The Peenemünde Raid: The Night of 17–18 August 1943
Feb 2006 · Pen and Sword
4.8star
6 reviews
Ebook
384
Pages
family_home
Eligible
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About this ebook
The author of The First Day on the Somme recounts Operation Hydra, the British bombing on a Nazi army research center during World War II.
On the night of August 17-18, 1943, RAF Bomber Command attacked a remote research establishment on the German Baltic coast. The site was Peenemunde, where Hitler’s scientists were developing both the V-1 flying bomb and the V-2 rocket whose destructive powers could have swung the course of the war. The raid was meticulously planned, and hopes were high. But the night sky was so cloudless that the British bombers presented an easy target for German night fighters, and over 40 were lost. Martin Middlebrook draws on the memories of over 400 people involved in the dramatic events on that night: RAF and Luftwaffe aircrew, German personnel at the research site, and foreign laborers who had been forced to work there. The result is a truly compelling account of this hazardous attempt to disrupt Hitler’s V-weapons program.
On the night of August 17-18, 1943, RAF Bomber Command attacked a remote research establishment on the German Baltic coast. The site was Peenemunde, where Hitler’s scientists were developing both the V-1 flying bomb and the V-2 rocket whose destructive powers could have swung the course of the war. The raid was meticulously planned, and hopes were high. But the night sky was so cloudless that the British bombers presented an easy target for German night fighters, and over 40 were lost. Martin Middlebrook draws on the memories of over 400 people involved in the dramatic events on that night: RAF and Luftwaffe aircrew, German personnel at the research site, and foreign laborers who had been forced to work there. The result is a truly compelling account of this hazardous attempt to disrupt Hitler’s V-weapons program.
Ratings and reviews
4.8
6 reviews
Mark Cote
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February 12, 2016
My father was on this raid - luckily on the first wave with 158 Sqn. His logbook has this simple entry "Wizard Prang" ... Middlebrook fills in for me a lot f missing detail
1 person found this review helpful
Anil Das
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April 1, 2021
AAA
Matthew Miller
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August 25, 2022
ww 2
About the author
Martin Middlebrook has written many other books that deal with important turning-points in the two world wars, including The First Day on the Somme, Kaiser's Battle, The Peenemünde Raid, The Somme Battlefields (with Mary Middlebrook) and The Nuremberg Raid 30-31st March 1944 (all republished and in print with Pen & Sword).
Martin Middlebrook is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and lives near Boston, Lincolnshire
Martin Middlebrook is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and lives near Boston, Lincolnshire
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