Bomber Command (Hardcover)

Roddy MacKenzie

ISBN 10: 1399017721 / ISBN 13: 9781399017725

Published by Pen & Sword Books Ltd, Barnsley, 2023

About this Item

Hardcover. Roddy MacKenzie's father served in Bomber Command during the Second World War, but like so many brave veterans who had survived the war, he spoke little of his exploits. So, when Roddy started on his personal journey to discover something of what his father had achieved, he uncovered a great deal about the devastating effectiveness of Bomber Command and the vital role it played in the defeat of Third Reich. He realised that the true story of Bomber Command's achievements has never been told nor fully acknowledged. Roddy became a man on a mission, and this startlingly revealing, and often personal study, is the result. Bomber Command: Churchill's Greatest Triumph takes the reader through the early days of the Second World War and introduces all the key individuals who turned the Command into the war-winning weapon it eventually became, as well as detailing the men and machines which flew night after night into the heart of Hitler's Germany. The main focus of his book is the destruction and dislocation wrought by the bombing to reduce, and ultimately destroy, Germany's ability to make war. In his analysis, Roddy dug deep into German archival material to uncover facts rarely presented to either German or English language readers. These demonstrate that Bomber Command's continual efforts, at appalling cost in aircrew casualties and aircraft losses, did far more damage to the Reich than the Allies knew. Roddy's father served with the Royal Canadian Air Force and Roddy naturally highlights its contribution to Bomber Command's successes, another aspect of this fascinating story which the author believes has not been duly recognised. Bomber Command: Churchill's Greatest Triumph will certainly raise the debate on the controversial strategy adopted by 'Bomber' Harris and how he was perceived by many to have over-stepped his remit. But most of all, this book will revise people's understanding of just how important the endeavours of those men who flew through the dark and through the searchlights, the flak, and the enemy night fighters, to bring the Second World War in Europe to its crushing conclusion. AUTHOR: Born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, at the age of twenty-eight Roddy MacKenzie became the City Solicitor for the Royal City of New Westminster. By the time he retired, the law firm he created represented over 50 local governments throughout BC and Roddy was also an Adjunct Professor of Law at UBC. A speaker, writer and world traveller, having visited some seventy countries, Roddy is an historian with a particular interest in Bomber Command and the events of the Second World War. 32 b/w illustrations A uniquely personal and revealing insight in to the overall impact of the Allied bomber offensive in WW2. Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781399017725

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Bomber Command (Hardcover)
• Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd, Barnsley
• Publication Date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1399017721
• ISBN 13: 9781399017725
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

While researching what his father, Roland MacKenzie DFC, did as a Lancaster bomber pilot in the Second World War, retired Vancouver lawyer Roddy MacKenzie became increasingly aware of vagueness and some criticism regarding Bomber Command’s accomplishments. The emphasis was usually on the bravery of the ‘Bomber Boys’, the gallantry of specific sorties, such as the Dambusters, or post-war bombing controversies. Then Roddy discovered that Hitler’s Minister of Armaments and War Production, Albert Speer once stated that no Bomber Command book comes close to capturing the depth of what this force accomplished. A lightbulb went on. Roddy realized the Allies never really knew what Bomber Command accomplished. How could they? Allied intelligence inside Nazi Germany was poor, and there was a regrettable tendency to believe Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels’ lies, especially concerning Dresden. And then it struck Roddy – while the Allies never really knew what Bomber Command accomplished, the Germans certainly did. As a senior lawyer accustomed to wading through mountains of documents for the precious nuggets that win litigation, Roddy tackled massive amounts of German information. He dug deep into German archival material to uncover facts rarely presented to either German or English language readers. In so doing, he uncovered much about the devastating effectiveness of Bomber Command. The result is this book. It is a powerful portrait of Bomber Command’s accomplishments, which until now have not been properly understood by the Allies. This is not a textbook. Rather, it is accurate facts coupled with compelling stories about the people who turned Bomber Command into the lethal war-winning weapon it became. First among these was Sir Winston Churchill – Bomber Command was Churchill’s greatest triumph. This book is also about the Germans who were defeated in their defence of the Reich by the Allies’ Strategic Bombing Offensive. That was a catastrophic defeat for the evilest of regimes, the Third Reich. Yet there is more. Roddy, being Canadian, naturally also highlights Canada’s extraordinary contribution to Bomber Command. Did you know, for example, that one out of every four Canadians in uniform killed in the Second World War died in Bomber Command? Finally, this book clarifies who Bomber Command’s leader ‘Bomber’ Harris really was; and tells us what our Bomber Boys, risking everything against overwhelming odds in the dark night-fighter and flak-filled skies of the Nazi’s Fortress Europe, did to bring the Second World War to its crushing conclusion.

About the Author

Born and raised in Calgary, Roddy MacKenzie is a retired municipal law barrister and solicitor whose law firm he created acted for over fifty municipalities. Roddy was Municipal Law National Chair of the Canadian Bar Association and an Adjunct Professor of Municipal Law at the University of British Columbia. Roddy’s analytical skills to research and articulate his findings in courtrooms, city halls and elsewhere served him well in researching and writing this book. Roddy is a Life Member of the Bomber Command Museum of Canada, and belongs to the RAF Club in London, BC’s Air Force Officers Association, and New Zealand’s and Australia's Bomber Command Associations. He has visited over seventy countries and has a lifelong interest in the Second World War and Churchill. Roddy lives in West Vancouver with his wife Ka Hyun MacKenzie Shin and has four children – Mary Anne (Vancouver), Guy Roland and Ruaridh (London, UK) and Kai MacKenzie (Toronto).