Alone I Fly: A Wellington Pilot’s Desert War

by Bill Bailey, Ronnie Green

After several years at sea, Sgt Bill Bailey arrived in Cairo in 1942 as a new recruit to the RAF, hoping to fulfill his ambition to fly bombers. Within hours of his arrival he is sent on his first bombing mission as second pilot in a 104 Squadron Wellington. The aircraft was hit by enemy gunfire and suffered continual loss of altitude as it struggled to return to base. In thick cloud over a vast expanse of barren desert the aircraft hit a rock outcrop and disintegrated. Bill came to lying alone on a precipitous ledge and soon realized that he was the sole survivor. If he was to live he had to find help.To walk in temperatures of over 100 degrees proved impossible, so he trudged over seemingly endless dunes at dusk and dawn, his energy gradually fading. On the point of near collapse he found what he thought was a small cave in which to shelter from the searing sun. His luck now changed as he realized that his shelter was in fact an abandoned German reconnaissance truck. He found water and a little food, but no radio. He gradually resigned himself to death as he was incapable of moving any further, but then with a last desperate inspiration he realized that it may be possible to attract attention by heliograph. He found enough equipment in the truck and rigged a mast with the mirror at the top and commenced signaling and was eventually rescued by a Long Range Desert Patrol. After recuperation he rejoined his squadron and was given a new crew with whom he completed his tour. He was then sent to Malta where much to his amazement he was made ground controller of a satellite fighter airfield. He eventually was repatriated to the UK suffering with Malaria.

176 pages, Hardcover

First published November 19, 2009

Reviews

[JD · Rating 1 out of 5]

Way too much dialogue for a memoir written years after the events and at times feels like reading a bad novel. The story has huge gaps between some events and at other times the space of two days takes up too many chapters. Luckily a short book and I suggest to give this a skip if you are into serious World War 2 memoirs and histories.

[Shreedevi Gurumurty · Rating 4 out of 5]

After years at sea,Sgt Bill Bailey arrived in Cairo in 1942 as a new recruit to the RAF, hoping to fulfil his ambition to fly bombers. Within hours of his arrival, he is sent on his first bombing mission as second pilot in a 104 Squadron Wellington.Hit by enemy gunfire, and his aircraft suffered continual loss of altitude until hitting a rock outcrop and disintegrating. Bailey came to lie alone on a precipitous ledge and soon realized that he was the sole survivor. To stay alive in temperatures of over 100 degrees, he trudged over seemingly endless dunes at dusk and dawn, his energy gradually fading. Though he ultimately found shelter in an abandoned German reconnaissance truck, he gradually resigned himself to death. But with a last desperate inspiration, Bailey realized that it might be possible to attract attention by heliograph. He found enough equipment in the truck and rigged a mast with the mirror at the top and commenced signalling, eventually being rescued by a Long Range Desert Patrol.After recuperation, Bailey rejoined his squadron and was given a new crew with whom he completed his tour. He was then sent to Malta where, much to his amazement, he was made ground controller of a satellite fighter airfield.
The 104 Squadron reformed again on 1 April 1941 at RAF Driffield, equipped with the Vickers Wellington and began night bombing operations in May as part of No. 4 Group RAF until February 1942.A squadron detachment was sent to Malta in October 1941, moving to Egypt in January 1942. Shortly afterwards, the home contingent of the squadron at Driffield was renumbered No. 158, whilst the remainder of the squadron in the Middle East remained No. 104. Th squadron later moved first to captured airfields in Tunisia, followed by a move to the Italian mainland in December 1943.
RAF Luqa was a very important base for British Commonwealth forces fighting against Italy and German for naval control of the Mediterranean and for ground control of North Africa.Air combat over and near Malta was some of the most ferocious,and a series of airfields were also built on the small,rocky island:at Ta'Qali,and Hal Far,plus satellite fields at Safi,Qrendi and Gozo.

[Eldon Laird · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read

This was (I suspect) a one off book written by a veteran. It was a snap shot in time, a true story and one that held me. I read it in one sitting, captivated and I must say it was very enjoyable.

[Jill Robbertze · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this quick and easy to read memoir of Bill Bailey's War time adventures as a young pilot, which also lead to how he met his wife to be. A rare war story without too much of the horrors.

[Anthony P Phoenix · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read

A good story well told, it would have been nice to have known more about the switch from Navy to RAF, but the story didn't suffer.

[Michael J Salter · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read

I found this book a very enjoyable experience. A remarkable wartime experience. Anyone with an interest in the life of a we2 pilot will find it a must

[Richard Hickman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good, very interesting. More about after his crash than actual combat flying