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Above the Battle : An Air Observation Post Pilot at War by Ronald Lyell Munro is a book available to read on EtoBox.

What is Above the Battle : An Air Observation Post Pilot at War about?

A rare memoir of serving as an AOP pilot—one of the most daring and dangerous jobs in World War II. Includes maps and photos. In April 1943, a young officer arrived at Penshurst to join C Flight, 653 Squadron. He was no ordinary pilot, and this was no ordinary RAF outfit. Lyell Munro was a soldier and 653 was an Air Observation Post Squadron whose pilots were Royal Artillery and whose ground crew were RAF. AOP pilots were expert gunners, skilled flyers, and incurable rule breakers. Flying from airstrips just behind the front lines, without armament and often with no parachute, they controlled the fire of hundreds of guns and their enemies learned to dread the sight of the little green Austers in the skies above the battlefield. An incautious movement, a puff of smoke or a chance flash of reflected sunlight could bring tons of high explosives raining down. They flew alone without ground control, scanning the skies constantly while they directed the guns. Closing at over 250mph, an attacking ME 109 left no time for indecision. Reactions had to be instinctive and evasive action instant. Failure was fatal. After the war ended, the survivors went back into civilian life and few historie

Author

Ronald Lyell Munro

Publisher

Pen and Sword Aviation

Published

2016

Language

EN

ISBN

9781473872783

Subjects

History, Biography, Memoir

Rating

3.9 / 5 (161 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-14