Midland Publishing Ltd ....By .Rob Kirby.....ISBN 1-85780-028-1
Hardback 208 Pages
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In 1941 a beleaguered
United Kingdom found itself with its back to the wall,
striving to take the war to Germany and to begin turning
the tide. This put the pressure on an ill-prepared
Bomber Command, in which it was clear that every aircraft
was vital. The ‘heavies’ – the Avro Manchester, Handley Page Halifax and Short Stirling – were making their operational debut, all of them with technical and production problems to be overcome. |
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| Despite its twin-engined lay-out, the Avro Manchester was indeed a ‘heavy’ – at the time it was the only Bomber Command aircraft capable of taking the 4,000lb ‘Cookie’ bomb. | |||||||||
| Despite all of its operational problems, the numerical strength of the Manchester provided the RAF with a greater hitting power than its ‘rival’ heavies during the 1941 and early 1942 offensives. Vulnerable it may have been, but it bolstered an otherwise ‘thin’ strategic bombing force while the Halifax and Stirling were honed and the Lancaster came into its own as the dominant British weapon of mass warfare. | |||||||||
| The depth of analysis and detail within this work is breathtaking. Never before has the heroism and determination of Manchester crews been so vividly and comprehensively related. Daring raids, often at low level, over the heart of Germany in aircraft that would result in almost certain death if one of the troublesome Vulture engines was to fail, are documented. | |||||||||
| Rarely has a subject been studied so single-mindedly, in such detail, over such a prolonged period. A unique feature of this book is the degree to which the material unearthed is previously unknown, despite the fact that the aircraft served only in the United Kingdom. | |||||||||
| The account is enhanced by the itemisation of field modifications unrecorded in official records made in an attempt to improve operational capability and carry new and unanticipated weapons. For the first time the narrative makes clear the extensive nature of airframe development accomplished and the small additional step to realise the world-beating Lancaster. | |||||||||
| The story of Bomber Command’s war against the Third Reich and of the Avro Lancaster itself is incomplete without the full and balanced appraisal of its twin-engined predecessor. Manchester, the Legend behind the Lancaster puts the career of a wrongly-treated warhorse into a new perspective. | |||||||||
This book is now out of print, but Rob Kirby has a limited number of signed copies available at the reduced price of £20:00 inc p&p for UK*.
Please email me for further details
* Non UK requests mailed at cost - please enquire for details
