Whispering Death

About the Book

Lee Heide's wartime adventures read like fiction but they are factual, brought to life by skillful characterization and dialogue. Raised in Vancouver, he was trained as a navigator and flew overseas in a Hudson aircraft in June, 1941. In England he joined an RAF crew for training on Beaufort torpedo bombers. Sent to Malta, he survived a year of the blitz on that island, with heavy losses to his squadron. Upon converting to Beaufighters he was twice posted as missing. The first time, he and his pilot were washed ashore, after five days in a dinghy, on enemy-held Elba whence they escaped by boat to Corsica. The second time his aircraft was shot up in the Aegean and forced to land in Turkey where he was interned. A meticulous recorder, Heide's descriptions of places and events in the Middle East are informative and entertaining. The title Whispering Death was the name given by the Germans to the Beaufighter--one of the outstanding attack aircraft of the war. Readers will not lightly put down this autobiography.

About the Author

Lee Heide was trained in Canada as a navigator and flew overseas with Ferry Command in June, 1941. In England he was assigned to a Beaufort OTU and, with an RAF crew, trained on torpedo operations. Sent to the Middle East, the crew went by boat to Nigeria, their aircraft crated in the hold, and then flew across the heart of Africa, down the Nile River from Khartoum to Cairo, and thence to Malta. Heide survived the blitz on Malta for a year with heavy losses to his squadron. Converting to Beaufighters near Tunis, he and his pilot were shot down and forced to ditch near Elba. After five days afloat they landed on Elba, evaded German patrols and escaped to Corsica. After a rest on Cyprus, Heide returned to operations and was again shot down, this time to be interned in Turkey. He was awarded the DFC by King George VI at Buckingham Palace in 1945.

Also by Lee Heide:
Life Ain't Over Yet
Terrorist Cove