Guy Gibson – författare

First published in 1944, Enemy Coast Ahead combines Guy Gibson's RAF career, including the famous Dambuster raid which he himself led, with the inside story of life in RAF Bomber Command and is still a riveting read for the immediacy and vibrancy of its writing.And yet, what has not been widely known is that the published edition of Enemy Coast Ahead was carefully cut by wartime censors.Now, Gibson's original manuscript, which was archived for almost 75 years, has been be brought to light. This uncut edition provides not only previously unpublished details of Gibson's career, but also reveals his true view of the course of the war, of the wartime population, of his pilots and crews and of Bomber Command tactics. Combined with newly added photographs and diagrams Enemy Coast Ahead - Uncensored remains one of the outstanding accounts of WWII seen through the eyes of one of its most respected and controversial personalities, but now allows the reader to know Gibson's own story in his own words.

Prior to World War Two, Wing Commander Guy Gibson joined the Royal Air Force. In 1944, he wrote down his experience of serving in the RAF.Aged just 25, Gibson had completed two full tours, each of 30 operations, with Bomber Command, and had led the now-famous Dam Busters raid against the dams of the Ruhr Valley in May 1943. He died aged 26 in 1944, when his Mosquito crashed near Steenbergen in the Netherlands.Gibson's story is an incredible one. He struggled daily to work the Handley Page Hampden, and then the Avro Manchester, flying both into enemy airspace with great difficulty. He goes into detail on this, describing the troubles facing him, and how he managed to overcome them.He also addresses the rapid professionalisation of the Bomber Command. At the start of the war, they seemed ill-equipped and unprepared to confront Germany, but they grew in confidence and stature, to represent one of the defining units of the Second World War. Gibson recounts this change.

A definitive new edition of a classic, World War II memoir, complete with more than 100 photographs, and notes from leading historians. Guy Gibson was the leader of the famous Dambusters raid, and Enemy Coast Ahead is a vivid, honest account, widely regarded as one of the best books on the Second World War. It also provides an insider''s perspective, setting down in clear detail the challenges that the RAF faced in the war against Germany''s Luftwaffe. Tragically, Gibson died in September 1944, when his Mosquito crashed near Steenbergen in the Netherlands. He was aged just 26. This new book has been published to mark the 75th anniversary of his death and includes an introduction by James Holland, a historian and broadcaster. It includes notes by Dr Robert Owen, the Official Historian of the No. 617 Squadron Association, and many images that have never before been published. Published in association with the RAF Museum Inspired the 1955 film The Dam Busters, starring Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave

A definitive new edition of a classic, World War II memoir, complete with more than 100 photographs, and notes from leading historians. Guy Gibson was the leader of the famous Dambusters raid, and Enemy Coast Ahead is a vivid, honest account, widely regarded as one of the best books on the Second World War. It also provides an insider''s perspective, setting down in clear detail the challenges that the RAF faced in the war against Germany''s Luftwaffe. Tragically, Gibson died in September 1944, when his Mosquito crashed near Steenbergen in the Netherlands. He was aged just 26. This new book has been published to mark the 75th anniversary of his death and includes an introduction by James Holland, a historian and broadcaster. It includes notes by Dr Robert Owen, the Official Historian of the No. 617 Squadron Association, and many images that have never before been published. Published in association with the RAF Museum Inspired the 1955 film The Dam Busters, starring Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave