What the RAF Airman Took to War

Description

Between July and October 1940, in what became known as the Battle of Britain, a nation held its breath while the pilots of the Royal Air Force battled Hitler's Luftwaffe in the skies above England. A huge number of airmen lost their lives in this hard-fought episode and in the four years of air campaigns that followed, and those who survived faced terrifying risks; as Prime Minister Winston Churchill put it, 'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few'. In this beautifully illustrated tribute to 'The Few', Bill Howard catalogues the objects which were essential to every wartime pilot, from the superstitious good-luck charm to the parachute on which his life might have depended and a wealth of other poignant items relating to his day‑to‑day existence during the air war against the Nazis. FOREWORDTHE RAF AT WARRAF MottoRecruitmentGround CrewOfficer's CommissionPilot's WingsFlight Sergeant StripesAircraft Identification AidsA Force of Many NationsBomber CommandMapsType B Flying HelmetType C Flying HelmetFlying GogglesNight Adaptation GogglesFlying ScarfRAF ShirtRAF SweaterShaving KitDitch Whistle1930 Pattern Flying SuitIrvin Parachute1941 Pattern 'Mae West' Life JacketOxygen Mask1933 Pattern Flying GauntletsType P8 Aircraft CompassOfficer's Peaked CapForage CapsTestament1936 Pattern Flying Boots1940 Pattern Flying BootsGood Luck CharmsA Pilot's Best FriendCommonwealth Air UnitsRAF Escape and Evasion AidsScramble BellGuinea Pig ClubSurvivor ClubsThe WAAF at WarDiaryLettersMissing-in-Action LettersIrvin JacketPilot's Flying Log BookCombat ReportsAce of BattlePrisoners of WarBattle of Britain Medal GroupingIn Memoriam Bibliography Index