
The more I'm reading this book, the more I marvel to crew members and the authors' efforts.

The author is spending a lot of time giving readers a complete breakdown of squadron life and real life stories from crews. The most in-depth I have read to date.
Any member who has a passion for Australian squadrons really should read this one, absolutely marvellous details.
I'm learning things all the time.

Wing Commander Rollo Kingsford-Smith, Squadron Leader of 463 Squadron has a very big input in this book about squadron life and operations as well.

I will post some more in the next day or two.

[K4KittyCrew]

As mentioned, here are some more details, this time ........... Aussie slang learnt long before arriving at the 463-467-460 sqn bases. The purpose of the list was to supposedly accommodate any new incoming Air Commodore.
John

[K4KittyCrew]

Further details as listed. These details have also been listed on other posts on the forum.

So far, I have read 288 pages out of 400 odd pages and I have to say, the volume of detail from crew members and the quality of it makes this book, equal best to any that I have read so far.
Again, If you are interested in Australia crews and squadrons, especially 467 & 463, In saying that, there other squadrons are also represented, like 100 sqn, 44 sqn, 57 sqn to name just a few.
The story on 100 sqn ( special duties ) was very interesting.

To me, what sets this book apart from others is the degree on detail / factual content, throughout the whole book.

I believe that this book is a must. Even if you have no interest in any particular squadron, take it from me that as someone who has studied Bomber Command as a whole for the past eight years, there is much detail in this book that is new to me ............. and if I can be modest, that's saying something.
John

[AlanW]

Just tried to buy through Amazon, but says, not released in book version yet, only available in kindle version, which i don't have.

[K4KittyCrew]

Alan, I have only finish reading this book just some 5 minutes ago. From an aircrews' commentary point of view, I will go as far as to say it is the most complete book on Bomber Command that I have read.

When you get the chance to read the book, appreciate the volume of it and looks at the number of pages of sources and the quality of the content, only then will my comments be justified.
The only criticism I can find with the book, if any, is the part name .......... Lancaster Men. The only reason I say this is because the book covers the whole gamut of Bomber Command and it's operations yet, the term 'Lancaster Men' seems to assume that the story is only about a particular group of aircrew yet many of them flew in Wellingtons, Stirlings, Halifaxes and alike, as well. All these aircraft and crew are recorded in the book, many times over.

I will post more snippets soon.

I will have a look for the book from my end.
My brother bought this copy for me, there may be others available as well.
Cheers,
John

[kookabat]

Alan,
Publisher's website is saying 'unavailable at this time' - I think they've sold out. At the recent Bomber Command weekend in Canberra (which the author attended), it was selling so fast that the representative from the Australian War Memorial who was looking after a small book stall had to go back to the Memorial's shop to get some more copies. It looks like it is available from them, but postage is prohibitive to overseas addresses ($25!!).
Adam

[K4KittyCrew]

Alan, I've sent you an email regarding the book.

Anyway, just found a very interesting stat ( another of the many from the book ).
On page 324, an article regarding FIDO ............... which stated that FIDO consumed 70,000 gallons of fuel per hour ................. that is crazy!
John

[AlanW]

That statistic is so incredible, when you think of the state of the worlds fuel supplies today, unless of course, it covers the al airfields of the UK at once, and not one single airfield. But even so, still a lot of fuel.

[GuyMassey]

That statistic is so incredible, when you think of the state of the worlds fuel supplies today, unless of course, it covers the al airfields of the UK at once, and not one single airfield. But even so, still a lot of fuel.

Just out of interest a quick trawl of the internet revealed the following info.....
A plane like a Boeing 747 uses approximately 1 gallon of fuel (about 4 liters) every second. Over the course of a 10-hour flight, it might burn 36,000 gallons (150,000 liters). According to Boeing's Web site, the 747 burns approximately 5 gallons of fuel per mile (12 liters per kilometer).
This sounds like a tremendously poor miles-per-gallon rating! But consider that a 747 can carry as many as 568 people. Let's call it 500 people to take into account the fact that not all seats on most flights are occupied. A 747 is transporting 500 people 1 mile using 5 gallons of fuel. That means the plane is burning 0.01 gallons per person per mile. In other words, the plane is getting 100 miles per gallon per person! The typical car gets about 25 miles per gallon, so the 747 is much better than a car carrying one person, and compares favorably even if there are four people in the car. Not bad when you consider that the 747 is flying at 550 miles per hour (900 km/h)!