LUFTWAFFE INTRUDER OPERATIONS OVER THE UK
LUFTWAFFE INTRUDER OPERATIONS OVER THE UNITED KINGDOM
By Chris Goss.
Close to a relative's house in the Lincolnshire Wolds, there is a small memorial to the crew of a Lancaster lost on the night of 3/4th March 1945. Included in the dedication are the words; 'victim of a Luftwaffe intruder.'
According to this book, this crew were sadly not the only fatalities that night.
Over the course of the second world war, Luftwaffe night fighters would fly planned routes that would bring them close to RAF bases. If lucky, they would find an unsuspecting Allied bomber returning to base and/or would attack an airbase with its payload of bombs.
Many Allied crews fell victim to these surprise attacks, often flying too low to be able to bail out or have time to react before crashing.
Overtime the RAF's own night fighter force improved, which would see the Luftwaffe's losses rise significantly. Despite this, as Chris explains, the Luftwaffe were still in the UK's skies unto the final weeks of the war.
In Chris Goss' latest and highly researched book, he reveals the story of these raids and the crews who flew them. Accompanied by a great collection of photographs it has made for a fascinating read on a subject that has rarely been covered before.
I was fascinated to learn how much took place over my old home county of Lincolnshire and I learnt that one German fighter had crashed within a mile of my old house!
A highly recommended read that I shall definitely be adding to my collection.
The hardback book is published at the end of June by Air World, an imprint of Pen and Sword Books.
I thank P&S for this review copy.
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