Piece of Cake (Raf Quartet 1)

by Derek Robinson (Author)

• New

  Paperback
  2012

  $14.05

  From the Phoney War of 1939 to the Battle of Britain in 1940, the pilots of Hornet Squadron learn their lessons the hard way. Hi-jinks are all very well on the ground, but once in a Hurricane's cockpit, the best killers keep their wits close. Newly promoted Commanding Officer Fanny Barton has a job on to whip the Hornets into shape before they face the Luftwaffe's seasoned pilots. And sometimes Fighter Command, with its obsolete tactics and stiff doctrines, is the real menace. As with all Robinson's novels, the raw dialogue, rich black humour and brilliantly rendered, adrenalin-packed dogfights bring the Battle of Britain, and the brave few who fought it, to life.

• Used

  Paperback
  2002

  $6.49

  Derek Robinson's depiction of an RAF fighter squadron during the Battle for France and the Battle of Britain won critical acclaim but upset the Daily Telegraph-reading public. His pilots were real human beings, far from convinced of the wisdom of their military leaders or that of Churchill, for that matter. The likelihood of being burned to death in a Hurricane concentrated their minds on other things. Some turned to drink. Some turned on their own in order to survive. Others, most notably the brilliantly drawn anti-hero Flight Lieutenant 'Moggy' Cattermaul, scored a succession of aerial victories even if his behaviour on the ground was utterly unforgivable. A vivid and unforgettable portrait of young men at war: real men, not the two-dimensional stiff-upper-lip heroes of legend.