50 Mission Crush [Hardcover]

Donald R. Currier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1992

bomber during World War II, tells the remarkable story of the men of the U.S. Fifteenth Air Force and the air battles that they fought over Europe. Reprint.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This unpretentious memoir features a neglected airplane and an overlooked Air Force. In 1944 Currier, who retired in 1969, was the navigator of a B-24 Liberator, flying strategic-bombardment missions with the 15th Air Force, based in Italy. The B-24, overshadowed by its more exciting stablemate, the Flying Fortress, was nevertheless an excellent aircraft for the long ranges and demanding flight conditions of the Mediterranean theater. And if the primary targets of the 15th Air Force lacked the obvious glamour of Hamburg or Berlin, Ploesti, Regensburg and Vienna were no milk runs. Currier's matter-of-fact description of the war of attrition waged over Europe during WW II is highlighted by a minor statistic. Of the 17 crews trained together in Currier's squadron, 10 were shot down in six months. The flight crews' distinctive grommetless cap, the "fifty-mission crush," had a steep price.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The product of a major engineering and production effort, the B-24 heavy bomber demanded similar commitment from the crews who manned it during World War II. This memoir tells the story of one such crew and their plane, "Wood's Chopper," from training through combat missions in the war's Italian theater. The author's perspective as the aircraft's navigator provides a different point of view from the usual pilot-oriented memoir, and Currier paints an interesting picture of the lives (and deaths) of heavy-bomber crews operating in one of the lesser-known areas of wartime operations. The title refers to the appearance of the standard-issue army uniform hat after 50 wartime missions, following which crews were rotated home. Operational and combat losses were so heavy, however, that many of the aircraft and men did not survive to make their "50." Recommended for military and aviation collections.-- Stanley Planton, Ohio Univ.
Chillicothe Lib.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: White Mane Pub; First Edition edition (April 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0942597435
• ISBN-13: 978-0942597431
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,937,007 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent tale of of one man's experience in WW II., July 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: 50 Mission Crush (Hardcover)

I found the book to be very clear from start to finish. The description from his very first days of training to his last day of battle was very descriptive and could fullfill the reader to a true sence of what the author experienced. Although not shockingly descriptive to the true sence of what men in his position experienced, the book still makes good reading for those who wish to know of life as a member of a bomber crew.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insight into my fathers service in wwII, April 6, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: 50 Mission Crush (Hardcover)

My father was a top terret gunner in the B-24 in the 15th airforce 449 bomber group stationed in Grottalie, Italy. He spoke very little about the war. This book gave an insight into what my father life was like durning his 55 missions. It was a great book for my family.

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Informative Puts you right there with the author, January 19, 2011

By 

Jeff - See all my reviews

This review is from: 50 Mission Crush (Paperback)

This book outlines the same bomber group that my grandfather was in. Sadly, his B-24 was shot down on his eighth mission and there were no survivors. There are a couple corrections that could be made to the bomb run on Jan 30 but only with what I have found out from local Italians near the crash site. Unfortunately Lt Courier has passed away also for any future updates or revisions. This book put me right there with my grandfather I never got to know. Even without this peek at the life of the 449th and my special connection, I would rate this book as 5 stars for any WWII enthusiast or for someone wanting a view of the war from the bomber group side.