AIRMEN OF ARNHEM

Bowman is one of Britain's leading aviation authors and here presents an unparalleled account of events as they unfolded in the skies above Holland during Operation 'Market-Garden' in September 1944. It was a heroic failure conducted at great cost combining both airborne and ground losses and killed, wounded and the missing amounted to more than 17,000. The airborne part of the operation spanned ten allied lists in a calamitous nine days of operations, often in foul weather. 4,050 aircraft saw employment - most of them towed the 1,205 Hamilcar and Horsa gliders, and were confronted by an unknown number of Luftwaffe aircraft. Stories of individual heroism punctuate this narrative, such as that of David Lord, an RAF Dakota pilot who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. Here is the valorous contribution of the RAF Dakota, Stirling, Halifax, Albemarle, Horsa, Hamilcar, and Glider Pilot Regiment Crews together with those of the USAAF C-47 Troop Carrier Group of the IX US Troop Carrier Command, the Waco and Horsa Gliders, and the B-24 Liberator Re-Supply Crews. All of their incredible, illuminating and often understated accounts of extraordinary courage, camaraderie, shared terror and encounters with the enemies offer a more personalised view of 'Market'. With the author's background information of each air operation, many photos, 330pp.