Michael Enright’s book Flyers Far Away stands as a monumental piece of historical reclamation focusing on the fifteen thousand Australian airmen who served within the RAF during World War II. For decades many of these men were lost to history because they were integrated into British squadrons rather than serving in distinct Australian units. Enright spent years conducting over two hundred interviews and scouring private diaries to piece together a narrative that is not just about strategy and statistics but about the individual Aussie spirit in the flak filled skies of Europe and the Mediterranean.
The book is particularly effective at highlighting the diversity of the Australian contribution. While many are familiar with the heavy bombers of Bomber Command Enright sheds light on the specialized roles in Coastal Command and photographic reconnaissance as well as the hazardous work of the pathfinders who marked targets for the main force. The writing manages to capture the technical complexity of these machines while never losing sight of the human being in the cockpit including the fear and the dark humor and the profound sense of isolation felt by men thousands of miles from home.
A centerpiece of the narrative is the account of the Flying Porcupines which were the Short Sunderland flying boats of Coastal Command. Enright recounts a legendary engagement where a lone Sunderland crewed by Australians was ambushed by eight German Ju 88 fighters over the Bay of Biscay. The crew used the massive aircraft’s heavy defensive armament and its ability to fly at wave top height to survive. By hugging the water they prevented the German fighters from diving on their underbelly and eventually drove off the attackers in a grueling battle that lasted nearly an hour. It is a visceral example of the instinctive flying that Enright documents so well.
Another harrowing story featured in the book involves the Rhubarbs which were low level nuisance raids over occupied France. Enright describes a mission where an Australian Spitfire pilot was hit by ground fire while strafing a railway yard. With his engine failing and coolant spraying over the canopy the pilot had to navigate back across the English Channel blind. Enright details the terrifying silence as the engine finally cut out miles from the coast and the pilot’s desperate calculated glide toward a crash landing on a Kentish beach. These anecdotes provide a stark unvarnished look at the thin margin between life and death for these flyers.
Ultimately Flyers Far Away is more than just a military history because it acts as a cultural bridge. It ensures that the specific Australian experience within the broader Allied effort is preserved. For any reader interested in the intersection of personal courage and technical history Enright provides a deeply rewarding and often moving tribute to a generation of airmen who were nearly forgotten by the very records they helped to write.
Well worth picking up if you get it at the right price.