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Swift to Attack – No 1 Group Bomber Command

This is the story of 1 Group Bomber Command, which was actually established in 1936 and based on airfields in Oxfordshire, Norfolk and equipped with Blenheims or Fairey Battles. Deployed to France in 1940 it initially su

Swift to Attack book cover
Author
Patrick Otter
Publisher
Pen & Sword
Price
£25
ISBN
178159094X
Published
2016

Swift to Attack – No 1 Group Bomber Command by Patrick Otter

Patrick Otter charts the history of No. 1 Group Bomber Command, formed in 1936 and initially based on airfields in Oxfordshire and Norfolk with Blenheims and Fairey Battles. Deployed to France in 1940, the group suffered heavy losses over France and the Low Countries before being restructured, relocated to bases in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire, and re-equipped with new aircraft.

Operating from twenty-three airfields and crewed by British, Polish and Commonwealth airmen, No. 1 Group lost more than 2,000 aircraft and 9,000 men yet flew operations until April 1945. Otter recounts many of those missions, highlighting the men, their machines and the camaraderie that bound squadrons together. The book is richly illustrated with photographs of crews, aircraft and the stations they called home.

ISBN 178159094X. Pen & Sword. £25