Twelve Days in May

On 10 May, 1940, when the might of Germany invaded Northern France and the Low Countries, almost 3500 serviceable aircraft of the Luftwaffe were ready for battle. These comprised in excess of 1000 He111 and Do17 bombers, about 350 Ju87 dive-bombers, almost 900 Bf109s and 200 Bf110s, plus 400 reconnaissance aircraft and 500 Ju52 transports. An enormous strength.
Facing them were the French Armee de I'Air and the small air arms of neutral Belgium and Holland, together with about 100 Hurricanes of the RAF's Advanced Air Striking Force (1 and 73 Squadrons) and Air Component (85, 87, 607 and 615 Squadrons). Although reinforcements of Hurricanes and pilots were poured into France, they could not halt the German advance.
The air war was fast, furious and deadly and by 21 May only a handful of Hurricanes remained. In twelve days the RAF claimed almost 500 victories for the loss of more than 200 Hurricanes as a result of combat, with 56 pilots killed, 18 taken prisoner and 36 wounded. A glorious chapter had been carved in the annals of aerial warfare, and in their meticulously researched book, Brian Cull, Bruce Lander and Heinrich Weiss have produced the first comprehensive account of air operations from both sides.
Original German documentation has been translated and the gripping story is retold mainly in the pilots' own words, extracted from combat reports, squadron record books, contemporary and published works, private interviews and correspondence.
Includes hitherto unpublished photographs.


by B. Cull, B. Lander, & H. Weiss
Published by Grub Street 1995 1st edition. 328pp illustrated, maps, index, bibliography. 16x24 previous owner's stamp, otherwise mint, including d/j.





Note:
"Long" descriptions, where shown, may have been taken from the book's dust jacket notes, and as such are relevant to the date of publication (e.g. any references to "new edition" "previously unpublished photographs" etc.) and not the present.

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