05 December 2015

BOOK REVIEW: Mosquito Squadron by Robert Jackson


Mosquito Squadron by Robert Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summer 1943.

The Battle of Britain is over. But the Battle of Germany has just begun. 

By night and day, RAF and USAAF bombers drive deep into enemy territory, striking at the heart of Germany’s war effort. 

Squadron Leader George Yeoman, veteran of the skies, has orders to protect the bombers on their long-range missions. He and his men will support in the elusive de Havilland Mosquito, a versatile plane made from wood but capable of stinging the Luftwaffe and sucking the fight from its airmen. 

Across the channel, Major Joachim Richter, Yeoman’s counterpart and adversary, bravely leads his squadron out each night to intercept the Allied bombers before they destroy German cities. 

The fight will be long and gruelling, but engineers behind the scenes on both sides are racing to build a plane that may soon decide the battle, the fighter jet. 

Will Yeoman survive the fight or will this be his last? 

'Mosquito Squadron' is a classic WWII adventure story.


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A solid war yarn telling of combat trials and tribulations of an RAF Mosquito fighter-bomber squadron during World War Two, as they rove across Europe from their base in England to harass the enemy. It's quite a short book made up of chapters which follow each other chronologically but are almost standalone in the sense that each one tells a distinct little story and depicts a specific sortie or battle scene. There isn't really much of an overall plot, just the various happenings and exploits but these are described in rather good detail and in a nicely written style that flows very well. The author appears to have a good understanding of the more technical aspects of the subject matter such as the aircraft and weapons which adds a touch of authenticity to the story, you often feel like you're right there in the cockpit with the chaps. Parallel to the Mosquito squadron, we also see the action from the perspective of a German Luftwaffe fighter commander and he plays his part in the increasingly futile attempt to defend their homeland from the growing Allied advances from all sides. We witness trials of experimental aircraft and weapons, given a seat of the pants ride across Europe on marauding raids seeking the enemy and shown the destruction wrought by these courageous knights of the sky. It's a fun read, the only disappointment being the lack of an overall story, this making it a tad underwhelming to read and left me a bit flat after finishing it. If that "bigger picture" was complete I probably would've given it five stars. In a nutshell it's a good piece of war fiction that an enthusiast of good yarns will probably enjoy.

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