The History Book Club discussion

This is a thread dedicated to the discussion of Airplanes and Air Battles of World War II.

This thread was requested by member Aussie Rick.

Excellent, thank you Bentley now where to start :)

OK, one of my favourite books covering WW2 aviation has to be "First Light" by Geoffrey Wellum.

by Geoffrey Wellum
Description:
Geoffrey Wellum was one of Churchill’s "few," the gallant pilots of the RAF who streaked through the skies to repel the massive, brutal Nazi bombing assaults that killed thousands and leveled entire cities throughout the endless months of the Battle of Britain. To a man, they were courageous, determined, and oh, so young. Geoffrey, known as Boy to his comrades, was a good deal younger than most.

In First Light, Geoffrey Wellum tells the inspiring, often terrifying true story of his coming of age amid the roaring, tumbling dogfights of the fiercest air war the world had ever seen. It is the story of an idealistic schoolboy who couldn’t believe his luck when the RAF agreed to take him on as a "pupil pilot" at the minimum age of seventeen and a half in 1939. In his fervor to fly, he gave little thought to the coming war.

Writing with wit, compassion, and a great deal of technical expertise, Wellum relives his grueling months of flight training, during which two of his classmates crashed and died. He describes a hilarious scene during his first day in the prestigious 92nd Squadron when his commander discovered that Wellum had not only never flown a Spitfire, he’d never even seen one.

Boy soon learned the golden rule of the dogfight: "Never fly straight and level for more than twenty seconds. If you do, you’ll die." Wellum’s vivid accounts of ferocious aerial combat contrast the mortal terror of an innocent teenager with the grim determination of a highly trained warrior intent on doing his job–blasting the enemy one moment, desperately trying to shake off a pursuer the next. Few writers have succeeded more completely in evoking the chaos and horror of war.

A battle–hardened ace by the winter of 1941, though still not out of his teens, Boy flew scores of missions as fighter escort on bombing missions over France. Yet the constant life–or–death stress of murderous combat and anguish over the loss of his closest friends sapped endurance. Tortured by fierce headaches, even in the midst of battle, he could not bear the thought of "not pulling your weight," of letting other pilots risk their lives in his place. Wellum’s frank account of his long, losing bout with battle fatigue is both moving and enlightening.

Filled with affectionate portraits of Boy’s fellow fliers–many of whom did not survive the war–First Light tells an unforgettable true story of patriotism and fear, pride and humility, self–sacrifice and triumph. Already a bestseller in England, this powerful and compelling memoir is destined to become a classic, not only of military history, but also of literature.

Reviews:
“An extraordinary, deeply moving and astonishingly evocative story. Reading it, you feel you are in the Spitfire with him, at 20,000 feet, chased by a German Heinkel, with your ammunition gone.” - Independent

"Wellum’s First Light deserves to be read for many years to come." - The Times
"An extraordinarily gripping and powerful story." - The Evening Standard
"A work of exceptional quality . . . a passion and immediacy which make it compelling reading." - Max Hastings, author of Overlord: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy

"A remarkable book, amazingly fresh, honest, and modest . . . utterly gripping; it is without question one of the best books I have read in the last few years." - Professor Richard Holmes, author of Redcoat: The British Soldier in the Age of Horse and Musket

"Startlingly vivid recollections . . . this is air war at its most intense . . . his readers get a strong sense of immediacy." - The Spectator
"Geoffrey Wellum’s book is a wonderfully evocative find . . . a book for all ages and generations, a treasure." - Daily Express

One of the best books covering the the Battle of Britain has to be; "The Most Dangerous Enemy" by Stephen Bungay.

by Stephen Bungay
Description:
A compelling read for the military scholar and general reader alike, this is a classic of military history. Stephen Bungay's magisterial account of the Battle of Britain questions the truth behind the myths and his investigation affords some surprising revelations about the battle for the skies. `The Most Dangerous Enemy' provides a comprehensive and thoughtful insight into one of the most important events in our country's past.

Reviews:
“The book 'breaks new ground...claims and theories are backed up by fact so that his conclusions become logical and profound, even if some are at variance to previous thinking...it is one of the best books I have read on the subject, is extremely well written and should be on the shelves of every aircraft enthusiast's library.” - The Journal of the Spitfire Society

“This is the most exhaustive and detailed account of the Battle of Britain that has yet appeared. The author has read prodigiously and produced some interesting observations on the basis of original research...it puts between two covers the gist of all there is to know and, one may suspect, remains discoverable about the Battle of Britain...this is an important achievement...for anyone coming new to the subject, this book is made to measure.” - Times Literary Supplement

“He dispels the myths and kills the clichés, but concludes that the Battle of Britain was one of humanity's finest hours...an admirable book.” - The Sunday Times

“Bungay's book adds yet another interpretation to this most famous of British battles and should not be missed. The crisis facing Britain in 1940 and the way i t was overcome, should also help to put our present crisis firmly back in perspective.” - The Glasgow Herald

“... a serious work of scholarship which sheds new light on what has become over the years a battle (or series of battles) distorted by myth and inaccuracies...n o serious bookshelf should be without a copy.” -Imprint, (the journal of the Invicta Military Vehicle Preservation Society)

This is the start of many books to come but does anyone else have some great books to recommend in this area of history?

Yes, post to your heart's content...you have made some great adds.

One of my favourite books covering RAF Bomber Command is "Luck and a Lancaster" by Harry Yates.

by Harry Yates
Description:
Proceeds, raid by raid, through the author's tour of operational duty over the last five months of 1944. It is essentially a bomber pilot's story, but it also tells of grinding operational pressure, the brotherhood of the crew, and their abiding fears of injury and death.

From the Pilot:
For a few brief months in the spring of my life I flew bombers against the defences of Germany. Partly through good training and hard work but mostly through luck, I survived. Many whom I knew were not so fortunate. But we all lived in vital and exhilarating times, the memory of which still seems too important and relevant to be lost with the passing of our generation. My book is an attempt to fix my own memories. I have tried to convey how we, as aircrew, experienced war, how we lived and how we flew. I have tried to communicate the sense of adventure and comradeship. I hope the reader will be entertained and, from time to time, amused. But most of all I hope you will come to the end of "Luck and a Lancaster" with a true and greater understanding of we who served in Bomber Command during those momentous years.

For an excellent overview of RAF Bomber Command during WW2 it would be hard to beat Max Hastings account, first published in the 1980's (I think).

by Max Hastings Sir
Description:
Bomber Command's offensive against the cities of Germany was one of the epic campaigns of the Second World War. More than 56,000 British and Commonwealth aircrew and 600,000 Germans died in the course of the RAF's attempt to win the war by bombing. The struggle began in 1939 with a few score primitive Whitleys, Hampdens and Wellingtons, and ended six years later with 1,600 Lancasters, Halifaxes and Mosquitoes razing whole cities in a single night.

Max Hastings traced the developments of area bombing using a wealth of documents, letters, diaries and interviews with key surviving witnesses. Bomber Command is his classic account of one of the most controversial struggles of the war.

Another excellent book about Bomber Command but concentrating on the Canadian effort is; "Reap the Whirlwind: The Untold Story of 6 Group, Canada's Bomber Force of World War II" by Spencer Dunmore.

by Spencer Dunmore
Review:
"We should be grateful for the open and honest style of history that is producing books such as Reap the Whirlwind, Spencer Dunmore and William Carter's stunning story of 6 Group, Canada's bomber force in the Second World War. It is a relief as well as a revelation not to have to read another romanticized "Boy's Own" version of the war.

The book derives its title from British Air Marshall "Bomber" Harris's phrase, "They sowed the wind and now they are going to reap the whirlwind," which, in turn, comes from Hosea 8:7 Harris's passion, which led him to order the bombing of civilian targets in Germany, also earned him the nickname "Butcher."

In Reap the Whirlwind we are given a glimpse of just how terrifying it was to fly thousands of pounds of bombs and fuel over hundreds of miles through enemy flak and fighters. The crews' fear was obviously justified when we consider that of the 5,700 Canadians on the bombers, almost 75 per cent of them died.

But the stories of bravery and survival are mystifying and miraculous. A frequent refrain in Reap the Whirlwind is "he was the only member of his crew to survive" when a bomber was shot down. Often, those who did survive aren't certain how they managed it -the last thing they remember was losing consciousness inside the crashing aircraft.

The seat-of the-pants aeronautical genius required of the crews when their planes were coming apart in the air from overuse, bad conditions, or enemy attack was incredible. Keeping a crippled bomber aloft was often the reason medals were awarded -and deserved. Dunmore and Carter describe these experiences in detail, and with sympathy and compassion.

The last section of the book describes 6 Group's 1990 reunion in England, attended by men who had become pharmacists, salesmen, or postmen, by men who had had whole lives to be ordinary after such extraordinary exploits. Many still dream of flying, but also recall the terror of being blown out of the sky. And many recognize their responsibility in killing civilians, but justify their actions in terms that those of us who have lived only in peacetime can only try to understand." - Martin Dowding, Books in Canada

For a few good books covering the USAAF in Europe I'd recommend the following titles:


by Gerald Astor
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 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.

