OF WIND AND WATER: A KIWI PILOT IN COASTAL COMMAND.

UK,slim 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.FINE/FINE.No owner inscrptn present - possibly removed - as a rectangular clip to top corner of ffe - dw/dj unclipped as no price present.Bright,crisp,clean,glossy laminated colour illustrated upper wrap,subject contemporary b/w portrait photograph to rear wrap; with negligible shelf-wear and creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present.Top+ fore-edges bright and clean; contents bright,tight and pristine. Sharp-cornered,bright,clean,publisher's original plain blue cloth boards with bright,crisp,stamped gilt letters to spine/backstrip and clean,near immaculate white endpapers - apart from removed rectangular portion to ffe.UK,slim 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,2-146pp [paginated] includes 16 chapters,mixture of b/w line illustrations throughout the text and book - either chapter head+tail pieces and in body of text,12pp contemporary b/w photographs in 3 blocks of 4pp apiece,between pp50/1,pp82/3 and pp98/9 respectively,an index; plus [unpaginated] foreword by P.B. 'Laddie ' Lucas,CBE, DSO,DFC and 6pp author prologue. Thousands of young men from all corners of Britain and the Commonwealth flew as wartime aircrew in squadrons of the RAF. and the vast majority were anonymous performers in the aerial dramas whilst the aces of Fighter Command moved in the spotlight of centre stage,capturing the public imagination.Their duels with the Luftwaffe have have been recorded for history's pages and the image of the RAF pilots has grown to knightly stature.But what of the many others who flew achingly long patrols in the various combat theatres of WW2,the less glamorous airmen of RAF Coastal Command? Their records,by comparison with the exploits of the fighter pilots and,to a lesser degree,the various deeds of Bomber Command aircrews,have been but lightly documented. 'Of Wind and Water' is the chronicle of James Sanders,a New Zealand pilot who flew daylight reconnaissance and night-bombing sorties with the RAF's maritime force.The book takes us from his early days training in England to operations in the Mediterranean theatre,where he flew reconnaissance flights in search of enemy convoys en route from Italy to Rommel's army in the Western Desert.Incredibly,Sanders survived several major crashes during this period before being posted back to England as a General Reconnaissance instructor.Finally he qualified for a command and went on to operate perilous anti-shipping sorties off the Scandinavian coast.This is a gripping tale of endurance,one man's account of many hours spent battling with dangerous conditions, often at wave-top height,where the prime enemy was the combined aggression of wind and water.Above all,it is a paean to Flight,a lyrical evocation of the joys and hazards of being airborne. Please contact rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,because of the weight of this item,for correct,insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!