Flight Lieutenant Tom Dempsey enjoyed flying his Spitfire. A peerless dog-fighter, it was also measured and reliable — just like him. On the other hand, Flight Lieutenant Rusty Clark — pilot of a sleek new Gloster Meteor, the RAF’s first operational combat jet fighter — thought the Spit belonged in the past. He and Tom were soon at loggerheads
Their personal rivalry had to be put to one side, though, when a new enemy to be reckoned with burned into the skies over Europe — the Luftwaffe’s Messerschmitt Me262 jet. Could the Spits and the Meteors work together to defeat this deadly threat?
Story: Steve Taylor
Art: Morahin
Cover: Ian Kennedy
Just say the word “Salerno” to a British soldier — and watch his eyes. You’ll see a sudden pride shine in them…for Salerno was the blood bath of the invasion of Italy, a bullet-torn beach-head that made every man who even landed on it a hero.
Here is their glorious story.
Introduction
Like the decade in which it was conceived, this story from the Sixties certainly swings along. In places it crackles forward with high-speed action then it swings right back to a walking pace. That that is very much the experience of men at war is undeniable and underlines that the first Commando creators had first-hand experience of conflict.
Alonso’s black and white work is more suited to the breakneck speed of the action scenes but he accomplishes himself well elsewhere with face bang full of character. Ken Barr’s brooding cover is simply classic 60s fare.
So, save yourself the cost of a Tardis and travel back in time with us. Read on.
Calum Laird, Commando Editor
Story: Bingley
Art: Alonso
Cover: Ken Barr
Originally Commando No 71 (April 1963), re-issued as No 555 (June 1971)
For crewmen like Second Mate Alan Jones the Merchant Navy convoys to the USSR are nerve-shredding voyages. Their every moment is filled with the realisation that, without any warning, a deadly attack can come from the skies, the sea…or beneath the icy, grey waves.
And when their convoy does come under attack from a U-Boat commanded by a fanatical Nazi, the searing flames of war scorch the ice of the frozen North Atlantic. And sometimes, even Allies can’t be trusted…
Story: Mac MacDonald
Art: Keith Page
Cover: Keith Page
When parachutists are going to land in enemy territory they depend on the skill of the RAF pilot, for he is the one who gets the paras to their drop-zone through flak and bad weather. Nigel Reeve reckoned the RAF were a good bunch of blokes…until the day of the terrible accident when they wiped out half his men!
Introduction
One of the great things about fiction of any kind is the way we can vicariously experience things through the characters’ eyes. As a young Commando reader, I used to imagine what it might be like to wade through a humid jungle, swelter in the heat haze of the desert or, as in this case, jump out of a Dakota and plummet thousands of feet into enemy territory! Jeff Bevan’s vertigo-inducing cover certainly drops you straight into the heart of the action, I hope you agree.
Scott Montgomery, Deputy Editor
Story: Allan Chalmers
Art: Blasco
Cover: Jeff Bevan
Originally Commando No 2175 (April 1988), re-issued as No 3657 (September 2003)
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