Reviews:
"Astor, a journalist and narrator of popular World War II historical subjects, has combed the latest published memoirs and collected numerous oral interviews to assemble what will probably be the best eyewitness account of the daytime air raids over German-occupied Europe. Besides the usual recollections of bomber and fighter pilots, he also presents the viewpoints of the air gunners and mechanics, bombardiers, and navigators who fought alongside them. Best of all, Astor has the Ernie Pyle-like knack of presenting his subjects as distinct personalities who stay in the reader's mind. The book is intelligently organized, systematically following the Eighth from its hesitant beginnings to its climax as a combat juggernaut, all the while keeping its story in perspective with the larger picture of the European war. The result is a compelling document of the air war." - Library Journal

"Though Booklist has reviewed Astor's last few semiannual offerings, individual libraries know whether his World War II narratives circulate. As in Astor's preceding "voices of" accounts of D-Day, Okinawa, and the Bulge, his style and method remain the same. Astor stitches together about a hundred eyewitness experiences of the combat, linking them with a workmanlike narrative of the battle's course. Here he presents the saga, frequently disastrous, of American daylight bombing against Germany. However ineffective the strategic campaign was, and historians agree it had little effect until late 1944, it was rationalized as the only contribution the U.S. could immediately make to the war while mobilization revved up. Thus, the first part of Astor's story is a pathetic one of small numbers of B-17s facing long odds of survival against flak and swarms of ME-109s, phasing into a more successful period as fighters arrived to protect the bombers. Riveting vignettes of dogfights and destruction for active World War II collections." - Booklist

"The history of the celebrated Eighth Air Force in WW II, by one of the leading chroniclers of that war Astor (Crisis in the Pacific, 1996, etc.) writes of the US/British agreement on the need for strategic bombing to destroy the war-making power of Nazi Germany as a prelude to a massive frontal assault by Allied troops on Fortress Europe. The US was to use precision bombing in daytime (to spare civilians) while the RAF would do ``area bombing'' at night. The Eighth, set up in England by generals Arnold, Spaatz, and Eaker had few planes and crews in place in January 1942, when Germany's enormous air power and anti- aircraft defenses were strongest. An early raid on Brest cost the loss of 10 planes and 100 men. It would get worse. As the US buildup grew, appalling losses of planes and crews from ``maximum effort'' raids alarmed the generals. During the bombing of Hamburg the Eighth's losses were 88 planes and 880 men. Few airmen could expect to survive their prescribed 35 missions. Generals Le May and Doolittle (who replaced Eaker) brought innovative tactics to reduce the human and materiel costs. Astor recounts the many raids with clarity and vigor, traces the evolution of tactics, and captures the hard experiences of these young men in combat, on the ground, and in enemy camps. His many interviews of American airmen turn up some fascinating anecdotes, catching the grim realities of air combat in a way that more conventional strategic histories cannot. After V-E Day, the Eighth, having played a crucial role in the Allied victory, flew humanitarian missions, bringing food and medical supplies to starving civilians and POWs. Revealing and vivid personal sketches of the quiet heroes in a unit that suffered more lives lost than the entire Marine Corps in WW II." - Kirkus Reviews

"Great reading." - Stephen Ambrose

"Bold, brawny, epic in scope...Astor captures the fire and passion of these tens of thousands of U.S. airmen who flew through the inferno that was the bomber war over Europe." - Stephen Coonts

More titles covering the USAAF:


by Brian D. O'Neill
Description:
In 1943, when the outcome of World War II hung in the balance, B-17 crews of the Eighth Air Force flew harrowing, unescorted daylight bombing missions deep into Occupied Europe and Germany. These devastating raids have long been storied in film and fiction, but here is a firsthand, blow-by-blow account of these perilous missions as they really happened. In these pages, you'll see the events unfold as they were recorded and recalled by one crew's officers and enlisted men (pilot, copilot, navigator, radioman, and gunners), corroborated by other crews they flew with, and painstakingly correlated with the official records of the men's 303rd "Hell's Angels" Bomb Group.

The publication of Half a Wing, Three Engines, and a Prayer in 1989 prompted a flood of fresh recollections, correspondence, and personal records from other veterans of the 303rd. This Special Revised Edition incorporates that wealth of new material into a vivid, thorough recreation -- complete with actual combat photographs -- of one of the most dramatic chapters in military aviation history.

Reviews:
"A well-researched, highly readable account of a B-17 combat crew's experience...excellent." - Roger A. Freeman, (author of The Mighty Eighth)

"The best collection of stories about a B-17 Bomb Group that has ever been published." - Harry D. Gobrecht, (President, 303rd Bomb Group Association and author of Might in Flight: Daily Diary of the Eighth Air Force's 'Hell's Angels' Bomb Group)


Or Go Down in Flame: A Navigator's Death over Schweinfurt (no cover) by W. Raymond Wood
Review:
"This is the engrossing story of an American professor's quest to learn how his older brother was killed in WW II and the process by which the body was transported to its final resting place, the family plot in Missouri. Lt. Elbert S. Wood, navigator on a B-17 bomber during a 1943 raid over Germany, was the sole member of the crew who did not parachute safely to ground after the plane was damaged. (Lt. Wood, wounded, was probably strangled by his own parachute lines.) The author interviewed surviving crewmen, visited the crash site and questioned German civilians who attended Lt. Wood's funeral in the small Bavarian town where his body was taken. He constructed an outline of his brother's military career and a moment-by-moment account of his last mission. In one of many poignant moments, Wood pays tribute to the town Burgermeister who went out of his way to give an American airman a dignified burial (German soldiers on leave served as guards of honor) "when this was not a popular or even safe course of action." The book may also be read as an exemplar of how to research the fate of an American combat casualty. Wood teaches anthropology at the University of Missouri." - Publishers Weekly

One decent book offering an overview of the German Luftwaffe aces of WW2 is:


by Raymond F. Toliver
Description:
The most successful fighter pilots of all time spring to vibrant life again in this revised and updated edition of the classic account of Germany's greatest aces in action. Ride into combat with such Luftwaffe luminaries as ace of aces Erich Hartmann, Gunther Rall, Gerhard Barkhorn and dozens of others as they provide first-hand accounts of the German fighter arm's epic battle for the skies over Europe, Africa, and Russia. Accurate pen portraits illuminate outstanding fighter leaders and tutor like Werner Molders, Adolph Galland, "Macky" Steinhoff and many more, who invested the Luftwaffe Fighter Arm with its characteristic spirit and vigor. Legendary air heroes like Marseille, and mercurial "Star of Africa", are shown in hundreds of photos from German collections. Personal combat accounts appear against the backdrop of Reichsmarschall Hermann Goring, who undermined his own pilots. From early aerial ascendancy, followed by its triumphant assault on the Red Air Force, the Luftwaffe Fighter Arm was inexorably crushed by overwhelming Allied air power. Unquenchable courage, devotion to the defence of their country's civilians, and unmatched combat skills were of no avail. The great aces, even in Germany's revolutionary Me 262 jet fighter, could not win, yet they fought to the final hour in an unforgettable combat saga. All of it is here, exactly as it was lived by the German aces. This book is considered by surviving Luftwaffe aces to be their monument. Also included are data lists covering all known Luftwaffe aces, night fighter aces, jet aces, and tops & firsts.

This is a decent account of one German pilot's experience during the Second World War:


by Heinz Knoke
Description:
Heinz Knoke was one of Nazi Germany’s outstanding pilots, and this dramatic record of his experiences, illustrated with personal photos, has become a classic among aviation memoirs. He joined the Luftwaffe at the outbreak of the war, rose to the rank of commanding officer, and received the Knight’s Cross. Knoke’s account crackles with vivid accounts of air battles; and captures his utter desolation at Germany’s defeat.

I could also suggest the series of books written by the British historian Martin Middlebrook that cover a number of RAF Bomber Command missions/raids over Europe during WW2:











Martin Middlebrook

An excellent book covering one raid by the USAAF on Berlin in 1944 is; "Target Berlin: Mission 250: 6 March 1944" by Jeffrey L. Ethell.

by Jeffrey L. Ethell
Description:
On March 6th, 1944 the Americans launched their first large-scale daylight raid on Berlin, the capital of Hitler's reich. The price they paid for their audacity was high: sixty-nine heavy bombers and eleven escort fighters failed to return, the highest number in any raid mounted by the 8th Air Force. This account of the mission is a compellingly readable, skillfully researched, minute-by-minute description. It is also the first book on the subject to look at events from the perspective of both sides, drawing on material from over 160 USAAF personnel, Luftwaffe pilots, civilians and German flak gunners. Target Berlin captures the excitement and drama of the operation, bringing to the fore the mounting horror of a mission plagued by misfortune, strong defenses and bad luck. The gripping narrative also sheds light on what it was like to be in Berlin as the bombs began to fall.


This is a new release title covering another mission to Berlin by the USAAF in 1945; "Mission to Berlin" by Robert Dorr.

by Robert F. Dorr
Description:
The western Allies flew 314 bombing missions to Berlin between 1940 and 1945. Germany’s capital was its largest city, the richest metropolitan center on the European continent, the sixth-largest city in the world—and a legitimate military target. It housed the headquarters of the Third Reich and the German armed forces. It had a dozen aircraft assembly plants and a similar number of factories for military vehicles. It was a vital rail and transportation hub. By any measurement, Berlin was the heart of the Reich, and it was protected to a degree befitting that status.
Berlin’s antiaircraft defenses stretched across more than forty miles of searchlights, flak batteries, and airfields brimming with German air force fighters—up to 1,600 combat-capable warplanes. Royal Air Force Lancaster crews ran this gauntlet under cover of darkness, carrying out the most sustained effort against a German city during the war. While the Britons went after cities at night, the Americans went after installations by day. Outgoing and returning bombers would sometimes pass each other in the early morning as the sun rose on the Reich.
The U.S. Eighth Air Force began its war on Berlin on March 4, 1944, followed by an all-out assault two days later, and, after a hiatus, continued from late 1944 until war’s end. The February 3, 1945, mission was the next-to-last major Eighth Air Force effort against Berlin and the largest bombing mission undertaken against a single target. Robert F. Dorr brings this mission to life through the words of official reports, airmen’s diaries, and his personal interviews of hundreds of veterans. From wake-up call until surviving bombers land back in England up to twelve hours later, the reader is along for the ride on a harrowing mission over enemy territory, enduring high-altitude cold, flak, and enemy fighters while trying to bring an end to Hitler’s Reich.

