vikingBerserker
Lieutenant General
"Out of the Italian Night - Wellington Bomber Operations 1944-45"
By Maurice G Lihou
Pen Sword Aviation - 2007
ISBN: 978-1-84415-655-9
It's easy to find books about pilots of the Lancaster, but for the lowly Wellington it's more of a challenge. This book deals with Sergeant Pilot Maurice Lihou's experience with 205 Group in Italy from 1944-1945. He was trained as a Wireless Operator in 1939 and was later shipped to Canada to earn his wings. When he returned to the UK he ferried a Wellington to North Africa. Shortly afterwards he was sent to Italy and started flying bomber raids in the Wellington where he stayed until a severe case of Malaria took him out of the war. Towards the end the 205 Group transitioned to the Liberator.
Some of the more interesting operations involved carrying 4,000lb bombs (which I was not aware the plane did), the flights flown to plant mines in the Danube River where they played havoc with the barge traffic the Germans used for moving supplies and equipment (something else I was not aware of), and even supply drops. The targets were heavily aimed at rail yards.
The book is only 196 pages long divided into 14 Chapters, 3 Appendices, and around 28 pictures so it is a fairly quick and easy read. He does spend a decent amount of time talking about meeting and missing his future wife, to a point it was almost too much at times.
I give it 7 out of 10 Wimpys.
By Maurice G Lihou
Pen Sword Aviation - 2007
ISBN: 978-1-84415-655-9
It's easy to find books about pilots of the Lancaster, but for the lowly Wellington it's more of a challenge. This book deals with Sergeant Pilot Maurice Lihou's experience with 205 Group in Italy from 1944-1945. He was trained as a Wireless Operator in 1939 and was later shipped to Canada to earn his wings. When he returned to the UK he ferried a Wellington to North Africa. Shortly afterwards he was sent to Italy and started flying bomber raids in the Wellington where he stayed until a severe case of Malaria took him out of the war. Towards the end the 205 Group transitioned to the Liberator.
Some of the more interesting operations involved carrying 4,000lb bombs (which I was not aware the plane did), the flights flown to plant mines in the Danube River where they played havoc with the barge traffic the Germans used for moving supplies and equipment (something else I was not aware of), and even supply drops. The targets were heavily aimed at rail yards.
The book is only 196 pages long divided into 14 Chapters, 3 Appendices, and around 28 pictures so it is a fairly quick and easy read. He does spend a decent amount of time talking about meeting and missing his future wife, to a point it was almost too much at times.
I give it 7 out of 10 Wimpys.
