Customer Reviews

Liberators over Norwich: The 458th Bomb Group (H), 8th USAAF at Horsham St. Faith 1944-1945

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As the daughter of a B24 Liberator pilot and POW at Barth the last nine months of the war, I am grateful that his BG now has its own documented history. I only wish Dad had lived to read it, as he contributed in his small way via email correspondence with Mr. Scorza. (Unfortunately he died a month shy of his 90th birthday shortly before the book was published.) The book gave me a comprehensive understanding of the 458's role in the war, and the photos are teriffic!

This book focuses exclusively on the 458th Bomb Group and the history of that unit through the end of World War II. The 458th was nothing special when it came to the history of the air war over Europe. It did participate in most all of the major raids in 1944 through the end of the war, and in addition did have the privilege of testing new bomb delivery methods. As far as bomb groups are concerned, the 458th was probably pretty average. THATS WHAT MAKES THIS BOOK A REALLY GREAT HISTORY. The text conveys the history of the unit in a very decent manner. Giving the reader fantastic accounts of the various bomb missions performed. The photographs are nothing short of amazing. One of the authors, Darin Scorza maintains a historical website for the 458th BG. Through this website families have contributed stories and photographs. Many of this photographs are from the crews themselves and their families. Why is the fact that the 458th BG was just average a good thing? I think this book goes a long way in showing what a typical aircrew member went though during the air war. There are no glorified stories of famous actors or baseball players, just your average everyday Americans risking EVERYTHING so that the people of the world can be free.

If you have ANY interest in the World War II air war over Europe, I would highly recommend this book. You will not be disappointed.

Greg Spencer

This book is very,very good book!Excellent writings,photos and color profiles.If you are interested in WW2 aircrafts,you must have this book!!