Shot Down and on the Run : True Stories of RAF and Commonwealth Aircrews of WWII

First hand accounts of adventure and bravery from RAF pilots shot down and forced to flee enemy forces. Thousands of airmen shot down over enemy soil between 1940 and 1945 miraculously escaped capture. This compelling narrative reveals their stories, based on first-hand interviews, photographs and official documents, featuring heroes from Britain, Canada, Australia and other Commonwealth countries. These men knew extreme adversity: hunger, thirst, injury, isolation and the constant fear of capture. They also knew great kindness from the local people who risked everything to help them. Their journeys to safety – often across savage terrain – tested human endurance and ingenuity to the very limit. Many POW escape stories are well known, but what about those who miraculously evaded capture in the first place and returned to fight another day? This book tells some of the epic stories of the thousands of shot-down British, Canadian, Australian and other Commonwealth airmen who got out from behind enemy lines across all theatres of World War II. They include the Halifax pilot shot down in northern Germany who walked and cycled over 1000 miles to arrive safely in Barcelona two months later; the Baltimore navigator brought down in Italy who had to hide in a bush for three days before escaping over mountains to reach friendly lines; the Wellington crew who were rescued after a 400-mile, 28-day trek through the African desert; and the Beaufighter crew that survived for a month behind Japanese lines. debriefing documents held at the National Archives, many of these accounts have never been published before. A key element of the book is a full exploration of the pivotal role of the Military Intelligence body MI9 that masterminded the training, support and organization of escape and evasion. Also featured throughout are rare photographs of evaders and their helpers, unusual illustrations from training manuals and clear maps for each key theatre of war.