Customer Reviews

303rd Bombardment Group (Osprey Aviation Elite 11)

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The 303rd "Hell's Angels" Bomb Group was one of the cornerstones of the 8th Air Force's campaign against Germany, being one of the first four "pioneer" groups permanently assigned to the 8th AF. As such, they helped translate pre-war doctrine into effective strategy albeit at a heavy cost in men and aircraft. In doing so, the 303rd compiled an exemplary combat record, which is ably chronicled in this Osprey Aviation Elite volume by Brian O'Neill.

The 303rd flew its first combat missions in November 1942 and subsequently took part in many memorable, sometimes painful strikes on targets such as Wilhelmshaven, Bremen, Hamburg, Schweinfurt and Berlin. It was the first 8th AF bomb group to fly 300 missions, eventually racking up a total of 364, more than any other bomb group! The cost was 210 B-17s lost in combat or operational accidents.

O'Neill packs a lot of information into the book's 120 pages of text, recounting the exploits of the B-17 aircrew who took "Sky Wolf," "Knock-out Dropper," "Hell's Angels" and "The Duchess" into harm's way. The book features dozens of photos, 13 pages of color profiles and a nifty 3-page nose art section.

A fine tribute to a great bunch of airmen!

My father was in the 359th of the 303rd from Oct 43 through July 44. He went over to England with 300 men and 30 planes. Only 18 men returned to the State's during the war and another 12 were repatriated after the war. Luckily Dad was one of the 18 - although he refought the bombing runs he had made every night in his dreams until the day he passed on. I have read the diary that his crewmate kept of their missions together. The accuracy of this book to the diary is very impressive. It is much more than a listing of the mission logs - which are available by book now if that interests you - it catches the flavor of the times. I think that my father would have been very proud to have had this book in his library to give to people when they asked him what it was like to fly with the Hell's Angels. Gerald R. Carter

What a magnificent and humbling read this book was for me.It displays quite a wealth of information of how one particular Bombardment Group did it part during the war against Nazi Germany. For it also reveals in great detail the losses that were experienced on a daily basis in men and aircraft. This book holds nothing back, it simply gives undeniable and truthful facts of what must have seemed a continuous conveyer belt of death and destruction. The losses suffered by the 8th Air Force were a mirror image to the massive continual losses suffered nightly by The RAF Bomber Command. Though it can not be denied that the bravery and determination of the aircrews, and not forgetting the ground crews, was outstanding. The stories within the pages of this book folks are really humbling to say the very least.For the American thinking of the time was that bombing targets during broard daylight would enable them to see THEIR targets. Trouble with that thinking was if the Americans could see THEIR targets with confidence. Then the Germans could see THEM as THEIR targets with the same amount of confidence Well worth reading and realising just what sacrifices these young men made regularly in broad daylight and odds stacked against them.