Blood, Sweat And Courage: 41 Squadron RAF 1939-1942 (2014) By Steve Brew
 
41 Squadron RAF is one of the oldest RAF Squadrons in existence, having celebrated its 95th Anniversary in 2011.
 
The unit has seen service from the First World War through policing duties in the Middle East in the 1930s, throughout the Second World War, and more recently in the First Gulf War. Sadly, however, its history has never been written. Blood, Sweat and Valour is the first comprehensive study of this gallant squadron, concentrating on its Second World War activity between August 1942 and May 1945 with a specific emphasis on the men who earned the enviable reputation the squadron still enjoys today.
 
Blood, Sweat and Valour recounts the unit's role within battles, operations, offensives and larger strategies, and details experiences made by the pilots and ground crew participating in them. The squadron's actions are often revealed for the first time through records that have hitherto never been available.
 
Sources include over 350 documents from 41 Squadron's archives, and thousands of pages of data from over 250 National Archives files and hundreds of references from the London Gazette, major periodicals, books and websites from across the globe in both English and German. Personal sources also include 35 pilots' logbooks, 40 personal accounts and interviews.
 
Following the success of Blood, Sweat and Valour, focusing on the period August 1942 to May 1945, Blood, Sweat and Courage now completes the narrative of 41 Squadron's Second World War activity, concentrating on its operations between September 1939 and July 1942.
 
Author Steve Brew recounts the unit's role within battles, operations, and larger strategies, and details experiences made by the pilots and ground crew participating in them. The Squadron's actions are often revealed for the first time through records that have previously not been available.
 
Brew evokes the feeling of the period, portraying not only a factual account but also one that captures the colour of life on a Second World War fighter squadron, with a balance between material of a documentary nature and narrative action, intertwining fact with personal recollections, serious events with humour, and sobering statistics with poignant afterthought.
 
This is the First Book In the Series.
 
Hard Cover with Dust Jacket
959 pages
In Good Condition