Chaz Bowyer

Raymond "Chaz" Bowyer (29 September 1926 – 18 June 2008) was a Royal Air Force armaments and explosives instructor who, after he retired from service, wrote and edited over forty books relating to the operations, aircraft, and men of the Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force, and Royal Naval Air Service. He also edited for publication the memoirs of the pilots C.P.O. Bartlett, Eric Crundall, and Gwilym H. Lewis.

Early life and family Chaz Bowyer was born in Weymouth, Dorset, on 29 September 1926, A heavy smoker, Bowyer gave up cigarettes for small cigars after a heart attack. He served for 26 years, became an instructor in explosives and armaments, and was stationed in Egypt, Libya, Palestine, Singapore, and Aden. On his first posting overseas, somewhere in north Africa, he was told to dig a hole in the sand and improvise a tent over it. He often remarked, "If you can't take a joke you shouldn't have joined". a unit in which Bowyer served,

He wrote nine titles for Ian Allan's At War series describing the operational career of various British Second World War aircraft. For a time he was the editor of the journal of the Cross and Cockade International society devoted to the history of aviation during the First World War.

Selected publications 1970s The Flying Elephants: A History of No.27 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps-Royal Air Force, 1915–69. Macdonald and Co., London, 1972. Adventures in the Air. Macmillan, London, 1973. (Juvenile, 4 parts) Airmen of World War I: Men of the British and Empire Air Forces in Old Photographs. Arms & Armour Press, London, 1975. Hampden Special. Ian Allan, London, 1976. History of the RAF. Hamlyn, London, 1977. Sopwith Camel: King of Combat. Glasney Press, 1978. Guns in the Sky: The Air Gunners Of World War Two. Dent, London, 1979.

1980s Supermarine Spitfire. Arms and Armour/Bison, 1980. Air War Over Europe: 1939–1945. William Kimber, London, 1981. The Age of the Biplane. Hamlyn/Bison, London, 1981. Fighter Command 1936–1968. Dent, London, 1981. Surviving World War II Aircraft. Batsford, London, 1981. The Encyclopedia of British Military Aircraft. Arms and Armour Press, London, 1982. Images of Air War, 1939–45. Batsford, London, 1983. 0713437847 Bristol Blenheim. Ian Allan, 1984. Mosquito Squadrons of the Royal Air Force. Ian Allan, 1984. Bristol F2B Fighter: King of Two-Seaters. Ian Allan, 1985. Gloster Meteor. Ian Allan, 1985. (Postwar Military Aircraft: 2) Tales from the Bombers. William Kimber, London, 1985. The Wellington Bomber. William Kimber, London, 1986. Beaufighter. William Kimber, London, 1987. Royal Air Force Operations, 1918–38. William Kimber, London, 1988. The Short Sunderland. Aston Publications, 1989.

1990s Handley Page Bombers of the First World War. Aston Publications, Bourne End, 1992. Halifax & Wellington. Haynes, 1995. (With Brian J. Rapier) Royal Air Force, Calshot, 1913–1961. Frank Smith Maritime Aviation Books, 1997.

At War series (All published by Ian Allan, London & Weybridge.) Mosquito at War, 1973. Beaufighter at War, 1976. Sunderland at War. Ian Allan, 1976. Coastal Command at War, 1979. Path Finders at War, 1979. Bomber Group at War. Ian Allan, 1981. Desert Air Force at War, 1981. (With Christopher F. Shores) Wellington at War, 1982. Hurricane at War. Ian Allan, 1985.

Biographical Albert Ball, VC. William Kimber, London, 1977. For Valour: The Air V.C.s. William Kimber, London, 1978. Bomber Barons. William Kimber, London, 1983. Eugene Esmonde, V.C., D.S.O. William Kimber, London, 1983. Fighter Pilots of the RAF 1939–1945. William Kimber, London, 1984. Men of the Desert Air Force, 1940–1943. William Kimber, London, 1984. Men of Coastal Command, 1939–45. William Kimber, London, 1985.

Edited works Bartlett, C.P.O. Bomber Pilot, 1916–1918. Edited by Chaz Bowyer. Ian Allan, London, 1974. Crundall, E.D. Fighter Pilot on the Western Front. William Kimber, London, 1975. (Uncredited) Lewis, G.H. Wings over the Somme, 1916 1918. William Kimber, London, 1976. Van Ishoven, Armand. The Fall of an Eagle: The Life of Fighter Ace Ernst Udet. William Kimber, London, 1979. Royal Air Force Handbook 1939–1945. Ian Allan, London, 1984. Gibson, Guy. Enemy Coast Ahead. Bridge Books, Wrexham, 1995. (Editor and introduction) Royal Flying Corps Communiques: 1917–1918. Grub Street, London, 1998.