About The Author
David C. Forward is an award-winning author, veteran journalist, international keynote speaker, and lifelong student of World War II history. Over a career spanning more than two decades, Forward has authored more than twenty books and 500 magazine articles as an aviation journalist, a role that took him to air bases, aircraft factories, and military installations around the world. His work has earned him two national awards from the Independent Publishers Association for excellence in nonfiction writing.
A highly respected professional speaker, Forward has delivered motivational keynotes to audiences ranging from intimate groups to 18,000 attendees across more than twenty countries. He is also widely known in the Rotary International community, where he served as a district governor and spoke at several Rotary International Conventions.
Born and educated in England, Forward grew up immersed in Britain’s wartime legacy. Now living in southern New Jersey, he holds a pilot's license and has spent decades studying twentieth-century aviation and military history. His passion for World War II research led him to conduct years of investigation into Operation Chariot, including the study of once-classified British and German war records, Admiralty planning files, naval war diaries, and rare eyewitness interviews with British participants and French civilians who aided escaping commandos.
Into the Jaws of Death is the result of this extensive research the dramatic, meticulously documented account of the raid on Saint-Nazaire, one of the most daring and consequential special operations of the Second World War.
Research and Background
Ramming’s research for Into the Jaws of Death draws on an extensive range of archival sources, including British Combined Operations files, Admiralty planning documents, Royal Navy after-action reports, and war diaries housed in the Imperial War Museum. He has examined newly declassified material from the National Archives, along with German High Command (OKW/SKL) logs, harbor-defense reports, and Luftwaffe coastal-sector entries. His work also incorporates firsthand testimonies and accounts from French civilians who witnessed the raid and assisted escaping Commandos.
Why He Writes
Ramming writes to bring clarity to moments of history that are often mentioned but rarely explained in full. His work aims to connect strategic decisions with the lived experience of the men and civilians who carried them out. He believes that operations like the Saint-Nazaire raid deserve careful, modern retelling not only for their military importance, but for the human courage and cost behind them.
A Personal Note
Ramming believes that the stories of the Saint-Nazaire raiders and the civilians around them matter not only as military history, but as reminders of the choices ordinary people faced under extraordinary pressure. His goal is to preserve these accounts with clarity and respect, ensuring the events and the individuals behind them remain accessible to modern readers.
Selected moments from talks and presentations related to historical research and military history.
Read the Research Behind the Story
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Read the Research Behind the Story *
Bullet List Of Credentials
Manuscript Status (Bullet “Fact Sheet”)
Title: Into the Jaws of Death: Operation Chariot and the Raid that Saved Britain
Author: David C. Forward
Genre: Narrative Nonfiction / Military History / World War II
· Word Count: 71,000.
· Status: Manuscript is complete and available for immediate review
· Full source notes: Available
· Primary Setting: Saint-Nazaire, France; the Loire estuary; Britain and occupied France, 1940–1945
· Key Figures: Winston Churchill, Lord Louis Mountbatten, Lt.-Col. Charles Newman, Commander Robert Ryder, HMS Campbeltown’s crew, German port commander Kapitän Mecke, French civilians who aided escapees
· Core Focus: Operation Chariot’s planning, execution, German and Allied perspectives, and the strategic consequences for the Battle of the Atlantic
Supplementary Materials Available
Archival photographs from Imperial War Museum collection
German reconnaissance photographs of Saint-Nazaire port
Maps showing approach routes and target locations
Diagrams of HMS Campbeltown's explosive modifications
Period photographs of key personnel
Contemporary images of the Normandie Dock site
Status: Author has commissioned some items. Others are available for licensing]
Target Audience
· Readers of narrative WWII history (e.g., Antony Beevor, Ben Macintyre, James Holland)
· Fans of naval, commando and special-operations history
· Book clubs interested in courage, sacrifice, and leadership under pressure
· Viewers of series such as SAS: Rogue Heroes and Band of Brothers who want the real stories behind similar operations
Comparable Titles
· C.E. Lucas Phillips — The Greatest Raid of All (1958): The authoritative account for six decades, now dated and out of print. Into the Jaws of Death provides a modern narrative incorporating 65 years of newly available archival material.
· Giles Whittell — The Greatest Raid (2012): A well-researched account that brings Operation Chariot to general readers. Into the Jaws of Death builds on Whittell's accessible approach while incorporating a decade of additional archival releases and expanded French civilian perspectives unavailable at the time of his writing.
· James Dorrian — Storming St. Nazaire (1998): Thorough but academic in tone. Into the Jaws of Death offers more accessible narrative storytelling while maintaining scholarly rigor.
· Ben Macintyre — SAS: Rogue Heroes: Demonstrates sustained commercial appetite for WWII special operations narratives. Into the Jaws of Death targets the same readership with an equally compelling but less-known operation.
· Antony Beevor — D-Day and Giles Whittell — Spitfire: Exemplify the narrative military history style that combines meticulous research with cinematic pacing—the model for Into the Jaws of Death.
Market Positioning: Into the Jaws of Death fills a significant gap. Operation Chariot has proven audience appeal—Channel 4's documentary about the raid drew top ratings in 2007, and the program has since accumulated 7.6 million YouTube views despite never airing outside the UK. Yet no modern, comprehensive narrative treatment exists that incorporates the wealth of archival material declassified over the past decade. The book targets the demonstrated market for accessible, rigorously researched WWII special operations narratives while offering fresh perspectives unavailable in earlier works
If the question is, “Is there an interest in what has been called “The Greatest Raid” of World War II, 7.6 million people have already answered, “Yes.”
Possible Interview / Public Speaking Audience Topics
Why Churchill called Operation Chariot “the greatest raid of all”
Examples of how ordinary people can commit extraordinary acts of heroism when they connect to a cause
The role of Commonwealth volunteers—Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand—in the raid
The French civilians who risked execution to help British escapees
How Operation Chariot shaped the Battle of the Atlantic and the fate of Tirpitz