This following book is on my 'to-read' list and is considered a great account of one of the top scoring Luftwaffe fighter units during WW2.

by Donald L. Caldwell
Description:
This is the story of the JG 26 pilots, or "Abbeville Kids." A microcosm of World War II exists in the rise and fall of this famous fighter wing--whose slashing attacks always seemed to come from the best position--from its founding during Hitler's military buildup, through its glory days in the first years of the war--when its bases in northen France were to be avoided at all costs--right up to the grim, final hours of the Third Reich.

Reviews:
"Jagdgeschwader (Fighter Wing) 26, the German elite fighter unit, was more feared by the Allies than any other Luftwaffe group. Based on extensive archival research in Europe, personal combat diaries and interviews with more than 50 surviving pilots, Caldwell here assembles a superb day-to-day chronicle of JG26 operations, from its first air victory in 1939 to its final combat patrol in 1945. For the first two years of the war it was an even match between the Spitfires and Hurricanes of the Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe's Messerschmitts and Focke Wulfs; but--as the author reveals in meticulous detail--the scales tipped in favor of the Allies in 1943 with the arrival of the Eighth U.S. Air Force and its peerless P-51 Mustang. In his first book, Caldwell, a research chemist, describes how the German pilots' morale remained high even after it was obvious to all but the youngest and most naive that the war was lost.seems obvious? The ultimate recommendation comes from Adolf Galland, legendary Messerschmitt pilot and commanding officer of Fighter Wing 26, who in the foreword calls JG26 'a profound book, written in full fairness'." - Publishers Weekly

"Jagschader 26 "Schlegeter," or JG26, was the premier Luftwaffe World War II fighter unit. The equivalent of an American or British "Wing," it controlled some 100 planes and many of the best, most experienced aces in the German Air Force. The JG26 fought on all fronts, but was primarily stationed in Northeastern Europe operating against the American and British bombers and fighers attacking in Germany. The yellow prop-spinners of the "Abbeville Kids" brought terror to many an Allied pilot. Commanded by two top German aces, Adolph Gallard and Pripps Priller, the unit was responsible for the destruction of 2700 Allied planes from its inception in 1938 to its great victories in 1943 and up until its defeat by superior Allied forces in 1944-45. By focusing on the history of a small German Air Force unit, this unique, impressive study presents a history in microcosm of the entire Luftwaffe Fighter Corps. All aviation and World War II buffs will want this spellbinding work." - Library Journal

Here are two very well researched books on two German aces:


by Peter Hinchliffe
Description:
The life of this outstanding Luftwaffe personality and leading exponent of night fighter tactics, who was killed when his plane crashed in October 1944. Helmut Lent was one of the outstanding personalities of the Luftwaffe during the Second Wrold War and, until his death in a flying accident in October 1944, the leading exponent of the night fighter tactics. Lent was the son of a pastor in the Evangelical church, and his two brothers were also clerics. He was deeply religious man and believed that he enjoyed Christ's protection in his combats with enemy aircraft. Lent entered the Luftwaffe in 1936 as an officer cadet and trainee pilot. His first operational unit was a heavy-fighter Gruppe equipped with the Bf 110 Zerstorer (Destroyer), and it was with this aircraft that he shot down his first victim. He had further victories over the German Bight and during the Norwegian campaign. Fate intervened, however, before Lent saw further daytime action as his Staffel was transferred to the newly-formed Nachjagd, the night-fighter force set up to combat the growing number of RAF bombers paying nightly visits to Germany. At first Lent did not feel at home in the Nachjagd, and after a short period without having achieved success against the British night bombers he applied to be allowed too return to daylight operations, but was persuaded by his Commanding Officer, Major Wolfgang Falck, now looked upon as the 'Father of the Nachjagd', to defer his application for a short time. This 'breathtaking space' had its effect and on May 12th, 1941, Lent shot down his first two RAF bombers. Other successes followed rapidly so that Lent came to identify completely with this new form of air defence, becoming iths leading exponent and tactician. By January 1943 his score of victories by night had increased to 50, and by June 1944 to 100. Not only an outstanding night-fighter pilot but also an inspirational leader of men and example to his subordinates, Lent achieved high rank and was the recipient of many decorations. At the time of his death he was Kommodoore of NJG 3, held the rank of Oberstlutnant and wore the Brillanten (Diamonds) to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, the first of only two night fighters ever to be awarded that high honour. At about mid-day on October 5th, 1944, Lent was flying a Ju 88 to Paderborn in order to visit his friend and comrade Hans-Joachim Jabs, Kommodore of NJG1: he crashed while attemptimg to land on one engine. All four men on board were critically injured, and all subsquently died of their injuries. Lent was the last to perish, dying in hospital two days after the accident. On several occasions during his life Lent found himself in conflict with the Gestapo because of his family's religious beliefs.

by Peter Hinchliffe
Description:
That Schnaufer was the most successful night-fighter pilot of World War Two is indisputable: in all probability he will take his place in history as the most successful night fighter of all time, because it is unlikely that there will every again be another vast and sustained aerial battle like the one in which he achieved his distinction. From his first operational victory on 1 June 1942 to his final one on 7 March 1945 he and his crew shot down a confirmed total of 121 British bombers by night: they had other victories that remained unconfirmed because they did not meet the exacting requirements set by the Luftwaffe before a victory could be officially accredited.

Whether he was the best night fighter is open to debate. Other Germans achieved very high scores by then, but lost their life before they could fulfill their potential Oberleutnant Helmut Waltersdorf for instance, who died in June 1942 with a score of 24 four short days after Schnaufer had had his first success; Hauptmann Ludwig Becker, the so-called Professor der Nachtjagd, killed in action in February with a score of 44 when Schnaufer had shot down a mere seven; the charismatic and legendary Major Henrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, who, with 83 kills, about twice the number that Schnaufer had reached, was the leading night-fighter pilot when he was killed in action in January 1944; Oberst Helmut Lent, who died in a flying accident on 7 October 1944 when his tally stood at 110 and Schnaufer's at 98; and others who might had they survived, also have achieved very high scores.

And can one compare the capabilities and qualities of German defensive night fighters with those of their British counterparts, whose tallies were so much lower? The RAF men had far fewer opportunities to amass high scores because they had far fewer bombers to shoot at.

The Germans did not attack Britain by night in anything like the enormous numbers in which Bomber Command struck at targets in the Third Reich and in the territories they occupied, so that the direct comparison, RAF versus Luftwaffe, is impossible. But there can be no doubt that Schnaufer was the outstanding pilot: his achievement render debate on the point superfluous.

Another two books on some German aces of WW2:


by Claire Rose Knott
Description:
Princes of Darkness is a unique illustrated account of the careers of the two 'fighting princes' of the Luftwaffe's night fighter force, Heinrich Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein and Egmont Prince zur Lippe-Weissenfeld, whose lives were often inter-connected. This book is the result of many years research on the part of its author, Claire Rose Knott, who has been granted unprecedented access by the princes' respective families to never before published diary notes, personal correspondence, logbooks, and family photographs. The work also benefits from research in archival resources, technical data and recollections supplied by the Princes' night fighter contemporaries. The text contains first-hand accounts by family, friends and fellow officers who offer unique accounts of the ambition, intensity and actions of the leading characters in time of war. The Princes have courted controversy with several conspiracy theories abounding regarding their deaths.The plausibility of such theories when viewed against their aristocratic family backgrounds and placed against the backdrop of intense social upheaval under the Nazi regime, merit investigation. Prince Heinrich Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein was the third highest scoring night fighter ace in the Luftwaffe. Serving from mid-1941 until his death in 1944. He was killed on 21 January while Kommodore of NJG 2, after shooting down four RAF bombers, when his aircraft was hit by return fire from a bomber or by an RAF nightfighter. Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein baled out but was killed by the impact of landing. His victory score at that time of his death was 83 - 29 in the East and 54 in the West. Prince Egmont zur Lippe-Weissenfeld, an Austrian, started his career as a daylight fighter pilot flying 'heavy' fighters with II./ZG 76. He became a nightfighter when serving under the famous Helmut Lent as Staffelkapitan of 5./NJG 2 in November 1941.He is accredited with 51 aerial victories while flying - mainly the Messerschmitt Bf 110 - with NJG 1 and NJG 5 and is ranked 21st among the German night fighter aces. He was killed while with the Stabsschswarm of NJG 5 on 3 March 1944 when his Bf 110 clipped the ground and crashed during a flight over the Ardennes. The text is supported by rare and fascinating photographs of the pilots' aircraft, weaponry (including the upward-firing 'Jazz Music' twin cannon) and radar equipment as well as others in their squadrons, together with commissioned colour artwork of Messerschmitt Bf 110 and Junkers Ju 88 night fighters.

by Werner Girbig
Description:
Aerial combat over the Russian front from one who knew it first hand. Hauptmann Helmut Lipfert's vivid portrayal of his experiences in JG 52 during the last three years of the Second World War will stand as one of the truly classic chronicles of the Jagdwaffe over Russia. JG 52 Experten Walter Krupinski, Erich Hartmann, Gerhard Barkhorn and Heinz Ewald make their way through Lipfert's memoirs in an epic tale of combat over the Caucasus, Crimea, Hungary, and Rumania during the late war years of 1943-1945. Lipfert begins the story with his early experiences in the Bf 109 G-2 over Russia in II/JG 52 in 1943, and ends with I/JG 53 in 1945 with 203 aerial victories, one of the few pilots in histiry to reach 200. This book is a rare view into the air war over Russia, when Luftwaffe pilots accumulated incredible kill tallies while facing overwhelming odds against them in mass assaults.

