Fighters in the Blood: The Story of a Spitfire Pilot - And the Son Who Followed in His Footsteps: The Story of a Spitfire Pilot - And the Son Who Follows in His Footsteps

Air Marshal 'Black' Robertson

ISBN 10: 1526784866 / ISBN 13: 9781526784865

Published by Air World, 2020

About this Item

Our good condition books are generally good for reading but not for gifting or collecting. They could have imperfections such as creasing, fanning, inscriptions, margin notes, yellowing, staining on edge or cover or pages, bumps, scuffs, etc etc (sometimes multiple of these). It's a wide category that encompasses anything that isn't almost-new down to anything that is slightly better than poor. We would NOT recommend gifting Good books - these should be considered reading copies. Our books are dispatched from a Yorkshire former cotton mill. We list via barcode/ISBN so please note that the images are stock images and may not be the exact copy you receive, furthermore the details about edition and year might not be accurate as many publishers reuse the same ISBN for multiple editions and as we simply scan a barcode or enter an ISBN we do not check the validity of the edition data when listing. If you're looking for an exact edition please don't order (at least not without checking with us first, although we don't always have time to check). We aim to dispatch prompty, the service used will depend on order value and book size. We can ship to most countries, see our shipping policies. Payment is via Abe only.

Seller Inventory # P-BH400281-MIX-20250227-G

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Fighters in the Blood: The Story of a Spitfire Pilot - And the Son Who Followed in His Footsteps: The Story of a Spitfire Pilot - And the Son Who Follows in His Footsteps
• Publisher: Air World
• Publication Date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1526784866
• ISBN 13: 9781526784865
• Binding: hardcover
• Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis

This is no ordinary memoir. Moving back and forth through time, two stories with fascinating parallels gradually unfold. One is of a Second World War Spitfire ace whose flying career came to a premature end when he was shot down and lost an eye, the other is about his progeny, a second generation fighter pilot who rose to the rank of air marshal. There were times when the lives of both father and son, Robbie and Black Robertson, hung in the balance occasions when survival was simply a matter of luck. The narrative is unique in its use of two separate and distinct voices. The author s own reminiscences are interwoven with those of his father recorded more than thirty years ago. Intensely personal and revealing, controversial too at times, this memoir is above all about people. There is a final irony though. The son spent a lifetime training for the ultimate examination one that despite strictly limited preparation his father passed with flying colours. To Black Robertson s eternal regret he was never able to put his own training to the test. His father was awarded the DFC and retired as a flight lieutenant after five years or so. He himself served for nearly thirty-six years, earned a Queen s Commendation, an OBE and CBE and served as an ADC to HM The Queen. But after reaching almost the top of the RAF tree, in one important sense he retired unfulfilled; his mettle was never tested under fire. Anyone interested to know more about flying, about the RAF, about leadership, about character even, need look no further than this beautifully crafted, immensely readable account.

About the Author

Air Marshal GRAEME BLACK ROBERTSON CBE, BA, FRAeS, FRSA was born in Woodford, Essex in 1945. After three years at the RAF College, Cranwell, in 1968 he joined his first operational unit, 8 Squadron, flying Hawker Hunters in Bahrain. He then began a long association with the Phantom that included tours on 6 Squadron, command of both 92 Squadron in Germany (by his own account, the pinnacle of his career) and 23 Squadron in the Falkands. In 1985 he took over RAF Wattisham until he returned to Germany as the Deputy Commander in 1991 and subsequently as Air Officer Commanding No. 2 Group. His final appointment was as Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander-in-Chief RAF Strike Command in 1996. He retired from the RAF in 1998.