Blood, Sweat and Courage, 41 Squadron RAF, 1939-1942

[Steve Brew]

RAF Coningsby’s 41(R) Squadron is one of the Royal Air Force’s oldest extant squadrons. It will celebrate its Centenary in 2016. The unit has seen service from World War I, through Policing Duties in Aden in the 1930s, throughout World War II, and more recently in the First Gulf War and Yugoslavia.

‘Blood, Sweat and Courage’, by 41 Squadron Historian Steve Brew, is a detailed account of this gallant Squadron’s wartime activity between September 1939 and July 1942. The book complements its sister volume, ‘Blood, Sweat and Valour’ (Fonthill, 2012), which examines the unit between August 1942 and May 1945.

The first volume was hailed as “one of the finest unit histories of modern times”. Brew’s much anticipated second volume, ‘Blood, Sweat and Courage’, was released in December 2014.

The book recounts the unit’s role within battles, operations, offensives and larger strategies, and details experiences made by the pilots and ground crews participating in them. The work lends a strong emphasis to the men who earned the enviable reputation the Squadron still enjoys today.

Over 960 pages, Brew describes 41 Squadron’s courageous actions over Dunkirk and during the Battle of Britain, its offensive operations over the Continent and the English Channel, its defensive activity against the Luftwaffe’s tip-and-run raids on the south coast, and its planned deployment to Russia.

‘Blood, Sweat and Courage’ evokes the feeling of the period, portraying not only a factual account but also one that captures the colour of life on a Second World War fighter squadron, with a balance between material of a documentary nature and narrative action, intertwining fact with personal recollections of events, serious events with humour, and sobering statistics with poignant after-thought.

The Squadron’s actions are often revealed for the first time, through records that have previously not been available. The author has drawn heavily on unpublished primary sources, including a large number of logbooks, interviews and personal accounts.

41 Squadron’s own archive was also made exclusively available to Brew. “This is therefore a unique repository that is being revealed for the first time”, stated Gp Capt Richard Davies, who commanded 41 Squadron from November 2009 to March 2012.

‘Blood, Sweat and Courage’ and ‘Blood, Sweat and Valour’ include biographies of all 325 of 41 Squadron’s World War II pilots. 214 men (66%) were drawn from the United Kingdom, 81 (25%) from the Commonwealth, 22 (7%) from the Continent and Éire, seven from the Americas and one from the Middle East.

Flying Spitfires throughout the War, 41 Squadron’s pilots claimed 200 aircraft destroyed in the air and one on the ground, 61 aircraft probably destroyed in the air, 109 aircraft damaged in the air and 22 on the ground, and 53 V1 flying bombs destroyed and one damaged. Countless ground targets were also destroyed or damaged.

The pilots were awarded three DSOs, 21 DFCs, one DFM and one Mention in Despatches for their World War II service. Sixty-four pilots were killed, at least 56 sustained wounds or injuries, and another 21 became Prisoners of War. These figures equate to a total casualty rate of approximately 41.5%.

Title: BLOOD, SWEAT AND COURAGE
Subtitle: 41 Squadron RAF, 1939-1942
Author: Steve Brew
Pages: 960
Pictures: Over 350 B&W images, plus sketches, aircraft profiles, maps and tables
Cover: Hard cover with dust jacket
Publisher: Fonthill Media (www.fonthillmedia.com)
ISBN: 978-1-78155-296-4
Price: GBP£35.00 / USD$50.00
Available: Worldwide

For further information, please see: http://brew.clients.ch/bsc.htm

[Jayslater]

Dear Steve,

It was very good to see you and friends at The RAF Club in Piccadilly, London, last month for the book launch of Blood, Sweat and Courage. It was quite a day and a huge success for the book. Also, it was good to meet you for a few beers later that week to discuss other ideas as well as chewing the fat.

With very best wishes,

Jay
Publisher
j.slater@fonthillmedia.com
www.fonthillmedia.com

[Alfred.MONZAT]

Received my copies of the two volumes today thanks to this post

Regards

Alfred

[edwest]

To Steve and Jay,


Thank you and congratulations. I wonder why more publishers do not post their recent or about to be released titles here. Also, for those who are new to collecting books like this and related titles, sometimes the book titles do not have the effect of being easy to find. I am not faulting all publishers since for books like this, the titles they choose are their choice. However, titles like The White Rose of Stalingrad may evoke the expected reaction from the specialist community, but it is worth considering the fact that new blood is needed, both to learn more about aviation history and to increase sales.


Regards,
Ed West

[Jayslater]

Dear Ed,

Many thanks for the kind words and thank you support towards Fonthill Media as it is very much appreciated. The following are photographs of Steve's book launch at The RAF Club in Piccadilly, London, in mid-December of last year. It was quite an event (question: how do I post photos online?).

And if there are other potential authors interested in joining us, please do send me an e-mail: j.slater@fonthillmedia.com

With very best wishes,

Jay

[edwest]

Dear Jay,


You are quite welcome.



Best regards,

Ed