The Flyer

The first scholarly study of the men of the RAF and British culture during the war, The Flyer examines the lives of these men and their popular representation in literary and cinematic texts. It illuminates broader issues of gender, class, race, emotional life, and the creation of a national myth in modern Britain.

Martin Francis was educated at the universities of Manchester and Oxford. He has published widely on a variety of aspects of twentieth-century British history. After holding several positions in the United Kingdom, notably at Royal Holloway, University of London, since 2003 he has been the inaugural Henry R. Winkler Associate Professor of History at the University of Cincinnati.

Introduction
1: The allure of the flyer
2: A man's world
3: The flyer in love
4: Husbands and fathers
5: The flyer and fear
6: A darker blue
7: The new Achilles? literature, technology and violence
8: Coming home
Conclusion