The Whitley Boys: 4 Group Bomber Operations 1939 to 1940 [Hardcover]

The Whitley Boys is Mr. Donnelly's story of his service in Whitley bombers in early WWII. Mr. Donnelly describes his induction into the RAF, training as a radio operator and gunner, and missions in early WWII. Mr. Donnelly's service on Whitley's goes from pre-war training and mission thru 1940. Of particular interest is the focus from training mission to propaganda (reconnaissance) missions over Germany to actual combat missions.

My Likes
This book covers something that you don't usually find, early war bombing missions and their results. Having read a fair amount about RAF missions during the mid/late war I've had a hard time finding information about their early war missions. Mr. Donnelly delivers this with an excellent job describing his thoughts and feelings about flying in the early war. In telling his tale he uses the colloquialisms of the era (there's an appendix telling us the meaning) adding a little something to the story. It can be a little difficult remembering their meaning but it's workable and great for those interested in WWII. Mr. Donnelly also provides a list of the missions No. 10 Squadron flew and the results for the aircraft. As a wargamer this is great! I've been interested in the early war and the missions they flew for some time now. Also, the photos are great! How often to you see pictures of Whitley's or the RAF in the early war.

My Dislikes
Only two really; until I learned about the appendix in the back translating WWII phrases into modern English I had a hard time remembering them and I don't believe most people would be familiar enough with them to easily understand their meaning. The other weakness was the lack of maps. While not as necessary as in a land campaign, I'd love to have seen a map of the different target locations they were hitting. This would have been great if tied to each chapter with the list of missions flown.

My Rating
Solid 4.5 stars! Good descriptions about things you don't readily have access to drive the rating more than anything. As for rounding it depends on what your interest are. For me I'll round up to 5 because I've looked for something like this and loved the presentation. Btw, as an added bonus you get an excellent description of Bomber Commands contribution during the Battle of Britain, something you don't normally get!