“Fatal Mission was near impossible to put down” – Andy Wright, Aircrew Book Review
Fatal Mission is the story of Australian navigator Oscar Furniss, just one of 55,000 young men who perished while flying for Bomber Command during World War II. Lovingly crafted by his nephew, Mal Elliott, this book brings to life a young man whose name was never spoken by his family and who was a stranger to his modern-day descendants.
Elliott follows Oscar from his carefree childhood in the Blue Mountains through his training over the vast emptiness of Canada to the mist-shrouded patchwork landscapes of Britain and on to the hostile skies of occupied France. He uses the accounts of the two surviving aircrew to piece together the events of the fateful night that saw most of the crew of Lancaster JA901, affectionally know as Naughty Nan, perish as pilot Colin Dickson heroically manoeuvred his burning aircraft away from the towns and villages that dotted the landscape. This has been a difficult book for Elliott to write as it contains a harrowing description of his uncle’s last moments. The terrible impact of the deaths of the aircrew are vividly described alongside the miraculous tales of the two survivors.
But for the family of Oscar Furniss there would be no miracle, just the lingering weight of deep and lasting grief. This is a story that moves beyond the technical descriptions of bombing missions to describe the human toll of conflict. It underlines the crucial importance of commemoration, of refusing to allow those who perished in war to be forgotten. Theirs was a sacrifice that we who live in freedom should never forget.
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Phil Buckley – Down Under Aviation News –
This book is a gripping read into the life and times of one of the members of an RAAF SQN Lancaster bomber in WW2, Australian navigator Oscar Furniss. Sadly Oscar would be a crew member on a Lancaster bomber naughty nan, which was shot down over France on the 4th May 1944.
The book initially details Oscar’s childhood early work years, then delves into his RAAF aircrew training and then his further upgrade flight training in Canada and in the UK for operational conversion.
The author has managed to get memories from 2 of the surviving aircrew of the Lancaster JA-901 on this last flight in 1944. From these accounts, he has put together a very detailed insight into what it was like to be a heavy bomber crew in World War 2. The book covers what happened that night in May 1944 when JA-901 was shot down by fighter over France by a Luftwaffe FW-190 fighter pilot.
The book then explains the following actions of the aircrew of the bomber after being shot down bringing together their escape and capture. The author has not only captured the insight to aircrew training operational missions but also the families left behind due to the horrors of war. The book utilises assorted World War 2 photos and modern photos to explain where Oscar travelled and what he saw.
The book is a reminder that many aircrews in Bomber Command did return from their final missions. We recommend this book at the tribute to Australian and English aircrew who flew in RAF Bomber Command into the night aboard the Lancaster bombers and into the skies over France and Germany during World War 2.
Neville Taylor – The RUSI –
Mal Elliott recognised that his uncle’s family rarely mentioned Oscar Furness’ name after his loss over France in 1944. This would consequently result in Oscar’s story not being remembered by his descendants, and it was this fact that prompted Elliott’s research and writing of Fatal Mission.
Realising that Oscar did not stand alone, Elliott has covered the biographies of the seven airmen who crewed Naughty Nan on 3/4 May 1944. These young men come to life from school, enlistment, training schools and courses, postings and missions. With travel visiting abandoned wartime airstrips in Britain, the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan schools in Canada, the villages and villagers close to the crash site as well as descendants of the crew, all avenues of research have been explored.
The text is very generously enhanced with pertinent photographs on the same page. There are four appendices: Oscar’s personal effects, the two surviving crew who made it back to England, and Naughty Nan’s mission history that includes her idiosyncratic flight performances. Comprehensive Endnotes and a Bibliography complete this most readable work on one of the many RAAF squadrons that were imbedded in Britain’s Bomber Command during the Second World War.
Peter Masters – Australian Defence Magazine –
Mal Elliott was troubled by the lack of recognition of the deeds of his uncle Oscar Skelton Furniss, who, along with four other crew members, perished when the Avro Lancaster III, JA901, nicknamed Naughty Nan, from 467 Squadron, crashed in rural France in May 1944, so he set about reconstructing Oscar’s early life, following his training in the Empire Air Training Scheme and his eventual posting to the bomber crew as navigator.
It is sobering to consider that Oscar was just one of 55,000 young men who perished while flying for Bomber Command during World War II.
Elliott uses the accounts of the two surviving aircrew to piece together the events of the fateful night that saw most of the crew of the Lancaster perish as pilot Colin Dickson heroically manoeuvred his burning aircraft away from the towns and villages that dotted the landscape.
Elliott has imagined his uncle’s last moments, recreating the scene of the crew attempting to escape the burning aircraft. The fact that two men survived was truly miraculous.
Sadly for the family of Oscar Furniss there would be no miracle, just the lingering weight of deep and lasting grief.
This is a story that moves beyond the technical descriptions of bombing missions to describe the human toll of conflict. It underlines the crucial importance of commemoration, of refusing to allow those who perished in war to be forgotten and the importance of making their stories known to the generations that follow.
Such a sacrifice deserves to be remembered, which is the reason Mal Elliott has written this engaging account of his uncle’s life.
Andy Wright, Aircrew Book Review –
Fatal Mission was near impossible to put down.