Another well research aviation history from Martin Bowman. The British quickly created secret airfields and flew into Occupied Territory to deliver and collect agents and provide supplies to the increasing number of Resistance Fighters operating in Europe against the German occupiers. – Highly Recommended.
NAME: The Bedford Triangle, Undercover Operations from England in the Second World War FILE: R2513 AUTHOR: Martin W Bowman PUBLISHER: Pen & Sword BINDING: hard back PAGES: 228 PRICE: £19.99 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: WWII, World War 2, World War II, Second World War, night operations, covert missions, secret airfields, SOE, agent drops, STOL aircraft, dark of the moon, RAF, USAAF, OSS
ISBN: 1-47384-987-X
IMAGE: B2513jpg BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/k4d5zcn LINKS: DESCRIPTION: Another well researched aviation history from Martin Bowman. The British quickly created secret airfields and flew into Occupied Territory to deliver and collect agents and provide supplies to the increasing number of Resistance Fighters operating in Europe against the German occupiers. - Highly Recommended. When the BEF was evacuated from Dunkirk, Churchill wasted no time in ordering the development and expansion of covert and commando operations against Occupied Europe. Britain might not be in a position to attempt landings in Europe to liberate the occupied nations, but Churchill was determined to poke the Germans at every opportunity and prepare for the day when large scale landings could be undertaken to liberate Europe and defeat Germany. The support these operations, secret airfields were built and the RAF started to create special squadrons, frequently with special aircraft to support insertion and extraction of agents by air. When the US joined the war, the USAAF set up similar operations in Britain to support their own OSS agents and some cross operation was achieved to help each other. Much of this work and airfields were located in a triangle with Bedford roughly in the centre. However there were also a number of very small airfields in remote areas of East Anglia including one on a small island in Broadland that operated Lysander STOL aircraft. The overall operation was not confined to aircraft. Agents and commandos were landed from submarines or paddled ashore in kayaks and various fast coastal forces vessels were also used. The main decision on method of insertion and extraction came down the number of people requiring covert transport, the urgency of insertion or extraction, the distance to be traveled and the amount of equipment that was required. This often meant that a particular mission might use aircraft for one part of the trip and might either land in Occupied Europe, or drop personnel by parachute. The other part of a return journey might require the use of boats or submarines. The author has researched extensively and some sealed records have only recently been opened. In addition to covering the methods of transport and the operations involved, he has also covered the clandestine propaganda and political warfare, and provided what is presented as the truth behind the disappearance of band leader Glenn Miller. There are still some records to be opened to researchers and there are records that no longer survive or details of operations that were never recorded, but the author can claim to have provided the most comprehensive review of the subject and the basic facts are most unlikely to change in any substantial way. Its a great read.