Pathfinder's War: An Extraordinary Tale Of Surviving Over 100 Bomber Operations Against All Odds

Feast, Sean; Stocker Dso Dfc, Flt Lt Ted

ISBN 10: 1906502528 / ISBN 13: 9781906502522

Published by Grub Street Publishing, London, 2009

About this Item

Tight Firm Clean Copy - First Edition - Ex Library Copy With Usual Stamps And Marks - Ffp Has Been Removed. Photo Illustrations. Blue Cloth Hard Cover With Silver Gilt Titles On Spine - Spine Cocked From Reading - Slight Edge Wear. Unclipped Jacket With Faint Edge Wear.

Seller Inventory # 007263

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Pathfinder's War: An Extraordinary Tale Of Surviving Over 100 Bomber Operations Against All Odds
• Publisher: Grub Street Publishing, London
• Publication Date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1906502528
• ISBN 13: 9781906502522
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Military and Military History

About this title

Synopsis

Ted Stocker lived a charmed life. Trained at RAF Halton as one of Trenchard’s ‘Brats’, a posting to Boscombe Down saw him fly in both the prototype Stirling and Halifax just as war engulfed Europe for the second time. Qualifying as one of the RAF’s first flight engineers, he flew operations in 1941/42 with 35 and 102 Squadrons, a contemporary of Leonard Cheshire, helping with the often hair-raising task of converting pilots from two to four engines. On his return to 35, he became a pathfinder and flight engineer leader, taking part in virtually every major air battle of the war. Awarded the DFC in 1943, he was posted to 7 and then 582 Squadrons, going on to complete more than 100 bombing operations , often as a master bomber, and flying with some of the pathfinder ‘greats’, including Don Bennett himself. Although his aircraft was frequently hit, and he survived a crash landing on only his second trip, Ted was never wounded. His achievements were recognized with the Distinguished Service Order, the only known DSO issued to a flight engineer during the war or since. After the war, he flew with Bomber Harris on a tour of Brazil and later qualified as a pilot, introducing the Lockheed Neptune anti-submarine aircraft to the RAF for the first time as a flight commander with Coastal Command.

About the Author

Sean Feast is a Director and co-owner of Gravity London and the author of several books on World War II pilots.