It is no accident that the RAF's Battle of Britain Memorial Flight consists primarily of three aircraft types, the Spitfire, the Hurricane and the Lancaster. The Spitfire and Hurricane, of course, are famous for their roles during the Battle of Britain over the skies of southern England in 1940. The Lancaster, on the other hand, did not enter operational service with the RAF until 1942, long after the 'official' Battle of Britain was over. Yet the aircraft has more than earned its place in the Battle of Britain flight. The Lancaster has carved its place in history in its own unique way. During the Spitfire's lifetime, more than 20,000 were built while the Lancaster's total is less than half of that. Yet the Lancaster had a crew of seven, with at least as many again in each Lanc's ground crew. More personnel, therefore, had a close association with the Lanc than with the world's most famous fighter plane.Neither should it be forgotten that, when Britain defended its shores as an island fortress during the darkest days of WW II, the Lancaster and its crews were taking the fight to the enemy, delivering their deadly payloads to targets deep in the heart of Germany. A tangible reminder to everyone suffering in Britain that we were still striking back, still fighting, the Lancaster and its crews won the affection of the British people. Lancasters dropped Barnes Wallis' 'bouncing bombs' on Germany's Ruhr Valley dams to earn 617 Squadron its 'Dam Busters' nickname and Tony Iveson was among those Lanc pilots whose aircraft crossed the North Sea to sink the battleship Tirpitz.In "Lancaster", Tony Iveson has created a riveting biography of the aircraft, focussing not just on its operational history, but on the crews who flew and maintained Lancs, even talking to German fighter pilots who flew against them. The stories in "Lancaster" run from the time of its initial design right through the war to when variants such as the Lancastrian entered civilian service, BOAC using the aircraft on scheduled services between Britain and Australia from May 1945. A salute to the men and women who built, flew and maintained the Lancaster, this book stands as a tribute to a truly great British icon.
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About the Author
Squadron Leader Tony Iveson joined 616 Squadron at Keley on 2 September 1940 flying Spitfires. In May 1942 and his second operational tour was with Bomber Command. He joined 617 Squadron (the Dam Busters) in 1944. Tony is Chairman of the Bomber Command Association. Brian Milton has worked with Tony to write this compelling book. A journalist and broadcaster, Brian is also an aero enthusiast and flyer, having flown a microlight aircraft around the world in 1998, recording his adventures in the book Global Flyer.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By R. F. Stevens
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
This is one of the most recent books about the Lancaster bomber and its history, and uses material contributed by one of the brave men who actually flew it over Germany, one of the skilful and lucky few who survived the whole war and is still here to tell the tale today.
Much of the material has been covered before in other books by other authors, but this 2009 book pulls together a central theme of the plane, its environment, and the people who made it work so successfully. It was definitely a product of its time, and without it, the Allies would probably have lost the war. The same could be said of several other key ingredients, the Hurricane, the Spitfire, the Mosquito, all perfect tools for their specific jobs. The book also shows how the Lancaster was almost never made, and draws some parallels with the Spitfire which also had a fortuitous beginning dependant on the actions of just a few individuals.
I found this a fascinating Christmas read, and unlike some books I have bought recently, this gift kept me between its covers from beginning to end. It was scary to think that the life expectancy of bomber crew was less than twenty missions, while a tour of duty was thirty. Tony Iveson began the war in Spitfires and ended it in Lancasters. I have the greatest respect for someone who went into action so many times with the expectation that each trip might be his last. A true hero.
I found the layout of the book a bit confusing and the sequence was less than obvious, but having re-read it I can see why it was done - it makes it clear why the inauspicious beginnings were so significant and what a miracle it was that the plane was ever built at all, and yet still holds the reader's attention.
Other reviewers have said there is nothing new here.... Read more ›
Much of the material has been covered before in other books by other authors, but this 2009 book pulls together a central theme of the plane, its environment, and the people who made it work so successfully. It was definitely a product of its time, and without it, the Allies would probably have lost the war. The same could be said of several other key ingredients, the Hurricane, the Spitfire, the Mosquito, all perfect tools for their specific jobs. The book also shows how the Lancaster was almost never made, and draws some parallels with the Spitfire which also had a fortuitous beginning dependant on the actions of just a few individuals.
