This book is a new edition of the autobiography originally published in 1957. The author was the second legless RAF fighter pilot after Douglas Bader – Strongly Recommended.
NAME: Best Foot Forward, The Autobiography of the RAF's Other Legless Fighter Pilot FILE: R2540 AUTHOR: Colin Hodgkinson PUBLISHER: Pen & Sword, Frontline BINDING: hard back PAGES: 223 PRICE: £19.99 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: RAF, Fleet Air Arm, fighters, WWII, Second World War, World War II, World War 2, Spitfire, Meteor, Vampire, Korean War, Auxillary Air Force
ISBN: 1-47389-762-9
IMAGE: B2540.jpg6 BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/yahc2w3j LINKS: DESCRIPTION: This book is a new edition of the autobiography originally published in 1957. The author was the second legless RAF fighter pilot after Douglas Bader - Strongly Recommended. Bader had lost his legs as a result of an accident whilst practising for an air display. Hodgkinson lost his legs in an accident while he was training with the Fleet Air Arm in 1939. The two were not alone. Many other pilots had lost limbs as a result of flying accidents since the earliest days of flight. Bader had a hard struggle to get back to flying and provided the precedent and inspiration for Hodgkinson. Hodgkinson began a long and painful struggle. His right leg was amputated immediately, but attempts were made to save the left leg. It was several weeks before Hodgkinson asked the surgeons to remove the left leg which had been stubbornly refusing to heal. He also had facial injuries and trouble with the sight of one eye. Only 19, Hodgkinson was determined to become a pilot once more and to fly Spitfires. With persistence and determination, aided by the precedent created by Bader, he joined the RAF and was accepted back into flying. He proved himself an effective fighter pilot many times until he was shot down and taken prisoner, being considered unfit for further duty and repatriated, but this was not the end of his flying. He not only returned to duty as a fighter pilot, but he went on to fly jet fighters until he left the RAF in 1946. That was still not the end of his flying because he joined the Auxillary Air Force in 1947 and continued flying until 1952. This is story of a brave and determined pilot who overcame serious injuries. It is moving and warming. It is great that the publisher has returned this gem of a book to print, and it will inspire future pilots. It is a story told with modesty and humour by the man himself and he has detailed the work of outstanding surgeons that enabled his recovery to fly again.