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The Hurricats: The Fighters That Could Not Return
The Incredible True Story of Britain's 'Kamikaze' Pilots of World War Two
'IF WE FAIL IN THIS, THEN WE LOSE THE WAR'
With the Battle of Britain won, Winston Churchill and his military chiefs faced an even more fearsome challenge in the Battle of the Atlantic.
Thwarted in his plans to invade, Hitler decided he would starve Britain into submission instead. Operating in conjunction with U-Boats, long-range Condor aircraft manned by élite German airmen attacked Allied ships far beyond the range of any land-based RAF fighters, with devastating results.
To counter the Luftwaffe threat, men from the RAF and Fleet Air Arm were asked to volunteer to be catapulted from the foredecks of merchant ships in specially modified Hawker Hurricanes. But with nowhere to land afterwards, it was a one-way mission.
If the British fighter pilots survived combat, they would have no option but to bail out into the North Atlantic and hope they were picked up by the one of the convoy escorts.
Survival was anything but certain ...
'IF WE FAIL IN THIS, THEN WE LOSE THE WAR'
With the Battle of Britain won, Winston Churchill and his military chiefs faced an even more fearsome challenge in the Battle of the Atlantic.
Thwarted in his plans to invade, Hitler decided he would starve Britain into submission instead. Operating in conjunction with U-Boats, long-range Condor aircraft manned by élite German airmen attacked Allied ships far beyond the range of any land-based RAF fighters, with devastating results.
To counter the Luftwaffe threat, men from the RAF and Fleet Air Arm were asked to volunteer to be catapulted from the foredecks of merchant ships in specially modified Hawker Hurricanes. But with nowhere to land afterwards, it was a one-way mission.
If the British fighter pilots survived combat, they would have no option but to bail out into the North Atlantic and hope they were picked up by the one of the convoy escorts.
Survival was anything but certain ...
160 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1978
About the author
Ralph Barker
52 books5 followersRalph 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.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 2, 2020
To fight the 'Condor scourge' till adequate carriers were built to give cover to convoys in the Atlantic and Barents Sea, the CAM ships with old Hurricanes was there as a stopgap. This is the story of these ships and brave pilots and crews that took the fight to Condors and was a very effective deterrent. Even though they did not see much action and only a few Hurricats were launched, they gave valuable service just by being there, and the stories of the early pilots and their antics also brings a bit of humor into the book. Recommended read about a little known and small part of RAF Fighter Command.
August 4, 2020
Hurricanes adapted for ships
Excellent book by Ralph Barker sympathetically relating the facts, stories, fears and joys of those intrepid Hurricat pilots and the rationale behind the creation of the modified ships that carried them.
Highly recommended.
Excellent book by Ralph Barker sympathetically relating the facts, stories, fears and joys of those intrepid Hurricat pilots and the rationale behind the creation of the modified ships that carried them.
Highly recommended.
October 14, 2020
Interesting book on a specialised area of warfare
Good undemanding read, perhaps needed fleshing out a little, but recommended for naval aviation enthusiasts. Don't be put off by the lurid sub-title
Good undemanding read, perhaps needed fleshing out a little, but recommended for naval aviation enthusiasts. Don't be put off by the lurid sub-title
October 29, 2020
New detail
I was pleased to read the new, to me, detail contained in this book. Had not fully appreciated the defendant effect of the Hurricat. The overall kill of Condors appears to be small but value was not just in bringing down an aircraft but in keeping them at bay.
I was pleased to read the new, to me, detail contained in this book. Had not fully appreciated the defendant effect of the Hurricat. The overall kill of Condors appears to be small but value was not just in bringing down an aircraft but in keeping them at bay.
May 19, 2021
Informative
I knew nothing about camships before reading this. Their story is little known and this is a good telling of it. Enjoyed the anecdotes about personalities and specially the tale of V Victor!
I knew nothing about camships before reading this. Their story is little known and this is a good telling of it. Enjoyed the anecdotes about personalities and specially the tale of V Victor!
October 20, 2020
An excellent historical record
My knowledge of the hurricane in the sea war against the Luftwaffe was unknown to me.This excellent book fulfilled that knowledge.
My knowledge of the hurricane in the sea war against the Luftwaffe was unknown to me.This excellent book fulfilled that knowledge.
April 9, 2021
Excellent
Well worth the read, lots of great description of life on board and in the air. Amazing men performing a very daunting task in the hardest of conditions.
Well worth the read, lots of great description of life on board and in the air. Amazing men performing a very daunting task in the hardest of conditions.
May 20, 2021
Good read
Well told story of a little known campaign , protecting the vital convoy trade with ingenuity and valour. Well written and documented.
Well told story of a little known campaign , protecting the vital convoy trade with ingenuity and valour. Well written and documented.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews