A gripping and revealing account of the human machine that powered Allied air victory in the Second World War.
About the Book
Nearly one in five Allied pilots died in the Battle of Britain. For Bomber Command, almost half never returned.
This is the extraordinary, behind-the-scenes story of how the Allies trained enough airmen to survive — and ultimately win — the air war against Nazi Germany.
Wave after wave of Luftwaffe assaults demanded a constant supply of skilled pilots, yet casualties were horrifically high. With young men being lost faster than they could be replaced, the Allies faced a critical question:
How do you train thousands of aircrew fast enough to keep fighting a modern war?
John Golley reveals the remarkable global operation that made it possible. Through the Empire Air Training Scheme — later renamed the Commonwealth Air Training Plan — recruits from across the world were trained in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Southern Rhodesia, and South Africa in what became one of the largest aviation training programmes in history.
Described by Sir Maurice Dean as “one of the most brilliant pieces of imaginative organisation ever conceived,” the scheme produced aircrew on an industrial scale.
Golley, himself a graduate of the programme who trained in Assiniboia and Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in 1942, brings the experience vividly to life — from the hopes of young cadets to the brutal reality awaiting them in combat.
The book also uncovers the vast political and commercial negotiations behind the scenes, as lend-lease agreements, manufacturing contracts, and international finance were orchestrated to keep pilots flowing to the front.
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