Squadron Airborne

by Trevor Elleston

Ellestron Trevor’s superbly realistic novelization of the greatest aerial battle in the history of warfare 

In the summer of 1940, the Battle of Britain rages in the skies over southern England. Nineteen-year-old Pilot Officer Peter Stuyckes arrives at RAF Westhill and is immediately put to the test.

Based on the author’s own service as an RAF Flight Engineer, Squadron Airborne unfolds over one unforgettable week that summer, depicting the work of the many ground crew and other staff with intensity and brilliance as they support the Few in their fight against the Luftwaffe. Originally published in 1955, this repackaged edition marks the eightieth anniversary of the Battle of Britain and includes a contextual introduction by an Imperial War Museums historian.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical, World War II, War

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

Reviews

[Helena Schrader]

This is one of the few books about the Battle of Britain that gives due attention and space to the critical role played by ground crews in keeping the RAF in the air. The scenes on the ground -- whether describing the actual work (in very technical terms) or the interpersonal relationships between the crews and the crews and their pilots -- are first rate. Trevor uses language masterfully in both evocative, elegant descriptions and in recreating the staccato, jargon-filled dialogue of the RAF. Likewise, the characters of the book are well-drawn, unique, authentic and compelling.

Unfortunately, the book is marred by Trevor's errors and misrepresentations when depicting aerial combat. Trevor's pilots -- even the beginners -- all consistently shoot down four or five Germans every time they take to the air. The fictional squadron accounts for hundreds of Luftwaffe planes in just one week. NO. A pilot was deemed an "ace" if he shot down five aircraft -- in his entire career. Ninety-five percent of all RAF pilots in the Battle of Britain did not shoot down a single enemy aircraft before being shot down themselves. The top-scoring ace of the RAF ("Pat" Pattle) shot down a total of 55 in his entire career (much of which was fought against Italy.) The top-scoring RAF ace in the West had a total -- over the entire length of six years of war -- of 38 victories. Trevor's pilots, even the "Sprogs" (inexperienced pilots) are given that many "kills" in just a couple of days. He also has the pilots chattering on the RT before engagements and makes a number of other errors with respect to RAF tactics at this time. Ultimately, the exaggeration of RAF prowess in the sky was so annoying that I skimmed over the flying scenes so I could get back on the ground to the things Trevor depicted so exquisitely well.

I will recommend this book -- but always accompanied by the caveat that the flying sequences should be ignored.

[Dario]

I really enjoyed reading this account of the Battle of Britain from a writer who lived it. The narrative is fluid and as if you were there, dealing with the everyday experiences of the pilots and ground crew. Also the feeling of loss and temporary, intense connections that are taken away by death and war made this a meaningful read. I plan to read more by this author.

[Alice]

Ellestone Trevor was a prolific, multi-genre author, producing the Quiller novels as Adam Hall as well as a series of children's books about anthropomorphic woodland creatures. This was the first aviation novel of his I'd read and I loved it. Well-written; compelling; full of convincing detail and language.

[Chris Wray]

“The enemy spinner came nosing into the mirror again. The shells tore into the tail section and he felt his rudder go. The propeller broke up and the engine's note went pitching into a scream. He cut the switches and drew his feet up on to the seat, under his parachute, tugging the hood-release and hearing it plop away as the wind caught it…The last thing he did was to check his height. It was less than three thousand. As he dragged himself up, a shell cluster ripped into the wing-root and exploded. He felt fragments biting into his arm, and his sight wavered. Something like a great noise was inside his head, a noise that had a smell to it, and colour, a sunburst of colour. The remaining images were disconnected, and only a chink of narrowing consciousness allowed him to know that the mainplane was breaking off at the root, where the shells had gone in. His foot was trapped in something inside the cockpit, and he made no attempt to free it, and became surprised that he was making no attempt. Then the slipstream dragged him backwards and in the last few seconds he was bombarded with a stream of images, many of them nothing to do with his machine or his dying.”

