An evocative history of one of the most innovative and controversial bomber groups of the Second World War.
About the Book
As well as the remarkable ‘Dambuster’ raids, No. 5 Group RAF took part in the first ‘thousand-bomber attack’ on Cologne and the first ‘shuttle raid’ against rocket facilities, as well as mounting unsupported attacks on Braunschweig, Heilbronn and, infamously, Dresden.
Because of its fame within bomber circles, it received the nicknames the ‘Fifth Air Force’ and ‘Cocky’s Private Airworks’, reflecting the exceptional degree of autonomy granted to its commander, Ralph Cochrane, by Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Arthur ‘Butch’ Harris.
Its various squadrons, most notably 617 Squadron, were frequently called upon for special missions, pioneering new weapons such as Barnes Wallis’ bouncing bombs and the gigantic ‘earthquake bombs’: Tallboy and Grand Slam.
The cost of this operational daring was immense. Of the Victoria Crosses awarded to Bomber Command airmen during the war, nine went to 5 Group crews, while nearly 12,000 of its men were killed or listed as missing — many of them scarcely out of their teens.
Chaz Bowyer draws upon personal anecdotes, memoirs and interviews with pilots, aircrew and ground staff to provide vivid insight into what it was like to serve in a group widely regarded as one of the most effective in Bomber Command.
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