In November 1940, a remarkable prototype aircraft made its maiden flight from an airstrip north of London.

One of the tourists is Evan, taking an enforced holiday from his family and work in Belfast after breaking down after the death of his daughter in infancy.Novel in construction and exceptionally fast, the new plane was soon outpacing the Spitfire, and went on to contribute to the RAF's offensive against. Nicknamed the 'wooden wonder' for its balsawood frame, the two-man Mosquito excelled in several different roles, from reconnaissance to the bombing of sensitive priority targets. Mosquito Men traces the contrasting careers of the young men of 627 Squadron, including that of Ken Oatley – last surviving member of an illustrious group – who flew twenty-two operations in Mosquitos as a navigator.

The amount of work entailed in putting in the detail must have been enormous but worth it for me because there is so much about each airman’s life and family. For those fans of the Mosquito aircraft recently described by Rowland White, Mosquito Men will add the human element to this iconic plane. She hasn't left the village since a traumatic stay in London as a young woman at the end of the 1980s. This may only be a history of a short lived squadron at first glance but the background that is uncovered of the people, places, machines, politics and history make this an unmissable treat and a fitting testimony to those who we owe so much to.The Mosquito Men remain very mysterious characters - nothing personal is known of them but that they're in some capacity henchmen of Masketta Man, and that as mere henchmen they're presumably rather small guys. Richly detailed and superbly evocative in the telling – this is a compelling account of the wartime RAF's most glamorous plane and some of the brave men who flew it. Mosquito Men traces the contrasting careers of the young men of 627 Squadron, including that of Ken Oatley - last surviving member of an illustrious group - who flew twenty-two operations in Mosquitos as a navigator.

The story of one of the most remarkable – and feared – British aircraft of the Second World War: the de Havilland DH. Grace lives alone in Ballybrady, a little village on the sublimely beautiful east coast of Northern Ireland. The author does a nice job of expounding on the power struggle between 5 Group and 8 Group (PFF) that resulted in 627 Squadron moving to Woodhall Spa and 5 Group. Novel in design, operationally flexible and exceptionally fast, it inflicted mayhem on the German war machine as night-fighter, fighter-bomber and pathfinder. Many aviation history books concentrate only on the aircraft but this book describes the interaction between the politics, strategy and technology of the Allied bombing campaign, to put the Pathfinder operations in perspective.This is a moving and funny debut novel set in a quirky coastal community you will be desperate to visit after reading. When Grace saves his life in a kayaking accident - if it was an accident - and Evan's troubled son arrives to stay, all three are drawn together in a way that forces a reckoning with their personal traumas and draws them back into society. Its more familiar name was the de Havilland Mosquito, and it used lightning speed and agility to inflict mayhem on the German war machine. He provided a concise overview of the change in 627 Squadron's night tactics from high-altitude to low-altitude target marking. From the summer of 1943, as Bomber Command intensified its saturation bombing of German cities, Mosquitos were used by the Pathfinder Force, which marked targets for night-time bombing, to devastating effect.