'Serenade To The Big Bird,' by Bert Stiles
As if I haven't spoken about this enough, my research for my forthcoming novel has consumed me completely and I've discovered the most amazing real life stories and books along the way. One of these happens to be very special to me. 'Serenade To The Big Bird,' was written by 1st Lt. Bert Stiles, of the United States Air Force, one of those "Masters of the Air". Tragically, Bert lost his life when on the 26th November 1944, he became a victim of target fixation whilst chasing a FW-190. He sadly crashed his P-51, aged only 23 years. Before this, Bert flew bomber missions with the 91st Bomb Group and was based in Bassingbourn, England. After completing his tour of duty, he had the opportunity to return to his homeland but he had always wanted to fly fighters and so he requested to do so. He had 35 bomber missions under his belt. Incidentally, Bassingbourn was also home to one of the more famous B-17's, The Memphis Belle. A B-17 flies over the control tow...