Quality Military History and Aviation Books!
Author(s): Robin Brooks
‘Shrieking from the clouds, the Stukas achieved the measure of surprise they needed. The accuracy of the raid was good. Every runway was hit, the length of them just bomb craters, rock and earth. Fires were started in all the hangers eventually spreading to enormous proportions. As the operations room disappeared in one large explosion, the Station Commander fell dead with a piece of jagged concrete driven straight through his skull...’
500 Squadron was formed in 1930 at Manston in Kent. Initially recruited from Kent men and women, it became international in character when war broke out with Battle Honours in the English Channel and North Sea, Dunkirk, Biscay Ports, Atlantic, North Africa, the Mediterranean and Italy. In peacetime, it won the coveted Cooper and Esher Trophy twice for the best performance in the auxiliary squadrons. Sadly, it fell victim to defence cuts in 1957 when all auxiliary squadrons were disbanded.
The squadron may have disappeared from the Royal Air Force Order of Battle, but it will never be forgotten. Its history lies in the annals of the service and the fact that the Old Comrades Association of 500 Squadron hold an annual reunion at their ancestral home, RAF Manston in Kent.
| BOOK ISBN | 9781781553220 |
| FORMAT | 234 x 156 mm |
| BINDING | Paperback |
| PAGES | 160 pages |
| PUBLICATION DATE | 15 July 2014 |
| TERRITORY | World |
| ILLUSTRATIONS | 100 black and white photographs |
Robin Brooks is an aviation historian and writer. His interest in aviation began as an Air Cadet with No. 2158 (Sevenoaks) Squadron. Following two years’ National Service in the RAF writing aircraft servicing schedules with CSDE, he continued writing as a hobby and is now the author of ten books on airfield histories and a regular contributor to the aviation journals. He is the publicity director for Medway Aircraft Preservation Society and is chairman and treasurer of the Kent Aviation Historical Society. He is married with a son and lives in Maidstone.
