pbIncludes an introduction by Patrick Bishop, bestselling author of iBomber Boys Fighting Back 1940-1945i.brbbrThe Flying Officer X stories were written by H.E. Bates in his unprecedented role as an official war writer with the R.A.F. during WWII, where he animates the realities faced by pilots tasked with protecting the skies from enemy aircraft. pThe resulting stories that appeared under the pseudonym Flying Officer X are portraits of individual pilots narrated by an observer who, like Bates, is on the inside of the air force without being a pilot. pThese portraits recount the personal history of the pilots, and convey the individual qualities and forces that motivate them. They blend the action and suspense of aerial battles, friendships cut off too soon, and life enduring against all odds. pIn true Bates style, the iNew York Timesi noted These are tales told in impressive quiet, tales that are innocent of even the suggestion of flagrant heroism that colors so many stories about com