The untold story of the RAF's black Second World War fliers over Europe

While the United States could boast the black fliers of Tuskegee,
few people are aware of the important contribution made by 500
RAF aircrew recruited from the Caribbean and West Africa.
Overcoming the legacy of the official British Colour Bar to serve
over Europe as pilots, navigators, flight engineers and air
gunners, these men were pioneers in the truest sense. After
suffering a loss rate of more than 30% and, in some cases,
incarceration as black PoWs in Nazi Germany, the men returned to
their countries of origin and were lost from the historical
record. Mark Johnson has spent 17 years researching this tale,
based on personal interviews with survivors, one of whom was his
Jamaican great-uncle, a former navigator with Bomber Command's No
102 (Ceylon) Squadron and a holder of the Distinguished Flying
Cross. He outlines their backgrounds and motives for joining up
and also describes their combat experiences and explores the
possible significance of their legacy for integration and race
relations.


Mark Johnson is a former soldier, a cyber-security writer and
historian. His first history title, which tells the largely
unknown story of the black RAF aircrew volunteers, is Caribbean
volunteers at war (Pen & Sword). The author posts regular
updates on his website at www.markjohnsonbooks.com.