Night After Night: New Zealanders in Bomber Command

by Max Lambert

While the fighter aces in their Hurricanes and Spitfires have had their WW2 exploits well celebrated, most of us know much less about the contribution made by thousands of New Zealanders who fought and died in what proved to be one of England's most potent weapons - Bomber Command.In this detailed history, full of facts, figures, names, anecdotes and both humorous and harrowing examples, Night After Night is a deeply moving account that is fulsome in detail and personal material provided by survivors, family members, colleagues and fellow serviceman. 1850 young New Zealand airmen died in bombers flying from British bases during the war and so far their story is largely untold. Many more were wounded and others became POWs after surviving horrendous crashes and forced landings. As well as the pilots, gunners, navigators, radio crew and bombardiers also battled fear, fatigue and the associated risks of flying into enemy fire sitting on top of huge quantities of high explosives night after night after night - hence the evocative title. this will be a significant contribution to our military history - a book with huge potential, and hundreds of moving stories and adventures.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, War

Paperback

First published September 28, 2007

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harrowing and humbling.

1,850 young Kiwi pilots died flying for the RAF/RNZAF during the Second World War, taking the fight directly to the war machine of Nazi Germany. This the story of these men, all too often overlooked in the annals of NZ military history.

For anyone who doubts that war is anything other than brutally personal, read this book. Read of the young Kiwi men who flew flaming bombers knowingly to their deaths, providing just enough time for their crews to bail out. Read of the airmen thrown in the Buchenwald concentration camp, made POWs or executed by the Gestapo. Read of men barely out of school -or with young families at home - who volunteered to brave the firestorm of flak, the night-fighters of the Luftwaffe, and the often extreme conditions - knowing that the chance of long-term survival was slim.

As harrowing as many of these personal stories are, what is truly humbling is the deep veneration that these airmen are still held in communities around Europe. There are graveyards and memorials in France, Norway, Denmark, England, Belgium - and even Germany - where local communities tend the graves, hold services and continue to honour the sacrifices made by these young men from so far away. For us living in peaceful times, not knowing of the horrors of living under a Nazi occupation - this may seem odd after nearly 70 years. That it is true I have witnessed personally on my travels, and is attested by many moving examples in Max Lambert's lovingly researched homage.

Few of these men still live. In New Zealand the survivors returned to their ordinary lives, rarely speaking of their exploits and the comrades left behind in the graveyards of Europe. Their widows find a voice here too, speaking poignantly of the planned-for lives together extinguished by war, and the deep scars left on families in New Zealand as sons, brothers and fathers didn't return.

Few New Zealanders know that Bomber Command had the longest tour of duty of all services, with the most shocking casualty rates. Lambert's book rights this wrong, but is at is most unforgettable when it shares the personal, tragic stories of the fight for the airspace above occupied Europe.