Please note: In order to keep Hive up to date and provide users with the best features, we are no longer able to fully support Internet Explorer. The site is still available to you, however some sections of the site may appear broken. We would encourage you to move to a more modern browser like Firefox, Edge or Chrome in order to experience the site fully.

Supporting your high street Find out how »
From Spitfires to Vampires and Beyond : A Kiwi Ace's RAF Journey, Hardback Book

From Spitfires to Vampires and Beyond : A Kiwi Ace's RAF Journey Hardback

Edited by Air Marshal G. A. 'Black' Robertson

Hardback

In Stock - usually despatched within 24 hours

Description

World War Two Spitfire pilot Owen Hardy was probably the last New Zealand ace to tell his story.

He left home at 18 bent on joining the RAF and by 1942, aged only 20, he was at Biggin Hill with 72 Squadron under Brian Kingcome.

D-Day found him flying over the Normandy beaches with 485 (New Zealand) Squadron.

That he survived the war unharmed owed as much to luck as it did to his ability as a fighter pilot.

Unable, though, to settle in civilian life afterwards in New Zealand, he returned to the RAF for the second phase of a remarkable career. Converting to jets, Hardy went on to command 71 Squadron, leading a Vampire aerobatic team with considerable success across Europe – dodging MiGs at the same time!

But adapting to peacetime service wasn’t easy. Previously stimulated by the wartime environment and still passionate about flying, he was less enamoured with staff jobs; and this despite working on the introduction of a new, state-of-the-art missile system, Bloodhound.

Then a fateful decision, to turn down command of a Javelin squadron and follow his mentor, led finally to disillusionment. Hardy pulls no punches in this forthright and refreshingly honest autobiography.

In retelling his eye-opening story, editor Black Robertson shines a light on what it was like not just to fly in combat, but also on the changing face of a post-war RAF which arguably undervalued some of its heroes.

From the heat of North Africa to the uncertainties of the Cold War, it’s a unique and enthralling tale.

Information

Save 18%

£25.00

£20.29

In Stock - usually despatched within 24 hours
Add to Basket
Sign in to add to wishlist
 
Free Home Delivery

on all orders

 
Pick up orders

from local bookshops

Information