Harpoon - Paperback

by Matthew Willis (Author)

"A remarkable insight into the doubts and fears of a fighter pilot, contrasting relentless action with cool post-combat de-briefs." Frank Barnard

Never Surrender

Sea Hurricane pilot Edmund Clydesdale, a battle-weary loner with a secret, sets out on a vital convoy to the island of Malta.

Clydesdale is on the brink of becoming an ace. The only trouble is that he shouldn't be.

Blind luck, mistakes and politics have seen him awarded with four of the five kills he needs. As the convoy Operation 'Harpoon' heads into the Western Mediterranean with only a handful of worn-out fighters to protect it, the eyes of the Navy and the press are on him.

And soon, the eyes - and guns - of the enemy will be too.

Six ships carry vital supplies, without which Malta cannot survive the Axis onslaught. The ageing carrier HMS Eagle, with its complement of battered Hawker Sea Hurricanes and their overworked pilots, must face legions of German and Italian bombers, all desperate to send the transports to the bottom of the Mediterranean.

'Harpoon' is the first book in a series chronicling the struggle of the Royal Navy's 'few' to protect the island fortress of Malta in the dark days of 1942.

"Harpoon gets into the cockpit and inside the skin of a WW2 pilot. Willis has written a tale of triumph - and redemption. The author has used his intimate knowledge of the period to serve as a backdrop to a human - and thrilling - war story." Richard Foreman, author of Warsaw.

Matthew Willis grew up near the historic port of Harwich and seaplane station at Felixstowe, developing a lifelong obsession with flying and the sea. He worked as a motorsport journalist and media relations officer before becoming a full time writer in 2011. His books include the epic novels of the Norman Conquest 'An Argument of Blood' and 'A Black Matter for the King' co-written with JA Ironside, and the novelette 'The Battle of Alma'.