Billy Bishop was fiercely ambitious, driven by an undisguised hatred of his enemies. He played hard and fought even harder. A highly skilled pilot and a crack shot, "top gun" of the Allied air forces, by 1918 Bishop was the most highly decorated war hero in Canadian history.
He remains the most controversial. Some of Bishop's fellow pilots were repelled by his grandstanding and suspected he was deliberately inflating his number of "kills." Since then, the claim has been repeated by many others. This issue is at the heart of Billy Bishop: Canadian Hero.
In this updated second edition, author Dan McCaffery reviews the evidence in support his account of what Bishop really did in the skies over France, setting the record straight about one of this country's most famous and controversial figures.
No-one interested in the history of Canadian military aviation will want to miss this 3-volume series from Larry Milberry!
The first title dedicated solely to the postwar RCAF and the largest of all general RCAF histories. Beginning with the post-1945 slowdown, you'll read how Canada disposed of 1000s of surplus aircraft, whether burned, buried, or sold to get-rich-quick entrepreneurs. Next? The panicky built-up to Korea and the Cold War. Here are all the details about Vampires, Mustangs, Sabres & CF-100s; North Stars & C-119s; Lancasters, Neptunes & Argus; Harvards & T-33s. One chapter deals with R&D projects, whether Arctic navigation, flight test, or weapons; one about the CF-105 will be an eye-opener for those taken in by the Arrow myth makers. Vol.3 has hundreds of fresh colour photos from the 1950s-60s. Dozens of reminiscences enliven this era. Vol.3 takes you beyond unification to the 1970s.