Colour illustrations and line drawings by James Goulding

This book traces the origins of Bomber Command and surveys its early history with particular emphasis on the development of its aircraft.
The old biplane "cloth" bombers which the Command inherited on its formation in 1936 are fully described, together with the early generations of monoplane types which followed them - not forgetting numerous fascinating projects which never left the drawing board. The Command's pre-war expansion is dealt with, and separate chapters tell the story of its operations, from the first bombing and leaflet-dropping raids of September 1939 to the beginning of "area bombing" in December 1940, due emphasis being given to the fortunes of the various bombers in battle.
Rounding off this carefully researched volume is an in-depth study of contemporary bomber camouflage and markings, including eight pages of specially prepared full-colour artwork, which will be of particular value to the modeller and historian.