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Title details for The Mighty Eighth by Gerald Astor - Available

The Mighty Eighth

The Air War in Europe as Told by the Men Who Fought It

by Gerald Astor
Kaleo Griffith
Audiobook
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2 of 2 copies available
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 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. —>

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    October 10, 2017

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780525527145
      • File size: 668008 KB
      • Duration: 23:11:40

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from June 2, 1997
      In the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Army Air Corps created the Eighth Air Force as a major component in the Allied defense of Europe. Based out of England, pilots of the Mighty Eighth flew hair-raising daylight missions that came under heavy attack from German forces. By the end of the war, 350,000 airmen had served with the Eighth; 26,000 died. For this expert history, Astor (June 6, 1944, etc.), himself a WWII combat veteran, has tracked down over 80 former pilots and crew members, and has incorporated their stories into a detailed chronicle of the air war in Europe. The first-person testimony of these courageous men is invaluable in terms of understanding both the process of protracted war and its effect on the human spirit. Their anecdotes are fascinating. One pilot describes his dramatic struggle to think clearly while flying under the deadly influence of oxygen deprivation. Another recounts how, as a POW, he was hauled before a firing squad, then inexplicably allowed to live. Excelling in weaving these stories into a broader analysis of the Eighth's role in the air war with Germany, Astor demonstrates once again that he's one of the most accomplished oral historians at work today. Photos not seen by PW.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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