The Hurricats by Ralph Barker

The story of the catapult-launched Hurricanes carried on merchant ships as a defence against the Focke-Wulf 200 Condor. A stop-gap measure until the introduction of the escort carrier.

In a period of just over two years the Camships had undertaken 175 voyages, averaging 3 000 miles per voyage. Of the total of 35 ships, twelve had been lost to enemy action. There were eight operational launchings, and although enemy aircraft were claimed to have been shot down after only six of them, none of them could be called abortive. The notion of a suicidal, one-way-ticket mission, however, proved false. Although there were several narrow escapes, only one pilot, John Kendal, was lost after an operational launching [when his parachute failed to open].