Bloody Dangerous

Fifty missions over Germany: The last first-hand account from WW2

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About this listen

A thrilling memoir from one of the last living WW2 pilots, published to mark his 105th birthday

'Colin Bell DFC is one of the most remarkable people I've ever met' JAMES HOLLAND
'A terrific read, combining laugh-out-loud reminiscences with jaw-dropping accounts of aerial warfare' JOHN NICHOL
'Stirring' The Times
'Brimming with quiet courage and patriotism' Daily Mail
'They don't make them like Flt Lt Bell anymore' Daily Express
'An inspiring portrait of bravery in action' The i

Flight-Lieutenant Colin Bell's Bloody Dangerous is a powerful and inspiring portrait of bravery in action, full of touching admiration for his RAF comrades - one in three of whom were killed. He paints an extraordinarily vivid picture of what it was like to fly a Mosquito - the wooden wonder - in 50 raids over Germany, 13 of them to Berlin itself. There, coned by searchlights, he experienced the terror of being tracked by devastatingly effective 88 mm radar-controlled anti-aircraft guns when he wasn't being chased by night-fighting Messchersmitt 262s - the only aircraft in the German armoury capable of outrunning the Mosquito. Bell suffered engine failures, fuel starvation, near fatal ice, numerous hits to his plane and, on one occasion, an explosion so close there was shrapnel in his parachute and burn marks on his navigator's flying suit.

Bell takes us from pre-war London, where he wooed his girlfriend with tickets to see a new film opening in Leicester Square (it was Gone with the Wind), to terrifying scenes of the Blitz itself - he joined up after seeing a bomb fall on the other side of the street on which he was walking. As a member of the elite Pathfinder 608 squadron he was part of the force that, arguably, did more than any other bombing unit to bring about the Nazis' final surrender.©2026 Colin Bell

Colin BellColin BellJames WarriorLittle, Brown Book Group

Military

Aviation

War

Air Force

Military Aviation War Air Force

Critic reviews

Colin Bell DFC is one of the most remarkable people I've ever met: a centenarian who looks eighty and acts half that age, and a fantastically courageous wartime Mosquito bomber pilot with over fifty combat missions to his name. He's also one of the very last connections to that extraordinary generation - and one who is exceptionally cogent and articulate about his incredible experiences. Colin Bell is a very, very special fellow and his story is an exceptional one

Colin Bell is a legend in military circles and his wartime story is an incredible inspiration to those of us who followed him into the RAF. Bloody Dangerous is a terrific read, combining laugh-out-loud reminiscences with jaw-dropping accounts of aerial warfare. A truly memorable military memoir from one of the last of our nation's great Second World War figures

Brimming with quiet courage and patriotism

Stirring

They don't make them like Flt Lt Bell any more

An inspiring portrait of bravery in action... Bell paints a vivid picture of what it was like to fly a plane called the 'wooden wonder' in 50 daring raids over German

Most relevant

I liked everything about the book. What an amazing man, and what amazing men who served