Winkle
The Extraordinary Life of Britain’s Greatest Pilot
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Winkle
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Narrated by:
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Steve John Shepherd
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Paul Beaver
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By:
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Paul Beaver
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
The daring life story and astonishing adventures of Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown - Britain's greatest-ever pilot.
Small in stature but immense in reputation and talent, there was more to Eric 'Winkle' Brown than met the eye.
The pilot who set the standard for Britain's golden age of aviation, Winkle cemented his worldwide fame with incredible skill, extraordinary daring - and nerves of steel when things went wrong. From shooting down Luftwaffe bombers from the deck of a carrier in the Battle of the Atlantic and narrowly escaping death when his ship was torpedoed, to accumulating a never-to-be repeated litany of world records and firsts as a test pilot, his unparalleled flying career saw him take the controls of over four hundred different kinds of aircraft - more than any other pilot in history.
A rival to Chuck Yeager and hero to Neil Armstrong, by the time of his appearance on Desert Island Disc's 1000th episode Winkle had become a legend in his own lifetime, and by his death, a national treasure.
But despite his enormous fame, there have always been mysteries at the heart of Winkle's story. To truly understand this fascinating but secretive man is to grapple with questions that have intrigued and confounded biographers throughout his extraordinary life.
Drawing on previously unseen documents and unfettered access to Winkle's own personal archive Paul Beaver records a life with more twists and turns than a Battle of Britain dogfight - which was, of course, something Winkle had taken part in himself - uncovering the complex and enigmatic man behind the legend - the real story of Britain's greatest pilot.
A story Winkle insisted could only be told after his death . . .
©2023 Paul Beaver (P)2023 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 23
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It was the afternoon of 18 August 1966, hot, humid with grey monsoonal skies. D Company, 6RAR were four kilometres east of their Nui Dat base, on patrol in a rubber plantation not far from the abandoned village of Long Tan. A day after their base had suffered a mortar strike, they were looking for Viet Cong soldiers. Then—just when they were least expecting—they found them. Under withering fire, some Diggers perished, some were grievously wounded, the rest fought on, as they remained under sustained attack. For hours these men fought for their lives against the enemy onslaught.
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In 1942, America's deadliest fighter pilot, or "ace of aces" - the legendary Eddie Rickenbacker - offered a bottle of bourbon to the first US fighter pilot to break his record of 26 enemy planes shot down. Seizing on the challenge to motivate his men, General George Kenney promoted what they would come to call the "race of aces" as a way of boosting the spirits of his war-weary command.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Boring, confusing storyline, some technical details wrong
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 42
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating and humanizing story
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What listeners say about Winkle
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Leonard
- 06-22-23
Well done
The story was good but Eric's inferiority complex was repetitive and took away from the story. The reference to aircraft nomenclature means nothing to the novice.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Scotcat
- 10-08-23
Terrific life story
An amazing story,well told and well narrated. Incredible that Winkle lived to a ripe old age despite all his close shaves. Thoroughly enjoyed this Audible book!
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