The Mighty Eighth: The Air War in Europe as Told by the Men Who Fought It
by Gerald Astor
On This Page
Description
Europe has fallen. Pearl Harbor is in flames. Enter: the Eighth. In 1941 the RAF fought a desperate battle of survival against the Luftwaffe over Britain. Then, from across the Atlantic, came a new generation of American pilots, gunners, and bombardiers, a new generation of flying machines called the B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-24 Liberator, the P-47 Thunderbolt, and the P-51 Mustang fighter. Soon these brave young men were hurtling themselves and their unproven planes across the Channel and show more into the teeth of enemy firepower, raining down bombs on the German military machine, and going up against Hitler's best fliers in the sky. This is the dramatic oral history of the Army Air Corps and the newly created Eighth Air Force stationed in Britain, an army of hard-fighting, hard-playing flying men who suffered more fatalities than the entire U.S. Marine Corps in the Pacific campaign of World War II. Here, in their own words, are tales of survival and soul-numbing loss, of soldiers who came together to fight a kind of war that had never been fought before--and win it with their courage and their blood. But the road to victory was paved with sacrifice. From its inaugural mission on July 4, 1942, until V-E Day, the Eighth Air Force lost more men than did the entire United States Marine Corps in all its campaigns in the Pacific. The Mighty Eighth chronicles the testimony of the pilots, bombardiers, navigators, and gunners who daily put their lives on the line. Their harrowing accounts recall the excitement and terror of dogfights against Nazi aces, maneuvering explosive-laden aircraft through deadly flak barrages, and fending off waves of enemy fighters while coping with subzero temperatures. Beginning with the opening salvos from a mere dozen planes, crewmen describe the raids on Berlin and Dresden, the fiasco at Ploesti, Romania, and Black Thursday over Schweinfurt. They fell to the terror of seeing aircraft destroyed--helplessly watching as comrades crash and burn, or parachute over enemy territory, where they will attempt to evade enemy capture through the underground. Others tell of mourning downed airmen murdered by vengeful citizens and soldiers, and of those who endured captivity in POW camps. -- show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Very good look at the air war over Europe from the US side of things. Well written, the stories of the men themselves show the vast differences in such a massive organization. They also do not shy away from the harsh realities of the war.
Very good look at the air war over Europe from the US side of things. Well written, the stories of the men themselves show the vast differences in such a massive organization. They also do not shy away from the harsh realities of the war.
In the skies of World War II Europe, the Eighth Air Force was a defining factor in turning the tide against the Nazis. In these gripping oral histories, the sacrifice, savagery, and supremacy of the “Mighty Eighth” is described by those who experienced it...and survived it.
At the outbreak of World War II, America was woefully unprepared for a fight, though Europe was already years into the battle. Soon, though, America’s war machine was rolling out pilots, engineers, planes, and materials in astounding numbers. It was called the Eighth Air Force—and it would hit the Nazi juggernaut like a lightning bolt.
Launching a then-groundbreaking campaign of daylight bombing runs, the men of the Eighth would suffer more casualties than the show more entire Marine Corps in the Pacific campaign of WW2. show less
At the outbreak of World War II, America was woefully unprepared for a fight, though Europe was already years into the battle. Soon, though, America’s war machine was rolling out pilots, engineers, planes, and materials in astounding numbers. It was called the Eighth Air Force—and it would hit the Nazi juggernaut like a lightning bolt.
Launching a then-groundbreaking campaign of daylight bombing runs, the men of the Eighth would suffer more casualties than the show more entire Marine Corps in the Pacific campaign of WW2. show less
5696 The Mighty Eighth The Air War in Europe as Told by the Men Who Fought It, by Gerald Astor (read 21 Jun 2020) This is an account of the 8th Air Force, which was the American air. outfit in Europe in World War II.. The story is told by setting out the accounts of participants--often exciting and I thought "could I have done it" and concluded :"probably not".
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
24 Works 1,440 Members
Gerald Astor, a former magazine editor and writer, has published twenty previous books
Common Knowledge
- Important places
- Europe
- Important events
- World War II (1939 | 1945)
Classifications
- Genres
- History, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir
- DDC/MDS
- 940.5421 — History & geography History of Europe History of Europe 1918- Military history of World War II Campaigns and battles by theatre European theatre
- LCC
- D790 .A97 — History of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania History (General) World War II (1939-1945)
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 196
- Popularity
- 166,484
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (4.08)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 5
