Gregory Fremont-Barnes examines the lives of the American Bomber Crewmen of the Eighth Air Force, 'The Mighty Eighth', who manned, maintained and repaired the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and the B-24 Liberators that flew from the airfields of England. He highlights the physical and psychological strain placed on these men, who required brute strength to control the aircraft on long bombing missions and extraordinary endurance to fly for hours at 20,000 feet at temperatures below freezing in unpressurised cabins. In addition to this, with Luftwaffe fighters and anti-aircraft fire to contend with, it required incredible skill and some luck to return from a mission unscathed. This book is a fitting tribute to these often uncelebrated heroes who took the war deep into the Third Reich, as well as a fascinating historical account of their experiences.
| ISBN: | 9781846031250 |
| Publication date: | 5th March 2008 |
| Author: | Gregory FremontBarnes |
| Illustrator: | Seán Illustrator ÓBrógáin |
| Publisher: | Osprey Publishing an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 64 pages |
| Series: | Warrior |
| Genres: |
History of the Americas Second World War Modern warfare Air forces and warfare |