Air

Flight Into Darkness

Issue Number: 5189

In the black night sky above the barren Iraqi desert, Flight Lieutenant Anthony Davenport had a choice to make as the surface-to-air missile closed in on his Chinook helicopter. He couldn’t avoid the hit, but he could choose where it struck: his side, or his co-pilot’s. With the flight stick in his hand, Tony wished […]

Strike at Sundown

Issue Number: 5188

Sundown… sunrise… night or day… anytime was good enough for Corporal Tom Briscoe and the Red Devils to pitch into battle. They had their own special way of dealing with everything German, from an ordinary Wehrmacht private to the toughest tanks. And every one of them preferred fixing tanks. To them it seemed just about […]

Coward in the Cockpit

Issue Number: 5184

“You’re on your own, Warren. You tackle the Stukas and we’ll take care of the Focke Wulf 190s upstairs…” Sergeant Pilot Jack Warren’s face went as white as chalk, and sweat gathered on his brow as he heard his flight leader’s voice crackle in the earphones. Four Stukas were bombing the convoy. Nine FWs screamed […]

Raid over Heilbronn

Issue Number: 5183

Christmas, 1944. In the skies over a cold, wintry Germany, a squadron of Avro Lancasters forged onwards towards the city of Heilbronn. Their bellies were filled with bombs, ready to flatten the railway depot transporting the munitions that fuelled the Nazi war machine. But among the icy clouds and streaks of hail were hidden dangers… […]

Battling Boneshakers

Issue Number: 5182

They were “wood-and-wire wonders”, these early aircraft of World War One – hard enough to fly, let alone fight in! To make things worse for the pilots of the newly formed Royal Flying Corps, the enemy were quick enough to perfect a gun that fired successfully through the propeller arc of their Fokker Eindeckers.   […]

Michael’s War

Issue Number: 5175

While his family fought on land and the sea, Lieutenant Michael Weekes took to the sky in his Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8, sweeping over German archies in the lead up to the Saint‑Mihiel offensive. Reconnaissance and fighter, Michael’s plane did more than its fair share of shooting. But after crash-landing behind enemy lines, armed with only […]

Stolen Glory

Issue Number: 5172

Max Brandt emerged from World War One covered in honours. Justly so, for he had shot down the famous French air ace, Rene Dumont.   But two men knew he was not the victor of that dogfight. Brandt himself, and the British pilot who had really downed the Frenchman.   Story: CG Walker Art: Carmona Cover: Ian […]