The Eighth Passenger: A Flight of Recollection and Discovery

by Miles Tripp

In 1944, the author, and six other young men were brought together by chance to run bombing raids over Germany for Bomber Command. There was 'Mike' (the author), Ray, George, 'Dig', Paul, Les and Harry. When statistically, nearly half the aircrew men of the RAF Bomber Command were killed in action, it is no wonder that they always flew with an eighth passenger - fear. According to Len Deighton, Miles Tripp's first-hand account of his crew's bomb raids is "written with a clinical dispassion which underlines the horrifying drama". Deeply moving - though never sentimental, this story of friendship and fear, illustrated with maps and black and white photographs, makes for compulsive reading.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, Aviation

202 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Miles Barton Tripp (1923–2000) was an English writer of thirty-seven works of fiction including crime novels and thrillers, some of which he wrote under noms de plume Michael Brett and John Michael Brett. He served in RAF Bomber Command during World War II, flying thirty-seven sorties as a bomber-aimer. He recorded his wartime experiences in his one non-fiction work, the memoir The Eighth Passenger. After the war, Tripp studied law and worked as a solicitor, and started to write fiction during his spare time. He lived in Hertfordshire, England.

Reviews

[Mike Houlding]

Not since reading Martin Middlebrook's The Nuremburg Raid or Len Deighton's Bomber has a book about bomber command moved me so much. Miles Tripp writes about being a very young man -alive aware and afraid- with total frankness, and holds a mirror up to the relationships between crew members and their feelings about the role they played and the mutual fear they shared. Tripp's vivid prose puts the reader right in the aircraft. I found myself referring back to the full crew photo frequently to get a mental picture of the person depicted and finished the book with regret. Terrific.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must for any one interested in the Bombing Campaign of WWII. The author Miles (Mike) Tripp was the bomb aimer on a Lancaster called A-Able they successfully completed 40 tours including Dresden.
The pilot was an Australian called Dig and the rear gunner a Jamaican called Harry , plus 5 other crew from across UK. They melded into a lucky crew but the 8 passenger was the fear they all carried inside themselves. This is a very well written book which has a love story intertwined for both the author’s wife Audrey and his crew they were more than survivors they were family!

[John Somers · Rating 4 out of 5]

An account of one RAF bomber crews tour of duty in 1944-45 and their reunion many years after the war.Excellent account of Miles Tripp and the rest of the crews war though it was a little brief for my taste. Also enjoyed his reunion with the rest of the crew, their differing recollections of the important incidents during the tour and their experiences since the war and views on what they had done. All in all a really good read though as I said I feel it could have benefited from a little more operational detail.

[Kate]

Recommended in Ben Shephard's "A War of Nerves"