Operation Jericho by Robert Lyman

Operation Jericho by Robert Lyman

The spectacular story of the prison break staged by an elite group of Allied pilots, who flew a daring low-level mission to blow holes in the walls of Amiens jail and free French Resistance prisoners.

With D-Day looming, early 1944 was a time of massive intelligence activity across northern France, and many résistants were being captured and imprisoned by the Germans. Among the jails full of French agents was Amiens, where hundreds awaited likely execution for their activities.

To repay their debt of honour, MI6 requested an air raid with a seemingly impossible brief: to simultaneously blow holes in the prison walls, free as many men and women as possible while minimizing casualties, and kill German guards in their quarters. The crews would have to fly their bomb-run at an altitude of just 20ft. Despite the huge difficulties, the RAF decided that the low-level specialists of No. 140 Wing had a chance of success.

With the aid of first-hand accounts, explanatory 3D diagrams and dramatic original artwork, the eminent historian Robert Lyman explains how one of the most difficult and spectacular air raids of World War II was pulled off, and debunks some of the myths over why the raid was ordered in the first place.

..it includes some marvellous 3D diagrams clearly showing the flightpaths of the various aircraft over the prison site. -- Robin Buckland * Military Model Scene *
The book is organised into four chapters with an introduction, the origins, the plan, and the raid along with an aftermath section, a bibliography, and a short index. The book is well illustrated throughout with a great selection of photographs along with superb artwork. There are three double page artworks that really leap off the pages. The diagrams showing the various attack axis is also noteworthy. And the abundance of first person accounts from the aircrew and prisoners alike is commendable. I did however find one editing error on the last page where a footnote says “VHS” instead of “VHF” for a frequency reference. This in no way detracts from the book and is a simple mistake to make. This is one of best and most affordable books out there on this somewhat controversial raid. RAMROD 564 as it was known then is one of the most famous low level bombing raids of World War Two and also one of the most controversial due to the mystery behind why it was actually ordered. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Mosquito operations, the French Resistance, or as a collector of the RAID Osprey series. -- Todd Shughart * Aviation News Magazine *

Dr Robert Lyman FRHistS is regarded as one of Britain’s most talented military historians, with over 20 bestselling works published to date and numerous television appearances including on the BBC’s ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ He spent 20 years in the British Army. His previous book on Operation Jericho, The Jail Busters, was on the Chief of the Air Staff's reading list in 2016.

Adam Tooby is an internationally renowned digital artist and illustrator. His work can be found in publications worldwide and as box art for model aircraft kits. He also runs a successful illustration studio and aviation prints business.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781472852069
ISBN 10	1472852060
Title	Operation Jericho
Author	Robert Lyman
Series	Raid
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Year published	2022-05-26
Number of pages	80
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.