Pathfinders by Cecil Lewis

Over the course of one night in 1942, the crew members of Wellington bomber 'P for Pathfinder' each reflect on the paths of their own lives, as they embark on a fateful mission deep into the heart of Nazi Germany.
Cecil Lewis' novel examines the life of every man in turn, rendering a moving account of each as not merely a nameless crew member, but as an individual with a life lived, 'a life precious to some, or one. these men with dreams and hopes and plans of things to come'.