I’m so glad to have discovered this, another captivating entry in the Imperial War Museum’s Wartime Classics line of reprints. Set during a single week in the Battle of Britain, it evocatively captures the jeopardy, drama and uncertainty of that time. We know, with hindsight, that victory was never seriously in doubt and that the Luftwaffe would be comprehensively defeated - but the young men who lived, flew, fought and died in the summer and autumn of 1940 did not have that luxury.

Something that struck me again and again when reading this was how young these men were. Their youth comes through in their often boyish attitudes and behaviour, which is in stark contrast to how stoically unsentimental they are in response to the death of their peers. Facing sudden extinction every time they were scrambled, it is understandable that these young men lived fast and hard when not in the air - and Elleston powerfully conveys that attitude in his writing.

Another significant strength of the book is that it doesn’t simply focus on the pilots, but on the aircraftmen and other ground crew who labour tirelessly to keep their squadron in the air. Round-the-clock repairs, rapid refuelling and rearmament, and the co-ordinated urgency of a scramble are all powerfully and dramatically portrayed, and seen as no less important than what the pilots do in the air. I can’t recommend this highly enough; it is an absolutely brilliant novel, and I am delighted that it has been reprinted.

“At the Flight, the crews watched. Someone was yelling at them to take cover; but they watched, one or two of them bending and rising at the knees, swinging their arms up, picking the whole squadron up from the field and throwing it into the air; and almost it seemed as if they were doing that, as the machines lifted towards the far boundary, airborne, wheels folding outwards, half-seen through the rich black haze of exhaust-fume as the throttles went through the gates…A cheer came, a faint ragged chorus breaking through the din of the machines as the men turned away and ran for the slit-trench, shouting and laughing and triumphant; and for these few moments there was no difference between the men in the aircraft and those on the ground, for they had worked this little miracle together with one man's bare hands and sweat as honest as another's. The squadron was airborne. There were not twelve machines, but only seven; of these, some were still riddled with bullet-holes, some still streaked with oil released from leaks; the pilots were jaded and their nerves were too finely-pitched for perfect judgment - but their temper was hot and the tanks were full and the guns loaded, and they were airborne, streaking clear at full boost even as the enemy's bomb-doors were opening on the run-in towards the field.”

[smokeandmirrors]

Looking the author up after reading this I was genuinely astonished to find out that he was IN the air force during WW2 because so much of the narrative felt strongly to me of "author who has researched meticulously and is making it your problem". All the moments I found genuinely emotional or touching were pilots ruminating in the cockpit or WAAFs in the hospital or something and had nothing to do with airscrews or trolley-acc motors or starboard mag-drops, terms which generally felt to me like a joyful recitation of technical specifications divorced from the story being told. This is a STRANGE FEELING to have when the story being told is of an RAF squadron in 1940. Generously, I think the lesson I have learned with this book is that there is a level of technobabble so dense it shapes my entire reading experience. Ungenerously, I think Elleston Trevor could have done a much better job integrating whatever the fuck a starboard mag-drop is into his story if he was so invested in their presence.

But then, you know, I think that's disingenuous on my part too; I'm sure I would earnestly hate this book if it took time out of every page to explain what Ki-gas is or how a spark-plug works, and what's the other option, just not to use technical terms? So I suspect the odd technical/emotional divorce I was feeling throughout is a result of Trevor also being aware of this problem, and his solution was to make sure the important moments don't depend on a precise knowledge of Spitfire specs. And to a point this is good, because after a few chapters of battling I was just letting my eyes bounce off words like T-trolley and locking-wire and set-screw. I don't know what those things are and I suspect I never will! Maybe that's fine. When the lads are shot they express sentiments like "Oh no, I'm hit" and "what a waste of an aircraft" and "I hate parachutes" which is comprehensible even to me. So maybe it's better to say that the technobabble is relegated to being set dressing, and that Trevor was clearly very fond of his set dressing, and that counterintuitively his laborious & loving detail became so esoteric that I was utterly unmoored amongst his oleo-legs and union-nuts and air compressors. I really am just opening the book to a random page for fresh examples every time. I don't know what ANY of these things are.

