On the morning of 24 December 1943, 542 Squadron's intelligence officer briefed Flt Lt J. Storey on covering Crossbow sites in the Calais-Abbeville areas. He was airborne at 11 a.m. and set course in his Spitfire for the French coast, passing over London at 15,000 feet. The weather was perfect over the Channel, so he levelled off and 'harried' to Dunkirk and then set course to Abbeville. Some 50 miles before reaching the objective, noisy oscillations in his earphones gave warning that the German anti-aircraft battery caught the intruder aircraft in the radar beam they used to direct fire. Occasionally, he rolled the Spitfire up on her side to check beneath him. To conserve fuel, he began a gradual climb up through 40,000 feet and levelled off at 41,500 feet. Over the objective, he lined up the aircraft and began his runs. He took photos of everything on his list of objectives. Unmolested by flak, he spent as much time over the objective as possible and then turned home. As he was flying over the North Sea, he was unaware that a special trip was waiting for him in a not so far future.

About the Author
Ricardo Lezon was born in Buenos Aires in 1965 and spent his childhood exploring airfields and assembling kits. He studied journalism at Universidad Catolica Argentina, starting his career as aviation historian in 1996. Since then, he has published his material in the UK and United States. He also contributed with several authors. In 2000, he began the research that resulted in this book. Currently, he specializes in post-war aviation. He has travelled to most Latin American countries and Europe, alternating his surfing trips with visits to airfields and aviation museums. He lives in Buenos Aires, with his son Tomas.


Book Information
ISBN 9781781553572
Author Ricardo Martin Lezon
Format Hardback
Page Count 192
Imprint Fonthill Media Ltd
Publisher Fonthill Media Ltd
Weight(grams) 450g
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 156mm * 19mm