
Gestapo Hunter
The Remarkable Wartime Career of Mosquito Navigator Ted Sismore
Sean Feast(Author)
Grub Street Publishing
Published on 30. September 2024
Book
Hardback
208 pages
978-1-911714-11-8 (ISBN)
Description
Gestapo Hunter explores the charmed life and exceptional career of Ted Sismore, widely considered one of the RAF's very best wartime navigators and leaders. A quiet, unassuming man who was nicknamed 'Daisy' on account of his youthful complexion, Ted was one of only a handful of aircrew to complete a tour of operations in Blenheims in the summer of 1941.
He is best remembered, however, for his long association with the Mosquito. Planning and leading some of the Mossie's most famous raids against the Nazi regime's most-loathed characters. He flew in the daylight attack on Berlin, timed to coincide with an address being given by Hermann Goering, for which he received the first of several awards for gallantry and which was widely publicised. This was followed by a range of attacks which demonstrated the Mosquito's range and marked the aircraft out for further special duties.
Identified by Basil Embry, the mercurial AOC of 2 Group, as something of a kindred spirit, Ted joined the Group's HQ staff, planning Operation Jericho, the famous attack on Amiens prison on February 18, 1944. He then took part in further attacks aimed at disrupting Gestapo activities including the bombing of their HQ at Odense.
After the war, Ted teamed up with Mick Martin, the famous Dambuster, to break the flying record from London to Cape Town, in 1947, a journey of almost 7,000 miles. He later qualified as a pilot, flying Meteors, Javelins and Canberras, retiring as an air commodore. He died in 2012.
As far as he was able Sean Feast used Ted's own words throughout the book. The result is a fascinating insight into the life of an extraordinary man.
He is best remembered, however, for his long association with the Mosquito. Planning and leading some of the Mossie's most famous raids against the Nazi regime's most-loathed characters. He flew in the daylight attack on Berlin, timed to coincide with an address being given by Hermann Goering, for which he received the first of several awards for gallantry and which was widely publicised. This was followed by a range of attacks which demonstrated the Mosquito's range and marked the aircraft out for further special duties.
Identified by Basil Embry, the mercurial AOC of 2 Group, as something of a kindred spirit, Ted joined the Group's HQ staff, planning Operation Jericho, the famous attack on Amiens prison on February 18, 1944. He then took part in further attacks aimed at disrupting Gestapo activities including the bombing of their HQ at Odense.
After the war, Ted teamed up with Mick Martin, the famous Dambuster, to break the flying record from London to Cape Town, in 1947, a journey of almost 7,000 miles. He later qualified as a pilot, flying Meteors, Javelins and Canberras, retiring as an air commodore. He died in 2012.
As far as he was able Sean Feast used Ted's own words throughout the book. The result is a fascinating insight into the life of an extraordinary man.
Reviews / Votes
"A well-told tale of a full and active life." -- Andrew Thomas * Aviation News *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 165 mm
Width: 244 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
586 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-911714-11-8 (9781911714118)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Sean Feast is a Director and co-owner of Gravity London and the author of several books on World War II pilots.