Here are two good books covering the B-29 missions over Japan during WW2:


by Charles W. Sweeney
Reviews:
“General (then Major) Sweeney was the pilot of Bock's Car, the B-29 that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Like its target, the second atomic mission has never received a fraction of the attention given its predecessor, targeted at Hiroshima. This book begins to answer that situation. Sweeney, a Boston Irishman learning to fly at the time of Pearl Harbor, became acquainted with Paul Tibbetts, pilot of the Hiroshima mission, during test-pilot work on the B-29. Picked for the 509th Bombardment Wing, Sweeney eventually executed his mission, despite human error, mechanical failures, bad weather, fuel shortages, and a bomb that had to be armed before takeoff. Much of this account adopts a tone of moral outrage over the current historical revisionism concerning the A-bomb. It reflects the consciousness in 1945 of ever-lengthening American casualty lists because of stubborn Japanese resistance that was expected to continue indefinitely. The revisionists may have a case, but Sweeney has one, too.” – Booklist

“Plainspoken reminiscences from the only man to fly both of the missions that dropped atomic bombs on Japan, bringing WW II to a close. A love of flying took Sweeney from his boyhood home in suburban Boston into the US Army as an air cadet well before Pearl Harbor. After winning his wings and a commission on December 12, 1941, he bounced about stateside commands until the fall of 1943. Desperate to secure an overseas assignment, the 23-year-old captain talked Lt. Colonel Paul Tibbets into giving him a billet with the 509th Composite Group. The 509th had been chosen to use the incredibly destructive weapons developed by the Manhattan Project against Japan. Following an intensive training regimen at well- guarded bases in remote areas of America's vast Southwest, Sweeney and his comrades-in-aerial-arms arrived on Tinian in mid-1945. By now a major, he piloted the instrumentation plane that recorded the effects when Tibbets conducted a picture-perfect strike that decimated Hiroshima on August 6. Three days later, Sweeney led the unescorted superfortress flight that laid waste to Nagasaki. While history's first A-bomb assault went like clockwork, the author and his crew had to overcome problems with their plutonium device, fuel shortages, and a host of other difficulties. Shortly after Japan's surrender, he was able to get a first-hand look at the ruins of Nagasaki. While the experience left him hopeful that humankind will never again engage in nuclear warfare, Sweeney (a devout Catholic) has no regrets for the role he played in bringing a cruel and costly global conflict to a decisive end. Nor does the retired major general have much patience with revisionists who give Japan victim status for the devastation it suffered. Eloquent, engrossing testimony of an old-fashioned patriot at peace with his consequential place in military and world history.” – Kirkus Reviews

"Compelling...an exciting tale...Every American who harbors guilt about our use of atomic bombs will find peace of mind after reading Gen. Sweeney's gripping story." - James A. Lovell, Gemini 7 and 12, Apollo 8 and 13

"There is no arguing with his sober, compelling story...written with such detail, sweep, and compassion that it might have been a novel and not an autobiography. Charles Sweeney is the best kind of warrior, motivated by real patriotism. For setting straight a difficult record, his book is invaluable. For commemorating a generation of heroes, his book is unforgettable." - Dan Rather

by Ron Greer
Description:
"May 26, 1945 target Tokyo; the target was the eastern part of the industrial section of Tokyo. It was hot as hell too, because the Japanese were waiting for us. We went into the target individually and as we made our sweep, one Jap twin-engine fighter was waiting about 20 miles off the coast and followed us over the target. Flak was very heavy and searchlights were estimated at about 400 in number in the Tokyo area. We were in the searchlights all the way through the target. Losses were estimated to be about 18 B-29's. One crew came back with the tail almost shot off and the tail gunner had been killed instantly. On both raids the industrial centers we hit had an estimated civilian population of 50,000 to 75,000 people per square mile area. Fires started by the incendiary bombs covered 10 square miles and could be seen 200 miles out to sea."

If this dialog sounds like a plot from a war movie it well could be, however the account consists of the bombing mission quotes taken directly from the diary of S/Sgt Herb Greer, Radio operator on a B-29 Superfortress named the "City of Monroe" during the war with Japan. The diary takes each of the 28 missions flown by the B-29 "City of Monroe" one by one and details those events as they happened over Japan. The accounts are filled with such phrases as "Great Fires, clouds of thick black smoke, horrific smells meaning flesh burning, which permeated the aircraft over the target area and lingered until they landed some 8 to 10 hours later on Guam. Bombing missions were repeated until most of the industrial areas of Japans major cities were nothing but ashes. The final days were approaching when Hiroshima and Nagasaki would be devastated with the two atomic bombs. The gentleman that I speak of is my father, Herbert L. Greer and this is a book of his diary, supplemental comments and pictures that reflect on a period of time that the United States freedom and liberty were highly at risk.

Reviews:
"2005 SILVER MEDAL AWARD - Best Military Memoir." - Military Writers Society of America (MWSA)

"Puts the reader in the hot seat like no other of its kind. To read it is to live it." - Jim B. Smith, Author of The Last Mission

"The daily diary accounting of the B-29 raids over Japan provides a vivid picture of how it was." - Lt. Col. Donald (Buzz) Wagner USAF Ret'd

This book below was is one of my favourite books covering the air war over Japan during WW2 and the book that made me appreciate the B-29 as a marvel of American engineering.

by WERRELL KENNETH P
Description:
A B-50 Superfortress pilot stationed in Japan after WWII, Werrell went on to become a history professor at Radford University in Virginia, uniquely qualifying him to write the definitive history of the B-29 raids on Japan. Most aviation histories, as he points out, are written by journalists--a category that includes me. Make no mistake, this is a professorial book: Werrell tells you what he's about to say, then says it, then tells you what he's just said, in the best tradition of doctoral-thesis prose. Nevertheless, this is an enthralling book. I could barely put it down.

First he sets the story: the development of American strategic bombing theory, and how it played out in the war against Germany, where the U.S. 8th AF concentrated on daylight precision bombing while RAF Bomber concentrated on destroying cities at night. Then he turns to the building of the beautiful but troublesome Boeing B-29 Superfortress, and its all-but-futile debut in the China-India theater. We're at page 122 before we reach the Marianas--the island bases 1,600 miles from "The Empire" that would at last carry the war to the Japanese home islands. And we're at page 150 before Werrell first takes up the subject of the fire-bombing raids that reduced first Tokyo, then 65 other Japanese cities, to ashes. Guided by the ferocious genius of Curtis LeMay, the 20th Air Force turned the U.S. finally and overwhelmingly to the terror-bombing strategy that had been pioneered by the Japanese army and navy air forces over Chongqing in 1938.

Werrell concludes as he began, with a sober assessment of the bombing campaign, the morality of fire-bombing and the atomic bombs, and the likelihood that the war would have ended shortly anyhow, as a result of the marine blockade of Japan. (Forgotten by the advocates of a naval strategy is the fact that the B-29s seeded mines around the Empire that probably sank as many ships as the U.S. submarine fleet in four years of unrestricted warfare.) In the end, he's quite unapologetic about any of it. In the words of the German priest, Father John Siems, who witnessed and survived the holocaust at Hiroshima:

"It seems logical to me that he who supports total war in principle cannot complain of war against civilians."

In Manchuria and at the Marco Polo Bridge, in Nanjing and over Chongqinq, the men of the Imperial Japanese army and navy sowed the seeds of total war in Asia. In the Boeing B-29, their wives and children reaped the whirlwind. This is an unusually intelligent assessment of how that terrible judgment came to pass.

This is a new release also covering the American air offensive against Japan during WW2:


by Barrett Tillman
Description:
WHIRLWIND is the first book to tell the complete, awe-inspiring story of the Allied air war against Japan—the most important strategic bombing campaign inhistory. From the audacious Doolittle raid in 1942 to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, award-winning historian Barrett Tillman recounts the saga from the perspectives of American and British aircrews who flew unprecedented missions overthousands of miles of ocean, as well as of the generalsand admirals who commanded them.

Whether describing the experiences of bomber crews based in China or the Marianas, fighter pilotson Iwo Jima, or carrier aviators at sea, Tillman provides vivid details of the lives of the fliers and their support personnel. Whirlwind takes readers into the cockpits and gun turrets of the mighty B-29 Superfortress, the largest bomber built up to that time. Tillman dramatically re-creates the sweep of wartime emotions that crews endured on fifteen-hour missions, grappling with the extreme tedium of cramped spaces and with adrenaline spikes in flak-studded skies, knowing that a bailout would put them at the mercy of a merciless enemy or an unforgiving sea.

A major character is the controversial and brilliant General Curtis LeMay, who rewrote strategic bombing tactics. His command’s fire-bombing missions incinerated fully half of Tokyo and many other cities, crippling Japan’s industry while still failing to force surrender.

Whirlwind examines the immense logistics and construction efforts necessary to support Superfortresses in Asia and the Mariana Islands, as well as the tireless efforts of engineers to build huge air bases from scratch.It also describes the unheralded missions that American bomber crews flew from the Aleutian Islands to Japan’s northernmost Kuril Islands.

Never has the Japanese side of the story been so thoroughly examined. If Washington, D.C., represented a “second front” in Army-Navy rivalry, the situation in Tokyo approached a full-contact sport. Tillman’s description of Japan’s willfully inadequate approach to civil defense is eye-opening. Similarly, he examines the mind-set in Tokyo’s war cabinet, which ignored the atomic destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, requiring the emperor’s personal intervention to avert a ghastly Allied invasion.

Tillman shows how, despite the Allies’ ultimate success, mistakes and shortsighted policies made victory more costly in lives and effort. He faults the lack of a unified command for allowing the Army Air Forces and the Navy to pursue parochial goals at the expense of the larger mission, and he questions the premature commitment of the enormously sophisticated B-29 to the most primitive theater in India and China.

