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A review by soundertillidie
Blood and Fears: How America's Bomber Boys of the 8th Air Force Saved World War II by Kevin Wilson
5.0
***Honest Review, Book Acquired from a Goodreads giveaway***
It was great. Right up my ally. WWII and Aviation all in one. It is a match made in heaven.
Blood and Fears is a book about the 8th Air Force. The American Bomber boys did save World War II. This book explained how.
The thing I really loved about this book is that it was not written like a non-fiction book. It was not an overload of stats. It was a great mixture of stats, facts and first hand accounts from the Airman who where there.
The 8th Air Force was a group with many back stories. Many people coming from many different parts of the US. All there for one common goal. Their goal was to defeat Hermann Göring who was the leader of the Luftwaffe. Ultimately their main goal was to make the German forces and people helpless and give them a sense of defeatism. The 8th turned the tied of war.
The 8th used daylight bombing to pound targets while the Royal Air Force did daylight raids. They would nail targets day in and day out. The crews of the B-17's and B-24's would fly log mission in a unpressurized plane. In subfreezing conditions. It was was not glamorous up there. The crews would have to not only fight the Nazi pilots but would have to fight low moral and home sickness. When the war started 25 missions was what a crew member would need to fly to get sent home. Moral hit the fan when that 25 mission number was pushed to 35. The mortality rate was high. Many man would be hit or see their friends hit.
War may have been hard but the mental images of what the men saw is something you can never erase.
If you like history, WWII, and aviation. You will like this book.
It was great. Right up my ally. WWII and Aviation all in one. It is a match made in heaven.
Blood and Fears is a book about the 8th Air Force. The American Bomber boys did save World War II. This book explained how.
The thing I really loved about this book is that it was not written like a non-fiction book. It was not an overload of stats. It was a great mixture of stats, facts and first hand accounts from the Airman who where there.
The 8th Air Force was a group with many back stories. Many people coming from many different parts of the US. All there for one common goal. Their goal was to defeat Hermann Göring who was the leader of the Luftwaffe. Ultimately their main goal was to make the German forces and people helpless and give them a sense of defeatism. The 8th turned the tied of war.
The 8th used daylight bombing to pound targets while the Royal Air Force did daylight raids. They would nail targets day in and day out. The crews of the B-17's and B-24's would fly log mission in a unpressurized plane. In subfreezing conditions. It was was not glamorous up there. The crews would have to not only fight the Nazi pilots but would have to fight low moral and home sickness. When the war started 25 missions was what a crew member would need to fly to get sent home. Moral hit the fan when that 25 mission number was pushed to 35. The mortality rate was high. Many man would be hit or see their friends hit.
War may have been hard but the mental images of what the men saw is something you can never erase.
If you like history, WWII, and aviation. You will like this book.