
A vivid memoir unfolds from the cockpit of a wartime night‑bomber, where the author translates the raw sensations of early‑dawn take‑offs into a gripping first‑person narrative. He walks the listener from a sleepy, frost‑kissed morning in a cramped garage, through the clatter of rubber‑booted crew members, to the moment the seaplane’s propeller roars to life and lifts off over a silver‑streaked harbour. The contrast between his ordinary civilian attire and the sudden plunge into the sky captures the surreal shift from ordinary life to the extraordinary demands of war.
From there, the story delves into the quiet terror and fierce camaraderie that define nocturnal raids. He describes the chill of the night air, the glow of distant lights, and the ever‑present hum of machinery that becomes a backdrop to a pilot’s uneasy bravery. The narrative’s lyrical touches and candid reflections give listeners an intimate glimpse into the mind of a young man thrust into the tumult of aerial combat, making the experience feel both personal and universal.
Language
en
Duration
~5 hours (332K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Anna Hall and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
Release date
2011-09-12
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1894–1966
A World War I aviator who turned his frontline experience into vivid writing, he is best known for a memoir of night-bombing and a small but memorable body of war poetry. His work brings together danger, dark humor, and the strange routine of life in the air.
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