Silver Wings, Iron Cross

Written by Tom Young

Narrated by Kaleo Griffith

From air combat veteran Tom Young comes the explosive saga of two enemy combatants—an American pilot and German U-boat officer —united by fate in an epic fight for survival . . .

World War II Lieutenant Karl Hagan earned his wings the hard way. But when his plane is shot down behind enemy lines, he’s forced to make the hardest decision of his life: trusting the enemy.

Oberleutnant Wilhelm Albrecht wore his Iron Cross with pride. But when his U-boat is attacked in a devastating air raid, he abandons ship and finds an unlikely ally: the pilot who bombed him.

From the smoke-filled skies over Europe to the fire-blasted waters of a Nazi naval base to the battle-scarred German countryside, the American and the German must form an uneasy truce if they hope to survive. It is November of 1944. The tides of war have turned. Allies have taken back France, and German troops have retreated. But for Karl and Wilhelm, the war is far from over. Each must be prepared to lie for the other, fight for the other, or die with the other. But their short-lived alliance won’t truly be put to the test until they reach the end of the line—inside a POW camp . . .

Thrillingly tense, blisteringly authentic, and emotionally powerful, Silver Wings, Iron Cross is an unforgettable novel of World War II that’s sure to become a classic in the field.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781980082118

Tom Young

Tom Young is Chairman of Knoco Ltd. Prior to that Tom was founding member and Principal Coach of BPs Knowledge Management Team and Virtual Teamworking project. His understanding of cultures and industries and how to successfully interact with them, allows him to be equally at home in the Asia Pacific as in Wall Street.

Reviews for Silver Wings, Iron Cross

[anniemod · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

In the twilight days of WWII in the autumn of 1944, two men from German families, Karl Hagan and Wilhelm Albrecht, are really tired from the war. Karl is a pilot in the US Air Force, based in UK and bombing Germany across the Channel -- his family fled Germany post WWI. Wilhelm is the executive officer on one of the German U-boats which terrorized the Atlantic throughout the war. When the novel opens, Karl is about to fly his last mission before he is sent back home for good (after 35 missions, you get to go home and away from danger) and Wilhelm is dealing with his crippled submarine - by that time the U-boats are not as invincible as earlier in the war, partially because of their communication being compromised and partially because they are getting old and tired. Both men end up in Bremen - the planes target the city, the submarine finally crawls back home after its disaster. Unfortunately for Wilhelm, the two things happen at the same time. And just to make things worse, the submarine crew gets a suicide order - once they are repaired so they can leave, they are to destroy a ship by ramming it - thus destroying themselves. So when the bombs start falling, Wilhelm deserts - they would not send the boat out with no XO so he even convinces himself it is for his crew. Before long Karl is also on the ground after his plane get shot down - and the real story can begin. The two men cannot be more different on the surface but when they meet, they realize that they can help each other - and off they go, trying to leave Germany behind and reach the Allied forces. And in a somewhat ironic way, the German is actually in more danger than the US pilot - Goering had ordered all downed airmen to be sent to camps and left alive; deserters are getting killed almost instantly. So while the two men walk through the country side, seeing the devastation brought by the war, they come up with a plan - the German will pretend to be Karl's navigator. And the plan actually works - both end up in a camp for captured airmen. Young leaves the end almost incomplete - both men are going home but we never see them getting home - he decides against an epilogue but he adds an author note about he would like to think happens next which is basically the same thing. The description of the devastated Germany and the camp (nowhere as horrific as the other camps but still not a summer camp) are well done. So are all the technical details (as usual). The pacing of the novel never falters but it also is too ordered - Wilhelm leaves the German Navy and sees both a killed deserter and Jewish prisoners within hours for the first time (there is probably a way to read this either as a commentary on how bad the things were going thus making both common things or as him seeing for the first time things that had always been there and ignored). It almost feels like adding too much detail where just a note would have been enough. It is part of allowing the German to change and turn into the man at the end of the novel but too many good things do not make a great thing. It is a competent novel - it does not have the sparkle of Young's thrillers even if his distinctive and very technical style is suited to it - he is a retired flight engineer and he knows his planes. He alternates the point of view between his two characters but even then there is a bit too much dumping of information in places. It adds to the novel but I wish he had found a better way to incorporate the memories... I am glad that I read it but I hope he decides to go back to thrillers in the now and here. On a separate note: despite the seriousness of the novel, the parts in the camp made me think of the British comedic series 'Allo 'Allo! (and the episodes in the airmen camp in it) - some of the descriptions matched enough so despite the differences, my mind kept going there. Not because anything was funny in the story - but things were just lining up way too perfectly. Once that connection was made up in my mind, dissociating it was impossible...