Wings of Destiny

Wings of Destiny fills a significant gap in Australian World War II history by taking the reader beyond the Kokoda trail and into the skies over New Guinea. The book is a biography of Wing Commander Charles Learmonth. Learmonth was involved in the air search for the HMAS Sydney, the air war in New Guinea, the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, and the tragedy of the Beaufort bomber accidents. Author Charles Page takes the reader with Learmonth in his twin-engined Boston attack bomber, She's Apples, describing the brave deeds of No.22 Squadron and its 'Boston Boys.' As well as being a famous pilot, Learmonth was an incurable romantic, and from his tent in New Guinea he wrote to his wife Marjorie almost every day. These letters, combined with his diaries and log book, form the basis of much of this book.