Whirlwind is one of the last histories of World War II written with the contribution of men who fought in it.With unexcelled macro- and microperspectives, Whirlwind is destined to become a standard reference on the war, on multiservice operations, and on the human capacity for individual heroism and national folly.


Reviews:
"Tillman, who has written many books on WWII aviation, scales from histories of particular types of warplane up to, in this volume, a history of an entire air war. Spanning the American air campaign against the Japanese home islands, which began with the famous Doolittle Raid of April 1942 and concluded with several conventional attacks mounted after the obliteration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Tillman centers on the B-29 bomber as the war-winning weapon. Hampered by technical problems in development, the plane’s effectiveness was also limited by its initial basing in India and China and its operators’ doctrinal fixation on high-altitude “precision” bombing. As Tillman recounts, only when based in the Mariana Islands and commanded by a general (of whom Tillman is a biographer, LeMay,2005) who firebombed enemy cities from low altitude did the B-29 vindicate its fearsome potential. Also recounting attacks by American carrier aircraft and the atomic bombings, Tillman tenders his verdicts on controversies about their strategic utility or justification, and embeds combat experiences in a narrative sure to engross WWII readers." - Booklist

"Sweeping and authoritative, Barrett Tillman’s Whirlwind puts the reader in the cockpit as Allied and Japanese airmen battle to the death in the broad skies of the Pacific, but never loses sight of the larger strategic issues and perspectives of the war, nor of the human cost that it extracted." - Richard Hallion, former chief historian of the U.S. Air Force

"Barrett Tillman’s Whirlwind is a concise, rigorous and authoritative miracle of military history. It’s also a great read. I couldn’t put it down." - Stephen Hunter, (author of I, Sniper and The 47th Samurai)

"Whirlwind is the most authoritative account ever of the terrifying American air war against Japan, which both forced Tokyo’s surrender and saved countless lives in the long run. This powerful book should put an end to the misguided moralizing to the contrary." - Andrew Nagorski, (author of The Greatest Battle)

"Whirlwind has the critical elements to separate it from the pack of cockpit and command aviation histories: it is vivid, lucid and human. But it is something much more: it provides the essential foundation for the examination of the impact of conventional airpower as a fundamental cause of Japan’s surrender." - Richard B. Frank, (author of Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire)

"A sparkling tale of one of the most fascinating battlefronts of World War II. Tillman pulls together the aerial battles, planning sessions, kills and sacrifices into a coherent narrative that will leave readers pondering the fate of nations and individuals in war, when the call is often to perform the impossible and the call is met with surprising frequency." - Robert W. Merry, (author of A Country of Vast Designs)

"This is a story of great heroism and of technological triumph on a grand scale—the building of the B-29 alone is worth a book—and of the vindication of air power as the ultimate weapon of war. Whirlwind is full of extraordinary stories of courage, sacrifice and good, old-fashioned American know-how, a book every aviation enthusiast should read." - Michael Korda, (Author of With Wings Like Eagles)

"The definitive history of the United States’ war-winning aerial assault upon Japan. No one interested in World War II aviation can afford to be without this book." - Walter J. Boyne, Colonel, USAF (Ret), former Director of the National Air & Space Museum

"Barrett Tillman, one of America’s finest World War II historians, has provided a great public service by writing Whirlwind. Highly recommended." - Douglas Brinkley, Professor of History at Rice University and author of The Boys of Point du Hoc

Here is a classic from the Japanese ace, Saburo Sakai, presenting his account of the fighting in the Pacific; "Samurai!" by Saburo Sakai.

by Saburo Sakai
Description:
Saburo Sakai was Japan s greatest fighter pilot to survive World War II, and his memoir is one of the most popular and enduring books written on the Pacific war. First published in English in 1957, it gave Americans new perspectives on the air war and on the Japanese pilots who, until then, were mere caricatures. Today, the book remains a valuable eyewitness account of some of the most famous air battles in history and a moving, personal story of a Samurai warrior. A veteran of more than two hundred dogfights, Sakai reportedly shot down sixty-four Allied planes, but he is best known for flying his crippled Zero nearly 600 miles to safety while partially paralyzed and nearly blind from multiple wounds.

This next book is on my 'to-read' list; "Fortress Rabaul: The Battle for the Southwest Pacific, January 1942-April 1943" by Bruce Gamble.

by Bruce Gamble
Description:
For most of World War II, the mention of Japan's island stronghold sent shudders through thousands of Allied airmen. Some called it “Fortress Rabaul,” an apt name for the headquarters of the Imperial Japanese forces in the Southwest Pacific. Author Bruce Gamble chronicles Rabaul’s crucial role in Japanese operations in the Southwest Pacific. Millions of square feet of housing and storage facilities supported a hundred thousand soldiers and naval personnel. Simpson Harbor and the airfields were the focus of hundreds of missions by American air forces.

Winner of the "Gold Medal" (Military Writers Society of America) and "Editor's Choice Award" (Stone & Stone Second World War Books), Fortress Rabaul details a critical and, until now, little understood chapter in the history of World War II.

Reviews:
"This tour de force by Bruce Gamble is an absolute must for anyone interested in the true story of one of World War II’s most interesting—and most overlooked—battles. The author rivals Stephen Ambrose with his detailed personal accounts of not only victory and defeat, but also of the more routine events that entail quiet pride or—sometimes—suppressed embarrassment." - Col. Walter Boyne, USAF (Ret.), author of Clash of Wings

"Not for the first time, Bruce Gamble has done amazing work gathering a dazzling array of tiny, little facts, then arranging them in a big, dazzling story that amazes one's inner historian even as it breaks one's heart on its way to a triumphal conclusion." - Eric Hammel, author of Islands of Hell: The U.S. Marines in the Western Pacific

"Drawing on a variety of sources from both sides, the author has written a detailed reference book that reads like a novel." - AIR CLASSICS

"...Fortress Rabaul opens a broader vista on this under-studied campaign with its wide research, thoughtful analysis, and gifted story-teller’s panache." - WWII HISTORY MAGAZINE

"To most of the reading public, the aerial siege of Rabaul remains one of the untold stories of the Pacific War. Nobody is better qualified than Bruce Gamble to relate that lengthy campaign, beginning with the first 15 months of the conflict. The depth and variety of his coverage is exceptional: not only the Allied and the Japanese perspectives, but the personalities and their attendant feuds; and ultimately the successful air blockade that released the unstoppable might of an industrialized America to take the war ever nearer Japan itself." - Barrett Tillman, author of Whirlwind: The Air War Against Japan, 1942-1945

"Continuing his theme of Rabaul opened in Darkest Hour: The True Story of Lark Force at Rabaul, Bruce Gamble now continues the saga, moving forward with the Japanese occupation in January 1942 to the almost immediate start of the Allied counter air-offensives against Rabaul. Gamble sets the stage magnificently, with a compelling description of the geography, volcanic origin and cultural setting and development level of Rabaul at the time of the Japanese occupation. After an excellent description of the too little, too late attempts to prepare for the Japanese invasion and the futile attempts to repel the powerful Japanese carrier strikes, the focus shifts to the Japanese construction at Rabaul that will make it the famous fortress port of the Solomons campaign. The human drama, Allied and Japanese, is enriched by skillfully placed anecdotes, like a botched demolition of an ammo dump by the Allied garrison to Japanese carrier aircraft having embarrassing results in bombing runs, to behind-the-scenes bickering of officers and staffs. The narrative reads with all the vigor and imagery of a novel, while incorporating copious facts and detail…Not only does Fortress Rabaul fill an important gap in the coverage of the Southwest section of the Pacific War, it makes fine and engaging reading." - Anthony Tully, coauthor of Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway

"Using international sources, Gamble musters anecdotes from airmen on both sides to illustrate the appalling natural challenges and capricious weather, miserable living conditions, primal diseases, and frightful hazards posed by limitless spans of water and cloud-cloaked jungle peaks. He also incorporates incisive sketches of key leaders among the antagonists, notable American Maj. Gen. George Kenny and Japanese Vice Adm. Jinichi Kusaka, and underlines the logistical nightmares that rendered both aircraft and spare parts scarce for combatants locked in war at such distant reaches….Fortress Rabaul opens a broader vista on this under-studied campaign with its wide research, thoughtful analysis, and gifted story-teller’s panache." - WORLD WAR II

Here is a little bit of information about Selman Field which was in Monroe, Louisiana.

History

During World War II, the United States Army Air Force Flying Training Command used the airport as a cadet training center beginning in August 1942.

The airport was named Selman Army Airfield, named after a Navy Pilot, Lieutenant Augustus J. Selman, U.S.N., a native of Monroe, LA, died at Norfolk, VA, on November 28, 1921, of injuries received in an airplane crash in the line of duty

The Army Air Force Pre-Flight School (Bomber-Navigation) transferred to Selman AAF from Maxwell Field, Alabama. The remaining elements of the Advanced Navigation School arrived from Turner Field, Georgia on September 14. Selman Field was the largest navigation school in the United States in its time and the nation's only complete navigation course—from start to finish—during World War II. Of the hundreds of fields that were operated by the Army Air Forces, it was only at Selman that a cadet could get his entire training—pre-flight and advanced—and wind up with a commission and navigators wings without ever leaving the field. Over 15,000 navigators were trained at Selman Field, who flew in every theater of operations during the war.

The vast majority of aircraft flown at Selman AAF were Beech C-45s, also known as the AT-7. BT-13s were flown for basic flying training, and TC-47 and TC-46s were used beginning in late 1944.

It closed on until 1 September 1945. After that Selman AAF was used as a separation center for returning overseas personnel until being inactivated on 31 May 1946. The airport was returned to civil control on 31 July 1946

It is now Monroe Regional Airport.

Source: Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monroe_R...

Here a few books covering Australians in RAF Bomber Command during WW2:


by Peter Firkins
Description:
This is the intimate story of one of the great bomber squadrons of World War11. It is almost an almanac of the day to day fortunes of the airmen of 460 Squadron, R.A.A.F. who were engaged in one of the toughest battles in the history of the war.

