Product Overview
Controversy has raged ever since 9 August 1941 when Douglas Bader, the most famous fighter pilot of the Second World War, was brought down over France. Bader was able to extricate himself from his stricken Spitfire, parachuting from 6,000ft and landing safely, only to be taken prisoner by the occupying Germans.
However, precisely what happened that day has always been something of a mystery - was he shot down, or was it a collision? Now, more than 50 years after the event, Dilip Sarkar has undertaken painstaking original research, leaving no stone unturned in his efforts to determine the sequence of events. The various possibilities are discussed, and the author offers a new alternative: was Bader the victim of 'Friendly Fire'?
In addition to telling Bader's story, the broader picture is provided of the 'Non-stop Offensive' - it is a little-known fact that by the end of 1941 RAF Fighter Command was actually losing the day fighter war over France by 2:1. This book tells the stories of the 'unknowns', the other Spitfire pilots who flew from RAF Tangmere, and comprehensive detail is also included of their skilled adversaries, the Luftwaffe's pilots, giving a unique insight into the air battles that took place at this crucial time.
The story continues to the present, the author having masterminded 'Operation Dogsbody', the ultimate archaeological quest to locate and recover Bader's Spitfire from its crash site near St Omer. Already Dilip's team has recovered the substantial remains of a Spitfire which, although not Bader's, attracted a blaze of international media interest. Here, that fascinating story is told in full for the first time.
