In this book, aviation archaeologist Ian McLachlan
reconstructs the dramatic last flights of Second World War
airmen. He tells stories such as that of the final flight of
an intruder Mosquito pursuing a German night fighter; the
courageous Lancaster pilot responsible for six lives aboard
a burning aircraft; and that of a Spitfire's last flight and
its heroic Belgian pilot. McLachlan reconstructs long-
forgotten wartime events, using buried wreckage, eyewitness
accounts and contemporary documentation, bringing
recognition to the individuals involved and shedding new
light on the air war over Britain and Europe during the
Second World War. For an aviation archaeologist, even the
discovery of small fragments can be significant. They
provide evidence or prompt new research, and can reveal
stories that reveal the hopes, fears, aspirations and
pleasures of the aircrew involved. In this book, Ian
McLachlan uses his own expertise and draws upon the research
of others, to do justice to the aircrew whose stories
deserve to be told.