Day after day, night after night, sometimes with great success, sometimes with grievous loss, these men flew against a determined and skilled enemy, to attack targets defended by the greatest concentration of artillery, night fighters, searchlights and radar devices the world had ever known.

This story is based on the experiences and impressions of individual crews recorded immediately on return from operational missions and is therefore a factual and accurate account of events as seen through the eyes and imprinted on the minds of those who were in combat with the enemy. As such it makes a valuable contribution to the history of the Bomber Offensive in the West.

The book includes a list of 1000 airmen lost on 460 Squadron. Altogether 5000 young Australians died in Bomber Command. Some who read this story and who may not have had the opportunity to study the higher strategy of the Allies in World War 11, may be wondering whether the loss of so many gallant young men was worth while and how much their sacrifice contributed to final victory and the defence of Australia.

To see the matter in true perspective, it is necessary to appreciate the magnitude of the Bomber Offensive and understand the part it played in the strategy of the war.

The front line strength of Bomber Command in January, 1945 was ninety-five squadrons and in the course of the war the Command dropped slightly less than one million tons of bombs. The United States Air Force operating from bases in the United Kingdom, dropped a little over 600.000 tons.

The policy for the selection of targets and target systems was controlled by Combined Chiefs of Staff of Britain and the United States and the War Cabinet and was an integral part of the general strategy of the war. It had been prepared and approved at the Casablanca Conference and issued as a directive.

Let it suffice to point out that the war was brought to a successful conclusion very much earlier than would otherwise have been possible and at a lower cost in human life. As a direct outcome of the correct and vigorous use of Air Power, of which the Bomber Offensive was the corner stone, it was possible for our armies to land on the heavily defended beaches of Normandy and press deep into the heart of Germany. Speed too was the essence, as Germany was well ahead in the development of atomic weapons. Their introduction would have undoubtedly changed the course of the war. A victorious Germany would have meant a victorious Japan and Australia as we know it today would not exist.

Bear in mind that aircrew were mostly young men on the threshold of life, facing odds of about 2 1/2 to 1 against surviving a full operational tour in Bomber Command. Rarely, if ever before, had fighting men had to face such a contrast in living. At two o'clock in the morning they would be flying through the fiercest artillery barrage and night fighter defence system ever devised. A few hours later they could be drinking in the enchanting surroundings of an old English inn with the knowledge that soon they would have to face the same terrible carnage of total war and the hellish and fearful nightmare experience of flying through the German air defences. Or, of course, be dead or grievously wounded, a prisoner of war or fighting for life to abandon by parachute a burning and doomed aeroplane. And this they had to do 30 times to complete their first tour of operations.

The foregoing is an extract from the foreword to Strike and Return (the motto of 460 Squadron) presented by Basil Embry:

"Peter Firkins book is almost a day to day history of 460 Squadron. It includes a listing of every raid made by the squadron, including the aircraft lost. A useful appendix gives the operational performance of German night fighters and R.A.F bombers."

Included is a listing of 1000 members of 460 Squadron who were killed in action

by F Chappel
Description:
Wing Commander Donald Teale Saville DSO, DFC joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1927. From 1932 until 1939 he flew and tested private aircraft, was a flying instructor and then a Captain-pilot with Australian National Airways. In 1936, at the age of 36 years, he volunteered for the RAF whilst on holiday in England. Because of his age he was posted to the Ferry Pool Service and eventually became its Commanding Officer. In 1941 he dropped rank from Squadron Leader to Flight Lieutenant to join Bomber Command, and in December of that year joined No 458 RAAF Squadron flying Wellington's as a Flight Commander. In 1942 he was appointed to command another Wellington squadron, No 104, at Kabrit in Egypt. He was awarded the DFC for daring operations whilst flying from Malta against enemy airfields and ports. In March 1943 he took command of No 218 Squadron at Downham Market flying somewhat elderly Short Stirlings and at a time of intolerable losses. In July 1943 he went missing on the first mass bombing raid on Hamburg. He made the supreme sacrifice by holding his burning aircraft steady while four of his crew escaped by parachute.
He was known affectionately as 'The Mad Aussie' and was reputed to have flown 10,000 flying hours. He was fifteen or so years older than most of his aircrews and was probably the oldest pilot in Bomber Command. At the time of his loss he was in was on his third tour of operations. This is the story of a man who carried leadership by example and was renowned as an exceptionally skilled, daring and confident aviator.

by Michael V Nelmes
Description:
G-for-George is one of the only two genuine operational Avro Lancasters remaining in the world. 'G-for-George' flew 90 operations against targets in Occupied Europe and Nazi Germany 1943-44 while with 460 Squadron RAAF. The aircraft then was donated to Australia, flew from England to Australia and became the centre-piece of the Aircraft Hall at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra. 'G-for-George' today is a memorial to the 3,500 Australians who gave their lives in the bombing offensive against Nazi Germany 1939-45.

The authors, Michael V. Nelmes and Ian Jenkins, researched and wrote the book while curators at the Australian War Memorial. The book describes the Avro Lancaster, and the construction of 'G-for-George', its arrival on squadron, and its operational life with 460 Squadron. As well as official reports, contributions from individual crew members and the vital ground crew are included to give a personal aspect to this history of a bomber, and the life and times of the young men who volunteered for air force service. Each operation is described, with separate crew lists for each sortie, while the effect on the target, 460 Squadron losses and RAF Bomber Command losses give the broader perspective. Details of German nightfighter activities and flak and radar defences are included.

How the four-engined Lancaster came to be installed inside the hall display area is fully described, and this section should explode some of the myths about how such a large item arrived in the hall, and about which many visitors have puzzled.

Here are two more decent accounts covering the battle of Britain:


by Alfred Price

by Phil Craig

Another two good books covering the air war in the skies at night over Europe during WW2:


by Peter Hinchliffe
Description:
Disastrous day-time losses in WWII forced Bomber Command to switch to night bombing. When this happened the Germans had neither a night fighter force nor any night-fighter policy. RAF attacks filled that gap rapidly. This book traces these developments and also the strategic, tactical, technical, and personal aspects of these battles.

by Theo Boiten
Description:
This text traces the parallel development in RAF night bombing and night fighting in the Luftwaffe, from the pioneering efforts on both sides to the climax of the strategic bombing offensive in the final year of the war. Included are the personal recollections of over 100 surviving combatants.

I have just purchased copies of these two books very recently:


by Frank Musgrove
Description:
This is the story of a young man's entry into the war in 1941 and culminates in his flying on the bombing raid to Dresden in February 1945. This is not a gung-ho account of flying with Bomber Command but neither is it a breast-beating avowal of guilt.

These memoirs take the form of a basic narrative of the author's RAF career and pay particular attention to fear, morale and, as the author explains, the myth of leadership.

Several raids are described in detail and illustrate the variety of experience, problems and dangers involved in such hazardous warfare. So, nearly 60 years after his dramatic experiences, how does he view the bombing of factories and cities and the inevitable grave moral issues that have slowly and insidiously crept up on him? The answer will surprise many younger and older readers.



by Edward Sion
Description:
This book provides a comprehensive look at air war over Europe during the climactic year of World War II, combining firsthand experience with expert analysis. The centerpiece is a mission-by-mission diary of 1st Lieutenant Richard R. Ayesh, bombardier on a B-17 Flying Fortress, who flew with the 100th Bombardment Group, 13th Combat Wing of the 8th Air Force-the legendary "Bloody 100th." He received the Distinguished Flying Cross, Croix de Guerre and the Air Medal with Four Oak Leaf Clusters, amongst others.

This book follows Ayesh's progress from his youth during the Great Depression in Wichita, Kansas, which was rapidly becoming the air capital of the nation, to his arrival in England as a Lieutenant in a bomber crew assigned to assault the Third Reich.

Once in Europe, the author provides a look at the principles of American daylight strategic bombing, while relaying the overall military situation on the ground and in the air just after D-Day. This work is uniquely self-contained and covers all aspects of Air War in a clear, concise, yet nontechnical manner. Topics include photo-reconnaissance, munitions and bomb types, aircraft characteristics, fighter and bomber tactics, bomber formations, strategic target selection, radars, countermeasures and counter-counter measures. The unaltered diary of Lt. Ayesh is presented mission-by-mission, punctuated by tragedy and heroism, with explanations and commentary of the significance of events and actions described en route. The result is one of the most frank and exciting works on the air war over Europe to date.

There is no varnishing of words in this book, instead, after Lt. Ayesh is followed on his perilous return home in U-boat infested waters, the book assesses the effectiveness of US strategy in ultimately paralyzing the Nazi war machine. Finally, the complex moral issues raised by area and city bombing are explored with 21st century implications.

