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OLSON, LYNN & CLOUD, STANLEY: : FOR YOUR FREEDOM AND OURS: THE KOSCIUSZKO SQUADRON - Forgotten Heroes of WWII

LONDON.HEINEMANN,2003.

ISBN 0434008680.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.FINE/NFINE.No owner inscrptn,and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright, clean,matt,photographic illustrated dw/dj; with negligible shelf-wear and creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present - head of spine/backstrip minimally bumped with reciprocal creasing.A production fault of two sheets,i.e. the first 8pp,loose - not correctly glued in - of the index - from whence it should be,else loose pages complete and in situ.Top+fore-edges lightly aged,but generally clean,contents bright,tight and near pristine - an unread copy? Publisher's clean,unblemished,original,plain black cloth boards with crisp,bright,blocked gilt letters to spine/backstrip and immaculate plain white endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn, vii-xpp+3-495pp [paginated] includes a contents list/table,a note on Polish language,b/w contemporary portrait photographic frntis (5 pilots of the Squadron),a prologue,Pts 1&2 comprising 21 chapters,an epilogue,notes,a bibliography,acknowledgements,permission acknowledgements,an index; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,Winston Churchill's dedication,note on the authors+type used (Janson),and 4pp blanks at rear. The story of how the Polish fighter pilots of the RAF helped win the Battle of Britain yet,by their lights,lost the war has often been briefly referred to in histories of WW2.But it has never,until now,been fully told.It is an extraordinary story. The Polish pilots fought through the defeat of their own country in 1939 and then alongside the French until the fall of France the following year.Defying the orders of the French government to surrender to the Germans,they made their varied ways to Britain.There - once the RAF finally allowed them to fly - the Poles,with far more combat experience than most of their British counterparts,were among the Air Force's most successful aces.During the Battle of Britain,the pilots of the all-Polish Kosciuszko Squadron - 303 Squadron to the RAF - downed more German planes than any other squadron.Described by an American bomber pilot as 'the best damn fighter squadron in the world',they became heroes to the British public and idols to young women. According to Sir Archibald Sinclair,Britain's wartime air force minister,without the Poles 'our shortage of trained pilots would have made it impossible to defeat the German air force and so win the Battle'. This gripping book tells the story of the Polish pilots,focusing on a small group of five of them,from defeat in Poland and France to victory in the Battle of Britain,from their idolisation by the public to the harrowing story of their betrayal,and Poland's,by Britain and the USA as the war came to its closing stages. Drawing on the Kosciuszko Squadron's unofficial diary as well as letters and interviews,memoirs, histories,and photographs,the authors bring the men and battles of the squadron vividly to life, following the main characters from before the war until the end of their lives.This is an untterly fascinating story,heroic, inspiring and finally tragic,strikingly well-told.See also rja1285 for similar,but earlier,related title/ book/history,by Arkady Fielder. Please contact seller,because of the weight/ value of this item,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence, then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

OLSON, LYNN & CLOUD, STANLEY: : FOR YOUR FREEDOM AND OURS: THE KOSCIUSZKO SQUADRON - Forgotten Heroes of WWII

LONDON.HEINEMANN,2003.

ISBN 0434008680.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.FINE/NFINE.No owner inscrptn,and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright, clean,matt,photographic illustrated dw/dj; with negligible shelf-wear and creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present - head of spine/backstrip minimally bumped with reciprocal creasing.Light, barely perceptible,sunning/ fading to spine/backstrip of dw/dj; with both head+foot of same minisculely bumped with reciprocal creasing.Top+fore-edges slightly aged/toned with some sporadic foxing/spotting, fore-edges similarly aged/toned,but without the foxing/spotting - so generally clean; contents bright,tight and near pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners - possibly an unread copy? Publisher's clean,unblemished, sharp-cornered,original,plain black cloth boards with crisp,bright,blocked gilt letters to spine/ backstrip and immaculate plain white endpapers. UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,vii-xpp+3-495pp [paginated] includes contents list/table,a note on Polish language,b/w contemporary portrait photographic frntis (5 pilots of the Squadron), a prologue,Pts 1 & 2 comprising 21 chapters,an epilogue,notes,a bibliography,acknowledgements, permission acknowledgements,an index; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,Winston Churchill's dedication,a note on the authors+ type used (Janson),and 4pp blanks at rear. The story of how the Polish fighter pilots of the RAF helped win the Battle of Britain yet,by their lights,lost the war has often been briefly referred to in histories of WW2.But it has never,until now,been fully told.It is an extraordinary story. The Polish pilots fought through the defeat of their own country in 1939 and then alongside the French until the fall of France the following year.Defying the orders of the French government to surrender to the Germans,they made their varied ways to Britain.There - once the RAF finally allowed them to fly - the Poles,with far more combat experience than most of their British counterparts,were among the Air Force's most successful aces. During the Battle of Britain,the pilots of the all-Polish Kosciuszko Squadron - 303 Squadron to the RAF -downed more German planes than any other squadron.Described by an American bomber pilot as 'the best damn fighter squadron in the world',they became heroes to the British public and idols to young women. According to Sir Archibald Sinclair,Britain's wartime air force minister, without the Poles 'our shortage of trained pilots would have made it impossible to defeat the German air force and so win the Battle'. This gripping book tells the story of the Polish pilots,focussing on a small group of five of them,from defeat in Poland and France to victory in the Battle of Britain,from their idolisation by the public to the harrowing story of their betrayal,and Poland's,by Britain and the USA as the war came to its closing stages. Drawing on the Kosciuszko Squadron's unofficial diary as well as letters and interviews,memoirs, histories,and photographs,the authors bring the men and battles of the squadron vividly to life,following the main characters from before the war until the end of their lives.This is an untterly fascinating story,heroic,inspiring and finally tragic,strikingly well-told.See also rja1285 for similar,earlier,related title/book history, by Arkady Fielder. Please contact seller,because of the weight/ value of this item,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

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