BUCKHAM'S BOMBERS

Bruce Buckham was captain of one of the finest Lancaster crews in World War II. The Australians were famous for their exploits in the air and infamous for their hijinks on the ground.

Buckham's crew flew night after night against heavily-defended targets in Germany - including during the Battle of Berlin, the bloodiest campaign of the war for Australians.

But their biggest and most dangerous operation was yet to come. The greatest battleship ever built and the pride of Hitler's fleet lay in a remote fjord in Norway's far north. Time and again, Tirpitz had evaded her hunters while continuing to threaten vital Arctic convoys, and by late 1944 her destruction was a top priority for Churchill. Buckham's crew was hand-picked because of their exceptional skills and bravery for the dramatic raids that finally sank 'The Beast'.

In this gripping account, journalist Mark Baker tells for the first time the full story of one of Australia's most highly decorated World War II pilots and his crew, drawing on extensive interviews with Buckham himself.