It is Spring 1944 and Hitler's Third Reich has just twelve months to run. Shot down over enemy territory and struggling to avoid capture, Per witnesses the collapse of this evil system, first in Germany, then in his native Norway.
It is spring 1944 and Per, a Norwegian tail gunner, is is shot down during a raid over Germany. In his efforts to escape capture, he finds himself employed as a foreign worker in a small hotel. This leads to a conflict of loyalties and eventually a return to his homeland, Norway
Excerpt
Seeing a Lancaster explode wasn't a pretty sight. Unnerving, in fact. Most of the guys who didn't make it did the decent thing and went quietly. In the darkness of the night. First we knew was some empty beds, soon to be replenished with fresh cannon-fodder.
Occasionally there might be a hint of how and why. We'd spot a feathered engine, the lame duck falling behind, to be picked off by the ever-attentive 109s. Or hear a garbled voice on the RT telling of flak damage. Then silence.
But those of us who'd done a few ops - and I'd done twenty five - had witnessed at least one big bang. A tracer in the fuel tank? A lucky hit on the bomb load? Who knows? But seeing seven of your mates blown to bits in one ghastly moment shook even the best of us. Some idiot at Air Ministry had once decreed we fly close formation, but this had stopped when the blokes who copped it also took out their wingman.
I had these nightmares from time to time, but usually dismissed them with daylight. Except today I realised I wasn't in my own bed. Not in a bed at all. But in open country. A Lanc was damned cold at twenty thousand feet, so I was glad to be still wearing my flying suit with plenty of layers underneath. All this insulation had come in handy for what had apparently been a night in a German ditch.
Professional Reviews
from P Thompson
22 July 2015
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase.
Really enjoyed the book - nicely paced with interesting characters and lots of historical interest and context. As a bonus I now feel well informed on Norway's situation in WWII.
from Musto
3 October 2015 Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
Before reading this book I had an idea of life in wartime Germany but no idea of what was going on in Sweden and Norway. I like this easy to read history as it wends its way through a large cast of characters that you are not sure are heroes or villains.
From Matt
16 April 2017
Format: Paperback.
A thoroughly enjoyable wartime jaunt. Richardson sklfully weaves fact with fiction throughout this pan- Northern European adventure. Our hero, Per's extraordinary journey after being shot down over Germany is as intriguing as it is believable. A tremendous story. I didn't want it to end!
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