Beyond The Dams To The Tirpitz: The Later Operations Of 617 Squadron
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Very good
Jacket: Very good
Pages: Good
When the roar of the bouncing bombs faded over the shattered Ruhr dams in May 1943, the legend of 617 Squadron was only just beginning. Beyond the Dams to the Tirpitz chronicles the remarkable and largely untold later career of the RAF's most celebrated unit, tracking its elite crews through a succession of daring precision-bombing operations that culminated in the audacious attacks on the German battleship Tirpitz — Hitler's prized naval fortress lurking in the Norwegian fjords. Alan W. Cooper draws on meticulous archival research, operational records, and the testimonies of surviving aircrew to reconstruct missions of extraordinary technical complexity and human courage, painting a vivid portrait of men who redefined what strategic air power could achieve. Beyond the iconic Dambusters raid, Cooper's account illuminates the squadron's mastery of Barnes Wallis's devastating Tallboy and Grand Slam bombs, weapons that reshaped aerial warfare and left their mark on targets across occupied Europe. The narrative captures both the cold precision of tactical planning and the intensely personal cost borne by the men who flew these missions, weaving individual stories of bravery into the broader sweep of the Second World War's air campaign. Written with authority and compassion, this is an essential volume for anyone who believes that the full story of 617 Squadron has already been told — it has not.
Author: Alan W. Cooper
Format: Hardback
Published: 1983, William Kimber · London
Genre: WW2
Condition remarks:
Book: Very good
Jacket: Very good
Pages: Good
When the roar of the bouncing bombs faded over the shattered Ruhr dams in May 1943, the legend of 617 Squadron was only just beginning. Beyond the Dams to the Tirpitz chronicles the remarkable and largely untold later career of the RAF's most celebrated unit, tracking its elite crews through a succession of daring precision-bombing operations that culminated in the audacious attacks on the German battleship Tirpitz — Hitler's prized naval fortress lurking in the Norwegian fjords. Alan W. Cooper draws on meticulous archival research, operational records, and the testimonies of surviving aircrew to reconstruct missions of extraordinary technical complexity and human courage, painting a vivid portrait of men who redefined what strategic air power could achieve. Beyond the iconic Dambusters raid, Cooper's account illuminates the squadron's mastery of Barnes Wallis's devastating Tallboy and Grand Slam bombs, weapons that reshaped aerial warfare and left their mark on targets across occupied Europe. The narrative captures both the cold precision of tactical planning and the intensely personal cost borne by the men who flew these missions, weaving individual stories of bravery into the broader sweep of the Second World War's air campaign. Written with authority and compassion, this is an essential volume for anyone who believes that the full story of 617 Squadron has already been told — it has not.