Flames Over Norway

Secret Squadron #1

by Robert Jackson

Pilot Officer Ken Armstrong is one of a small and select band of Spitfire pilots. In the winter of early 1940, freezing in their cramped cockpits, the pilots set out to photograph German targets that will be attacked when the ‘Phoney War’ gives way to a shooting war — the heavy industries of the Ruhr Valley and, above all, warships of the German Navy, standing ready to break out into the Atlantic and prey on Britain’s vital convoys. Suddenly, in the early days of April 1940, an armada of German warships begins to move from the north German ports. Armstrong and his fellow pilots have the task of shadowing them, and soon establish that the invasion of Norway is beginning. Shot down during a photo-recce sortie over Norway, Armstrong finds himself fighting with Allied ground forces before reaching an RAF fighter squadron operating from a frozen lake in the far north. He is soon involved in an amazing intrigue with Norwegian government officials, desperate to salvage Norway’s remaining gold reserves and fly them to England. Finding an aircraft capable of doing the job is a problem — which Armstrong and his new friends set about solving. The obvious answer is to steal one from under the noses of the conquering Germans … 'Takes you to the heart of the action.' - Tom Kasey, best-selling author of Cold Kill. Robert Jackson (b. 1941) is a prolific author of military and aviation history, having become a full time writer in 1969. As an active serviceman in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve he flew a wide range of aircraft, ranging from jets to gliders.

Genres: Historical Fiction, World War II

150 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 28, 1996

About the author

Robert Jackson was born in 1941 in the North Yorkshire village of Melsonby. A former pilot and navigation instructor, his active involvement with aviation lasted many years. Following his retirement from the RAFVR in 1977 as a squadron leader, he became a full-time aviation writer and aerospace correspondent and lectured extensively on strategic issues. He speaks five languages, including Russian, and has written more than forty nonfiction works on military affairs. He is also the author of the popular Yeoman and SAS fiction series.

Reviews

[Veronica ⭐️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flames of Norway is set during the lead up to WWII and follows the POV of three main characters, Kalinski – a Pole, Armstrong – a Britain and Lehmann – a German.

Jackson tells the facts without prejudice and gives the reader a blow by blow description of the battle for Norway. He knows his subject and the reader is taken right to the heart of the action with vivid imagery.

Although written with great detail of the military planning and reconnaissance missions the story never gets bogged down and it kept me enthralled until the fiery end.

Highly recommended for any readers interested in the planes and the missions of pilots during WWII.

I received an ERC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

[Maria Beltrami · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fiamme sopra la Norvegia, ovvero come l'oro norvegese non finì in mano nazista. Interessante romanzo storico che parla delle attività su un fronte poco conosciuto della seconda guerra mondiale e di come, vista da quei terribili inizi, la guerra avrebbe potuto essere facilmente vinta dalla Germania nazista, di sicuro meglio armata e priva di scrupoli rispetto alle potenze alleate. Come dicevo, romanzo molto interessante anche se un po' ondivago, dato che molto spesso, la parte storica diventa di secondo piano, e molto romanzesca, rispetto alla descrizione degli innumerevoli duello aerei. Molto divertente, soprattutto letto alle luce delle attuali teorie complottistiche relativa alle scie chimiche, il passaggio che parla della sorpresa dei primi piloti d'alta quota nello scoprire che al di sopra di una certa altitudine i loro aerei, che a quote più basse non tracciavano segni nell'aria, disegnavano invece poderose scie che in qualche modo ne denunciavano la presenza nonostante le verniciature che li rendevano invisibili dal basso. Per la cronaca: il romanzo è del 1966.
Ringrazio Endeavour Press e Netgalley per avermi fornito una copia gratuita in cambio di una recensione onesta.

Flames over Norway, or how Norwegian gold did not end up in Nazi hand. An interesting historical novel about activities on a little-known front of World War II and how, seen by those terrible beginnings, war could easily be won by Nazi Germany, certainly better armed and unscrupulous than Allies. As I was saying, a very interesting novel though somewhat incostant, since very often the historical part becomes secondary and very fictional compared to the description of the many air duels. It's a lot of fun, especially in light of the current conspiracy theories about chemical sciences, the passage that talks about the surprise of the first pilots of high altitude to discover that above a certain altitude their planes, which at lower altitudes did not trace signs in the air, drew insteads big path that somehow denounced their presence despite the paintings that made them invisible from below. For the news: The novel is from 1966.
I thank Endeavor Press and Netgalley for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a work of Historical Fiction that captures the beginning of World War II in Europe with a focus on Britian’s Royal Air Force (RAF). Squadron Leader Ken Armstrong is a pilot in the RAF. While initially Armstrong’s focus is on photo reconnaissance missions, he graduates to missions against the German surface navy and eventually into direct combat in Norway. The Germans invaded Norway in April of 1940 and Ken Armstrong becomes immersed in the unsuccessful British effort to dislodge them from Norway. The story is well written and very realistic. No super heroes performing unbelievable tasks. This period of WWII was a tough time for Great Britian and the author pulls no punches here. Britian is not coming out on top in the battles in this book. The characters are well written and come across as substantive people. The dialogue seems genuine and it fits the time and the personalities of the characters. This series has 6 total books and this initial offering has enticed me to continue the series.

