''Enemy Coast Ahead'' is an autobiographical book recounting the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

flying career of

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

Guy Gibson Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson, (12 August 1918 – 19 September 1944) was a distinguished bomber pilot in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He was the first Commanding Officer of No. 617 Squadron, which he led in the "Dam B ...

VC, DSO, DFC. It covers his time in

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...

from the very earliest days of war in 1939 through to 1943. Gibson wrote the book aged 25 in 1944 whilst off operations. He had by this time completed two full tours, each of 30 operations, with Bomber Command (with 83 and 106 Squadrons), another one as a

night-fighter A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used i ...

pilot with 29 Squadron and, as leader of the famous Dam Busters raid against the dams of the

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...

Valley (

Operation Chastise Operation Chastise or commonly known as the Dambusters Raid was an attack on German dams carried out on the night of 16/17 May 1943 by 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, later called the Dam Busters, using special "bouncing bombs" developed by ...

) with

617 Squadron Number 617 Squadron is a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron, originally based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire and currently based at RAF Marham in Norfolk. It is commonly known as "''The Dambusters''", for its actions during Operation Chastis ...

in May 1943. It was first published in book form in 1946, to much critical acclaim and a fully uncensored account released in 2003. The book was serialised in the

Sunday Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

during the winter of 1944-45, following his death in September 1944, when his

Mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

crashed near

Steenbergen Steenbergen () is a municipality and a town in the province of North Brabant in the south of the Netherlands. The municipality had a population of in and covers an area of of which is water. The municipality is mainly agricultural including a ...

in the Netherlands.

Synopsis

Gibson joined the RAF prior to the war, and he recounts the early stages of combat and the daily struggle with first the

Handley Page Hampden The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden is a British twin-engine medium bomber that was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was part of the trio of large twin-engine bombers procured for the RAF, joining the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Vickers ...

and then the

Avro Manchester The Avro 679 Manchester was a British twin-engine heavy bomber developed and manufactured by the Avro aircraft company in the United Kingdom. While not being built in great numbers, it was the forerunner of the famed and vastly more successful ...

aeroplanes on long and arduous missions into enemy airspace. He also clearly recounts the issues facing the early pilots ''taking the war to Germany'' from within what seemed an almost amateurish Bomber Command. Subsequently, he flew the renowned

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirlin ...

. He quickly learned how to stay alive and rapidly grew in experience and maturity, rising from Pilot Officer to a highly decorated Wing Commander.

2003 Reprint

Using Gibson's original draft, the reprint restored elements originally omitted – such as Gibson's views on fellow pilots and staff, air tactics and the deployment of Bomber Command. On the 75th anniversary of Gibson's death, September 19th 2019, Greenhill Books released a new illustrated edition of the book. The new edition retains the introduction by Sir Arthur Harris and adds new commentary from historian James Holland. In his introduction Holland writes, "He was certainly flawed, but his flaws make his achievements all the more remarkable... read it carefully, and particularly this original draft, and the fears, the stress and strain, and the tragedy of his short life are there, plain to see." The Greenhill edition also includes extensive notes by Dr Robert Owen, official historian of 617 Squadron and more than 100 photographs, many of which had not been published elsewhere before.

Film

The 1954 film, '' The Dam Busters'', was based on both Gibson's ''Enemy Coast Ahead'' and on

Paul Brickhill Paul Chester Jerome Brickhill (20 December 191623 April 1991) was an Australian fighter pilot, prisoner of war, and author who wrote ''The Great Escape (book), The Great Escape'', ''The Dam Busters (book), The Dam Busters'', and ''Reach for the ...

's '' The Dam Busters''. The movie starred

Richard Todd Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd (11 June 19193 December 2009) was an Irish-British actor known for his leading man roles of the 1950s. He received a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male, and an Academy Award for Best Actor n ...

as Gibson and

Michael Redgrave Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Mourning Becomes Elect ...

as Wallis.

References

* ''Enemy Coast Ahead: Uncensored'' - The Real Guy Gibson - 2006 - 1946 non-fiction books World War II memoirs Royal Air Force mass media Aviation books Michael Joseph books * ''Enemy Coast Ahead: The Illustrated Memoir of Dambuster Guy Gibson'' - 2019 - {{Cite book, url=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1784384909?pf_rd_p=330fbd82-d4fe-42e5-9c16-d4b886747c64&pf_rd_r=PJ3W5ZKHD3K0TGDRQ4TW, title=Enemy Coast Ahead: The Illustrated Memoir of Dambuster Guy Gibson, date=19 September 2019