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First Light
"In First Light, Geoffrey Wellum tells the inspiring, often terrifying true story of his coming of age amid the roaring, tumbling dogfights of the fiercest air war the world had ever seen.
It is the story of an idealistic schoolboy who couldn't believe his luck when the RAF agreed to take him on as a "pupil pilot" at the minimum age of seventeen and a half in 1939. In his fervor to fly, he gave little thought to the coming war."
"Writing with wit, compassion, and a great deal of technical expertise, Wellum relives his grueling months of flight training, during which two of his classmates crashed and died. He describes a hilarious scene during his first day in the prestigious 92nd Squadron when his commader discovered that Wellum had not only never flown a Spitfire, he'd never even seen one."
A battle-hardened ace by the winter of 1941, though still not out of his teens, 'Boy' Wellum flew scores of missions as fighter escort on bombing missions over France. Yet the constant life-or-death stress of murderous combat and anguish over the loss of his closest friends sapped endurance. Tortured by fierce headaches, even in the midst of battle, he could not bear the thought of "not pulling your weight," of letting the other pilots risk their lives in his place. Wellum's frank account of his long, losing bout with battle fatigue is both moving and enlightening.
It is the story of an idealistic schoolboy who couldn't believe his luck when the RAF agreed to take him on as a "pupil pilot" at the minimum age of seventeen and a half in 1939. In his fervor to fly, he gave little thought to the coming war."
"Writing with wit, compassion, and a great deal of technical expertise, Wellum relives his grueling months of flight training, during which two of his classmates crashed and died. He describes a hilarious scene during his first day in the prestigious 92nd Squadron when his commader discovered that Wellum had not only never flown a Spitfire, he'd never even seen one."
A battle-hardened ace by the winter of 1941, though still not out of his teens, 'Boy' Wellum flew scores of missions as fighter escort on bombing missions over France. Yet the constant life-or-death stress of murderous combat and anguish over the loss of his closest friends sapped endurance. Tortured by fierce headaches, even in the midst of battle, he could not bear the thought of "not pulling your weight," of letting the other pilots risk their lives in his place. Wellum's frank account of his long, losing bout with battle fatigue is both moving and enlightening.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
About the author
Geoffrey Wellum
4 books19 followersGEOFFREY WELLUM, a veteran of the Battle of Britain, was the youngest fighter pilot (at 18) in the Royal Air Force (RAF) to have fought in that battle.
"Aged seventeen, he signed up on a short-service commission with the Royal Air Force in August 1939. The first aircraft he flew was the Tiger Moth at Desford airfield in Leicestershire, After successfully completing the course, he then went on to fly the North American Harvard advanced trainer at RAF Little Rissington with 6FTS.
"He was then posted directly in May 1940 to 92 Squadron, flying Spitfires. He saw extensive action during the Battle of Britain. His first Commanding Officer was Roger Bushell, (later immortalised in 'The Great Escape'), and his close colleagues included Brian Kingcome.
"Wellum claimed a Heinkel He 111 bomber shot down on 11 September 1940, and a quarter share in a Junkers Ju 88 downed on 27 September. Two (and one shared) Bf 109's were claimed 'damaged' during November 1940. A Bf 109 was claimed shot down [by Wellum] on 9 July 1941 over France.
"In February 1942, Wellum was transferred to 65 Squadron based at Debden, being appointed to Flight Commander in March 1942.
"On 11 August 1942, Wellum led 8 Spitfires launched from the carrier HMS Furious to reinforce the RAF fighter complement at Luqa airfield on the island of Malta. Here he joined 1435 Squadron on air defence duties before being rested after a severe bout of sinusitis.
"Wellum suffered severe combat fatigue after three years' intensive flying, because of the immense strain that frontline British fighter pilots were put under during that period. He returned from Malta to Britain, becoming a test pilot on the Hawker Typhoon, based at Gloster Aircraft.
"He finished the war as a gunnery instructor, staying in the RAF, first as a staff officer in West Germany, followed by a four year tour with 192 Squadron. He married Grace, his wartime girlfriend and they had three children.
"Wellum left the Royal Air Force in 1961, [and went to work] with a firm of commodity brokers in the City of London, set up his own business, and then retired to Mullion, Cornwall."
Subsequently, [Wellum] had written a memoir of his time as a Spitfire pilot but never intended it for publication. However in 2000 he gave it to a young [author/historian] called James Holland, who showed it to friends at Penguin, and they immediately decided to publish it."
This was "FIRST LIGHT: The Story of the Boy Who Became a Man in the War-Torn Skies Above Britain", which became a best-seller.
"Aged seventeen, he signed up on a short-service commission with the Royal Air Force in August 1939. The first aircraft he flew was the Tiger Moth at Desford airfield in Leicestershire, After successfully completing the course, he then went on to fly the North American Harvard advanced trainer at RAF Little Rissington with 6FTS.
"He was then posted directly in May 1940 to 92 Squadron, flying Spitfires. He saw extensive action during the Battle of Britain. His first Commanding Officer was Roger Bushell, (later immortalised in 'The Great Escape'), and his close colleagues included Brian Kingcome.
"Wellum claimed a Heinkel He 111 bomber shot down on 11 September 1940, and a quarter share in a Junkers Ju 88 downed on 27 September. Two (and one shared) Bf 109's were claimed 'damaged' during November 1940. A Bf 109 was claimed shot down [by Wellum] on 9 July 1941 over France.
"In February 1942, Wellum was transferred to 65 Squadron based at Debden, being appointed to Flight Commander in March 1942.
"On 11 August 1942, Wellum led 8 Spitfires launched from the carrier HMS Furious to reinforce the RAF fighter complement at Luqa airfield on the island of Malta. Here he joined 1435 Squadron on air defence duties before being rested after a severe bout of sinusitis.
"Wellum suffered severe combat fatigue after three years' intensive flying, because of the immense strain that frontline British fighter pilots were put under during that period. He returned from Malta to Britain, becoming a test pilot on the Hawker Typhoon, based at Gloster Aircraft.
"He finished the war as a gunnery instructor, staying in the RAF, first as a staff officer in West Germany, followed by a four year tour with 192 Squadron. He married Grace, his wartime girlfriend and they had three children.
"Wellum left the Royal Air Force in 1961, [and went to work] with a firm of commodity brokers in the City of London, set up his own business, and then retired to Mullion, Cornwall."
Subsequently, [Wellum] had written a memoir of his time as a Spitfire pilot but never intended it for publication. However in 2000 he gave it to a young [author/historian] called James Holland, who showed it to friends at Penguin, and they immediately decided to publish it."
This was "FIRST LIGHT: The Story of the Boy Who Became a Man in the War-Torn Skies Above Britain", which became a best-seller.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 8, 2019
Tämä olikin yllättävän kevyesti kirjoitettu ja helppolukuinen dokumentti ilmasodasta. Fiilikseltään sijoittaisin teoksen pikemmin sotaromaanien kuin tietokirjojen hyllyyn. Viihdyttävä ja vetävä kirja sisältää kaikesta huolimatta paljon kiehtovaa tietoa hävittäjien käsittelystä ja vaihtelevista taistelulennoista.
July 21, 2019
Paras lukemani kirja sotalentäjien muistoista, jossa kirjoittaja osaa värikkäästi kuvata ilmataisteluita tunnetasolta teknisiin yksityiskohtiin. Ehdottomasti lukemisen arvoinen!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews