Bomber Flight Berlin (Paperback, Airports / Ireland / Export and Waterstones ed)

Flying Lancaster bombers on raids into Germany was one of the most dangerous missions of the Second World War. Casualties in Bomber Command were shockingly high, there was statistically only a 17% chance of a bomber crew surviving a full tour of operations. Night after night Flight Sergeant Geoffrey King and the crew of C Charlie risked their lives. Together they faced incredible dangers, near misses, close encounters with the fighter planes of the Luftwaffe, and crash landings. Against this background a friendship was formed that bound the crew of C Charlie together against all odds. Between May 1943 and May 1944, Geoffrey King and his crew flew thirty missions over Germany, hitting Frankfurt, the Ruhr, and bombing Berlin ten times. They trusted each other so much that they were determined to stay together after their full tour. They refused to take leave and be split up, instead they volunteered immediately for another tour. Geoffrey King and the crew of C Charlie are unique in having flown together for fifty missions and living to tell the tale. Now, sixty years later, Geoffrey is the only one of this group of friends still alive to tell the story.