633 Squadron: Operation Crucible

633 Squadron #3

by Frederick E. Smith

It is Autumn 1943 and there is acrimony between the Air Staffs of Britain and America. With the 8th Air Force suffering crippling losses, accusations are coming from Washington that the RAF is not giving the B17s adequate support. Because of their distinguished reputation in the States, 633 Squadron is chosen for a dangerous mission that will set American minds at rest. But if the mission is to have its desired effect, it must be seen by ground observers. Flying high, and far away from anti-aircraft fire, is simply not an option...Depicting wartime squadron life with the authenticity for which the author has become famous, 633 Operation Crucible is the third in the bestselling 633 Squadron series.

Genres: Fiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published April 25, 1977

Reviews

[Jon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bit of a drop off compared to the first two in the series.

[Eric_W · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's late in the war and the Nazis have begun using ME262s against the B-17s, which are helpless against these new jets. Even the P-51 escorts could do little against these fast enemy fighters. Usually little could be done until the 262s ran out of ammunition. Early models of the jets had been prone to engine failure. Another difficulty was that the armament was similar to that of the older fighters and was only effective within range of the B-17 machine guns. The newer models of jets carried rockets and since 24 of the rockets, could be fired at once and from outside the range of the B-17 gunners, the effect was like being shot at with a shotgun. Two German nationals who had spied for the British are sent to discover the location of the factory where the 262s are being built. They learn that the factory is cleverly camouflaged between a couple of hills. The jets are assembled using parts that are brought in by train at night, and the planes are flown out as they are completed, along what appears on reconnaissance photos to be just a road rather than a runway. The two agents, posing as railway engineers claiming to have been interested only after having seen a plane take off, are captured by the Gestapo, It is only because railway engineers are in such short supply and the local chief engineer wants to protect them, that the Gestapo chief doesn’t have them immediately shot. The British, anxious to eliminate the factory before the captured agents can be tortured into revealing that they have given away the location of the plant, argue for a low level flight of Mosquitoes (high-speed, twin-engine fighterbombers) to attack the factory, a risky mission under the best circumstances. The weather won’t permit a raid by B-17s. This book is a good, light read, made more appealing by the tension between the British officers, who obviously don’t get along.

[Dark-Draco · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the classic story of a RAF squadron in WWII.

There are three stories in the volume.

In '633 Squadron', their target is a Norwegian power plant where the Nazi's are experimenting with powerful new weapons. Situated at the end of a narrow fjord, under an overhang, only the elite squadron can knock it out. Framed by an excellent love story and with an ending to make you smile, this is an excellent read.

In 'Opertion Rhine Maiden', it is a munitionns factory that needs taking out before it can start production of a rocket that would decimate the American daytime bombers. But the factory is underground, in a dense forest and they need someone on the inside to guide that fighters in. Only a woman can do that, and with two members of the the squadron in love with her, tensions are high.

In 'Operation Crucible' the RAF are under attack from their American allies. Some factions feel they aren't giving enough protection to the American bombers and casualties are rising. In an attempt to mend fences, a daring raid on a POW transport train is planned to free the US prisoners. Only things don't quite go right and relations between the two airforces are stretched to breaking point. Can the elite squadron pull off another daring raid and get back in the US's good books? Of course they can!

Three great stories, even if only a few of the characters are fully fleshed out and the others are mentioned in passing, then killed off in an blaze of exploding plane! Still well worth reading, although not all of the technical/military jargon is explained, so you might have to keep a dictionary handy!

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great 'Boy's Own' read from WWII

[MR CHRISTOPHER · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Winner

What a superb series of books these are, each one gets better and better. This one once again puts you right in the cockpit in the middle of the action.