WW2 Fiction

[cherry blossom]

Whilst looking at a recent hot topic, I realised that this forum doesn't have a place for WW2 or aviation related fiction. There are quite few books that might interest several of the less serious minded members and there might be some interest in a recommendations thread. Examples include
Bomber by Len Deighton Amazon.com: Bomber (Penguin Modern Classics): 9780241493700: Deighton, Len: Books, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller https://www.amazon.com/Catch-22-50th-Anniversary-Joseph-Heller/dp/1451626657, Piece of Cake by Derek Robinson Amazon.com: Piece of Cake (R.A.F. Quartet): 9780857050939: Robinson, Derek: Books and many, many others.

 

[Wurger]

Fiction

A place to discuss historical fiction based on WWII events

ww2aircraft.net

 

[cherry blossom]

Thanks Wurger. It didn't come up when I put "fiction" into the search window.

 

[Wurger]

 

[buffnut453]

Would it be churlish to add anything by Martin Caidin to the list of fiction?

Coat donned....leaving now!

 

[buffnut453]

More seriously...

Len Deighton "Fighter"

Derek Robinson "A Good Clean Fight," "Damned Good Show," plus the "Goshawk Squadron" series set in the First World War

Frederick Forsyth "The Shepherd"

Hope these make up for my last post...actually, I don't really care!

 

[Marcel]

More seriously...

Len Deighton "Fighter"

Derek Robinson "A Good Clean Fight," "Damned Good Show," plus the "Goshawk Squadron" series set in the First World War

Frederick Forsyth "The Shepherd"

Hope these make up for my last post...actually, I don't really care!

I thought Len Deighton's Bomber was even more impressive.

I'm a big fan of Derek Robinson. He still writes although he's almost 90 now. He always emails me when he publishes a new book so I can buy it signed. Nowadays they are mostly books with collected tidbits but still fun to read.

 

[cherry blossom]

Would it be churlish to add anything by Martin Caidin to the list of fiction?

Coat donned....leaving now!

You could certainly add him to the thread about science fiction as he wrote Cyborg Cyborg (novel) - Wikipedia which was adapted as "The Six Million Dollar Man".

 

[zeamerseagerbeavers]

If I'm allowed, I'd like to recommend my dad's book, AD ASTRA. (non-affiliate Amazon link)

It's drawn from his experience as a private and professional pilot through most of his life; his lifelong love of World War II aviation (his dual dreams—both now fulfilled—were to fly on a B-17 and to fly a P-51); a haunting "What if...?" that's followed him since the death of his cousin on his first mission as a B-17 tail gunner over France in 1944; and a desire to highlight the largely forgotten bomber war in the SW Pacific.

From the back cover:

It is 1940. America is mired in the Depression, as the rest of the world sinks into war. Tucked in his small corner of Kansas, a farm boy dreams of being an airline pilot, a dream that seems as unreachable as the hawks soaring high over his father's fields.

But when the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, suddenly his dream is within reach. As the pilot of a B-17 Flying Fortress in the South Pacific, he finds himself among the hawks at last, gaining the experience he is certain will lead him to an airline career after the war.

War has a way of changing our destinies, though, and when confronted with that harsh reality, young Gene Stoddard is forced to reconcile what's most important to him—the dream he can't have, or the life he can. And sometimes, he learns, dreams come true in ways that we can never imagine.

Among other wonderful reviews he's received for it, my favorite is from Douglas Walker, the son of MoH recipient Brig. Gen. Kenneth Walker, commander of V Bomber Command in the SWPA in 1942-43:

This is a story of heroism as a byproduct of a love and determination to fly . . . Del Hayes has written a richly detailed book, which gives the reader the vicarious sense of being with Gene behind the wheel of his beloved B-17. Hayes also brings that skill to bear in dealing with the human element in the story. We become closely involved with Gene and Mattie, and share an anxiety for their future that can only come from knowing them both so well. This is a wonderful novel.

I hope you decide to check it out. It's his most personal novel, and I think his best.

Available on Amazon here (non-affiliate link): AD ASTRA, by Del Hayes

 

[zeamerseagerbeavers]

I'd also recommend FLIGHT TO ARRAS, by Saint-Exupery, but do yourself the favor and buy the anthology AIRMAN'S ODYSSEY, which also contains WIND, SAND, AND STARS and NIGHT FLIGHT. (non-affiliate link)

It's one of my favorite books, of any kind, and cemented Saint-Exupery in a tie for my favorite author alongside Steinbeck.

