By Kevin Seabrooke

A pilot since the age of 16, later trained by the RAF, the author has assembled a dashing narrative of the Royal Air Force’s Special Duties pilots, who performed clandestine operations such as inserting or extracting agents, dropping supplies, and flying secret missions into occupied Europe, often using aircraft like the Westland Lysander—noted for its Short Take-Off and Landing (STOLT) capabilities. Pilots from the 161 Squadron flew these unarmed planes in all weather, avoiding German night-fighters and antiaircraft flak. Their missions provided transport infrastructure to support growing resistance movements in Occupied Europe.

Moonlight Crusaders; Special Duties Pilots over Occupied Europe (Paul Smiddy, Osprey Publishing, New York, NY, 384 pp., 8-page b&w plate section, May 5, 2026 $30 HC)