In 1943 the RAF began a bombing campaign against Germany the like of which had never before been seen. Over the next twelve months tens of thousands of aircrews flew across the North Sea to drop their bombs on German cities. They were opposed not only by the full force of the Luftwaffe but by a nightmare of flak treacherously icy conditions & constant mechanical malfunction. Most of these crews never finished their tour of operations but were either shot down & killed or taken prisoner by an increasingly hostile enemy. This is the story of the everyday heroism of British bomber crews in the days when it was widely believed that the Allies could win the Second World War by bombing alone. Kevin Wilson has interviewed hundreds of former airmen about what their lives were like in 1943: the stomach-churning tension of flying repeatedly over hostile territory the terror at being shot down or captured & the peculiar mixture of guilt & pride at unleashing such devastation on Germany.