Starting the Second World War with an assortment of aircraft, Bomber Command was hampered by its slow
antiquated aircraft. Until the advent of the Wellington, Halifax and the Lancaster, it relied on the Fairey
Battle, Handley Page Hampden and the few newer bombers that had reached operational service. Used primarily for
leaflet drops, the first attacks on Germany began on 15 May 1940 and the seeds were sown for the carpet and fire
bombing that would raise Hamburg, Leipzig and Dresden to the ground in 1943-45. Martin W. Bowman tells the story
of Bomber Command's glory years as well as the strategic bombing that destroyed much of the infrastructure of Nazi
Germany. Using interviews with many men who took part in the nightly raids over Germany, he brings the story to
life, emphasising the daily lives of those who risked their lives nightly against the ack-ack guns and nightfighters of the Luftwaffe.
