Misfit Squadron

The Second Great War is going poorly for the Kingdom of Britain - the British Isles are under siege and the only thing standing between the all-conquering Prussian army and victory is a thin strip of blue water and the gallant men and women of the Royal Aviator Corps. 

Aviator Sergeant Gwen Stone is one of those women, but almost as soon as she begins her fight against the Prussian air force, Die Fliegertruppe, she is stripped of her wings and imprisoned in disgrace for illegally modifying her aircraft. 

As the battle over the skies of Britain progresses and it looks like the Prussians are going to be as dominant in the air as they were on the fields of the continent, the hopes of the beleaguered nation come to rest firmly on the shoulders of Misfit Squadron, an elite group of pilots who don’t always pay strict attention to military discipline, and Gwen is given a chance to redeem herself by joining them.

After their resounding victory in the skies of Southern England it seems that the Royal Aviation Corps finally has a chance to lick its wounds and rebuild. However, the Prussian Empire’s war machine is unrelenting and, having been turned back from the shores of the British Isles, it turns its hungry gaze eastwards towards Russia.

Unwilling to let another friendly power be swallowed by the tide of tyranny that has swept its way mercilessly across Europe, King George VI sends aid in the form of his most effective weapon - Misfit Squadron.

With the weather in the Arctic Circle rendering flying and fighting impossible, the Misfits leave Muscovy and head home, looking forward to a quiet Midwinter. The Prussians, however, have other ideas.

With his job in Muscovy almost done, all Aviator Lieutenant Drake wants to do is go home to good old England, taking the love of his life, Gwen Stone, a pilot of Misfit Squadron, with him.

Unfortunately there are several things preventing that, including a glory-hungry Muscovite flight leader, the small matter of the Crimson Barons, and the trivial question of whether she actually feels the same way about him...

The islands of Malta lay squarely across the main shipping lanes supplying the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa, crucial to the interests of both the British and the Prussians. When the British receive intelligence that the Prussians are going to escalate the aerial attack on Malta, the War Ministry sends Misfit Squadron to reinforce the defences.

Isolated, outnumbered and desperately short on supplies, the Misfits are nonetheless ordered to hold the islands at all cost.

Just how high will that cost be, though?

Why did Abby choose someone as straight-laced as Chastity Arrowsmith to join the Misfits?

Will Kitty be taken prisoner by the Prussians after having been left behind on Malta?

Why is Tanya so good at everything?

The answer to these questions and more in this compilation of short stories, which forms the sixth part of the Misfit Squadron series.

The fight for Malta has left the Misfits broken and battered and they are on their way home with their tails between their legs. Things go from bad to worse, though, when their journey is interrupted before they can even get out of the Mediterranean.

Their defeat in Malta has given the War Minister all the ammunition he needs to disband the Misfits. However, while the squadron might be no more, the king has done everything he can to make sure the pilots are taken care of and that their talents, and lives, are not squandered. While that means that most of them have been given posts they are well suited for, the king has made the surprising decision to send Gwen and Kitty on a secret and vital mission - to find the help that Britain so desperately needs.

Malta, Cyprus and Greece have fallen, Egypt is under siege and Gibraltar is hanging on by a thread. There are Prussian forces massing across the English channel in preparation for an invasion and no help is coming because Muscovy has its own problems and America has signed a non-aggression pact with Prussia.

It seems that the end is fast approaching for the Kingdom of Great Britain and her people do not even have Misfit Squadron to look to, as, just when they are needed the most, they have been disbanded by the Minister for War.

However, as the saying goes, “where there’s a will there’s a way”, and some people have not yet lost hope.

"The Home Front" is a compilation of short and not so short stories. It rounds off the first phase of the series.

Many young men and women join the Royal Aviator Corps dreaming of one day being fighter pilots and Britain needs as many of them in the cockpits of Spitsteams and Harridans as it can get. It takes hard work, dedication and not a little talent to become a fighter pilot, though, and many don’t make the grade.

The intake of recruits from the Midlands in July 1941 is disappointingly small, with only eight cadets joining up and only six of them wanting to be pilots. Will any of them prove that they have what it takes to form part of the front line of defence of the Kingdom of Great Britain against the imminent Prussian invasion?

Taking to the Skies is the tenth in the Misfit Squadron series, but is the first that can be read as a standalone novel. It is also suitable for younger audiences.