MASTER AIRMAN

Limited edition bookplate 1/1 signed by

Air Vice-Marshal D.C.T. Bennett CB CBE DSO
+
22 Pathfinder aircrew

Airlife First edition 1985. 166 pages and well-illustrated with photographs.

A Fine condition hardback book and Fine condition unclipped dustjacket with a slight sun fade to the spine.  The bookplate is mounted onto the front end paper and comes with a list of the signatories.

Air Vice-Marshal Don Bennett was one of the most outstanding figures of WWII.  After a short military career, he went into civil aviation and at the age of 26 he was a Captain on the largest aircraft flying at the time with Imperial Airways. He broke long distance records, wrote the textbook on navigation and when war broke out, he organised ferrying aircraft across the Atlantic.  Aged 32, he was appointed head of the Pathfinder Force which turned Bomber Command into a powerful and decisive weapon of war.  Almost every RAF Main Force attack was led by the Pathfinders. By the end of the war Don Bennett was commanding a total of 19 squadrons of the Pathfinder Force and was revered by his crews. Post-war, he was an MP, Managing Director of British South American Airways and designed and built his own cars amongst many other notable activities.  He passed away in 1986, not long after this book was published.

This is a compelling insight into a controversial man; a story of talent, professionalism and courage at its most admirable and this copy is enhanced by Bennett’s distinctive signature and a collection of Pathfinder signatures.