[Max Gwynne]

Inspired by his time as an engineer in the RAF during the Second World War, Trevor has written quite frankly one of the very best war novels I have ever read.

Following the lives of several people in a particular squadron over the course of just one week during the Battle of Britain, the novel surprised me with its incredible emotion; as relationships are beautifully formed and, very sadly, cripplingly destroyed at the drop of a hat.

The story is not short on dramatic dog-fights, fear, love and loss and stands now as without doubt one of my very favourite novels … full-stop.

The memory of ‘The Few’ and their tremendously gallant effort in defending us from tyrannous Nazi forces are truly done justice here in this hidden masterpiece of a book.

Very seldom do books make me emotional … Trevor‘s work will leave you heart-wrenchingly proud and, like me, with a few tears in your eyes.

[Peter]

Enjoyed this so much I've read it twice, and will again one day. Elleston Trevor was a flight engineer during the war, and he writes with the flowing confidence of earned experience. Similar to Nevil Shute in the way he can tell a ripping yarn filled with good people, and have a romance bubbling away in the background in a secondary but still involving way.

Chapter 18 is the best description of a dog fight ever.

I've been looking for someone to replace Nevil Shute, and I'd forgotten about this book by Mr. Trevor. He wrote nearly a hundred novels, finishing his last just before his death in 1995. I think I may have found my next obsession.

[Mike Jennings]

Great so far.
Brilliant! Say no more.

[dimmie]

one of my new favourite books. super fast paced with incredibly well written combat scenes and very interesting characters

[Paul Davies]

Squadron Airborne is a masterclass in writing by an accomplished author who published many more books under various names. The book was used by the scripwriters for the 1968 making of the film: Battle of Britain along with The Narrow Margin. Highly readable as described eloquently by author Helena P. Schrader, whose book on the battle was praised by Bob Doe and WAAF Edith Heap (Kup) who I interviewed in 2018. Squadron Airborne tells the story of a fighter airfield during 1940, the personalities of the groundcrew shine out, the RAF slang, humour and tragedy as the war winnows the fighter pilots of a Spitfire squadron based there. The author builds up many believable characters leading me to believe he heavily researched and interviewed ground crew as well as aircrew and why this was used as a major source in the screenplay for Battle of Britain and it`s enduring influnce today. As a novel, it is superb, flowing, well written and will make you laugh as well as darken your mood when losses inevitably occurr high over the fields of Kent and Sussex. The air combat scenes he describes are realistic and moved former Battle of Britain fighter ace: Robert Stanford Tuck to write in the foreword how the book affected him unlike any other-taking him back to the sounds, sights and experiences he had in 1940, flying Spitfires and Hurricanes in that same battle to save Britain from invasion. The book has been in my collection for decades and is read nearly every summer. It sets the atmosphere for the battle far better than any non-fiction book has been able to do and is informative, reliable and true to the sacrifice, service and lives of those of the RAF it describes, on the ground and in the air. A film could be made based upon the book as it is-however, on watching Battle of Britain, it is apparent, the influence this wonderful novel has had. Buy the book, you will never read a finer novel of the Battle of Britain. Paul Davies. Aviation Historian. Battle of Britain Site.

[Mike Futcher]

A capable but unremarkable war story, Squadron Airborne follows a week in the life of a Spitfire squadron during the Battle of Britain. It's a conventional telling and doesn't have any surprises: there's lots of aerial combat and mental strain, with some skirt-chasing when back on base. There's a novice pilot who must learn to grow up quickly if he's to survive, a paternal squadron leader, and the usual cast of supporting characters.

The book takes a while to warm up, and it loses its focus sometimes with such a large cast of characters in such a short span of time, but it's perfectly readable once it settles. It's by no means a masterpiece – the closest it gets to a spark is the odd special phrase or passage, such as "the sun, catching the undersides of the Spitfires, turned them into a line of bright gold crosses" (pg. 67), or the part where one pilot, watching a German plane come apart, recognises that they themselves could be in that situation soon enough "but for the grace of God, and eight guns, and the armour-plate" (pg. 145).

