Finishing School (The MacKay series Book 1)
Genre: Kindle Edition
Brand: Caird Publications
Author: David Bruce
Price: £0.00
It was generally believed that once a German night fighter had got on the tail of a Lancaster bomber, the rear gunner had but five seconds to live; a crew had to train hard to beat those odds...
Book length: 155 thousand words
A critical month in the life of a veteran bomber pilot...
'Finishing School' immerses the reader in the lives of the members of a WWII Lancaster bomber crew in the final stage of their training as they prepare themselves for one of the most dark and dangerous episodes of the war. It deals with the stark technical challenges they had to master - and the accompanying onslaught on their minds - as they prepared to struggle against the odds. It is an intimate, detailed and authentic portrayal of the relationship of a crew and the aircraft that they would take to war.
It is March 1944, and while Bomber Command's campaign of attrition bombing against Germany is at its bloody height, Flight Lieutenant Hugh MacKay is allowed to return to operations after a long interval, having sustained serious injuries in a horrific crash the previous year. His first task; to take command of a sprog crew who have just lost their pilot and to guide these young men through their final stage of training at Lancaster Finishing School. His next task; to bring them through their first operation alive - using every trick in the book, and some that aren't - or perish in the attempt.
MacKay, for whom nothing but the operational life now exists, has an outlook as bleak as the war-torn skies over Germany, but the sudden arrival of a woman in his life challenges his simple assumptions. Will fate be the final arbiter as he leads his crew on their first main force operation - the RAF's 'Big Chop' night - the disastrous raid on Nuremberg?
Contains much material on Bomber Command training and operations that has not been widely published before.
What the publishing industry thought...
"Fascinating, and a wonderful tribute to Bomber Command."
"...this is stirring stuff: beautifully paced, evocative, even witty, with unusually appealing characters and some absolutely rip-snorting action sequences..."
"...the author's obviously deep knowledge and understanding of the subject matter shines through, and in particular the scenes that take place on the planes are very well described and gripping..."
"...the author really captures what it must have been like to have flown bombers during the war..."
"...brilliant technical detail..."
"...has got a great style..."
Book length: 155 thousand words
A critical month in the life of a veteran bomber pilot...
'Finishing School' immerses the reader in the lives of the members of a WWII Lancaster bomber crew in the final stage of their training as they prepare themselves for one of the most dark and dangerous episodes of the war. It deals with the stark technical challenges they had to master - and the accompanying onslaught on their minds - as they prepared to struggle against the odds. It is an intimate, detailed and authentic portrayal of the relationship of a crew and the aircraft that they would take to war.
It is March 1944, and while Bomber Command's campaign of attrition bombing against Germany is at its bloody height, Flight Lieutenant Hugh MacKay is allowed to return to operations after a long interval, having sustained serious injuries in a horrific crash the previous year. His first task; to take command of a sprog crew who have just lost their pilot and to guide these young men through their final stage of training at Lancaster Finishing School. His next task; to bring them through their first operation alive - using every trick in the book, and some that aren't - or perish in the attempt.
MacKay, for whom nothing but the operational life now exists, has an outlook as bleak as the war-torn skies over Germany, but the sudden arrival of a woman in his life challenges his simple assumptions. Will fate be the final arbiter as he leads his crew on their first main force operation - the RAF's 'Big Chop' night - the disastrous raid on Nuremberg?
Contains much material on Bomber Command training and operations that has not been widely published before.
What the publishing industry thought...
"Fascinating, and a wonderful tribute to Bomber Command."
"...this is stirring stuff: beautifully paced, evocative, even witty, with unusually appealing characters and some absolutely rip-snorting action sequences..."
"...the author's obviously deep knowledge and understanding of the subject matter shines through, and in particular the scenes that take place on the planes are very well described and gripping..."
"...the author really captures what it must have been like to have flown bombers during the war..."
"...brilliant technical detail..."
"...has got a great style..."
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