Good FLYING Reads: Red Burning Sky

A novel reveals the story about a little-known C-47 rescue operation during World War II in Yugoslavia.

Thursday, June 30, 2022 at 12:13 PM ET

Verified

Tom Young gets ready in the only warbird he’s ever flown—a T-34 Mentor at the Quantico Flying Club in the 1990s. [Courtesy: Tom Young]

Key Takeaways:

Tom Young's novel, "Red Burning Sky," accurately depicts Operation Halyard, a secret WWII airlift rescuing hundreds of Allied airmen from Yugoslavia, lauded for its operational realism.
Young conducted thorough research, including studying WWII C-47 training films, interviewing C-47 pilots, and consulting historical resources like "The Forgotten 500" and the Halyard Mission Foundation.
He identified most with the character Vasa, a teenage guerrilla inspired by his former professor, who fought in WWII Yugoslavia.
Young's next project will focus on another WWII narrative, exploring the French Resistance and British Royal Air Force air operations that supported them.

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It’s a stunning story. A disparate collection of 100—no, 300—no 500 downed airmen hidden in and around a town in rural Yugoslavia during the ragged last year of World War II are rescued by secret airlift. And for the bravery and courage of both the local Serbian people and the pilots and crew that flew in to airlift the Allied soldiers out, there were no medals, no recognition until many years later.

Tom Young’s Red Burning Sky kept me engaged—and didn’t hit any off notes as far as aircraft operations, a nod to his thorough research.