Looking into Hell: Experiences of the Bomber Command War

Rolfe, Mel

ISBN 10: 1854092537 / ISBN 13: 9781854092533

Published by Weidenfeld Military, 1995

About this Item

This black cloth hardback book with gilt impressions is in excellent condition with normal wear and marks consistent with use and age. All 192 pages, text and illustrations are in really good order. Dust jacket included. How can we really know what it was like to fly with Bommber Command in World War II? How can we share the fear at take off into unknown dangers, the intensity of anticipation flying through flak-ridden skies, the gut wrenching dread of the fighter which might be awaiting beyond the next cloud, the awesome drama of releasing a bomb load over a designated dropping zone, the euphoria of success and the necessary concentration on the run home, blessed relief of a safe landing at home base or of the wretched failure felt when shot down, the silence at thought of crash landing and capture, the ultimate emotion of seeing friends die in the sky? The answer is that we talk to the few who understood these flights, these night-mare rides into enemy territory. This is what Mel Rolfe the author, has done for this collection of twenty accounts of RAF Bomber Command at work. Unbelievable real life drama, well written.

Seller Inventory # ABE-1590588470263

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Looking into Hell: Experiences of the Bomber Command War
• Publisher: Weidenfeld Military
• Publication Date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1854092537
• ISBN 13: 9781854092533
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

How can we really know what it was like to fly with Bomber Command in World War Two? How can we share the fear at take-off into unknown dangers, the intensity of anticipation flying through flak-ridden skies, the gut-wrenching dread of the fighter which might be awaiting beyond the next cloud, the awesome drama of releasing a bomb load over the designated dropping zone, the euphoria of success and the necessary concentration on the run for home, and the blessed relief of a safe landing at home base...or of the wretched failure felt when shot down, the silence at the thought of a crash-landing and capture, the ultimate emotion of seeing friends die in the sky?
The answer is that we talk to the few who undertook these flights, these nightmare rides into enemy territory. This is what Mel Rolfe has done for this collection of twenty accounts of RAF Bomber Command at work.
The result is an empathetic story of real war - a crippled Lancaster hurtling to the ground, a rear gunner trapped in his turret, a crash-landed crew adrift in the North Sea for nine days, a survivor of a mid-air explosion, a bomb-aimer flying a Lancaster after his pilot had been injured, a 1000lb bomb dropping through a bomber's wing creating a hole the size of a kitchen table...and the crazy loss of an aircraft on a 'viewing day-out' for ground crew over Germany after the war was won.
The amazing but true descriptions of the bomber aircraft in action puts the reader on board with these most gallant of airman - these men who spent their war 'looking into hell'.