Luck and a Lancaster: Chance and Survival in World War II (Airlife's Classics)

The details of Luck and a Lancaster are adequately reviewed elsewhere, but I have to say how much I enjoyed it. This book is extremely well written and can be both funny and tragic. It sticks in my mind that the young Yates has a penchant for straying off course and 'buzzing' his parent's house during operational training. The reader then gets to know his aircrew, and accompanies them on some harrowing missions, courtesy of the flowing and detailed narrative. There's the Squadron reunion, where the crew are older but unchanged in character and Harry's emotional return to what was RAF Mepal. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and spending some time with these gallant young men.

A personal perspective on 'Luck and a Lancaster'. (14/14 people found this helpful)

I had been researching the service history of my great uncle, a Flight Engineer on Lancasters with a 'sister' squadron of Harry Yates' 75 Sqn. Despite gathering a wealth of information from official sources, and survivors from his squadron I had not been able to discover exactly how he had been lost.

I picked up a copy of Harry Yates' book quite by chance and, leafing through it, saw his chapter on his most feared target, an oil refinery at Homberg in Germany. Knowing that this was the target where my great uncle and most of his crew were killed, I read on. The detail of the narrative including dates was excellent and he described in detail the op on which my great uncle died and also, most poignantly, an eye-witness description of the loss of his aircraft. Discovering this information was an immense source of comfort to my great uncle's brothers, now in their 80s.

Excellent Account & Enjoyable Read (9/9 people found this helpful)

In his book ‘Luck and a Lancaster’, Harry Yates offers the reader a chance to follow the author through his tour of operations as a Lancaster pilot during the last five months of 1944. The story begins with the author as a young English lad wanting to join the Royal Air Force to fly fighters just after the Battle of Britain (as all young English boys surely wanted!).

We follow Yates through his initial training at flight school and then into training for multi-engine aircraft in Canada, something he wasn’t expecting. We then read of his exploits as an instructor and then finally his posting to a Operational RAF Squadron flying one of the great bombers of the Second World War, the Avro Lancaster.

Young Harry Yates ends up with 75 Squadron (RNZAF) based at Mepal in August of 1944 with a task of completing 30 operations against occupied Europe and Germany. Although by this period of the war the conflict in the air had swung towards the Allies it was still a very dangerous occupation flying in Bomber Command. This is the guts of the story, flying with Harry Yates and his crew in one of the many Lancaster’s allotted to them through the 30 missions required to complete their tour of Ops.

I found this story truly amazing and it was so well told I was totally immersed in the narrative. I must admit it has been awhile since I have read such an interesting and captivating account of war in the air and I cannot imagine anyone who has an interesting in aerial warfare not being taken by this honest and enjoyable book.

Not once did I find the book bogging down in too much detail, not once did it flag or slow down in pace, even the author’s account of his training and instructional flights were full of interest, humour and occasional sadness. This is a great testament to the young crews who flew in Bomber Command doing a job without question that cost many their lives. Well done to the author!

Excellent Account! (7/7 people found this helpful)

Beautifully written and compulsive reading. (13/13 people found this helpful)

This book provides a present day reader with a very privileged view into what life must have been like for the crews of these heavy bombers. It is beautifully written and makes for compulsive reading with a good mix of aviation and operational information but also great human content, something I have found lacking in other publications. Harry Yates conveys the close relationship between the crew and paints a graphic picture of their highs and lows. Readers will find themselves carried along with each operation, feeling relief when the wheels touch down at Mepal. Luck and a Lancaster is described by Harry Yates as a way to fix the 'remembrance of something important', it most certainly does that and far more. It will enable those born many years later to image what it was like when thousands of these huge machines flew in our skies. He sums up the Lancaster thus 'These were not mere bombers, crude forms of steel and oil. They were guiding beacons of the spirit. With them flew our pride, our hope, our purpose'. (p172) The book also contains a unique photographic record of the members of the crew; their aircraft and superb photographs taken by the cameras after the bombs had been dropped. Yates does not sensationalise but writes about his role factually explaining how crews carried out their orders in a duty bound process. He ends the story by describing his return to Mepal on an impulse, many years later. This return visit is a moving and thought provoking close to a well-written and highly readable factual account.

Luck and a Lancaster: Chance and Survival in World War II (Airlife's Classics)

Harry Yates

Reader Reviews:

An honest and personal account of life and death in 75 Sqn (6/6 people found this helpful)

A personal perspective on 'Luck and a Lancaster'. (14/14 people found this helpful)

Excellent Account & Enjoyable Read (9/9 people found this helpful)

Excellent Account! (7/7 people found this helpful)

Beautifully written and compulsive reading. (13/13 people found this helpful)

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