In writing this penetrating and exciting book, Mr. Cosgrove leads us back unerringly to the early crucial days of aerial combat in World War I, and to the birth of the airplane as a decisive weapon in modern war. From those days, he goes on to describe the outstanding role played by Canadian aviators in World War II when, once again, Canada played a part out of all proportion to the size of her population in the war in the air. Indeed, it is with a feeling akin to awe that we realize that the airmen brought to life by the author are but a small proportion of the vast number of brave flyers of whom Canada can be proud.
To chronicle the events covered by this book as a chain of related facts would have been an achievement in itself; but to view them through the deeds and the personalities of the men who were the central figures lifts this book from the realm of history into the realm of true adventure. It servers to remind us, furthermore, that until somebody can devise a machine that will substitute in every way for the human brain and, what is perhaps more important, for the human spirit, there can be no replacement in any high endeavour for the sort of men who fill the pages of Mr. Cosgrove’s book.
For me, and for all who have served and are serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force, this volume must hold a special significance. To us the gallery of heroes from Barker to Beurling is more than a collection of unusual men; these men are the foundation upon which the Royal Canadian Air Force was built. And the strength of the Air Force today is attributable in large measure to the pride in service that was created by those who transformed the first flimsy machines into winged chariots.
I am sure that the exploits recounted in this book will inspire not only those of us whose memories span the few short years that have witnessed the fantastic growth of air power, but also the young men of today on whose shoulders will rest the responsibility of carrying the airplane and the space capsule beyond the new frontiers.
Hugh Campbell
Air Marshal