Down in the Drink: Their Deadliest Enemy Was the Sea

by Ralph Barker

To crash or be shot down into the sea is a terrifying experience. And to escape to tell the tale is a rare and remarkable achievement. But that is precisely what each of the World War Two heroes described here has done; they have come 'down in the drink' and miraculously survived. In doing so, they have all qualified for the 'Goldfish Club'. Ralph Barker tells the hair-raising and inspiring stories of eight such air crews. There is the tale of the Beaufort that ditches in the North Sea, the Wellington crew stranded in the Bay of Biscay and the Mosquito fighter-bomber trapped in the sea off Burma, keeping afloaton the wreckage of his fuselage, concussed, his bones broken, withonly a flask of whisky to keep him going. In DOWN IN THE DRINK, the accounts of heroism and endurance match any from that historic time. They are stories of men from all corners of the British Commonwealth fighting for survival against unimaginable odds. No one could read of their experiences without being stirred by the proof they give that there is no limit to human courage.

Genres: Nonfiction

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

Ralph Hammond Cecil Barker was a non-fiction author who wrote several books on the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Air Force (RAF) operations in the First and Second World Wars, and about cricket.

Reviews

[JD · Rating 3 out of 5]

An okay book of stories of aircrew having to ditch in the sea and surviving their harrowing ordeals. Told in a very dry way and filled with lots of dialogue which just drags out the stories a bit to my liking. Still these are tales of heroism and incredible endurance which should have been told better by the author.

[Suzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories about members of the Goldfish Club - those pilots who ditched at sea during WW2. The stories are told in the third person, so we view everyone's perspective during disaster, but I felt I didn't really get to know some of the those involved very well. Inevitably I enjoyed some stories more than others and I liked the follow up of each story in the back of the book. The book focuses on facts and chronology of events rather than emotions, but highlights incredibly brave people in an era of duty and honour. Recommended.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eight fairly similar stories of fliers who were either crash landed or were shot down and then had to survive in lifeboats until rescued or they made it to shore.

[Chris Harrod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cracking read. Even has a heroic pigeon.