They say a sailor can turn his hand to anything. So meet Able-Bodied Seaman Tim Jackson and Chris Walters of HM Submarine Service, who found themselves in the middle of the North African desert, and became the toughest pair of desert fighters west of El Alamein. Story: Boyle Art: Aguilar Cover: Penalva
The Collection
Flight Time
Air-bus co-pilot Jack Lewis is sick of being a glorified petrol station for real fighters in the sky. His dad was a hero during the Falklands and his grandfather was a Spitfire ace in the Battle of Britain. But Jack’s humdrum life is turned upside down when he wakes up at RAF Norton in 1940 […]
Find Them, Sink Them!
Lieutenant Tony Markham stood on the bridge of his Motor Torpedo Boat. In front of him was a twenty‑millimetre cannon, behind him were twin half‑inch machine guns and to each side a twenty‑one inch torpedo. Sounds a lot? Not when the target is a massive enemy tanker in a heavily defended French harbour it’s not! […]
Angels and Thunderbolts
An “angel”, as any airman could tell you, is a thousand feet of altitude, and Archie Moran never felt more at home than when he had a few angels under him. He was a hero of the Pacific Theatre who had four zeros under his belt and was ready to take on Jerry kites in […]
Mosquito Ace
They told Harry ‘Kiwi’Dean to bomb the Nazi prison without hurting any prisoners —to let Paul Thierry, resistance leader, and his men escape. And he did. But there were too many Germans, tanks, and guns kicking around for Kiwi’s liking. So he went one better. Only an ace like Kiwi would have ever tried it. […]
SS Colonel
Not every man in the German Army was a fanatic. Not everyone relished in war and the bloodthirsty invasion of Soviet Russia —a country that had been their ally —turning brothers in arms against each other. But one man did. He prized it. He was loved by his men and feared by everyone else. He […]
Who needs luck?
What did it take to fly the mighty Beaufighter on dangerous raids over the jungle? For starters, it took a whole lot of skill and courage.But Pilot Officer Sid Carter reckoned this wasn’t enough. He was a man who needed luck —lots and lots of luck —or he would never come out of the war […]
Knock of the Gestapo
Three high‑ranking SS officers meet in a remote mansion house near the Swiss border. With them is a cache of looted jewellery, paintings and antiques, forged papers and plans to flee the falling Reich to South America. But, as they talk in secret, they are disturbed by a knock at the door. A member of […]
Hong Kong Hooky
Ask anybody who helped defend Hong Kong against the great tidal wave of Japanese soldiers near the end of December 1941, and they’ll tell you all about “Hong Kong Hooky”. A Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander whose ship was sunk by the Japanese, Hooky was put in charge of a bunch of military scruffs released from […]
Ramsey’s Raiders: The Castle
The rag-tag band of mavericks are back again but this time, Ramsey and his raiders have stormed a castle capturing all the Jerries inside! But things are never easy for Ramsey’s Raiders, as soon they become the ones under siege —by the SS, no less! And as if being trapped in a castle full of […]