BOOK REVIEW | Whispering Death: The Fascinating Story of the World War II Beaufighter Squadrons

Our readers may wonder why an air force history book has been reviewed in a maritime publication. The answer is simple in the concept of “combined operations,” under which air forces and navies worked together, usually co-operatively, in war.

This interesting book comprises a collection of articles, letters, and anecdotes describing the World War II adventures involving the Royal Australian Air Force’s powerful, fast and wide-ranging aircraft, the twin-engined Bristol Beaufighters. They fought widely across northern Australia and into New Guinea before advancing to the wider South West Pacific theatre.

Two of the featured stories involved naval activity. The first was the so-called “28 minute battle”, the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, in which Beaufighters, along with other Australian and American aircraft, played an important part.