Wings: The RAF at War, 1912-2012

by Patrick Bishop

The Royal Air Force is synonymous with its heroic achievements in the summer of 1940, when Winston Churchill's 'famous few' held Goering's Luftwaffe at bay in the Battle of Britain, thereby changing the course of the war. For much of the 20th century, warplanes were fixed in the world's imagination, a symbol of the perils and excitements of the modern era. Aviators have always seemed different to soldiers and sailors—more adventurous and imaginative. Their stories gripped the public and in both wars and air aces dominated each side's propaganda, capturing hearts and dreams. Writing with the verve, passion and the sheer narrative aplomb familiar to many thousands of readers from his bestselling World War II aerial histories, Fighter Boys and Bomber Boys, Patrick Bishop's Wings is a rich and compelling account of military flying from its heroic early days to the present.

Genres: History, War, Aviation, Military Fiction, Military History, Nonfiction

402 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Patrick Bishop was born in London in 1952 and went to Wimbledon College and Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Before joining the Telegraph he worked on the Evening Standard, the Observer and the Sunday Times and in television as a reporter on Channel Four News. He is the author with John Witherow of a history of the Falkands War based on their own experiences and with Eamon Mallie of The Provisional IRA which was praised as the first authoritative account of the modern IRA. He also wrote a memoir the first Gulf War, Famous Victory and a history of the Irish diaspora The Irish Empire, based on the TV series which he devised.

Reviews

[Robert Hepple · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wings – One Hundred Years of British Aerial Warfare is an account of achievements by the RAF and the FAA, by a writer with the journalistic skills to make it incredibly readable and interesting. It draws on numerous sources, all referenced appropriately. It falls short in two main areas. Firstly there are significant gaps – the areas covered are either done in immense detail, or none at all. Secondly, the book has an enormous amount of typos – this can usually be put down to the use of technical phrases in books of this sort, but it isn’t the reason here as the errors are quite random. Added to this are occasional glaring factual errors, which make the book overly frustrating at times. An enjoyable read, but not a great one.

[Donald Pryde · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty lame excuse for a history of the Raf, missing huge chunks from after the 2nd world war until the Falklands war.

[Ed Wijninga · Rating 5 out of 5]

And again, Patrick Bishop has written an excellent book on the history of Air Pwer and the Royal Air Force in particular. It is astonishing to read how much this Air Force has been at the forefront of the development of Air Power by pursuing ideas that nobody had thought of previously. At the same time the author succeeds in introducing a kind of intimacy by relating to many sometimes very personal stories. A great read!

[Al Lock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read which covers the RFC, the RNAS, the FAA and the RAF from foundation to the current day. In general, the author does a very good job of covering the various duties and operations that the RAF have executed over the years, although his position on "strategic" bombing (Bomber Command's role in WWII) is a little confusing.

[Andrew O'reilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining and informative history of the history of the RAF

[Paul Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and well-written.

[Cole Maynard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellently researched and beautifully written this tome engages with the reader giving just the right mixture of detail and anecdote. For me is was not a book to rush but to savour with a good coffee and change the pace from a fiction novel to a carefully crafted historical narrative.

At times the author simply amazed me at just how well he balances the need for facts with carefully researched personal accounts and stories. He is the master at showing history as a living account of the past - with no dry and dusty bones evident but living testimony and thrilling accounts of the past deeds and experiences.

A great read!

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bishop writes history in a very accessible way, interspersing facts with recollections from people who were there.

The book focuses mainly on the two world wars and the interwar period which shaped much of the RAF's structure. As a result the last few chapters feel as though they rather gallop through events post-1945.

That aside this is an entertaining, informative and at times quite moving read.

[Christopher Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the book.

It is quite awe-inspiring imagining the feats of the RAF, especially during WW2, and also the personal stories, that the writer does a very good job of sharing with the reader.

I have to say, there was very little in the book about the RAF after 1945. There was barely 10 pages about the last 30 years of service history.

Still, it was great going through the epic history of the RAF in from the first amateur flyers to the present day.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the creating and evolution of the RFC to the RAF. Amazing research and documentation. I enjoyed this book immensely. Anyone who has an interest in the RAF and their history will enjoy this book. It was so easy to read and so difficult to put down. It was well worth the purchase and I'm going to read it again sometime.

[iain meek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent. Both a full history and lots of description of individual combats.