Reviews:
"... an exceptional work on the Allied bombing campaign during World War II. While drawing on his uncle's diary for close-in combat experiences, he also provides a scientist's eye for the true chokepoints of German industry, particularly its synthetic fuel industry. Full of facts, anecdotes and strategic perspective, while following the progress of America's "Bloody 100th" Bomb Group, Sion has provided a fascinating look at the massive WWII air war--a unique campaign in modern history." - Stephen Tanner, (author of "Afghanistan: A Military History" and "Refuge from the Reich: American Airmen and Switzerland During World War II")

"...delivers a real punch... a fine, straight forward, informative look at the air war over Europe after June 6 1944, with a surprising amount of new perspective on the moral issues of area bombing with implications in the present century. A worthy book about yesterday for today and tomorrow." - Midwest Book Review

"very readable account...intertwines the deeply personal and day to day minutiae of life on a Mighty 8th bomber base with the pros and cons of daylight missions and US offensive strategy. A chilling read..." - Flypast

"...an interesting and challenging read and a valuable contribution to air war literature." - Fighting High (UK)

"...enables the reader...to understand how and why things were the way they were in the skies of Europe in the Second World war. Very readable, surprisingly revealing." - Aviation News (UK)

"...an educated critique of the US bomber offensive during the Second World War.... An interesting read well worth taking up..." - Scale Aircraft Modeler International

"The combination of personal memoirs dotted in between the facts about the 100th's missions, plus the evident research skills of the author providing an intelligent analysis of a great many usual aspects of the events surrounding the 8th Air Force in Europe, creates a startling combination of the poignant and the historic." - Military Modeling

"...an elaborate study....well worth adding to any collection." - Military Model Craft International

I have been watching a documentary on DVD that I have from the History Channel; "WWII Lost Films: WWII in HD" and one of the stories was on a B-17 Pilot, Bert Stiles and how he completed his tour of duty in Europe and when he had the chance to go home he transferred to fly P-51 Mustangs and he was later killed. Apparently Bert Stiles was a great writer and whilst he was serving overseas he wrote a book; "Serenade to the Big Bird" which his mother published in 1947. I had to get a copy and ordered a first edition hardback and it arrived today, very nice.

This is a link to his story:

Bert Stiles

by Bert Stiles

The book below is due out for release in August 2011 and seems to offer a decent account of flying the B-24 in the Pacific Theatre during WW2, a subject not covered in great detail.

by Phil Scearce
Reviews:
"Phil Scearce’s Finish Forty and Home is a triumph of intimate history, following the author’s seventeen-year-old airman father as he goes to war in a forgotten but fiercely contested corner of World War II. Through meticulous research and lyrical prose, Scearce captures the grim grind of the Pacific war, life and death in a battered bomb squadron, and the tumultuous experiences of a B-24 radioman and his crew. Finish Forty and Home is a treasure: poignant, thrilling, and illuminating." - Laura Hillenbrand, (best-selling author of Unbroken and Seabiscuit)

"This book will help those who wish to gain a real insight to the personal and human aspects of the air war over the Pacific. Sgt. Scearce's story will surprise no one who was there, and everyone who was not." - Dr. James A. Mowbray, (Professor of Strategy, Doctrine, and Airpower, Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base)

"Scearce does a very good job of depicting the helter skelter of air combat or the sometimes prolonged fight to keep an aircraft in flight. The thing that comes across most clearly—a point essential to understanding the experience of fighting in World War II—is that the war was not a series of battles (they were highpoints) but an endless process of violence that extracted physical and psychological damage like a kind of water torture. There were so many different ways to die. Consequently, life was cheap." - Eric M. Bergerud, (author of Fire in the Sky: The Air War in the South Pacific and Touched with Fire: The Land War in the South Pacific)

"This history brings back memories of the dear friends who gave their lives in this war and is a tribute to them and to all those, like Sergeant Herman Scearce, who laid their lives on the line and were blessed to survive. It is a comfort to know that this record has been written in remembrance of these patriots and of this part of our war in the Pacific." - Colonel Jesse E. Stay, U.S. Air Force (ret)

Hi Rick - and everybody else interested in the subject.
There is a small private airstrip close to Paris with a museum full of airplanes (not just WW2 but mostly)
I once did a story on Monsieur Jean Salis, a terrific pilot. But now his son has taken over - also a great pilot in his own right.
They fly for French cinema and also for airshows.
I will never forget when Jean Salis flew a fake attack on me lying on the ground trying to capture things on film.

http://www.ajbs.fr/

Excellent post Andre, I didn't know about this place before, next time I go to France I will have to see if I can talk my wife in to a visit :)

The Military Channel has been showing a multi-part series on the American Volunteer Group (AVG), popularly known as the Flying Tigers. It jogged my memory and caused me to look on my TBR shelf. I discovered:
by John Willard Toland. It has gotten some good reviews so I am trying to work it into my reading schedule!!!

Hi Jill,

I have read a few of John Toland's books and have always found him a pretty decent writer but I have not seen this book before.

by John Willard Toland

I have a copy of; "Flying Tigers: Claire Chennault and His American Volunteers, 1941-1942" by Daniel Ford.

by Daniel Ford

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Excellent post Andre, I didn't know about this place before, next time I go to France I will have to see if I can talk my wife in to a visit :)"

Rick, I'm sure she will have a great time too. Give him a little time to warm up and Mr. Salis will be a great charmeur.
Both Salis are terrific people and they really know their stuff.

Here is a new book covering the air war over New Guinea during WW2:


by Peter Ewer
Description:
Most of us have heard of the battered and muddy troops who 'saved' Australia on the Kokoda Track during the darkest hours of the Pacific war. Far fewer know of the Australian pilots and aircrew of 75 Squadron who first checked the Japanese advance into the South West Pacific, in desperate air fighting that swirled over the jungles of New Guinea and the base at Port Moresby, fully six months before the land campaign began. Storm Over Kokoda tells how Australian crews, in a handful of Hudson bombers and Catalina flying boats, took the fight to the Japanese. Peter Ewer draws on eyewitness accounts and combat reports to shed new and exciting light on a neglected episode in Australian military history. This is not merely an 'aviation' story, but a compelling tale of men at war - on both sides - in a harsh physical environment. This was a time when every flight proved an epic, and every man a hero.

Saw this book today in a book shop, looks interesting and dare say I'll be buying a copy sooner than later:


by Mark Johnston
Description:
In Whispering Death, Mark Johnston, one of Australia's leading experts on World War II, explains vividly how more than 130,000 Australian airmen fought Japan from the Pacific War's first hours in 1941 to its last in 1945. They clashed over a vast area, from India to Noumea, Bass Strait to the Philippines. Merely flying over that region's boundless oceans and wild weather was dangerous enough for Australia's fliers, but their formidable enemies made it much more perilous. In their Zero fighters and Betty bombers they were initially too numerous, experienced and well-armed for the few Australians who opposed them in Malaya, the Northern Territory and New Guinea.

February 1942 brought the RAAF its darkest hour: the bombing of Darwin, which no Australian fighter planes contested. But in the months following, Australian aircrew won or contributed to great aerial victories in the air over Port Moresby, Milne Bay, the Papuan beachheads and the Bismarck Sea. The American air force grew to dominate both the Japanese and their Australian ally, but until war's end Australian aircrew continued to battle in Pacific skies, and to die in flaming aircraft or at the hands of vindictive captors. Some pilots, such as aces Clive 'Killer' Caldwell and Keith 'Bluey' Truscott became household names. Certain Australian aircraft caught the public imagination too: the Kittyhawk, the Spitfire and the plane dubbed 'Whispering Death' for its eviscerating firepower and deceptively quiet engines - the Beaufighter.

Australia's flight to victory was never smooth, thanks to internal squabbling at the RAAF's highest levels and a difficult relationship with the allies on whom Australia depended for aircraft and leadership. So controversial were the RAAF's final operations that some of its most prominent pilots mutinied. Based on thousands of official and private documents, Whispering Death makes for compelling reading.

Thank you for the add Aussie Rick as always.

My pleasure as always :)

Here is a new book that will be a must have if you are interested in some of Germany's top pilots of WW2:

by Colin D. Heaton
Description:
Walter Krupinski, Adolf Galland, Eduard Neumann, Wolfgang Falck: These men were four of the most important and influential Luftwaffe fighter pilots and air combat leaders in World War II. And they were all aces. The pages come to life as four of Germany's bravest and best pilots tell their stories about the war, their battles, their lives, and perhaps most important, how they felt about their leadership under the National Socialist German Workers Party-the Nazis.

by Wolfgang Fisher (no photo)

Memoirs of a Luftwaffe pilot who spend five of six years in combat....shot down twice, he was captured and held in the U.S. until repatriated in 1946 He describes all the events in his book, ranging from tragic to comic.

Great post Jill, looks like a very interesting book!

Here is one that I picked up a few days ago and covers a German bomber pilots experience during WW2 and after:

by Klaus Haberlen
Description:
A Luftwaffe Bomber Pilot Remembers is a bomber pilot's story from his early life prior to the ascension of the Nazi Party to power in Germany, his education and rise through the ranks of the Luftwaffe as a decorated bomber pilot, and even through his demotion at the hands of Gring late in the war. Also covered are Haeberlen's tribulations in a prisoner of war camp run by the Allies, and his success in post war Germany as a businessman. This book offers a unique first person perspective on the development of the war and its effect on those that were not in the highest realms of power

I also recently purchased a copy of this book as well; "In the Skies Over Europe: The Memoirs of Luftwaffe Fighter Pilot Gunther Scholz" by Ingo Mobius.

by Ingo Mobius
Description:
In the Skies of Europe is an eyewitness account of an important chapter in the history of German military aviation. When WWII started, Scholz was an Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän in JG 54. Together with his Staffel, he flew in the Polish and Western Campaigns, the Battle of Britain, and the war against Russia. Scholz is one of last surviving members of the Legion Condor and also one of the last major personalities of the Luftwaffe still able to tell of his experiences.

Here are two books that caught my eye earlier covering the Tuskegee Airmen (I ordered a copy of the first book).

by Lynn M. Homan
Review:
"Between 1941 and 1948, black airmen trained at a segregated facility in Tuskegee, Alabama, in a social experiment that eventually led to the opening of the armed services to black men and women. What became known as the Tuskegee Experience was the culmination of 10 years of struggle by civil rights groups to get the War Department to allow blacks to serve in the military. The hard-fought victory fell substantially short of the real objective--an integrated armed service. Still, the Tuskegee airmen secured a significant place in American and black history for bravery in service on and off the battlefield. Through interviews with Tuskegee airmen and their families, as well as archival research, Homan and Reilly convey the organizational and personal struggles behind the Tuskegee Experience. Homan and Reilly detail the training and war missions of the black airmen, hardships overcome in Europe as well as at home. This is a treasure of photographs and recollections of an important part of American history." - Booklist

by J. Todd Moye
Description:
As the country's first African American military pilots, the Tuskegee Airmen fought in World War II on two fronts: against the Axis powers in the skies over Europe and against Jim Crow racism and segregation at home. Although the pilots flew more than 15,000 sorties and destroyed more than 200 German aircraft, their most far-reaching achievement defies quantification: delivering a powerful blow to racial inequality and discrimination in American life.

