''Air Bridge'' is a 1951

thriller novel Thriller is a genre of fiction, having numerous, often overlapping subgenres. Thrillers are characterized and defined by the moods they elicit, giving viewers heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety. Su ...

by the British writer

Hammond Innes Ralph Hammond Innes (15 July 1913 – 10 June 1998) was a British novelist who wrote over 30 novels, as well as works for children and travel books. Biography Innes was born in Horsham, Sussex, and educated at Feltonfleet School, Cobham, Surrey ...

. It is set during the

Berlin Airlift The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road ...

, and features a former

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

pilot now on the run from the police after becoming involved in shady activities after the war. Like all of Innes' novels, it is notable for a fine attention to accurate detail in descriptions of places, such as in ''Air Bridge''

RAF Gatow Royal Air Force Gatow, or more commonly RAF Gatow, was a British Royal Air Force station (military airbase) in the district of Gatow in south-western Berlin, west of the Havel river, in the borough of Spandau. It was the home for the only k ...

RAF Membury Royal Air Force Membury or more simply RAF Membury is a former Royal Air Force station built in the civil parish of Lambourn in Berkshire, England. The airfield is located approximately north-northwest of Hungerford, at the Membury services s ...

after its closure, and

RAF Wunstorf Wunstorf () is a town in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 22 km west of Hanover. The following localities belong to the town of Wunstorf: Blumenau (with Liethe), Bokeloh, Großenheidorn, Idensen ...

during the

. As part of his research Innes hitched a lift with the RAF into Berlin at the height of the blockade.Obituary: Hammond Innes - Arts & Entertainment - The Independent
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References

Bibliography

* James Vinson & D. L. Kirkpatrick. ''Contemporary Novelists''. St. James Press, 1986. 1951 British novels Novels by Hammond Innes British thriller novels Novels set in Berlin William Collins, Sons books {{1950s-thriller-novel-stub