Blood, Sweat and Courage

One of the oldest RAF squadrons, 41 Squadron celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2016. The unit has seen service from the First World War, through policing duties in the Middle East in the 1930s, throughout the Second World War, and more recently in the first Gulf War. Blood, Sweat and Courage completes the narrative of 41 Squadron's Second World War activity, concentrating on operations between September 1939 and July 1942. Author Steve Brew recounts the unit's role within battles, operations and larger strategies, and details experiences made by the pilots and ground crew participating in them. The squadron's actions are often revealed for the first time through records that have previously not been available. Brew evokes the feeling of the period, portraying not only a factual account, but also one that captures the color 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, serious events with humor, and sobering statistics with poignant afterthought.