The V1 Flying Bomb Campaign 1944-1945 (Hardback)
The Doodlebug Summer and After
Imprint: Pen & Sword Military
Pages: 208
Illustrations: 40 mono illustrations
ISBN: 9781399065818
Published: 25th September 2024
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| Other formats available | Price |
|---|---|
| The V1 Flying Bomb Campaign 1944-1945 ePub (2.2 MB) Add to Basket | £14.99 |
In this new study, Jan Gore assesses the success of the V1 campaign. The background to the development of the V1 will be examined, from the initial references to a mystery weapon to the gradual realisation by the British that the Germans were planning both a flying bomb (V1) and a long range rocket (V2).
Once the first V1 sites were identified, the British began a strategic bombing campaign, later joined by the Americans. However, as the Normandy landings became imminent in June 1944, Hitler realised he had nothing to lose by delaying his vengeance attacks. A week after D-Day, the first V1s began to reach England. The attacks swiftly intensified.
It was a very different campaign from those before. The pilotless planes could be produced cheaply and there was no need to put expensively-trained pilots at risk. The planes could be launched by day or night, whatever the weather. They were true terror weapons, as the first-hand accounts of those who lived through the attacks make clear; there was very little notice that a doodlebug explosion was imminent and so it was almost impossible to take cover.
The book describes the first weekend of the attacks with the bombing of the Guards’ Chapel, the evacuation programme which followed, and the UK's defence strategies. It goes on to discuss the second phase of the attacks, including the planned bombing of Manchester, and the third phase of the campaign, where V1s were ground-launched from the Netherlands.
Although I am an avid collector and reader of books about the Second World War, it takes the right content to absorb me to the extent that, this new title does.
JOHN LEETE, Historian and Film Researcher Https://www.homefronthistory.com
Throughout this 199-page new title, it is obvious that the author has undertaken considerable research for what is a fascinating, detailed and highly informative expose about theV1 and V2 Flying Bomb Campaign against London.
I am privileged to have a long-time friend, who as a child during the war was injured by a flying bomb. ‘Whilst I was going to the bus stop in Harrow I was unfortunately hit in the face with some flying metal. I was bandaged up and put on the No.114 bus and sent home. On arrival at home my father, who was home from his war work in Scotland, took me immediately to the hospital where I was to spend several months and six operations to try and save the sight in my right eye. We lost the fight, and I lost the eye’.
Gores book adds to, and accurately encapsulates what history has told us about the rocket campaign, and the experiences of people like John. In doing so the reality is bought more sharply into focus
Arguably, one of the best books of its genre, this timely publication arriving as it has between the 80th Anniversaries of D-Day and VE Day is a highly recommended read. A helpful Bibliography and supporting photo plates complete the work. If you only buy one book in the next twelve months, this is the one you should choose.
Phil Curme, November 2024
About Jan Gore
Jan Gore is a researcher, writer and lecturer who has compiled biographies of those who died (both civilians and military) during the Second World War in Bournemouth and Exmouth as well as in the V1 attack on the Guards’ Chapel in London. In the past she has worked for GCHQ and Chatham House and has been a civil servant and librarian. For some years she lectured in French at Kingston University. Her first publication for Pen & Sword was "Send More Shrouds; The V1 Attack on the Guards’ Chapel 1944." She then wrote "The Terror Raids of 1942: the Baedeker Blitz"; this will be due out in paperback in September 2024. Her latest book is about the V1 campaign, 1944-1945; this will be due out in August 2024.
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