Group Captain John 'Joe' Collier DSO, DFC and Bar: The Authorised Biography of the Bomber Commander, Air War and SOE Strategist & Dambuster Planner

John Colliers war began on day one, flying Hampdens in 83 Squadron with his friend Guy Gibson, in a hunt for the battleship Admiral Scheer. By the summer of 1940 he was bombing the Dortmund—Ems Canal at low—level, then Bordeaux and the Scharnhorst at Brest, which led to his DFC and Bar.

Given command of 420 (RCAF) Squadron at 25, Collier was hand—picked to direct 97 Squadron, whose Lancasters made a spectacular debut with the 1942 Augsburg Raid. In Gibsons opinion Joe Colliers 97 was the bes...