''Enemy Coast Ahead'' is an autobiographical book recounting the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

flying career of

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...

Guy Gibson Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson, (12 August 1918 – 19 September 1944) was a distinguished bomber pilot in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He was the first Commanding Officer of No. 617 Squadron, which he led in the "Dam ...

VC, DSO, DFC. It covers his time in

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the Strategic bombing during World War II#Europe, strategic bombing of Germany in W ...

from the very earliest days of war in 1939 through to 1943. Gibson wrote the book aged 25 in 1944 whilst off operations. He had by this time completed two full tours, each of 30 operations, with Bomber Command (with 83 and 106 Squadrons), another one as a

night-fighter A night fighter (later known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor post-Second World War) is a largely historical term for a fighter or interceptor aircraft adapted or designed for effective use at night, during periods of adverse ...

pilot with 29 Squadron and, as leader of the famous Dam Busters raid against the dams of the

Ruhr The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/km2 and a populati ...

Valley (

Operation Chastise Operation Chastise, commonly known as the Dambusters Raid, was an attack on Nazi Germany, German dams carried out on the night of 16/17 May 1943 by No. 617 Squadron RAF, 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, later called the Dam Busters, using spe ...

) with

617 Squadron Number 617 Squadron is a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron commonly known as The Dambusters for its actions during Operation Chastise against German dams during the World War II, Second World War, originally based at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire ...

in May 1943. It was first published in book form in 1946, to much critical acclaim and a fully uncensored account released in 2003. The book was serialised in the

Sunday Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet ...

during the winter of 1944-45, following his death in September 1944, when his

Mosquito Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a Family (biology), family of small Diptera, flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by ''Musca (fly), mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mos ...

crashed near

Steenbergen Steenbergen () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a town in the province of North Brabant in the south of the Netherlands. The municipality had a population of in and covers an area of of which is water. The municipality ...

in the Netherlands.

Synopsis

Gibson joined the RAF prior to the war, and he recounts the early stages of combat and the daily struggle with first the

Handley Page Hampden The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden is a British twin-engine medium bomber that was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was part of the trio of large twin-engine bombers procured for the RAF, joining the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Vickers ...

and then the

Avro Manchester The Avro 679 Manchester was a British twin-engine heavy bomber developed and manufactured by the Avro aircraft company in the United Kingdom. While not being built in great numbers, it was the forerunner of the more famed and more successful ...

aeroplanes on long and arduous missions into enemy airspace. He also clearly recounts the issues facing the early pilots ''taking the war to Germany'' from within what seemed an almost amateurish Bomber Command. Subsequently, he flew the renowned

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster, commonly known as the Lancaster Bomber, is a British World War II, Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to ...

. He quickly learned how to stay alive and rapidly grew in experience and maturity, rising from Pilot Officer to a highly decorated Wing Commander.

2003 reprint

Using Gibson's original draft, the reprint restored elements originally omitted – such as Gibson's views on fellow pilots and staff, air tactics and the deployment of Bomber Command. On the 75th anniversary of Gibson's death, September 19th, 2019, Greenhill Books released a new illustrated edition of the book. The new edition retains the introduction by Sir Arthur Harris and adds new commentary from historian James Holland. In his introduction Holland writes, "He was certainly flawed, but his flaws make his achievements all the more remarkable... read it carefully, and particularly this original draft, and the fears, the stress and strain, and the tragedy of his short life are there, plain to see." The Greenhill edition also includes extensive notes by Dr Robert Owen, official historian of 617 Squadron and more than 100 photographs, many of which had not been published elsewhere before.

Film

The 1955 film, '' The Dam Busters'', was based on both Gibson's ''Enemy Coast Ahead'' and on

Paul Brickhill Paul Chester Jerome Brickhill (20 December 191623 April 1991) was an Australian fighter pilot, prisoner of war, and author who wrote '' The Great Escape'', '' The Dam Busters'', and ''Reach for the Sky''. Early life Brickhill was born in Melbou ...

's '' The Dam Busters''. The movie starred

Richard Todd Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd (11 June 19193 December 2009) was an Irish-British actor known for his leading man roles of the 1950s. He received a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male, and an Academy Award for Best Actor n ...

as Gibson and

Michael Redgrave Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English actor and filmmaker. Beginning his career in theatre, he first appeared in the West End in 1937. He made his film debut in Alfred Hitchcock's ''The Lady Vanishes'' ...

as Wallis.

Synopsis

2003 reprint

Film

References

Further reading