# Upcomng Military History Book WWII: "Amazing Airmen"



## leroi (14 Nov 2009)

An excerpt from the book can be found on the link (in title)  below:

‘This aircraft is missing'


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## mariomike (25 Nov 2009)

"On a clear, moonlit night, Flight Lieut. Tom Lane steadied his Halifax bomber as he and his crew approached Krefeld, a city in western Germany. This was the night of June 21, 1943."

705 aircraft participated  - 262 Lancasters, 209 Halifaxes, 117 Sterlings, 105 Wellingtons, 12 Mosquitos.   44 aircraft were lost - 9 Lancasters, 17 Halifaxes, 9 Sterlings, 9 Wellingtons - 6.2% of the force.

The raid was carried out before the moon period was over and the heavy casualties were mostly caused by night fighters. 12 of the aircraft lost were from the Pathfinders: 35 Squadron lost 6 of its 19 Halifaxes taking part in the raid.

The raid took place in good visibility and the Pathfinders produced an almost perfect marking effort, ground markers dropped by the Oboe Mosquitos being well backed up by the Pathfinder heavies. 619 aircraft bombed these markers more than three quarters of them achieving bombing photographs within 3 miles of the center of Krefeld. 2,306 tons of bombs were dropped. A large area of fire became established and this raged, out of control, for several hours. The whole center of the city - approximately 47% of the built-up area, was burnt out.    The total of 5,517 houses were destroyed, according to the Krefeld records, was the largest figure so far in the war. 1,056 people were killed and 4,550 injured. 72,000 people lost their homes; 20,000 of these were billeted upon families in the suburbs, 30,000 moved in with relatives or friends and 20,000 were evacuated to other towns. 

Note: Re: the 6.2% of aircraft lost. That figure does not include a/c that crashed - maybe even written off - in England. Either in training accidents, or Operations. Because, they were not considered to be "lost".


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## leroi (6 Nov 2010)

Author to Read Excerpt About North Bay Gunner's 22,000-Foot Drop Without a Chute:

Signing Copies of Amazing Airmen This Weekend

http://www.nugget.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2831758

Harry Denison was helpless to reach his parachute on the other side of the Halifax bomber as the inertia of the aircraft falling from the sky pinned him to the fuselage.

Author Ian Darling calls it one of the most terrifying experiences in his book Amazing Airmen: Canadian Flyers in the Second World War. It devotes a chapter to the 406 Squadron North Bay gunner surviving a 22,000-foot drop over Chemnitz in eastern Germany on March 5, 1945, two months before the war ended.


"He thought about the rest of the crew, and he thought about his mom and dad and what they would think knowing their son was going to die," Darling said. The Waterloo-based editorial writer is in Northern Ontario as part of a book-signing tour, reading excerpts about the men who survived horrendous ordeals while destiny cut down young lives around them.

"What I tried to do was to know the story so well that I could convey what the fellows felt like as they were in their ordeal," said Darling, who spent three afternoons with Denison in North Bay before attempting to commit the gunner's story to print. "It takes time to listen, let the veterans trust that you can tell their stories fully. That's the kind of detail I wanted, so I thought I knew as much as I possibly could about their experience."

He's scheduled to visit North Bay this weekend and plans to present Denison with a piece of wreckage salvaged from the crash that killed the rest of the crew. Darling cut his teeth while researching his uncle George Darling's harrowing tale as a bomb-aimer aboard a Halifax bomber shot down by a German pilot. He stumbled upon Denison's story by accident while following up on a different tip by retired lieutenant colonel Bill Tytula, project manager to restore a Halifax bomber at CFB Trenton.

Darling hasn't given up on that research and sees a sequel to Amazing Airmen after receiving additional photos and information partly provided by a German researcher who studies bomber collisions and wreckage in eastern Germany. Darling is also considering an American version, attributing the success of Amazing Airman to a growing awareness about the experiences of war veterans at a time when their numbers are dwindling.

The book also features the story of rear gunner Pat Brophy whose son Pat Brophy Jr. lives in North Bay.

Brophy survived when his Lancaster was shot down in June 1944. Andrew Mynarski, of 419 Squadron, received the Victoria Cross, the military's highest honour, for refusing to abandon the fiery aircraft when he rescued Brophy who was trapped in his turret. Mynarski died of severe burns.

"I think there is a great awareness that now is the time to thank these men and women and show appreciation for what they did," Darling said. "I have done my best in my stories to describe what they endured . . . I don't think the best writer in the world could absolutely convey what Harry endured. I can merely say I tried."

Darling is scheduled to sign copies of Amazing Airmen and give a reading Saturday at 1 p.m. at Gulliver's Quality Books and Toys.

He's also planning to offer a copy of his book to 22 Wing Commander Col. Francois Malo for the library at CFB North Bay during a tribute to Denison at 406 Wing Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m.


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## Pat in Halifax (10 Nov 2010)

Even from a seasoned sailor, this book was quite the interesting read for anyone interested in our military history. It is essentially, a series of stories from 'average' guys who share anything but 'average' experiences.
Sidenote: There was even a story from a padre who went on to preach  after the war in Cranberry Portage Manitoba. My sister lives there and I suspect very few (if anyone) reading this has heard of it before!!


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