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Leslie Baveystock
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Wavetops at My Wingtips: Flying With Raf Bomber and Coastal Commands in World War II Hardcover – January 1, 2001

by Leslie Baveystock (Author)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 8 ratings
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Leslie 'Bav' Baveystock sank two U Boats in the summer of 1944 when flying a Short Sunderland flying boat in Coastal Command. Earlier in the war he flew as second pilot aboard an elderly Bomber Command Avro Manchester on the first 1,000 bomber raid. When returning from Cologne his aircraft was hit and seriously damaged by flak. With only one engine powering the bomber it was steadily losing height and the pilot ordered the crew to jump. The crew, except for the pilot, landed safely and eventually escaped occupied territory via the renowned Comet Line escape route. Baveystock was transferred to No 201 Squadron, Coastal Command, where he flew Sunderlands on long-range Atlantic patrols. His first success was the locating and attacking the German armed blockade-runner Alsterufer. In June 1944, when flying a patrol to protect the D-Day landings, U-995 was sighted in the Western Approaches. Baveystock immediately attacked, dropping flares to illuminate the submarine and dropped depth charges from a mere seventy feet, dispatching the U Boat to the bottom. On August 18th of that same year he sank U-107!
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    278 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Crowood Pr
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2001
  5. Dimensions
    6.25 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1840373105
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1840373103
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crowood Pr; First Edition (January 1, 2001)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 278 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1840373105
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1840373103
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.35 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 8 ratings

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Leslie Baveystock

Leslie Baveystock

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Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars
4.8 out of 5
8 global ratings

Top review from the United States

John Matlock
5.0 out of 5 stars Flying Boats in World War II
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2005
Sub-Title: Flying With RAF Bomber and Coastal Commands in World War II

After being shot down over Europe Leslie Baveystock escaped occupied Europe via the vaunted Comet escape line. This meant that he was to be assigned duties that did not involve flying over Nazi occupied territory because of the knowledge he had about the Comet line.

He was then assigned to flying Short Sunderland flying boats on maritime patrol. His first success was to locate and attach the German armed blockade-runner Alsterufer north-west of the Azores. Later, he attacked and sank two German U-Boats.

This is the story of a British pilot who fought through all of World War II, he flew on 587 flights (311 in Sunderlands) in 94 separate aircraft. In spite of several close calls, he was never injured, never crashed except that one time when they were shot down and the went down by chute. He survived the war and lived another fifty years.
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Top reviews from other countries

Paul Anthony Marks
5.0 out of 5 stars Took me inside the aircraft
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 12, 2020
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This is one of quite a few pilot accounts from WW2. For me it was a step above most. Firstly I found it a very easy and enjoyable read. Whether that was the writing skill of Baveystock or the subsequent editing I do not know. As the sub-title sets out it covers time in Bomber Command then Coastal Command. I will not plot-spoil by mentioning why he swapped. I was most interested in his time flying Sunderlands. His description has a great balance between flavour and detail. His account of QGH - the ground-controlled descent through clouds to land - is well explained and easy to follow while giving the sense of tension that using it involved. Little snippets such as the crews always wearing life jackets but not having parachutes added to my knowledge. Accounts of lifting the fully-laden Sunderlands from the sea then landing often in the dark and sometimes at diversion bases he is unfamiliar with are nothing short of gripping. Simply flying the Sunderland was a fraught business without getting near the enemy. Relationships with his crews and superiors all feature against a back-drop of wartime family life. He was fortunate to be involved in intense incidents with surface ships and U-boats. He made the most of these fleeting opportunities and in reward earned a DSO, DFC & bar and a DFM. The headline events are set out well making the scenes vivid while other sections get across the hours of boredom patrolling empty seas. Thoroughly recommended.
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BROWN
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 7, 2015
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Great read this book!!
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Shed Painter
4.0 out of 5 stars Nice story, told in detail
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 4, 2024
Verified Purchase
Buy a secondhand book, and you get what you paid for. This one arrived in great shape even though it is some years old. The autobiography is fascinating, and detailed. Worth a read for anyone interested in that part of the history of aviation and warfare.
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Don Gregory
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 4, 2015
Verified Purchase
fine
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