I found this a fascinating Christmas read, and unlike some books I have bought recently, this gift kept me between its covers from beginning to end. It was scary to think that the life expectancy of bomber crew was less than twenty missions, while a tour of duty was thirty. Tony Iveson began the war in Spitfires and ended it in Lancasters. I have the greatest respect for someone who went into action so many times with the expectation that each trip might be his last. A true hero.
I found the layout of the book a bit confusing and the sequence was less than obvious, but having re-read it I can see why it was done - it makes it clear why the inauspicious beginnings were so significant and what a miracle it was that the plane was ever built at all, and yet still holds the reader's attention.
Other reviewers have said there is nothing new here.... Read more ›
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Mark Godson
Format:Hardcover
An excellent book that was bought for my father.
He has informed that the book is very good and has some interesting facts, he cannot put it down
My mother also thinks the book is good as it is keeping my father quiet.
He has informed that the book is very good and has some interesting facts, he cannot put it down
My mother also thinks the book is good as it is keeping my father quiet.
By HalcyonDazed
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Excellent informative literature.
A great learning tool as well as historical evidence.
Very thankful for those that survived and wrote these accounts.
A great learning tool as well as historical evidence.
Very thankful for those that survived and wrote these accounts.
6 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
For anyone who has read the history of bomber command this book adds very little. The pages are filled with citations for the Victoria cross which are simply copied and seem to be used to fill the book in lieu of the main subject, the lancaster bomber. The sections on German defences are interesting and covered new ground for me. However, I was disappointed by a book that I felt would be of interest to me.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By MF movie fan
Format:Hardcover
An excellent book with many harrowing accounts of the progress and development of the Lancaster Bomber, without which the outcome of the Second World War may well have been very diferent.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I bought this book following an interview with the Author on TV. This impressed me a lot. The book lived up to expectations, which were high.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book doesn't quite know what it wants to be. It attempts to be a parallel biography of one of the authors (Tony Iveson - formerly of 617 Squadron) and of the Lancaster itself, but for the most part it disappoints in both departments. As a scholarly and balanced treatise on the strategic bombing campaign in general, and the technical development of the Lancaster in particular, it is too superficial and too partisan to add anything of great value to the existing body of knowledge. As an insightful personal biography of a real-life RAF bomber pilot it falls short of giving us much more than some (genuinely) interesting anecdotes. Other authors have done it better (e.g. Jack Currie). Quoting verbatim from VC citations becomes rather tedious - the stuffy official language tends to detract from these extraordinary tales of bravery and self-sacrifice. The stories could be much better told if the citations were used as a source rather than just reproduced verbatim. Likewise, not all the cut-and-paste testimonies from various "Last Witnesses" are very interesting or enlightening.
Today there are many, often extreme, views about Arthur "Bomber" Harris and the Allied strategic bombing campaign of WW2, but Iveson is clearly (and perhaps understandably) a loyal fan. He is completely entitled to that opinion, but he fails to argue his case, beyond the bald assertion that there was no alternative. It is a viewpoint that has already been expressed many times - and rather better - by many earlier authors, including Harris himself. There is no real attempt to address the accusations of war crime and genocide that the strategic bombing campaign still attracts.
There was the potential for a very good book here, but for anyone who knows a little (or a lot!... Read more ›
Today there are many, often extreme, views about Arthur "Bomber" Harris and the Allied strategic bombing campaign of WW2, but Iveson is clearly (and perhaps understandably) a loyal fan. He is completely entitled to that opinion, but he fails to argue his case, beyond the bald assertion that there was no alternative. It is a viewpoint that has already been expressed many times - and rather better - by many earlier authors, including Harris himself. There is no real attempt to address the accusations of war crime and genocide that the strategic bombing campaign still attracts.
There was the potential for a very good book here, but for anyone who knows a little (or a lot!... Read more ›
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By J. L. FLOYD
Format:Hardcover
fantastic true to life book, with a lot about the german bombing raids, (un biased) and the dambuster project, i would recomend this book.
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