Air

Fly Fast, Skipper

Issue Number: 5685

Aussie Flight Lieutenant Dick Thompson’s skill had been hard-won in the deserts of North Africa against the Luftwaffe. But Dick was going to need everything he had to go up against the Japanese Mitsubishi AGM Zero in the air battle over Milne Bay. The Zero was more manoeuvrable than his P-40 Kittyhawk but there was […]

Operation Nachthexen

Issue Number: 5682

The German forces that invaded the Soviet Union had much to fear once the Russians’ fightback got into its stride. For the Russians are fearsome warriors when roused. What the Germans feared more than anything was the night. For that was when the Nachthexen – the night witches – flew. Because, you see, when the […]

Disaster at Dieppe

Issue Number: 5673

In August 1942, the Allies launched Operation Jubilee, an amphibious attack on the German-occupied French Port of Dieppe. It was a disaster and a strategic failure, with harsh lessons learnt at a high cost to life. This is the story of three men: one pilot, one tank driver, and one infantryman, and their fight for […]

Last Laugh

Issue Number: 5668

Pilot Officer Andy Howard and his crew were really up against it. Forced to crash-land in the snowy wastes of occupied Norway, they had started out on foot to deliver their Lanc’s cargo of urgently-needed weapons to the resistance. Now an enemy ski patrol had stumbled on them, and despite the fight Andy and his […]

Flying Lifeboat

Issue Number: 5662

Most men of the RAF Coastal Command were brave and determined, totally dedicated to their job of saving countless ditched aircrews. But Australian navigator Red Dooley thought otherwise — he’d been posted from Bomber Command and he reckoned he was wasting his time and missing out on the real action. But Red was about to […]

Divided Aces

Issue Number: 5658

Squadron Leader Jack Pearson was beginning to wonder if his first command might be his last. English‑born Jack was determined to make the most of his posting to a base outside Edinburgh —even if the locals were less than friendly about his, and his fellow countrymen’s, presence. As if that wasn’t enough, added to the […]