Aces, Warriors and Wingmen: The Firsthand Accounts of Canada's Fighter Pilots in the Second World War [Hardcover]

AN EXCERPT FROM THE ACCOUNT OF GROUP CAPTAIN RAYNE SCHULTZ, 410 SQUADRON.

It was heading home very fast, a Junkers 188, in thin cloud, well out over the North Sea. We hit it badly, and it was flaming, two-three hundred yards [of] flames streaming behind... my navigator, being a serious-minded individual said, "Let's get in closer and take a good look at it, as it is a different type of aircraft and I can report on it when we get down." So I closed in, which was the stupidest thing I ever did....

The mid-upper gunner was not dead; he was sitting inside of the flames. The next thing I saw the gun traversing down toward us. I broke as fast as I could, but he put forty to forty-four 13mm cannon shells into us. I had pistons blown out of one engine and the constant speed unit blown out in the other. We were going to bail out! We jettisoned the door and the navigator was halfway out when the chap came back from the Ground Control Intercept (GCI) and said, "There is a Force 9 to 10 sea and we will never be able [to rescue] you."

So we brought that aircraft back to Bradwell Bay and I can tell you it near flew again. My navigator was wounded, bleeding from the face. I could see the engines running red hot, one was actually running on molten metal... the whole thing glowing inside. The air bottles were shot away and I had no brakes for landing. The Mosquito was in ribbons.

FIRSTHAND ACCOUNTS OF CANADA'S FIGHTER PILOTS IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

Almost a decade ago, Wayne Ralph, the author of a bestselling biography of William Barker, a Canadian air ace from the First World War, embarked on a new venture. He began to travel across Canada and the United States, Searching out Canadian fighter pilots, fighter-bomber pilots, and many others-inducing night fighter and naval carrier pilots-and air crew who had served in the Second World war. The results of this unique and remarkable journey are encompassed in accounts from more than a hundred interviews that in riveting detail tell of the trials, victories and losses that characterize combat in the air.

From the author's interviews with the pilots, and information contained in their logbooks, diaries and letters home, the reader will be escorted into the world of combat, from training in Canada and England, to engaging the enemy over Malta, northern Africa, Europe and Southeast Asia. For airmen, living conditions were often harsh, sleep a luxury and emotions on a roller-coaster. the sudden loss of  friend-even a brother-had to be taken in stride and the job at hand done.

Survival depended on a pilot's skill and the condition and characteristics of the aircraft. Hurricanes, Spitfires, Mosquitoes, beaufighters, and Typhoons carried their bullets, bombs and human cargo through horrendous weather conditions and withering enemy fire. There were bonds between man and machine much as there were between the pilots, who were on constant lookout for one another.

As the ranks of veterans become thinner, their firsthand accounts take on even more significance. Aces, warriors & Wingmen is a tribute to a legacy of sacrifice, courage and gallantry, a true picture of combat, and a piece of Canadian history to be treasured.