Messerschmitt Roulette: The Western Desert 1941-42

By Geoffrey Morley-Mower

Book Overview

This book provides a stunning view of the war in the Western Desert across the borders of Egypt and Libya during 1941-1942 at a time when the British Empire stood alone against the Axis. It is the history of 451 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, as seen through the eyes of an RAF pilot. Equipped with ageing Hurricane Mk. 1 aircraft, 451 Squadron was assigned to perform armed reconnaissance and photo missions, frequently at low altitude. They were constantly at a disadvantage to faster, higher flying Germans and Italian fighters, and many Hurricanes and pilots were lost during these dangerous sorties. The author, an English officer, had to battle not only enemy flak and fighters but the early scorn of his Australian comrades. The junior pilots of the squadron, mostly Aussies, were disgusted with the recce assignment and peeved that senior officers were RAF and not Australian. But the desperate war situation flung these unhappy companions into the same unit, and the story of their months in combat is described herein in all its griminess, humour and terror. Book jacket.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1883809010
• ISBN13: 9781883809010
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: Phalanx Publishing Co., Ltd.
• Length: 201 Pages
• Weight: 1.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.0" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

This is sterling writing, a marvelous read.

For the first time we have a clearly honest account of the war from a recce pilot's viewpoint. Seeing the desert war from this vantage point was a unique experience for me. The book gives you a real feel for the pressure of such dangerous flying under which some men understandably broke.

An excellent read!

Only rarely does an airman have the ability to so communicate his experiences that the reader sweats through them with him. Geoffrey Morley-Mower ranks right at the top with only a handful of such men. The grit, grime, tension and raw fear of having to fly when completely exhausted and lacking enough sleep comes through over and over again.