Bomber Boys: The RAF Offensive of 1943

by Kevin Wilson

A gripping account of the everyday heroism of British bomber crews in 1943 - the year when Bomber Command believed it could win WWII by bombing alone. In 1943 the RAF began a bombing campaign against Germany, the like of which had never before been seen. Over the next twelve months, tens of thousands of aircrews flew across the North Sea to drop their bombs on German cities. They were opposed not only by the full force of the Luftwaffe, but by a nightmare of flak, treacherously icy conditions, and constant mechanical malfunction. Most of these crews never finished their tour of operations but were either shot down and killed, or taken prisoner by an increasingly hostile enemy.

This is the story of the everyday heroism of British bomber crews in the days when it was widely believed that the Allies could win the Second World War by bombing alone.

Kevin Wilson has interviewed hundreds of former airmen about what their lives were like in 1943: the stomach-churning tension of flying repeatedly over hostile territory, the terror at being shot down or captured and the peculiar mixture of guilt and pride at unleashing such devastation on Germany.

Genres: History, Military History, World War II, War, Aviation

496 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2005

About the author

Kevin Wilson has spent most of his working life as a staff journalist on British national newspapers, including the Daily Mail and latterly the Daily and Sunday Express. He is married with three grown-up sons and a daughter.

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook read by Roger Davis.

Let me start by saying this is my second WWII audiobook read by Roger Davis, and once again he has done a fantastic job.

The story of the RAF Bomber Command offensive of 1943 is one of incredible fortitude and bravery, far surpassing what I can attest to in a Goodreads review. There are a range of stories recounted from real airmen in this book, from the daring tales of escape to harrowing first-person recounts of being shot down. The overarching theme is how many of these ordinary people, from teenagers to older adults, lived through events that not many of us could imagine, thankfully.

The book ends on a somber note, retelling how bomber command never really had its flowers at the end of the war. Whilst other branches of the armed forces were receiving operational specific medals, bomber command were left forgotten and given the generic “air force” medal along with fighter command. We shouldn’t forget the sacrifices made by those who essentially had their own Passchandale-like war of attrition.

[Ana-Maria Bujor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very detailed and includes a lot of stories of actual crew members who survived this very bloody and rather unknown part of the war on Nazi Germany. This is the story of the very, very young men who ended up bombing Germany's cities, as well as a few other strategic objectives. It also explains a lot of things about how the planes worked, how they identified targets and how they tried to escape the defences.
What this book has less of is descriptions of what happened in the cities because of the bombing. But that is fine, there are many fine books about it. This is a book about what it was to be a "bomber boy" and how deadly this proved to be for many of them.
There are many powerful accounts of loss, death, sacrifice and also human kindness in the grimmest of moments (German civilians saving the lives of downed crew). It's sad many of these people got little recognition because their "success" was not seen as successful enough. These 19 and 20 year olds deserved better after being thrown around and sent to pretty certain death.
What I wish is for the book to get more into the psychological toll of it all. How did they feel after Hamburg? How was life "after"?
All in all a highly informative book - I can see the author put a lot of work into it.

[Schvenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good book. Let's start with what it's not. It is not a step by excruciating step detailed account of the attacks and military movements of the air force throughout the war. While it does cover an entire year of attacks in chronological order, the main focus is the stories of individual airmen and the overall improvements the RAAF took during that year in order to escalate their efforts and drive Hitler's war machine back onto their own soil. Dozens of individual soldier's stories are told here, often in their own words. This book really gives you a sense of what it was like to live during that time, trying to accomplish what they did. I highly recommend it.

[A.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't remember the book especially well. It was sometimes a bit of a blitz (Luftwaffe PUN!) of details, but it was really all about the daily work of these bomber crews, almost so repetitive it was mundane in its terror, going up day after day with their lives almost entirely out of their hands.

[Mark Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stories by the brave aircrew who were part of Bomber Command.

[Ivan Rees · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative and gripping. This first part of the trilogy covers the dark days of Bomber Command during 1943 and early 1944 and contains fascinating first-hand testimonies of what it was like to face the terrible odds suffered by these brave young men - during this period, 70% of them didn't survive a 30-trip tour of operations.

I don't know how to correct this, but the author associated with this book on good reads looks like the wrong Kevin Wilson.

[Colleen O'grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very enlightening tale of the bombing by our good people during World War II. This is an enlightening tale of what the bombers crews and their pilots went through in attacking German cities with their amunition warehouses, ports and their facilities and other industrial areas. Sometimes its frightening to read this stuff and realize just how close it seemed to us losing the war

[Claire]

The bravery of these young men, as yet to be fully acknowledged, made me weep. This is essential reading for anyone interested in the period, and anyone wanting to know more about one of the most difficult parts of the Second World War. They were only boys.