Customer Reviews

Flak Bait: The Story of the B 26 Bombers and the Men Who Flew Them in World War II

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I read this book as a military brat in occupied Japan in 1948 or 1949. I really don't remember much about it except that it kept me engrossed for days. I remember it as the first book read from cover to cover as though obsessed: under the cover at night with a flashlight, pretending to be at homework so I could stay up later, on the train on the way to school: Takarazuka to Osaka, about a hour each way.

Now I'd like to read it again to see what kept this ten year old obsessed.

The most personal and dramatic item in the book is the astounding photo of the B-26 with the starboard engine being blown off by a German 88. My friend, T. Sgt. Jesse "Will" Largent was the top tuurret radio man who escaped that crash and was later held prisoner in a German naval hospital in Toulon.

For more on this, Google Will Largent B-26 crew in a story by Homer Bigart of the New York Herald Tribune dated August, 1944.

Also, the book on the RAF by Will Largent published by Purdue University Press.

I ordered this as a gift. I was a little reluctant to buy a used book, but it is out of print. I was pleasantly surprised when the item came in what I think was better than stated condition. Received in plenty of time and no problems with the transaction.