Book Description

First published in 1943, this is the story of one man's involvement in RAF Bomber Command's fledgling offensive between August 1940 and December 1941. Dick Rivaz was tail gunner to Leonard Cheshire, one of the most famous RAF pilots of World War II, flying in Whitleys with No 102 Squadron and latterly in Halifaxes with No 35 Squadron. Written within months of the events Rivaz describes, the book provides graphic descriptions of his experiences on night bombing attacks against heavily defended enemy targets like Duisberg, Dusseldorf and Essen. He relates a dramatic shoot-out with German fighters over La Rochelle in broad daylight during July 1941. Rivaz survived these events to write this book, but was sadly killed in October 1943, aged just 37.