Firestorm - Graham A. Thomas

This book is the story of the RAF Typhoon fighter-bombers involved in the battle for Caen in July 1944. Using official squadron histories, log books, interviews with veterans who flew the mighty Typhoon, memories from Alanbrooke, Montgomery, Air Marshal Tedder and others, and some German reports, this book takes the reader right into the action from the build-up to D-Day right through to Operation Goodwood and the battle for Caen. Veterans from 197, 609 and 198 Squadrons tell their stories about pounding German troops in the Caen area with bombs and rockets.

The author's interviews with men like Derek Lovell who flew with 197 Squadron and Sir Kenneth Adam, a German who escaped Germany and flew Typhoons against his own countrymen, bring the narrative alive. Detailed in the book are the day-by-day sorties against accurate and intense flak that each pilot had to endure. The book builds to the capture of Caen that enabled the Allies to break out of Normandy and begin the race across France. Was it a success? Was it worth the cost? Did it achieve its objectives? These questions are answered.