Razor Eyes
by Richard Hough
Summary
Mick has always wanted to be a pilot and when the chance to join the RAF arises, he jumps on it. But there is one drawback, he is afraid of serious injury. He decide to be an instructor but after a fight with another person training to be an instructor, he decides to become a active fighter pilot. He now flies Hawker Hurricanes in the 140 squadron. Then, a squadron of Supermarine Spitfires arrives at their base after the squadron has been assigned to bombs. Among the new squadron is Mick's childhood friend Bruno. But after a devastating mission, Bruno is among those being mourned. The squadron gets new aircraft, Hawker Typhoons and Mick is sent on an extremely dangerous mission deep within enemy lines to take pictures of a new experimental German aircraft from his plane...
Theme
I think the theme of this book is that when tragedy strikes, you should not try to forget it but try to move on and if you do that, great things can happen. After Mick loses his best friend he is sad for a long time but then he keeps going and accomplishes an amazing feat that helps the allies to win the war. Or when his sister has a breakdown he keeps going and continues to make bombing runs to help win the war.
Historical connection
There was a 140 squadron in the RAF in WWII but they were not a fighter squadron, they were a photo reconnaissance squadron that flew de Havilland Mosquitos mostly. This book was not an autobiography but a story that stems from the author's experience in the Royal Air Force. He did fly Hawker Hurrinces and Typhoons in combat and the feelings conveyed by the main character are much the same as his emotions at the time. All the aircraft featured in this book were real.
Works cited
Jet photos. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014. <http://jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=6909043>.
Super marine Spitfire." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
"Hawker Typhoon." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
"Avspecs De Havilland Mosquito in the Air." Air Pigz. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
"Razor Eyes." Open Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2014. <https://openlibrary.org/works/OL3189849W/Razor_eyes>