Nutshell: 1940 was a rich year for myths, from unstoppable German paratroops disguised as nuns, to expert  predictions that six months bombing would cause two million British casualties.But the most enduring myth is twofold. First: that RAF Fighter Command could have stopped a seaborne German invasion. Second: that, without the RAF, Hitler would have conquered England. Neither of them true.

"A tremendously interesting and fun read! .... a thought-provoking book that will change the way most of us look at the Battle of Britain..."

          - NOVEDGE BOOK SHOW               

From the Phony War of 1939 to the Battle of Britain in 1940, Hornet Squadron learns its lessons the hard way. On the ground, young pilots have fun, but at twenty thousand feet the best killers are not necessarily the jolly good chaps. And sometimes Fighter Command, with its obsolete tactics, is the real menace. Promoted CO, Fanny Barton has to kick his squadron into shape before they get hit by Jerry bullets they never even heard fired. Forget honour. There's no honour in dying for your country. Make the other bastard die for his. That's the truth of war.                                                                                                            Return to Top of Page                 

North Africa, 1942. Dust, heat, thirst, flies. Nothing to harm but the sand, the enemy and yourself. A good clean fight, for those who like that sort of thing, and some do. From an advanced landing ground, Hornet Squadron's clapped-out Tomahawks go ground-strafing. Simultaneously, an S.A.S. patrol drives hundreds of miles to get behind enemy lines and hit his airfields. Airmen and soldiers alike are painfully exposed to retaliation, and German Intelligence has plans for that.  Good news for the flies.

                                                                                                                                 Return to Top of Page

The hardest part of any war is not winning but slogging on to avoid defeat. Bomber Command did that. Throughout the opening years of WW2, it sent its crews over the German mainland, night after night. 409 Squadron is typical. In peacetime, the RAF was known as 'the best flying club in the world', but when their twin-engined bombers meet flak, fighters and searchlights over the Ruhr, 409's pilots find that a gung-ho spirit is not enough. Chances of completing a 30-operation tour? One in three. At best.                                                  Return to Top of Page

Why didn't Hitler invade England? The big military historians, starting with Winston Churchill, have had no doubts. Churchill named 'the stamina and valour of our fighter pilots' and declared: "Thus Britain was saved," Sir John Keegan goes further: he states that "2,500 young pilots had alone been responsible for preserving Britain from invasion" Other examples are plentiful.