R.A.F. Quartet
1 total work
Derek Robinson's depiction of an RAF fighter squadron during the Battle for France and the Battle of Britain won critical acclaim but upset the Daily Telegraph-reading public. His pilots were real human beings, far from convinced of the wisdom of their military leaders or that of Churchill, for that matter. The likelihood of being burned to death in a Hurricane concentrated their minds on other things. Some turned to drink. Some turned on their own in order to survive. Others, most notably the brilliantly drawn anti-hero Flight Lieutenant 'Moggy' Cattermaul, scored a succession of aerial victories even if his behaviour on the ground was utterly unforgivable. A vivid and unforgettable portrait of young men at war: real men, not the two-dimensional stiff-upper-lip heroes of legend.