The Shepherd - a short novel by Frederick Forsyth
Ranked #889 in Books, Poetry & Writing, #40,252 overall
The Shepherd - a Christmas aviation story
The Shepherd focuses on the tale of a de Havilland Vampire which loses its electrics over the North Sea on Christmas Eve and is eventually guided in by an unlikely rescuer, a Mosquito flying through the same area in thick fog.
The story name comes from the "Shepherd", an aeroplane sent up to find and guide crippled aircraft to safety.
The Shepherd
"The Shepherd" a short story by Frederick Forsyth
A short story, it is told from the point of view of a de Havilland Vampire pilot. Flying home from Germany on Christmas Eve, he loses his electrics over the North Sea. Emergency procedures prove useless, and when the fog rolls in he is unable to land. The final recourse is to turn triangles over the North Sea, hoping that someone in a control tower will spot him on radar and send up a shepherd to guide him in.
When his shepherd arrives, turning below him over the sea, he finds it is the most unlikely of aircraft, a de Havilland Mosquito flying through the same area in thick fog.
Set in the fifties when the last Mosquitos were flying and the de Havilland twin boom fighters such as the Vampire were replacing it, the Shepherd focuses on both aircraft and pilots in detail. Frederick Forsyth had actually flown de Havilland Vampires, and used his own experience to write the story.
The Shepherd
Amazon Price: $120.18 (as of 05/28/2012)
Used Price: $0.01
This story is one of the best Christmas stories I am aware of. Suitable for all readers, not just Aviation fans, this story thoroughly deserves its five star rating.
Originally written as a short story, it was bolstered to novel length by the addition of sketches of the aircraft, that brilliantly evoke the atmosphere of the tale.
The Aircraft
Videos of the De havilland Mosquito and Vampire
The two aircraft that feature prominently in the book are both from de Havilland. The Mosquito is the famous World War Two bomber (fighter, pathhfinder and a range of other duties). The Vampire is the cold war jet fighter that was one of its successors.
Aircraft
Mosquito
Vampire
Type:
Bomber
Fighter
Crew:
2
1
Max Speed:
370mph
548mph
Service Ceiling:
34,000 feet
44,000 feet
Range:
1,600 miles
1220 miles
Engines:
2 x Merlin engines
1 Goblin turbojet
Length:
41 ft 2 inches
30 ft 9inches
Wingspan:
54 ft 2 inches
38 ft
Height:
17 ft 5 inches
8ft 10 inches
Weight:
20,000lbs loaded
12,400lbs
To help compare the two aircraft, here are some videos of them in flight.
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Alternate formats
"The Shepherd" as an audio book
The Shepherd
Amazon Price: $9.50 (as of 05/28/2012)
Used Price: $13.16
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de Havilland Mosquito
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Other lenses by this author
For more thrillers featuring aircraft, please see my lens about Gavin Lyall's flight books, four first person thrillers focusing on aviation.
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My father read this to me at Christmas when I was younger, and it became a valued part of my childhood memories (You can probably blame it in part for the number of aviation lenses I've created!).
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BevsPaper
Jul 16, 2009 @ 7:00 am | delete
- Quite interesting!
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The Shepherd
A novella by Frederick Forsyth
The Shepherd
Amazon Price: $120.20 (as of 05/27/2012)
An RAF Vampire lost over the North Sea on Christmas Eve 1954 finds the most unlikely rescuer
The Shepherd audio book
The Shepherd
Amazon Price: $9.50 (as of 05/28/2012)
Arrival by VH Folland
A free e-book
