A new book is now available covering the operations of the Royal Air Force Bomber Command.

Haynes has released a new 'manual', this time detailing the operation of the RAF Bomber Command.

From the publisher:

- Book’s release coincides with the RAF’s centenary year and 75th anniversary of dam busters raid
- Sheds light on strategic bombing offensive that saw 47,000 aircrew killed during operations

The RAF Bomber Command Operations Manual covers all aspects of the mighty organisation that bombed Germany around the clock in its sustained offensive to break the will of the German people.

From the unimaginable losses of the daylight raids in 1939 and 1940, through to the controversial night-time area bombing campaign that followed, the manual chronicles the evolution of Bomber Command through the Second World War. It covers the organisation, equipment, men, machines, technology and tactics of the RAF’s bomber offensive.

The manual also highlights the personal sacrifice and challenges faced by the crews of Bomber Command. Containing a number of unique insights and personal stories, it also includes details of the controversial Lacking Moral Fibre policy and the high attrition rates suffered by the young airmen of the Command.

Author Jonathan Falconer commented: “It was only in 2012 that Bomber Command’s wartime sacrifices were truly recognised when a national memorial was unveiled in London. The statistics surrounding RAF Bomber Command are startling. In 1942, less than half of all heavy bomber crews would get through their first 30-operation tour; and just one in five would live to fly a second.

“These men inhabited an unreal world where one minute they might be sitting in an armchair beside a fire in the officers’ mess; several hours later they were flying in a bomber aircraft in darkness above a floor of cloud, in the most deadly of environments. It is all but unimaginable to our 21st-century lives.

“My book has its roots in a title that I wrote over twenty years ago. Since then a wealth of new information and imagery has come to light, which has allowed me to include five new chapters covering airfield building, psychological stress, the German defences, building new aircraft versus repairing damaged ones, and the backroom data analysts.”

AeroScale would like to thank Haynes for the update.