 

[KAKI3152]

I have a large collection of WWII aviation fiction, including some that are somewhat rare. Most are paperbacks
A Day is 26 Hours--Geoff Parnell- 1942 novel of RAF Bomber Command
A Tent in Corsica- Martin Quigley-Novel about USAAF B-26 operations from Corsica
Blaze of Glory-Michael Carreck-Novel about a RAF Wellington pilot circa 1942
Face of a Hero-Louis Falstein-novel of 15th AF B-24 Jewish gunner
The Last Battle- Peter Henn-Novel of a Me-109 pilot in Italy
I Fought You From the Skies-Willi Heilmann-Novel based on a FW-190 pilot experiences in Normandy with III/JG-54
View From the Air- Hugh Fosburgh-Novel about B-24 experiences in the SWPA, 13th AF
Skip Bomber-Lloyd Olson-Novel of B-17 crew in the SWPA
Bomber Crew-Joseph Landon- 15th B-24 novel
We Were Three-Gui Lefreve- Novel about Belgian fighter pilots with the RAF
The Gun Garden- Paul Stanton-AFV Wellingtons flying from Malta.
Bomber Crew 369-William Anderson- 15th B-24 novel.
Roll Back the Sky-Ward Taylor- B-29 operations from Tinian

 

[Hill9868]

I have a large collection of WWII aviation fiction, including some that are somewhat rare. Most are paperbacks
A Day is 26 Hours--Geoff Parnell- 1942 novel of RAF Bomber Command
A Tent in Corsica- Martin Quigley-Novel about USAAF B-26 operations from Corsica
Blaze of Glory-Michael Carreck-Novel about a RAF Wellington pilot circa 1942
Face of a Hero-Louis Falstein-novel of 15th AF B-24 Jewish gunner
The Last Battle- Peter Henn-Novel of a Me-109 pilot in Italy
I Fought You From the Skies-Willi Heilmann-Novel based on a FW-190 pilot experiences in Normandy with III/JG-54
View From the Air- Hugh Fosburgh-Novel about B-24 experiences in the SWPA, 13th AF
Skip Bomber-Lloyd Olson-Novel of B-17 crew in the SWPA
Bomber Crew-Joseph Landon- 15th B-24 novel
We Were Three-Gui Lefreve- Novel about Belgian fighter pilots with the RAF
The Gun Garden- Paul Stanton-AFV Wellingtons flying from Malta.
Bomber Crew 369-William Anderson- 15th B-24 novel.
Roll Back the Sky-Ward Taylor- B-29 operations from Tinian

That's a great list Kaki! Thank you, I too have a large collection of WW2 fiction (land war as well as aviation) and there's a number on your list I don't own nor have I heard of. (I just joined this forum today).
Here's some others from my collection of WW2 aviation fiction that you might be interested in (assuming you don't already own copies of).

# Readiness at Dawn (1941)- Ronald Adam. Originally published under the pseudonym 'Blake'. Roger MacMurray, a former pilot of the Great War and a member of the RAF reserve is recalled to duty in 1940 to serve as a fighter controller at a Fighter Command sector station during Dunkirk and the early phase of the Battle of Britain. The author flew as a pilot in the RFC during the Great War (he survived being shot down by the Red Baron) and served as a fighter controller in the RAF in WW2. Adam was also a successful stage & screen actor (he played Air Marshall Mallory in the film 'Reach for the Sky').

# We Rendezvous at Ten (1942)- Ronald Adam. Sequel to above. This novel covers the latter phase of the Battle of Britain, the subsequent Blitz and the 'Rhubarb' fighter sweeps over France in 1941.

# Signed with Their Honour (1942)- John Aldridge. A young British pilot named John Quayle flies with No 80 Squadron during the Greek and Cretan Campaigns in 1940-41, flying Gloster Gladiators and later, Hawker Hurricanes. Written by an Australian who served as a war correspondent in the Mediterranean & North Africa during WW2. The novel was quite a success in the UK and the USA when first published (although some critics did point out it was rather 'Hemingway-ish' in style & mood). A film version was attempted in 1943 and some aerial footage was shot over Cheshire (since lost) but the production was abandoned after funding dried up and three Gloster Gladiators were written off in accidental crashes.