In this inspiring account of the Tuskegee Airmen, historian J. Todd Moye captures the challenges and triumphs of these brave pilots in their own words, drawing on more than 800 interviews recorded for the National Park Service's Tuskegee Airmen Oral History Project. Denied the right to fully participate in the U.S. war effort alongside whites at the beginning of World War II, African Americans--spurred on by black newspapers and civil rights organizations such as the NAACP--compelled the prestigious Army Air Corps to open its training programs to black pilots, despite the objections of its top generals. Thousands of young men came from every part of the country to Tuskegee, Alabama, in the heart of the segregated South, to enter the program, which expanded in 1943 to train multi-engine bomber pilots in addition to fighter pilots. By the end of the war, Tuskegee Airfield had become a small city populated by black mechanics, parachute packers, doctors, and nurses. Together, they helped prove that racial segregation of the fighting forces was so inefficient as to be counterproductive to the nation's defense.

Freedom Flyers brings to life the legacy of a determined, visionary cadre of African American airmen who proved their capabilities and patriotism beyond question, transformed the armed forces--formerly the nation's most racially polarized institution--and jump-started the modern struggle for racial equality.

Review:
"Moye, associate professor of history at the University of North Texas, updates a now familiar story in this excellent history of the first African-American military pilots. Under pressure from black newspapers and the NAACP to open pilot training to blacks (and facing a re-election fight), President Franklin Roosevelt in 1940 authorized the creation of a segregated flight school at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and an all-black fighter squadron. The program trained almost 1,000 fliers, and nearly half served in combat during WWII, compiling an impressive record flying 15,000 sorties in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. Despite official skepticism and occasional hostility, the Tuskegee Airmen successfully demonstrated that racial segregation of troops was inefficient and... hindered national defense. Their record helped persuade the air force—largely for reasons of operational self-interest—and President Harry Truman to seek the immediate desegregation of the military after the war. The author directed the National Park Service's Tuskegee Airmen Oral History Project and mined some 800 interviews for his exhaustive research. Moye's lively prose and the intimate details of the personal narratives yield an accessible scholarly history that also succeeds as vivid social history." - Publishers Weekly

Here is a new title due out in a few months covering the Soviet Air Force during WW2:

by Von Hardesty
Description:
A groundbreaking account of the Soviet Air Force in World War II, the original version of this book, Red Phoenix, was hailed by the Washington Post as both “brilliant” and “monumental.” That version has now been completely overhauled in the wake of an avalanche of declassified Russian archival sources, combat documents, and statistical information made available in the past three decades. The result, Red Phoenix Rising, is nothing less than definitive.

The saga of the Soviet Air Force, one of the least chronicled aspects of the war, marked a transition from near annihilation in 1941 to the world’s largest operational-tactical air force four years later. Von Hardesty and Ilya Grinberg reveal the dynamic changes in tactics and operational art that allowed the VVS to bring about that remarkable transformation. Drawing upon a wider array of primary sources, well beyond the uncritical and ultra-patriotic Soviet memoirs underpinning the original version, this volume corrects, updates, and amplifies its predecessor. In the process, it challenges many “official” accounts and revises misconceptions promoted by scholars who relied heavily on German sources, thus enlarging our understanding of the brutal campaigns fought on the Eastern Front.

The authors describe the air campaigns as they unfolded, with full chapters devoted to the monumental victories at Moscow, Stalingrad, and Kursk. By combining the deeply affecting human drama of pilots, relentlessly confronted by lethal threats in the air and on the ground, with a rich technical understanding of complex military machines, they have produced a fast-paced, riveting look at the air war on the Eastern Front as it has never been seen before. They also address dilemmas faced by the Soviet Air Force in the immediate postwar era as it moved to adopt the new technology of long-range bombers, jet propulsion and nuclear arms.

Drawing heavily upon individual accounts down to the unit level, Hardesty and Grinberg greatly enhance our understanding of their story’s human dimension, while the book’s more than 100 photos, many never before seen in the West, vividly portray the high stakes and hardware of this dramatic tale. In sum, this is the definitive one-volume account of a vital but still underserved dimension of the war—surpassing its predecessor so decisively that no fan of that earlier work can afford to miss it.

Reviews:
"Red Phoenix was in a class of its own when it was first published but limited by what could be known from Soviet sources. This new edition of a classic can now tell the story in full. For anyone who wants to know what contribution the Soviet Air Force made to the grueling victory over Axis forces on the Eastern Front there is no better guide." - Richard Overy, (author of The Air War, 1939–1945)

"An impressive and long-awaited work that goes a long way towards filling one of the last major gaps in the historiography of the 1939–1945 air war. It should dominate the field for decades." - Richard R. Muller, (author of The German Air War in Russia)

As we know, the American "Jim Crow" racism had a great affect on the African-American members of the armed forces, particularly in the Army Air Corps. It was thought that Blacks didn't have what it took to be pilots. The Tuskegee Airmen put paid to that myth and this book captures the challenges and triumphs of those pilots in their own words. It is filled with interviews from the Tuskegee Airmen Oral History Project and is highly recommended.

by J. Todd Moye

For those who have a fascination with the German Me 262 jet here is a new book due out in a few months that may be quite interesting:

by Colin D. Heaton
Description:
The introduction of the Me 262 Stormbird jet fighter was a potential game changer for the Germans in World War II, but production delays and a shortage of pilots minimized its impact on the war. Nevertheless, jet engines were the way of the future, and the Stormbird loomed large in the experiences of the World War II pilots who flew and fought the first jet fighter.

In The Me 262 Stormbird, Colin D. Heaton (The German Aces Speak) covers the iconic fighter in detail, often in the words of the men who flew it or fought it. From Willi Messerschmitt’s original designs, through the early technical difficulties and flight tests, and eventual introduction of the aircraft into the war, Heaton covers the Stormbird’s history in detail alongside fascinating anecdotes from many of Germany’s top aces—and the Allied airmen who went head to head with the futuristic jet while flying their prop-driven planes.

Heaton also covers the political machinations involved in getting approval for the jet—Hitler was personally involved—as well as the infighting among the Luftwaffe’s senior officers, some of whom wanted the aircraft designed as a fighter and others who wanted it designed as a bomber.

The first Me 262 squadron, ultimately designated as JG-7, and Adolf Galland’s squadron, JV-44, are covered extensively, along with the two-seater Me 262 night fighter. Heaton rounds out his narrative with the American perspective of Allied airmen who faced the 262, as well as an analysis of the Stormbird program and its post-war impact. The Me 262 Stormbird is a definitive account of this state-of-the-art aircraft.

“We were flying the most advanced aircraft in the world, but were on a short leash. We were outnumbered perhaps one hundred to one every time we went up, and that does not count the bombers. Sometimes we had five or six jets for a mission. There were that many American or British fighters hanging around our airfields during daylight and maybe four to five hundred enemy fighters passed by during the day, every day. It was incredible, and morale was still high among all of us.” — Georg-Peter Eder, German Fighter Ace

Just saw that this book is due for release in a few months, great subject by a very good author:


by Tom Holland
Description:
The night of May 16th, 1943. Nineteen specially adapted Lancaster bombers take off from RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, each with a huge 9,000lb cylindrical bomb strapped underneath them. Their mission: to destroy three dams deep within the German heartland, which provide the lifeblood to the industries supplying the Third Reich's war machine. From the outset, it was an almost impossible task, a suicide mission: to fly low and at night in formationover many miles of enemy occupied territory at the very limit of the Lancasters' capacity, and drop a new weapon which had never been tried operationally before at a precise height of just sixty feet from the water at some of the most heavily defended targets in Germany. More than that, the entire operation had to be put together in less than ten weeks. When visionary aviation engineer Barnes Wallis' concept of the bouncing bomb was green lighted, he hadn't even drawn up his plans for the weapon that was the smash the dams. What followed was an incredible race against time, which, despite numerous set-backs and against huge odds, became one of the most successful and game-changing bombing raids of all time.

Here are two separate accounts of the second RAF Bomber Command mission to Hamburg in 1943 and the affects of the intense fire on the road asphalt:

“ …. I saw two women running, a young one and an older one, whose shoes got stuck in the boiling asphalt. They pulled their feet out of the shoes but that wasn’t a good idea because they had to step into the boiling asphalt. They fell and didn’t get up again. Like flies in the hot was of a candle.”

And this:

“ …. The asphalt of the road had become almost liquid with the immense heat. They reached the middle, where their feet got stuck in the asphalt. Their legs began to burn because of the heat, the flames ate their way up and met again above their heads. At first they screamed, then became quieter, and finally, they gave a last rattling breath and were dead.”

by Keith Lowe

Great list and although I've read quite a few of these there's so many that are new to me.
really like the Middlebrook books Rick ( and slightly off topic-his First Day on the Somme)

Whenever I read a book about airmen (in the First and Second World War) I always end up thinking-how the hell did they do it...? Day after day, night after night and you just have to shake your head in admiration.

It puts our own petty trials and tribulations very much into context.

Hi Mark,

Yep, "The First Day on the Somme" is a classic and that was the book that got me interested in the Great War.

In regards to RAF Bomber Command and the USAAF I also have wondered how did they keep on getting into their planes and going up on another mission. Some very somber reading.

by Martin Middlebrook