Bomber

Bomber (1970) by Len Deighton

Subtitle: Events relating to the last flight of a RAF bomber over Germany on the night of June 31, 1943

Excellent novel, note the fictional date.

Tells the story from multiple viewpoints: British bomber crews, German nightfighter crews, German rescue crews, and German civilians. Emphasis on dialogue and character development.

Due to technical failures and the fog of war, a sleepy little village is mistakenly attacked instead of the planned military target. British bombers are lost to antiaircraft fire and fighter aircraft. One British bomber is mistakenly destroyed by a British fighter as it returns to Britain after the mission. One German fighter is mistakenly destroyed by a German antiaircraft ship. German rescue personnel are killed while trying to rescue trapped civilians.

One German pilot is arrested and executed by the Gestapo because he tried to expose criminal Nazi experiments on humans.

Relates the chaos and horror of war. A large number of brave people died, but that is what war is.