Blenheims over Greece and Crete, Brian Cull

BLENHEIMS OVER GREECE AND CRETE: The first comprehensive account of aerial operations over Greece and Crete by the vulnerable Blenheim bomber

• A gripping account of the conflict as it was viewed in 1940-41 by the aircrews of both sides, the press – often for propaganda purposes – and public
• Original research with extracts from official operations and published memoirs
• Includes information extracted from Luftwaffe records regarding claims and losses of German aircraft/aircrew
• Illustrated with new and rarely seen photographs

The Bristol Blenheim entered Bomber Command service in 1937. In its inception, the Blenheim was fast and sleek, and at the outbreak of war, was the first British aircraft to enter German airspace. The war, however, showed the Blenheim was vulnerable to flak and Luftwaffe fighters. It suffered horrific losses during the Battle of France: No. 144 Squadron lost almost its entire bombers in one mission. The fighting in France revealed the Blenheim Mk IV to be under-armoured, under-armed and slow. Before being replaced by the de Havilland Mosquito, the Blenheim soldiered on with almost suicidal consequences for its crews.

BLENHEIMS OVER GREECE AND CRETE 1940-1941 covers their operations during the fighting over Greece and Albania. By the end of the fighting, all three squadrons had effectively been wiped out. With many new crews to replace those lost in Greece, the Blenheims later fought in Sumatra and Java in an endeavour to repel the Japanese invasion. Written by a world leading authoritarian figure on Second World War military aviation, this is a gripping account of the heroics of the small band of British and Greek airmen who flew the Blenheims against ever-increasing odds, particularly once the Luftwaffe were determined to decimate them.

Author: Brian Cull

Publisher: Fonthill Media (2017)

Description: 272 pages, paperback, 240 X 160 mm, 44 b/w photos. 

Condition: NEW COPY.

Shipping weight: 520 gr.

Tags: MEDITERRANEAN, CRETE, AEGEAN SEA