Aside from such moments, Squadron Airborne is a routine, almost stolid read, with its only point of note being that it focuses on the ground crew almost as much as it does the pilots (author Elleston Trevor was himself an RAF engineer during the Battle). However, for the most part, regular readers of war fiction will find it much of the same.

[Edoardo Albert]

If the characteristic art of World War I was the poem, that of World War II was the novel. Perhaps it reached its highest form in Evelyn Waugh’s incomparable Sword of Honour trilogy, but there were many other fine novels reflecting on the war, such as The Cruel Sea, Schindler’s Ark and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

This isn’t quite one of them. Elleston Trevor went on to write the successful Quiller spy series under the pseudonym Adam Hall. Squadron Airborne is formed from personal experience during the war; it largely follows a single squadron through a few weeks of the Battle of Britain, looking equally at pilots and ground crew, the point of view changing frequently. He does a good job of showing the importance of the ground crew to the whole battle but, presumably because the language was so second nature to him, he uses air force terminology so liberally throughout the book that it’s often hard to understand what exactly is going on: I still don’t know what a mag drop is and why it’s important.

Read for an insight into how all the members of a squadron played a vital role in getting and keeping the planes airborne.

[Mark]

I picked up this book in the gift shop at the Churchill War Rooms Museum. I didn't know about the IWM Wartime Classics series, but I like the idea of novel written about the Battle of Britain written by a participant. In this case, the author was an aircraft engineer for the RAF, and he writes in very convincing detail about what is was like at an airbase, defending the daily arrivals of the Luftwaffe. The novel spans only a few days, but it seems like so much longer; a vivid reminder of the grueling, incessant demands of the pilots and crew. Add in the WAAFs (Women's Auxiliary Air Force) and the NAAFI (Navy, Army and Air Force Institute) civilian support staff and you have some romance too.

It's well written, but very dense with British slang and aircraft terminology. I needed to search on-line several times to help me along. Good book overall. BTW, Elleston went on to write many more novels, including The Flight of the Phoenix. I may try some others in the Wartime Classic series if I can find them here in the US.

[Andy Horton]

One of the Imperial War Museum reprints of novels based on their authors’ WWII experiences. This by Elleston Trevor, author of Flight of the Phoenix and the Quiller spy novels, is about a Battle of Britain squadron. Good on the visceral nature if sir combat, the dissonance between the stress and danger of combat and the downtime of relative peace. Good on relationships and the women involved with the pilots.
I do t know if it was an editorial decision, but the number of aircraft both lost snd shot down is exaggerated compared with reality.
Really good on the ground crew, playing their part in the battle, and very much part of the squadron. A few years after the war, my father was an engine fitter on an RAF squadron, and this book gave some sense of why all through his life he took pride in that.

[Colin Lawrence]

First published in 1955 and since republished as part of the Imperial War Museum's Wartime Classics, Elleston Trevor's 'Squadron Airborne' is undoubtedly the best novel I have read this year. Covering a timescale of just one week during the summer of 1940 when the Battle of Britain was at its height, this story of a RAF fighter station is an absorbing read from start to finish. The characters are extremely well drawn and totally believable, from the hardworking ground crews to the Spitfire pilots whose job it is the defend the skies from the Luftwaffe, a force that outnumbers them 5 to 1. The action sequences both on the ground and in the air are totally gripping. The book is based on the author's own experiences which gives the narrative true authenticity. Please read it. You won't be disappointed.

[Ellie]

I found this book on Spotify as an audiobook and it had a fantastic narrator! Despite Squadron Airborne being about one pilot specifically, it follows the stories of many characters, and the narrator did a great job of separating them all using his voice. The story itself was very intriguing and the author really knew what he was writing about. It contained a lot of vocabulary from the RAF that was confusing at times, but he managed to fit it into the sentences so that it made sense. I really liked the character of Charlie Mason specifically, and I enjoyed reading about how he grappled with his role as a leader and tried to stay strong for his squadron's sake. How can you handle watching your friends go down every day? How can you handle your friends going crazy as they crack under the pressure? These are all questions Mason had to answer as he fought through WWII.

