This book takes you, raid by raid, through the author's tour of operational duty over the last five months of 1944. It is a bomber pilot's story, but it is also about the grinding operational pressure, the brotherhood of the crew and fears of injury and death. It is about a squadron of Bomber Command that bore a barely-equaled burden in operational effort and losses. It is about young airmen the author knew, who lived and too often died amid the turmoil in enemy skies.
Luck and a Lancaster
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From the Author
A pilot's memoir of chance and survival in enemy skies
For a few brief months in the spring of my life I flew bombers against the defences of Germany. Partly through good training and hard work but mostly through luck, I survived. Many whom I knew were not so fortunate. But we all lived in vital and exhilarating times, the memory of which still seems too important and relevant to be lost with the passing of our generation. My book is an attempt to fix my own memories. I have tried to convey how we, as aircrew, experienced war, how we lived and how we flew. I have tried to communicate the sense of adventure and comradeship. I hope the reader will be entertained and, from time to time, amused. But most of all I hope you will come to the end of "Luck and a Lancaster" with a true and greater understanding of we who served in Bomber Command during those momentous years. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
For a few brief months in the spring of my life I flew bombers against the defences of Germany. Partly through good training and hard work but mostly through luck, I survived. Many whom I knew were not so fortunate. But we all lived in vital and exhilarating times, the memory of which still seems too important and relevant to be lost with the passing of our generation. My book is an attempt to fix my own memories. I have tried to convey how we, as aircrew, experienced war, how we lived and how we flew. I have tried to communicate the sense of adventure and comradeship. I hope the reader will be entertained and, from time to time, amused. But most of all I hope you will come to the end of "Luck and a Lancaster" with a true and greater understanding of we who served in Bomber Command during those momentous years. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I had been researching the service history of my great uncle, a Flight Engineer on Lancasters with a 'sister' squadron of Harry Yates' 75 Sqn. Despite gathering a wealth of information from official sources, and survivors from his squadron I had not been able to discover exactly how he had been lost.
I picked up a copy of Harry Yates' book quite by chance and, leafing through it, saw his chapter on his most feared target, an oil refinery at Homberg in Germany. Knowing that this was the target where my great uncle and most of his crew were killed, I read on. The detail of the narrative including dates was excellent and he described in detail the op on which my great uncle died and also, most poignantly, an eye-witness description of the loss of his aircraft. Discovering this information was an immense source of comfort to my great uncle's brothers, now in their 80s.
Thank you, Harry, for making this possible.
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book provides a present day reader with a very privileged view into what life must have been like for the crews of these heavy bombers. It is beautifully written and makes for compulsive reading with a good mix of aviation and operational information but also great human content, something I have found lacking in other publications. Harry Yates conveys the close relationship between the crew and paints a graphic picture of their highs and lows. Readers will find themselves carried along with each operation, feeling relief when the wheels touch down at Mepal. Luck and a Lancaster is described by Harry Yates as a way to fix the 'remembrance of something important', it most certainly does that and far more. It will enable those born many years later to image what it was like when thousands of these huge machines flew in our skies. He sums up the Lancaster thus 'These were not mere bombers, crude forms of steel and oil. They were guiding beacons of the spirit. With them flew our pride, our hope, our purpose'. (p172) The book also contains a unique photographic record of the members of the crew; their aircraft and superb photographs taken by the cameras after the bombs had been dropped. Yates does not sensationalise but writes about his role factually explaining how crews carried out their orders in a duty bound process. He ends the story by describing his return to Mepal on an impulse, many years later. This return visit is a moving and thought provoking close to a well-written and highly readable factual account.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
In his book ‘Luck and a Lancaster’, Harry Yates offers the reader a chance to follow the author through his tour of operations as a Lancaster pilot during the last five months of 1944. The story begins with the author as a young English lad wanting to join the Royal Air Force to fly fighters just after the Battle of Britain (as all young English boys surely wanted!).
We follow Yates through his initial training at flight school and then into training for multi-engine aircraft in Canada, something he wasn’t expecting. We then read of his exploits as an instructor and then finally his posting to a Operational RAF Squadron flying one of the great bombers of the Second World War, the Avro Lancaster.
Young Harry Yates ends up with 75 Squadron (RNZAF) based at Mepal in August of 1944 with a task of completing 30 operations against occupied Europe and Germany. Although by this period of the war the conflict in the air had swung towards the Allies it was still a very dangerous occupation flying in Bomber Command. This is the guts of the story, flying with Harry Yates and his crew in one of the many Lancaster’s allotted to them through the 30 missions required to complete their tour of Ops.
I found this story truly amazing and it was so well told I was totally immersed in the narrative. I must admit it has been awhile since I have read such an interesting and captivating account of war in the air and I cannot imagine anyone who has an interesting in aerial warfare not being taken by this honest and enjoyable book.
Not once did I find the book bogging down in too much detail, not once did it flag or slow down in pace, even the author’s account of his training and instructional flights were full of interest, humour and occasional sadness. This is a great testament to the young crews who flew in Bomber Command doing a job without question that cost many their lives. Well done to the author!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Luck and a Lancaster: Chance and Survival in World War II
A superb book, if you are interested in WW2, and Bomber Command. Gives details of the thirty missions Harry Yates completed during his time with 75 Squadron. Read more
Published 13 days ago by Valeramix
5.0 out of 5 stars
lancaster
Excellent book,well written. I enjoyed every page and was left with nothing but admiration for the author and his crew.
Published 1 month ago by MR PETER C SHREWSBURY
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tales of heroism
Written in a relaxed style this book takes you on a personal journey which was shared by thousands of bomber pilots, many who never came back. Read more
Published 2 months ago by John Ferguson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Simply awesome....
Loved this book, have do much respect for these young men, their bravery modesty and skill. Their professionalism also stands out and gives a real insight into just what they must... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Ianql
5.0 out of 5 stars
Luck and a Lancaster
A very good book - written by some one wh had thoughly reseached the RAF's Bomber Command offencive and the contribution made by the Lancaster, and the crews to the effectb of the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by AVM G A Chesworth
5.0 out of 5 stars
A truly memorable book
A first rate read. Moving and poignant. Well crafted and utterly compelling. Grateful thanks to the author. A memorable book.
Published 3 months ago by GC
4.0 out of 5 stars
Jolly Good Read
A very enjoyable read about the transition from schoolboy to pilot on front line Lancaster squadron. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Peter John Heys
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vivid and honest account of going to war in a Bomber during WW2
This account is an honest and touching account of the career of a pilot during WW2. Starting with the enthusiasm and naivity of youth, through selection and training, the author... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Robert Wondrak
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent read
One of the best and well written accounts of a Lancaster pilot.
My father was a Lancaster pilot who was killed returning after a raid in November 1944, this book gave an... Read more
My father was a Lancaster pilot who was killed returning after a raid in November 1944, this book gave an... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mike Dainty
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well written
One of many books about bomber command i have read,This is one of the best, a most interesting and informative read
Published 5 months ago by derek robinson
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