B-24 Liberators of the 15th Air Force/49th Bomb Wing in World War II (Schiffer Military History) [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Mike Hill (Author), John R. Beitling (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 2006 | Series: Schiffer Military History

The first in a planned series that presents the B-24 Liberators used by the 15th Air Force in World War II, noted B-24 historians Robert Beitling and Mike Hill present for the first time the biographies of the individual B-24s used by the 451st, 461st and 484th Bomb Groups of the 49th Bomb Wing in Italy. As much information as is known about the individual aircraft is presented in biographical form: serial number, nickname, how the aircraft received its nickname, number of missions, original aircraft for the groups, and the ultimate fate of the aircraft. The volume will be of interest to historians, veterans and those who are interested in the B-24s that flew in the flak filled skies of the Third Reich.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Schiffer Pub Ltd (March 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764324233
• ISBN-13: 978-0764324239
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,361,776 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nicely Done Photo-History of 15th AF B-24s!, February 13, 2008

By 

Michael OConnor "Wordsmith" (Wausau, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: B-24 Liberators of the 15th Air Force/49th Bomb Wing in World War II (Schiffer Military History) (Hardcover)

The MTO-based 15th Air Force, though it flew its share of hairy missions in WW II, never received the publicity garnered by the 8th Air Force based in England. Likewise there have been far fewer books on the 15th AF published since war's end. Fans of the 15th AF and/or the B-24 Liberator, therefore, should enjoy this photo tribute to the Liberators of the 49th Bomb Wing which was assigned to the 15th from April 1944 to October 1945.

The 49th BW was made up of three bomb groups: the 451st, 461st and 484th. Michael Hill and John Beitling's book takes a look at each bomb group in turn with the emphasis on the histories of the individual B-24s that served in each group. The 451st, which was the subject of an earlier book by Hill, receives the largest coverage (64 pages). By contrast, the 461st section is 32 pages long; the 484th, 33.

Following a two-page summary of the group's history and aircraft markings, the authors then present capsule histories of the unit's aircraft arranged by serial number. Many of the aircraft are illustrated with a black and white photograph. About one-third are air-to-air views; the remainder being ground shots with close-views of nose art. And 49th BW Libs had some really great nose art!

If you're looking for detailed information on missions flown by the 49th BW, this isn't the book for you. Rather it is a nicely done and surprisingly informative photo guide to the slab-sided warbirds that carried 49th BW crews into battle.

Interesting reading!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars lost opportunity, August 30, 2010

By 

Michael Enright (Melbourne) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

Here is a book of lost opportunity. What could have been a fine account - there are certainly enough good photographs and background text - has been trashed by typographical errors.

I am yet to see a book of any kind so replete with diacritics. This is especially the case in the first half of the book.

I supect that somewhere along the line this book has been rushed to print. There seems little other reason for such an appalling textual presentation. Who 'proofed' this? The Marx Brothers? This is NOT a Schiffer book of the quality of Kuhl's 'Wrong Place!...' or Havelaar's work on the 91st BG.

This is a book with a weak narrative spine. That would not be such a problem if the photographs were of better quality. They are poorly printed. For such an illustrative format, the reader looking for diagramatic representations of the groups markings will be disappointed.

It's rubbish.

Michael Enright

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, October 12, 2007

By 

Tommy H. Martin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: B-24 Liberators of the 15th Air Force/49th Bomb Wing in World War II (Schiffer Military History) (Hardcover)

Not as much historical detail as I was hoping for but lots of informatin about various aircraft.