[Jason Towers]

At first it's hard to sort out the large cast of characters and to understand what the fragments of dialogue mean, but that's not how this novel works. It's an impressionistic read, full to bursting with authentic jargon, period detail and edge-of-your-seat aerial combat. The characters, once you come to identify them, are beautifully drawn and distinct, their experiences more like reportage than fiction. The author's experience of this actual stuff — living through World War II as ground crew for fighting aircraft — is there in every sentence. Very few people could have written this book. Breathtaking.

[Bob Guntrip]

Fantasist tripe, really. Entertaining subplots, one or two characters that aren't quite transparent, but the Battle of Britain - or my understanding of it - is conspicuous by its absence. Within the first dozen pages the eponymous squadron has accounted for half the Luftwaffe and should have won the war by the end of the book. Belittle your enemy 15 years after the battle's been won? Why?

[Andy Davis]

This is an excellent novel that focuses on the pilots, grand crew and staff of an imagined WW2 airfield. All try to maintain friendships and romantic realtionships with the uncertainties of the time, the greatest uncertainties being for the pilots whose immense daily peril is wwll described in exciting passages.

[Paul Gosselin]

Pathetic soap 0pera set in WWII. I expect it tells us more about Elleston than what really went down in the Battle of Britain. Too bad. Elleston does appear to have some talent as a writer, but it seems wasted here.

[Rhys]

An interesting account of the period which doesn’t neglect the less glamorous elements of being involved in the ground crew.

However even with the characters and exact events being fictitious, there is some excitement left to be desired throughout.

But an accurate and pleasant read nonetheless!

[Matthew]

Meh. Nothing really happens. The combat is much too brief and doesnt really feel consequential.

[Kyle Mackenzie]

Wow, the way this book builds the fear and tension for everyone in one airbase during the Battle of Britain is incredible. From the relationships to the work to the air combat. Such a good read.

[M.]

“He shouldn’t have to be doin’ what he does, all day, not at his age, should he?” Mason said: “No. None of us should have to be doing it, at any age.”
3.5

A 19 year old joins the RAF and goes through The Horrors of aerial warfare alongside an ensemble cast of fellow pilots, experienced leaders and personnel.
I liked how much emphasis this book placed on the ground crew. Yeah sure, the pilots go up there and shoot, but there’s a large amount of personnel needed to get them functional enough to do so, and this book paid attention to how important they were. I also thought it was really nice how Daisy, the most important female character, was one of the ensemble cast working on the ground instead of being solely there as a love interest.

The best part of the book were the insights into the individual thoughts of these people. Lines like “The morning was never a good time, because they woke with their minds innocent, and then, getting out of bed or bending over the washbasin or strapping their watch on, they remembered yesterday, and superimposed its thousand histories on the blank sheet of today. Today the near-miss might not be granted them” capture something fragile and real about the pernicious reality of people who go into air battles again and again.

While well written in that regard, I did not always feel like this was a great novel story wise. The characters all have their individual problems, but they did not all have the depth I would have liked, nor did their interactions make me feel like they were connected as part of a whole. The flights were somewhat suspenseful, but lacked the dread of a thriller.
Still, I really liked this book, because the true dread and suspense was in how the war was described.

[James Ronholm]

As a former Royal Canadian Air Force officer I'm sure that I'm prejudiced - but I really enjoyed this book.

The story is actually fairly thin - being more of a series of vignettes concerning the lives of a few fighter pilots and aircraft technicians in the Battle of Britain (and a few of their romantic attachments) - rather than some complicated plot, but that doesn't mean it isn't enjoyable. There are several dogfights described but also the more mundane features of life lived under the possibility of imminent death.

The writing is very good and the characters are believable.