Mosquito Men: The Elite Pathfinders of 627 Squadron

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The amount of work entailed in putting in the detail must have been enormous but worth it for me because there is so much about each airman’s life and family. Many aviation history books concentrate only on the aircraft but this book describes the interaction between the politics, strategy and technology of the Allied bombing campaign, to put the Pathfinder operations in perspective. In November 1940, a remarkable prototype aircraft made its maiden flight from an airstrip north of London. Mosquito Men traces the contrasting careers of the young men of 627 Squadron, including that of Ken Oatley - last surviving member of an illustrious group - who flew twenty-two operations in Mosquitos as a navigator. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.

Nicknamed the 'wooden wonder' for its balsawood frame, the two-man Mosquito excelled in several different roles, from reconnaissance to the bombing of sensitive priority targets. This may only be a history of a short lived squadron at first glance but the background that is uncovered of the people, places, machines, politics and history make this an unmissable treat and a fitting testimony to those who we owe so much to. The men who flew it nicknamed this most flexible of aircraft 'the wooden wonder' for its composite wooden frame and superb performance.Mosquito Men traces the contrasting careers of the young men of 627 Squadron, including that of Ken Oatley – last surviving member of an illustrious group – who flew twenty-two operations in Mosquitos as a navigator.

If the Squadron's history has not been well-served in print up to now, this volume sets things to rights.Nicknamed The 'Wooden Wonder' for its timber frame and superb performance, the de Havilland Mosquito ranks alongside the Spitfire, the Hurricane and the Lancaster as one of the RAF's greatest-ever flying machines.