# Valley of the Sky (1944)- Herbert D. Skidmore. Novel about the crew of a B-24 in the Pacific War during WW2.

# Pathfinders (1944)- Cecil Lewis. Novel about the crew of a Vickers Wellington in RAF Bomber Command who are preparing for a night raid on Germany in 1942. The novel examines the thoughts and backgrounds of each member of the crew. This novel was recently reprinted by the IWM London for their 'Wartime Classics' collection of neglected WW2 fiction. The author is most famous for his 1936 book Sagittarius Rising, a memoir of his experiences as a pilot in the Great War (the book was a favourite among British pilots in WW2).

# Command Decision (1947)- William Wister Haines. General 'Casey' Dennis takes command of a B-17 Bomb-Group of the 8th Air-Force and he is forced to send them in costly raids against a factory in Germany manufacturing a new jet fighter, despite his superiors and a war correspondent questioning the justification of such heavy losses. The author, who served as an Intelligence officer in the 8th AF 1943-45, originally wrote this novel as a stage play (it was first performed on Broadway in 1947). It was also adapted as a motion-picture in 1948 starring Clark Gable & Walter Pidgeon.

# Night Be My Witness (1948)- Walter Clapham. Englishman Johnny Somers starts the war as a trooper in an Anti-Aircraft battery during the Battle of Britain. He applies for pilot-training but proves to be a mediocre cadet and is 'washed out' by his instructor. Somers instead qualifies as a bomb-aimer and he completes a tour of operations with a bomber unit in the Mediterranean. Despite his growing combat fatigue, he is then assigned to a pathfinder unit in Bomber Command for night raids on Germany. The author flew with Bomber Command during WW2 and post-war worked as a journalist, film critic & editor.

More to come............

 

[Hill9868]

I have a large collection of WWII aviation fiction, including some that are somewhat rare. Most are paperbacks
A Day is 26 Hours--Geoff Parnell- 1942 novel of RAF Bomber Command
A Tent in Corsica- Martin Quigley-Novel about USAAF B-26 operations from Corsica
Blaze of Glory-Michael Carreck-Novel about a RAF Wellington pilot circa 1942
Face of a Hero-Louis Falstein-novel of 15th AF B-24 Jewish gunner
The Last Battle- Peter Henn-Novel of a Me-109 pilot in Italy
I Fought You From the Skies-Willi Heilmann-Novel based on a FW-190 pilot experiences in Normandy with III/JG-54
View From the Air- Hugh Fosburgh-Novel about B-24 experiences in the SWPA, 13th AF
Skip Bomber-Lloyd Olson-Novel of B-17 crew in the SWPA
Bomber Crew-Joseph Landon- 15th B-24 novel
We Were Three-Gui Lefreve- Novel about Belgian fighter pilots with the RAF
The Gun Garden- Paul Stanton-AFV Wellingtons flying from Malta.
Bomber Crew 369-William Anderson- 15th B-24 novel.
Roll Back the Sky-Ward Taylor- B-29 operations from Tinian

Continuing my list from before:

# The Gesture (1948) by John Cooper Cobb. A war-weary B-17 Squadron of the 8th Air-Force receives a new CO, Major Harris, an eager and idealistic officer. The novel's narrator is Whipple, a B-17 bombardier who is physically recovering from wounds and hopes to be sent home. Harris, in a well-intentioned but naive gesture, tries to cease segregation for the base's African-American personnel, sparking a riotous backlash from the aircrews. The author was a navigator on a B-17 in the 8th AF during WW2 (he passed away in 2021, age 99). Copies of the novel are quite rare, it was first published (in hardback only) in 1948 plus a limited hardback reprint edition in 1988.

# The Sun is Silent (1951) by Saul Levitt. A novel that follows a B-17 crew from their training in the States through to their deployment to the 8th Air-Force in England. Copies of this novel are very rare (and expensive!)- it was never reprinted after it's initial release in hardback in 1951. The author served as a radio-operator & gunner on a B-17 with the 100th Bomb Group of the 8th AF. He was part of the way through his tour of operations when he was severely injured in a motor vehicle accident. Assessed as medically unfit for further flying, Levitt was transferred back home. Postwar, Levitt had a successful career as an author & playwright. His best-known work was his 1959 stage play The Andersonville Trial.

