How Lincolnshire schoolboys became combat airmen the adventures of six brave young men in World War TwoUnusual stories of airmen caught up in bizarre circumstances. From the skies over Europe to jungles and deserts and the waters of the China sea. Original research from flying log books, diaries and family archives. Previously unpublished illustrations. Features action under enemy fire, wounds, burns and crashlandings, escape and evasion in occupied territory and the privations of life as a POW. What turns an ordinary man into an extraordinary one? The answer lies in these stories of teenage volunteers for wartime aircrew who exchanged school uniform for Air Force Blue and took a giant step into the unknown. A dangerous adventure but one with a hugely tempting prospect the opportunity to FLY. This collection of true tales describes these six men's experiences of training for those coveted 'Wings'; the nervous excitement of that first sortie over enemy territory; and flying into the hell of an enemy flak barrage and fighters.

Some of the brave characters revealed in this book get home safely but some are shot down and they experience hardship, adventures and dangers that are the stuff of nightmares. Seventy years on, and these brushes with death are by any measure hairraising adventures that turned adolescents into men some of whom returned home safely while others paid the ultimate price.