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In September 1944 an Allied fighter pilot, Bill Maloney, force-lands his damaged Hawker Tempest aircraft deep inside hostile territory. He survives but minutes later his life is brutally ended.
Ten months on and the Allied forces occupying Hitler's defeated Fatherland have to re-establish order from chaos and ruin. Deemed essential is the bringing to justice of those who perpetrated war atrocities, to 'pursue them to the uttermost ends of the earth' and 'deliver them to their accusers in order that justice may be done'. In July 1945 Allied war crimes investigators exhume the body of an airman. The visible and ghastly damage suggests foul play. Identification proves problematic and an investigation opens to piece together the last moments of the pilot's life. What was the cause of death? Who was responsible? Was it a war crime?
Flightpath to Murder relates the comprehensive investigation surrounding the murder using testimony from those involved and the investigating officers, and from official documentation. Steve Darlow tells the pilot's story, beginning in a distant country, through to the fateful day; and the stories of the men held accountable for the killing. He asks what turned them into killers and why a man, described as 'a tender father who as a good Christian disliked every violent action', became a killer in cold blood? Flightpath to Murder records the hitherto untold story of a journey to barbarism and the terrible consequences that befall individuals who venture along that path. It opens an important new chapter in the telling of the 1939-45 air war and its effect on individual lives.
Steve Darlow is the author of Lancaster Down!, Sledgehammers for Tintacks, Victory Fighters, D-Day Bombers, Five of the Few, Five of the Many, and Special Op: Bomber. He has also enjoyed a distinguished national league basketball career culminating in 16 England caps. He is now a full-time aviation historian and writer and lives in Hertfordshire.
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