Fighter Pilot (Cassell Military Paperbacks) - Softcover

Richey, Paul

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0304363391 ISBN 13: 9780304363391

Publisher: Cassell Military, 2002

Synopsis

Originally published anonymously in 1941, this was the first and finest story of a fighter pilot in World War Two. Based on the author's personal journal, it is the classic account of the part played by RAF No.1 Squadron in the air battles that preceded the fall of France in 1940. Beginning on the day the squadron arrived in France, the book recounts the unnerving lull of the 'Sitzkrieg' and the sudden crescendo of violence and crushing fatigue of almost non-stop combats during the 'Blitzkrieg'. Imbued with the Great War traditions of chivalry, Richey and his comrades accorded the enemy fighter squadron mercy and respect, until the disillusion of witnessing the Luftwaffe's callous attacks on helpless refugees changed all that. It was then that the skills and elan of the RAF's premier fighter squadron were turned to even greater account, and the result was a remarkable combat record. By the time they withdrew from France on 18 June 1940, No.1 Squadron had destroyed a total of 155 enemy aircraft, 114 of them in only ten days - for the loss of three pilots killed, two wounded, and one prisoner of war. As Paul Richey wrote: 'It seems - and I believed it was - a miracle.'

About this title

About the Author

Born in 1916, he was commissioned into the Royal Air Force in 1937. Severely wounded in action in the Battle of France, he returned to combat flying in England in 1941, leading a Spitfire squadron on offensive sweeps over occupied France. In 1942 he was sent to the India/Burma theatre to revise their fighter tactics. Invalided home in early 1944, he was later posted to SHAEF Belgium, and ended the war as a Wing Commander Operations in the War Room of the 2nd Tactical Air Force in Germany. A dedicated Europhile, he was working on a history of Anglo-French relations when he died in 1969.

From the Back Cover

'One of the greatest and most stirring tales a fighting man has ever told' Evening Standard

Paul Richey landed his Hawker Hurricane in France in 1939. He was 23 years old and, like the rest of RAF No 1 Squadron, he believed in the principles of the Great War: mercy and respect. But Richey and his comrades were savagely confronted with the new realities of war. Shocked by the horror of the Luftwaffe's callous attacks on refugees, the skills of the RAF's premier fighter squadron were deployed to devastating effect.

The result was an outstanding combat record. By the time the Squadron was withdrawn it had destroyed a total of 155 enemy aircraft - for the loss of just three pilots. Richey began his journal the day he arrived in France and all the thrills, adrenaline-rushes and sheer terror of dog-fighting are captured by a man discovering for himself the true nature of the deadly combat in which he is engaged.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cassell Military
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0304363391
• ISBN 13: 9780304363391
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176