A young Royal Air Force Pilot is sent on a dangerous mission in Malta in this WWII novel of love and war.
Malta, 1942. As the Second World War rages, the strategically vital Mediterranean island of Malta is isolated, desperately short of supplies, and slowly being starved into surrender. Into this hopeless situation, the British send two Wellington aircraft equipped with secret long-range radar. Their role is to find enemy convoys proceeding at night from Italy to Africa, and to lead a tiny naval force through the darkness to their unsuspecting target.
One is captained by a veteran R.A.F. pilot, the other is flown by Peter Forrester, a young and hastily trained kid is about to have his carefree spirit tested by the maelstrom of war. Thrown into this island of heroes, Peter also meets Miranda Black, daughter of a naval captain and a plotter in Barracca H.Q. Written by acclaimed author and R.A.F. veteran David Beaty, The Gun Garden is an authentic tale of gritty battle and young love.
David Beaty was a former RAF pilot, novelist and non-fiction writer whose books about flying earned him worldwide reputation.
Born in Ceylon in 1919, Beaty was educated at Kingswood, Bath and Merton College, Oxford. He became an RAF pilot during WWII, where he excelled, but gave up a life in the Air Force to write full-time. However, his experiences informed his many novels. In 1960,Cone of Silence was made into a film starring Peter Cushing and George Sanders. He was on the staff of the College of Air Training, was an associate member of the British Airline Pilots’ Association, and a Companion of the Royal Aeronautical Society.