# Faith is a Windsock (1952) by Miles Tripp. A pilot named Bergen and his crew fly Lancaster bomber A-Able in No 3 Group RAF Bomber Command from their base in East Anglia during the final months of the war in 1945. Despite the Luftwaffe having been all but defeated and the British bombers now able to fly many of their operations in daylight, there remain many ways for bomber aircrew to die, a fact that Bergen and his war-weary crew are all too aware of, especially with the end of the war finally in sight. The author survived 37 trips as a bomb-aimer in Lancaster bombers during WW2. Postwar he became a successful author, writing nearly 40 novels during his career, most of which were crime novels published under pseudonyms. Tripp also wrote a factual memoir about his wartime experiences- The Eighth Passenger- in 1969.

# Crispin's Day (1952) by Leigh Howard. The pilot of a un-armed Mosquito flies a low-level daylight photo-reconnaissance sortie on the morning after the famous Ruhr Dams Raid in May 1943, his task to photograph the damage from the previous night's operation. The author (whose actual name was Alexander Lee Howard) served in the RAF during WW2, flying with Coastal Command and also with the RAF Film Unit.

# The Last Squadron (1953) by Gerd Gaiser. A novel about a Luftwaffe fighter unit, equipped with FW-190s and stationed on the Danish coast in the mid-summer of 1943, fighting against both RAF incursions via the North Sea and US heavy bomber formations over the mainland of Europe. The author served in the Luftwaffe during WW2, both as a pilot and as a staff officer. The novel was originally published in Germany as The Falling Leaf and the English hardback edition was also released under that title. It was re-titled The Last Squadron for the English paperback edition.

# Squadron Airborne (1955) by Elleston Trevor. Novel about a Spitfire squadron of RAF Fighter Command (code-named 'Vestal' Squadron) during one week at the height of the Battle of Britain in late August or early September 1940. A new ('sprog') pilot named Stuyckes joins the squadron and awkwardly tries to learn how to survive alongside the more experienced fliers. The unit has to endure stress, fear and exhaustion and one pilot will succumb to combat-fatigue before the week is out. Another pilot, haunted by the loss of his family in a German air raid, has vowed revenge on his Luftwaffe opponents. Unlike most other aviation novels, members of the ground crew are also featured as significant characters. The author served as a flight engineer during WW2. He wrote a large number of novels in a variety of genres. Trevor's 1956 novel The Big Pick Up was used as the basis for the 1958 film Dunkirk. His best-known novel is the aviation adventure Flight of the Phoenix (1964) which inspired two film versions, one starring James Stewart in 1965 and a less successful one starring Dennis Quaid in 2004. He also wrote the Quiller series of espionage novels, published under the pseudonym Adam Hall, one of which was filmed in 1966 as The Quiller Memorandum (Trevor was so unhappy with the film adaption, he refused to sell the film rights for his other Quiller novels).

# Johnny Kinsman (1955) by John Watson. Johnny Kinsman was orphaned as a small child and raised by his aunt & uncle, the latter a disabled veteran of the Great War. He enlists in the RAF and trains as a pilot, joining a Halifax heavy bomber unit of Bomber Command. Troubled by his unhappy childhood and a lingering immaturity, Kinsman flies Halifax Z-Zebra on night raids over Germany. Things get complicated when he meets Julie, a married woman whom his friend and fellow pilot Wakefield is having an affair with. Kinsman finds himself attracted to Julie himself. The author served as a Halifax pilot with No 158 Squadron Bomber Command, surviving over 40 operations and earning a DFC.

# Maximum Effort (1957) by James Campbell. In early 1944, Group-Captain Dorton and Wing-Commander Carter are ordered to take over No 186 Squadron, a Halifax unit that has been suffering heavy losses, low morale and poor performance for some time. The two men face the difficult task of improving the combat record of the squadron. The author flew in Halifax bombers with No 158 Squadron, Bomber Command during WW2 (the same unit as author John Watson). Post-war, Campbell was a successful journalist.

