{"product_id":"9781445695457","title":"Through Adversity : The Story of Life in the RFC and RAF Through Three Operational Pilots","description":"\u003cp\u003eAuthor(s): Goodrum, Alastair, \u003cbr\u003e Binding: Hardback, \u003cbr\u003e Date of Publication: 15\/01\/2020,\u003cbr\u003e Pagination: 288 pages, 16 Plates, black and white,\u003cbr\u003e Series: N\/A, \u003cbr\u003eImprint: Amberley Publishing,\u003cbr\u003e Published By: Amberley Publishing,\u003cbr\u003e Book Classification: Military history, Air forces \u0026amp; warfare\u003cbr\u003e ISBN13\\EAN\\SKU: 9781445695457\u003cbr\u003e Description: \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHow did the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) 'cavalry of the air' transform into the strategic RAF of the Cold War? \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe flying lives of these three pilots combine across the years to illustrate how it happened. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTrained on Bristol Boxkites in 1912, Major Leonard Dawes helped shape the RFC in its infancy. Posted to France with BE2s, he saw action at the birth of battlefield reconnaissance and air fighting, then activated many new squadrons during the First World War.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJoining the RAF in 1923, Group Captain Dickie Barwell became a fighter pilot and respected leader of men. As a Hurricane squadron commander, he routed the first major Luftwaffe air attack of the Second World War and flew with Bader's Wing in the Battle of Britain. While commanding RAF Biggin Hill, he flew combat operations over France before his death in a friendly-fire incident in 1942.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSquadron Leader Brian Fern learned to fly at Ponca City, Oklahoma, in 1942, then trained hundreds of RAF bomber pilots during the Second World War. Post-war tours on Canberra bombers and spy flights in Chipmunks were followed by selection to the elite Valiant bomber force, where he became a leading exponent of in-flight refuelling, which finally gave the RAF its global reach. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCombining these three stories into a narrative that explores the rise of the RAF through an era of dazzling technological breakthroughs and ever-changing operational requirements, Alastair Goodrum tells the story of a journey through adversity to the stars.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Winstones","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":35023011217561,"sku":"9781445695457","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0423\/0240\/6809\/products\/9781445695457.jpg?v=1602535447","url":"https:\/\/winstonebooks.pro\/products\/9781445695457","provider":"Winstone's Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}