[Tony Hisgett · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book follows the reconnaissance pilot Ken Armstrong during the early days of the war, although occasionally the focus switches to Stanislaw Kalinski, a Polish fighter pilot and a German Me109 pilot Hans Lehmann.

A great deal of the book is an historical description of several incidents at the beginning the war, especially the invasion of Norway. Although this is interesting there are times when it goes on a bit too long and I just wanted the story to get back to Armstrong’s adventures.

[Tom Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable read with a surprise ending. Recommended

I enjoy reading Robert Jackson's books. You can learn interesting history spiced with likable characters in challenging situations. Flames Over Norway deals with the German invasion of Norway and the early days of the WW2. Interesting story with a great ending.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book isn’t what I usually read, but the blurb sounded interesting so I gave it a go. I think I would have enjoyed it more if the story had been more cohesive and not so episodic and choppy. I probably won’t bother with any more in the series.

[Brad · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the most part, this book was very enjoyable. I felt the book ended abruptly. perhaps that was the writers intension. To leave the reader wanting more. There was more of a story that should have been told. Generally speaking, a light story to read and not much more.

[Margaret H · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. I would probably understand it if I flew a plane.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good series by Jackson

Covering the early assault on Norway by Germany against the efforts of both the local resistance groups and British forces.

[Carlene Alexander · Rating 2 out of 5]

Needed a proof read - I had to keep rereading whole sections.

[Les · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book by this author that I've read, and my experience was similar. Flames Over Norway is set during the very early stages of World War Two, and the central character is a young reconnaissance pilot who flies dangerous photographing missions over enemy territory in an unarmed aircraft. The story moves along quite well and describes the scene very well, almost documentary style in places with the author filling in the background tactical situation of the posturing armies and air forces. As the title suggests, the largest section of the story takes place in Norway, where the German forces are trying to gain a foothold due to the valuable strategic nature of their shipping ports, essential for their naval vessels trying to get to the North Atlantic. The story turns more into a blow-by-blow account of tussles between the local militias, British garrisons and the invading Nazi troops, and is well-written and interesting, but the story still lacks a definable overriding plot or story. There are some particularly cool naval battle scenes that I found interesting and there is a small amount of intrigue around a train load of gold that the Norwegians are desperately trying to whisk away from under the Germans' noses, but not a heavy enough plot to really engage. Had there been a bigger story at work (other than the whole World War Two thing) then this book would've been a lot harder to put down. The author's knowledge of the period and of the aircraft and hardware appears to be vast and accurate, and this lends itself to a book that is more educational than entertaining. I reckon that anyone who is an enthusiast of World War Two aviation in particular would enjoy the book, but I wouldn't recommend it to a typical reader looking for a rollicking yarn. This is a bit of a shame because the writing style is good and the story flows well enough, it's just missing that "big picture" to keep the reader firmly on the hook.

[John Purvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Flames over Norway” eBook was published in 2016 (April, the paper version was first published in 1996) and was written by Robert Jackson. Mr. Jackson has written several books, both Fiction and Non-Fiction, on World War II, with a focus on aircraft of the era.

I received a galley of this novel for review through https://www.netgalley.com. I categorize this novel as ‘PG’ because it contains scenes of Violence. The story is set in England and Norway just prior to and during during World War II. The primary character is British Flying Officer Ken Armstrong.

Armstrong is one of those few very brave pilots who flew unarmed aircraft over occupied Europe and even Germany itself to get ariel reconnaissance film of enemy installations and ship movements. The story recounts Armstrong’s encounter and escape from German aircraft. It also tells of his participation in the British military intervention in Norway after the Germans invaded during the spring of 1940.

This is the third of Mr. Jackson’s novels that I have read. They are relatively short, but I enjoyed the 4.5 hours I spent reading this 152 page novel. I found it an interesting coincidence that I had recently viewed a short video (http://wp.me/p4jzCO-ZD) of an American who flew unarmed Spitfires on air reconnaissance missions during World War II. I give this novel a 4 out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at http://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy via Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.
This is a well written story and at times reads as a biography rather than fiction.
Saying that it is a easy read and very enjoyable.

[Peter Gandrud · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book with real time drama

This is an excellent history of Norway during WWII.
I like the flying drama with fog rain guns bombs.
I recommend this book.

[Chaplain Stanley Chapin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great action

It was able to show the accounts of a very important aspect of military planning, reconvene by air and ground

[John Edmonson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read.

It's not great literature, but it is well-written, and fun to read. I enjoy Jackson's books a great deal for those qualities.

[MR M J SMITH]

A good read

This book gives a very decent insight in to the invasion of Norway and the British attempt to support the nation.