# He Flew by My Side (1957) by Erwin Morzfeld. A pair of new pilots are posted to a Luftwaffe Junkers Ju-88 torpedo bomber unit that operates over the North Sea, tasked with attacking Allied supply convoys. Tortege is a serious-minded professional while Hellmig is a more reckless, flippant type. Despite their differences, the two men develop a close friendship as their unit begins to suffer heavy losses, both to the Allies and to the harsh weather. The author flew Ju-88s over the North Sea during WW2. He was shot down and captured, spending the rest of the conflict in a POW camp in Scotland.

# The Sky Ablaze (1958) by Victor Schuller. A new young pilot is posted to a Luftwaffe Ju-88 bomber unit based in Italy during the siege of Malta in 1942. He soon wrangles a transfer to a fighter unit and in this role, he sees action over Stalingrad and later over Germany against the US daylight bombers. He is chosen to fly what the novel refers to as 'the new rocket-powered fighter' (presumably the Me-163 Komet). The novel was originally published in Germany with the title 'With Falling Oak Leaves & Swords.......the World Perished'. No information available on the author.

# The Damned Wear Wings (1958) by David M. Camerer. Colonel Mark Royson takes command of the 473rd Bomb Group of the 15th Air-Force based in Italy in 1944. The B-24 crews are tasked with flying missions to destroy the oil refineries at Ploesti in Rumania. Royson is relentless in his determination to achieve results, despite the heavy losses his crews are suffering on the costly raids. The author served for two years with the 15th AF in Italy during WW2. Post-war, Camerer was a successful sports journalist in New York.

# Goodbye to Some (1961) by Gordon Forbes. A novel about a PB4-Y unit based in the Sulu Sea in the NW-Pacific and centring on war-weary pilot Captain Carl Iverson (the PB4-Y was the naval patrol version of the B-24). The novel highlights the mental and physical strains on the aircrews who endure the harsh climate and long patrols over the never-ending ocean. The author flew PB4-Ys during the war. It took him two years to find a publisher for the novel, partially due to the blunt & bitter tone of the book.

More to come..................

 

[Hill9868]

I have a large collection of WWII aviation fiction, including some that are somewhat rare. Most are paperbacks
A Day is 26 Hours--Geoff Parnell- 1942 novel of RAF Bomber Command
A Tent in Corsica- Martin Quigley-Novel about USAAF B-26 operations from Corsica
Blaze of Glory-Michael Carreck-Novel about a RAF Wellington pilot circa 1942
Face of a Hero-Louis Falstein-novel of 15th AF B-24 Jewish gunner
The Last Battle- Peter Henn-Novel of a Me-109 pilot in Italy
I Fought You From the Skies-Willi Heilmann-Novel based on a FW-190 pilot experiences in Normandy with III/JG-54
View From the Air- Hugh Fosburgh-Novel about B-24 experiences in the SWPA, 13th AF
Skip Bomber-Lloyd Olson-Novel of B-17 crew in the SWPA
Bomber Crew-Joseph Landon- 15th B-24 novel
We Were Three-Gui Lefreve- Novel about Belgian fighter pilots with the RAF
The Gun Garden- Paul Stanton-AFV Wellingtons flying from Malta.
Bomber Crew 369-William Anderson- 15th B-24 novel.
Roll Back the Sky-Ward Taylor- B-29 operations from Tinian

A couple of points about your great list:
'Bomber Crew' by Joseph Landon was originally published as 'Angle of Attack'
'Face of a Hero' by Louis Falstein- there were allegations that arose in the late 1990s from some quarters that Joseph Heller had imitated aspects of Falstein's novel for the former's 'Catch-22'. Heller angrily denied this. According to Heller, while both he and Falstein had flown in bombers over Italy in WW2, the two men had never met and Heller had neither read nor even heard of Falstein's novel when the former wrote 'Catch-22' in 1960.
'I Fought You from the Skies' by Willi Heilmann and 'The Last Battle' by Peter Henn were published as factual memoirs rather than as novels. However in the case of Heilmann's book, given that it was at least 30% fiction, it may as well be regarded as a 'novel'. Similar to 'Heaven Next Stop' by Gunther Bloemertz, a 'memoir' about a Luftwaffe pilot who flew with JG-26 but it's basically a partially fictionalised or 'novelised' account ('lyrical memoir' is another term I've heard).
Cheers, Pete

 

[special ed]

Also, Welcome aboard!