Under a Bomber's Moon

They were the best of enemies - dedicated, skilled, and deadly. In the night skies above wartime Germany, an RAF navigator-bomber from New Zealand and a Luftwaffe pilot seek out their targets, testing the gap between success and their own destruction as they cross each other's paths. The odds are heavily against either of them making it through the war, but as this sobering realisation displaces their initial exuberant adventurism, both come to see in their youthful sacrifice the survival of all they hold dear.

Under a Bomber's Moon reaches across the divide of years, geography, and nationality to tell their story largely in their own words - describing both the breathtaking clashes in the air and the camaraderie, humour, patriotism, and personal tragedies that became their war.

Stephen Harris began his journey of discovery because he wanted to know the truth of his great-uncle Colwyn Jones' fate. With Col's vividly written letters and diaries as a starting point, he set out to discover what really happened on the night Col's extraordinary luck ran out. Little did he know that his quest would lead him to a meeting with a former Luftwaffe pilot who might well have engaged with his great-uncle in the skies over Germany. Otto-Heinrich Fries proved to be both cooperative and articulate, eventually allowing Harris to tell his story in this book.

The result is a unique and personal account of two highly successful airmen from opposing sides.