A Soldier in the Cockpit

Book excerpt: In October 1939, barely a month after World War II erupted in Europe, Ron Pottinger was conscripted into the British Army as a rifleman in the Royal Fusiliers. A year later, amidst pilot shortages due to losses during the Battle of Britain, he transferred to the Royal Air Force, where he began flying the 7.5 ton Hawker Typhoon fighter. He flew dozens of dangerous ground-attack missions over occupied Europe through bad weather, heavy flak, and enemy fighters before being shot down in early 1945 and ending the war in a German prisoner of war camp. Ron Pottinger served for six years during World War II, most of it flying combat missions in the Royal Air Force. He lives in England.