John Nichol - Tail-End Charlies: The Last Battles of the Bomber War 1944-45

PENGUIN BOOKS
TAIL-END CHARLIES

Praise for Tail-End Charlies:

Covering not only the personal experiences of ordinary airmen but also the wider issues, this is a worthy tribute to a forgotten army
The Times Literary Supplement

Sets the record straight after too long a time. Belatedly the bomber boys are getting their just deserts Tim Heald, Literary Review

Praise for The Last Escape:

Packed with first-hand testimony and impressive scholarship but with all the pace of a novel, this is a superb memorial of those Allied heroes who thought wrongly that for them the war was over
Andrew Roberts

With admirably dogged research, the authors have delved into recently declassified files and long-hidden diaries to uncover a scandal
Sunday Times

Superb, moving. A tale of heroism and sacrifice, told through the stories of those who lived it, and a long overdue contribution to the history of war
Carlo dEste, author of Eisenhower: A Soldiers Life and Patton: Genius for War

John Nichol is a former RAF flight lieutenant whose Tornado bomber was shot down on a mission over Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War. He was captured and became a prisoner of war. He is the bestselling co-author of Tornado Down and The Last Escape: The Untold Story of Allied Prisoners of War in Germany 19441945, and author of five novels: Point of Impact, Vanishing Point, Exclusion Zone, Stinger and Decisive Measures. He is also a journalist and widely quoted military commentator. His website is at www.johnnichol.com.

Tony Rennell is the author of Last Days of Glory: The Death of Queen Victoria and co-author of When Daddy Came Home, a highly praised study of demobilization in 1945 and The Last Escape: The Untold Story of Allied Prisoners of War in Germany 19441945. Now a freelance writer, he was formerly associate editor of the Sunday Times and the Mail on Sunday.

The last battles of the bomber war 194445

JOHN NICHOL AND TONY RENNELL

PENGUIN BOOKS

PENGUIN BOOKS

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First published by Viking 2004
Published in Penguin Books 2005
10

Copyright John Nichol and Tony Rennell, 2004
All rights reserved

The moral right of the authors has been asserted

Extracts from The Eighth Passenger by Miles Tripp
(copyright Estate of Miles Tripp 1969) reproduced by permission of PFD
( www.pfd.co.uk ) on behalf of the Estate of Miles Tripp

Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publishers prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

ISBN: 978-0-14-192589-9

This book is dedicated to all the men of Royal Air Force Bomber Command and the United States Eighth Army Air Force. Sixty years on, our debt to them is timeless.

There are many people who willingly gave us their expertise and time whilst we wrote this book. We have tried to acknowledge them all but we apologize to anyone we neglect to mention. Our heartfelt thanks go to:

Doug Radcliffe and Marion Brame at the Bomber Command Association for helping with countless books and pictures and providing many of the contacts to the veterans.

Peter Elliott and his staff at the Department of Research in the Royal Air Force Museum and Stephen Walton at the Imperial War Museum for their advice and their time in searching the archives for stories and accounts.

Nigel Parker, editor of the Bomber Command Association Newsletter. Andrew Wise, editor of the RAF News, and Collin Pullen, editor of the RAF Association magazine.

Frank Haslam and CalYounger for reading the draft and offering expert and much appreciated comment.

Ian Cundall at BBC Leeds and Barry Price for their research and knowledge of LMF.

Sebastian Cox, head of the Air Historical Branch, for being a sounding board for our ideas.

Fred and Harold Panton and everyone at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, East Kirkby Airfield, for their assistance during our visit.

Jan Pack from the 388th Bomb Group Association, who provided many accounts and pictures from her archives and also invited us to spend time with the group during their visit to the UK.

David Hastings, chairman of the 2nd Air Division Memorial Trust who not only read the draft manuscript but provided pictures and assisted in contacting many veterans.

Graham Herbertson for his excellent research into the Skipper and the Kids incident.

Martin Middlebrook, Chris Everitt and Bill Chorley for their indispensable reference books on Bomber Command.

David and Deborah Sarsons at the 388th Museum for their help in tracking down many veterans.

Juliet Annan, Carly Cook and all at Viking Penguin and our agent Mark Lucas for their continuing advice and support.

To our wives, Suzannah and Sarah, we extend our love and gratitude; we thank them for their comments, advice and fortitude.

Finally, to the veterans themselves and their families; they wrote to us, sent us their private letters and diaries and allowed us to delve into events sometimes best forgotten. We thank and salute them.

. Bob and Joyce Pierson shortly after they were married.

. Bob and Joyce Pierson at home in 2003.

. Bob Pierson back in the cramped Tail-End Charlie position for the first time in nearly sixty years.

. External view of the Lancaster rear turret with Bob Pierson manning the guns.

. An RAF Lancaster attacks an oil refinery at Bremen in 1944.

. View from the rear gun turret of the Lancaster up to the pilots cockpit.

. The London Evening Standard of 14 February 1945 reports the attacks on Dresden.

. The tragic reality of the British and American bombing of Dresden.

. A USAAF B-17 manages to return to safety after losing its nose.

. Two B-17 waist gunners stand guard in the cramped confines of a Flying Fortress.

. An RAF Lancaster has its 100th bomb painted on the nose to signify 100 completed operations.

. Waafs wave off a Lancaster as it departs for an operation over Germany.

. ACM Sir Arthur Harris.

. An RAF crew enjoys a final cup of tea before departing for an operation.

. Al Dexters Lucky Bastard certificate presented after completing thirty missions.

. A B-24 has its tail blown off by flak.