The author paints graphic pictures of his successful escape from Stalag Luft III. This is the story of a Dutch Air Force pilot who escaped to Britain, flew Spitfires for the RAF, was shot down and escaped from POW camp to fly again. – Most Strongly Recommended
NAME: Escape From Stalag Luft III, The True Story Of My Successful Great Escape, The Memoir Of Bram Vanderstok FILE: R2793 AUTHOR: Bram Vanderstok PUBLISHER: Pen and Sword, Greenhill Books BINDING: hard back PAGES: 264 PRICE: £25.00 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: Dutch Air Force, Royal Air Force, WWII, World War 2, World War II, Second World War, Spitfire, fighter sweeps, POW camp, escape
ISBN: 978-1-78438-434-0
IMAGE: B2793.jpg BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/y43xmg5f LINKS: DESCRIPTION: The author paints graphic pictures of his successful escape from Stalag Luft III. This is the story of a Dutch Air Force pilot who escaped to Britain, flew Spitfires for the RAF, was shot down and escaped from POW camp to fly again. - Most Strongly Recommended The Second World War saw vast aerial battles across Europe and around the World. Never before had aircraft been used on this scale and inevitably there are a host of stories that are little known, or yet to be told. The author is a natural story teller, a modest man, but with a great tale to tell. The absorbing text is supported by a photo-plate section that includes rare and never-before-published images. When the Germans ignored the rules of neutrality and swept through the Netherlands and Belgium, many managed to escape to Britain. The author had been serving in the Royal Netherlands Air Force and was one of those to escape to Britain, There he joined the RAF and flew Spitfires. However, for him, escape was not a matter of taking a boat before the Germans achieved victory. He witnessed the fight and Occupation. He had several false starts before he managed to escape and then he had to decide how best to serve his country. He had been a medical student before learning to fly, but becoming an RAF pilot became the choice. By 1942, the RAF was engaged on 'Rhubarb Missions' flying over France to tempt the Luftwaffe to come up and fight. It was not without great risk because the Spitfire was not designed for long flights, giving limited dog fighting time before low fuel required a return home. Although many engagements were at high altitude, many were at low level and sometimes involved targets of opportunity on the ground, making the Spitfire vulnerable to heavy anti-aircraft fire. This combination of dog fighting and dodging flak at low level was to cost the RAF many of its Battle of Britain aces. The author was one Spitfire pilot to be shot down over Occupied Europe and inevitably was taken prisoner and consigned to the Stalag Luft camps. In Stalag Luft III, he was to make a successful Great Escape. With the help of the Maquis, he escaped into Spain and made his way back to Britain where he returned to flying in July 1944. He became the most decorated Dutch Air Force pilot of WWII and after the war worked with the US Coast Guard, participating in 162 rescues