ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

When finishing a book it is tempting to look back and try to remember the moment of its birth. Certainly this one goes back to an afternoon in 1944 when my boyhood friend Colin Smith—a flight engineer freshly returned from his first bombing raid—told me that during his briefing the crews had cheered when they heard that the more vulnerable Stirling bombers would be accompanying them.

Since then many people have generously given their time to help me make this story as accurate as possible. However, it remains a story and wherever research and story-telling have clashed I have favoured the story.

Flight Lieutenant Alfred Price started my research off on a sound basis and his fine book about radar—Instruments of Darkness—has been of enormous help. That remarkable path-finder veteran Hamish Mahaddie, DSO, DFC, AFC and bar, CzechMC, C Eng, AFRAeS, was an endless source of information about every aspect of the RAF. Vivian Bellamy while flying me to Cologne in a Heinkel III was able to make me at last understand the relationship between boost, throttle, and pitch.

I am grateful to Mr John Shewring for details of his experiences as a bomb aimer and the loan of maps, Tee Ems and personal photographs. Another bomb aimer—Miles Tripp—author of The Eighth Passenger and Faith is a Windsock completed what is perhaps the unequalled total of forty trips on one tour. He gave me access to his own collection of technical clippings, maps, and official publications as well as giving up his time to answering my questions.

My old friend Derek Coyte, publicity chief for the film The Battle of Britain, not only arranged my trip in the Heinkel but also arranged a meeting with Gunter ‘Fips’ Radusch. Herr Radusch, a Knight’s Cross winner with sixtythree night-fighter victories, was the earliest pioneer of German night-fighting experiments. On this same trip Derek Coyte also arranged meetings with Hans Brustellin and Adolf Galland, to both of whom I record my thanks.

Herr von Lossberg, Knight’s Cross holder and Luftwaffe staff officer, invented ‘Wilde Sau’ tactics for night fighters and was an operational pilot as well as a technical expert who flew almost every type of German aircraft used during the Second World War. Herr von Lossberg not only talked with me at great length but also went to the trouble of drawing a map of the radar scheme for 1943.

Karl Otto Hoffman, serving officer and author of a threevolume history of German radar from 1933 to 1945, gave me a great deal of his time and his book has been an important reference. Hajo Herrman, another Knight’s Cross winner, also described for me his experiences as a night-fighter pilot.

For permission to visit Deelen airfield and see the buildings that had been constructed for the Luftwaffe I must thank Jonkheer de Ranitz. The commanding officer, Colonel H. J. Doorenbos of the Netherlands Air Force, was most hospitable, as were his staff: Majoor M. C. Breemans, Luitenant Lamers and Sergeant Majoor Bolderman. For access to technical information, photos and maps I must thank the engineer at Deelen, Mijnheer Tieleman.

Dr H. ten Kate of the Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut provided me with details of winds and seas for the period of June 1943 and Mr Van Dee who was at the Noordwijk lighthouse answered various questions about the district at that time.

Many residents in the small towns to the north-west of Krefeld helped me put together my fictional one: in particular, Johannes Hoeren of Gefrath, who also let me have personal contemporary documents. Also Frau Overröder who, together with her husband, ran the Park Hotel—now, alas, gone—not only sorted out for me the complexities of the wartime nursing services but was able to find her wartime uniform, now doing service as a kitchen overall.

My friend Fritz Sommer of Essen allowed me to go through his collection of documents and made available to me letters he had written while he was a serving Abwehr officer.

Don Elms and Mike Wooller helped me to find Anglo-American and German popular songs respectively. The latter also arranged a screening of his superb Cities under Siege documentary films. I must also thank Dr V. G. Radclyffe and A. Flowers for their kindness in helping me with some of the medical details.

The Imperial War Museum were wonderful—as always—and in particular Mr J. E. Sutters, the Film Librarian, found me German instruction films ranging from civil defence to Ju88 servicing.

In researching this story I have read more than two hundred books and I am much obliged to Pat Quorn of Hersants Bookshop for his remarkable memory and energetic help. For locating reference books that were no longer in print or of a special kind I am greatly indebted to the IWM Library, the Westminster Reference Library and The Daily Telegraph Reference Department, as well as to the kindness of Miss Howlett at William Kimber Ltd. A very special thanks must also go to Mr Jackets at the Air Ministry Historical Department and to Flight and the Aeroplane.

Advice about German shares and commerce came from Anton Felton. Other advice came from Ray Hawkey.

I am grateful to everyone at Jonathan Cape Ltd for their help and encouragement. Particularly to Tom Maschler who read the first rough draft. For their efforts in connection with this book I am also obliged to Tony Colwell and Jean Mossop, and for their careful work on the typescript thanks to Robina Masters and James Atkins.

When I drew a plan of the fictional town of Altgarten Mr F. N. B. Patterson, BSc, AMICE, MIMunE, MIHE, Borough Surveyor, Engineer and Planning Officer of Brighton, gave generously of his time to point out the basic working of town gas, sewage, water and electricity. As well as this he was most kind about explaining things to me by letter, often including the most lucid drawings.

Mr Jacques Maisonrouge of IBM must be thanked for his authoritative aid. This is perhaps the first book to be entirely recorded on magnetic tape for the IBM 72 IV. This has enabled me to redraft many chapters over twenty times, and by means of memory-coding to select certain technical passages at only a moment’s notice. Ellenor Handley has operated this machine and given her expert and detailed attention to the MS at all stages as well as providing a cross-reference system that, together with colour-coding and reference cards, has enabled me to find my way around this very long book.

Last, and by no means least, Ysabele de Ranitz has patiently translated endless conversations, technical reports and books from both German and Dutch. Working from ancient recordings she has also provided the translations of German wartime popular songs.