HURRICANE SQUADRON ACE -THE STORY OF BATTLE OF BRITAIN ACE AIR COMMODORE PETER BROTHERS CBE DSO DFC

摘要

We can expect to see renewed interest in all aspects of the Battle of Britain in this, its 75th anniversary year. The RAF pilots involved - the famed 'Few' - have remained a source of fascination and here Nick Thomas tells the story of one of the finest among them. Regarded by his squadron mates as an exceptional leader and instinctive tactician, Peter Brothers has attracted rather less coverage in print than many of his contemporaries, a deficiency corrected by this thoroughly researched book. Compiled with the benefit of squadron Operational Record Books and Combat Reports, correspondence with other Battle of Britain pilots, interviews with Brothers himself (he died in 2008) and the unstinting support of the ace's daughters, the story is told in considerable detail. Beginning with a childhood fascination for all things flying, it takes the reader through Brothers' pre-RAF flying and then onto 32 Sqn and the Gloster Gauntlet. Brothers flew Hurricanes in France and the Battle of Britain with 32 Sqn, before transferring to 257 Sqn in September 1940 before taking command of the newly formed 457 Sqn and its Spitfires in June 1941. A year later he was in command of 602 Sqn, before becoming Wing Commander Flying, first with the Tangmere Wing and then the Culmhead Wing.