Spies in the Sky; by Taylor Downing.

Aerial photo recce is pretty much taken for granted today, a valuable and often life-saving tool. We have sattelites, drones and all manner of aircraft that can relay graphic and accurate images, often in 'real time' to highly skilled interpreters, and to commanders in the field. Indeed, sometimes as far down the line as platoon or section commanders, and rarely would an operation be considered without the benefit of this service. However, it is not as young a device as we may think; the first aerial reconnaissance and photographic system was pioneered in around 1914, although much earlier, in the late 1800s, balloons had been used to observe from and were initially used for artlillery spotters. It is true to say that, typically, the British Army had come late to this party once more, for the French and other nations were rather more experimental in the use.

This book, whilst not a history of aerial observation, does cover the early years of this method, but mostly concentrates on the use of aerial photography and intelligence during the Second World War, and what a use there was.
We are accustomed to the tales of daring fighter pilots, the determined and extraordinarliy brave bomber crews and the dedication of transport flights, but the recce pilots, those who drove fast planes, unarmed save for a selection of cameras, into severe harms way is uplifting.

The missions described in this book cover almost every major battle, invasion and operation that one can think of; from Dunkirk to Arnhem. From the finding of the Bismarck to the discovery of the V1 and V2 rockets; photo recce was involved in them all. Many lives were saved by these unsung heroes, not only the pilots and observers in their Spitfires and Mosquitos, but by the backroom staff of dedicated and painstaking men and women. There are familiar names here, including Sarah Oliver, otherwise known as the daughter of Winston Churchill, and a young officer of Dutch extraction, Derek Van Der Bogaerde, better known as Dirk Bogarde. And, there are those that none of us have ever heard of, but to whom our fathers and grandfathers may owe their lives.

'Spies in the Sky' is a wonderful book to read; informative yet without being dry, instructive without lecturing, thrilling and tense in places and a leavening of humour to enhance it all. There are some excellent photographs in the book, including a quite famous one of the damage caused by the Dam Buster raid. Equally, there is a photo of Auschwitz, taken accidentally, and chilling in it's starkness.

The author, Taylor Downing, is a television producer and historian, who has worked at the Imperial War Museum and for several years has run an independent production company, 'Flashback Television'.

This is a good and interesting book, one that could well fill a gap in knowledge of the Second World War, and will certainly be of help to any budding historians.




I award it 4 mushrooms.