Customer Reviews

The Mighty Eighth: The Air War in Europe as Told by the Men Who Fought It

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The bold US Air Corps policy of daylight strategic bombing deep into Nazi territory proved deadly, unfortunately it was deadly on both sides.

Bold is too tame a word to describe the incredible devotion to duty exhibited on almost every mission of the Mighty Eighth bomber force. For maximum results, bombing accuracy was exchanged for planes and lives. They bombed during broad daylight, they took no evasive action on a bomb run and not until late in the air campaign would there be pursuit escorts over enemy territory. The bombers became sitting ducks for flak and easy pickings for enemy fighters.

I had two uncles, both dead now, who were gunners on bombers in the Mighty Eighth. I never could get them to tell me much about it, but now we have this book to give us details of what fliers endured. I learned a lot from this book and plan to read it again soon. The personal oral history format exposes you to several different viewpoints, often on the same incident.

Coming to England in the nick of time to bolster the battered and exhausted R.A.F., these fliers were not all the stereotypical egomaniacs I had seen portrayed in countless films. In this book I met salesmen, farmers, college students, high school ROTC Cadets, engineers and mechanics who all loved their country and loved to fly. Certainly there were some hotshots in the mix, but most fliers just wanted to kill all the Germans they could. Shooting down a ME190 with a waist mounted .50 caliber machine gun after dropping a full load of bombs on a Nazi synthetic fuel refinery suited them just fine. I learned that just simply finding your home field in the fog could be as big a gamble as flying through a German flak barrage surrounding your primary target.

This is a great companion piece to "Band of Brothers" and both of those "The Greatest Generation" books. All these books give you first person accounts weaved into the author's narrative. In this book though, the weave is almost seamless making this a thoroughly enjoyable yet enlightening read chapter after chapter. A superb job of editing with just the right amount of historical perspective. Now if we can only focus Mr. Astor's attention on the Pacific!

Having both cataloged individual Oral Histories at a University's manuscript division, and putting together a short family oral history, I can appreciate the task that Gerald Astor has taken on: the reconstruction of a military operation through oral history. The task must have been daunting because recollections can be both supporting and in conflict. The picture that Astor finally delivers is one of incredible bravery.

Before 1944 the odds were against anyone completing their tour of 25 missions, primarily due to the misguided philosophy of the Army Air Corp that heavy bombers could hold their own against enemy fighter attacks. When the Air Corp finally accepted the need for long range fighter protection, the odds improved dramatically.

Irreguardless of the odds, these young men went up several times a week and flew 10 plus hour missions in unpressurized aircraft. I read somewhere that fighter mission were 30 minutes of boredom and 5 minutes of terror. These bombing missions must of been a lot more than 5 minutes of terror.

This history covers their prewar background, their training, their missions, and how they coped with the strain. In some cases, it covers their survival after being shot down, prison camps, escapes, and the murder of airmen.

While it is unfortunate that the lasting effects of these bombing missions were very minimal (much like the charge of the 500), I cannot point to any other group of Americans in history who showed more bravery when the odds were against them.

I highly recommend this book

Astor's Mighty Eighth gives a thorough account of the efforts of the US Army Air Corps' 8th Air Force in World War II. It can be at times very human, others very number-crunching. I gave this book to my A.P. US History juniors this summer, and they did not find it as informative as I would have liked. Still, for a solid account that shows how the 8th, which did not exist prior to Pearl Harbor, was assembled into the mightiest armada of planes in history, this does the job. Of the few books dedicated solely to the bombing of Europe by the 8th, this stands out due to its number of personal accounts and stories used by Astor to reinforce his points and research.

My father Robert F. LaMere was a bombadier in the 100th Bomb Group. This book very closely matches his personal account of life in a B-17

I just read this book. I was a little hesitant to read a book on the air war over Europe as most of my interest is in the ground war BUT once I started to read this book, I couldn't put it down. It is a GRIPPING account of aerial combat and every bit as thrilling as the accounts of the epic battlefields of Europe. The book is full of first-hand stories, many of which are likey told for the first time. A major accomplishment as many of our "heroes" are now passing on. It's great that their accomplishments are recorded for the future. After reading this book, I realized that the bomber offensive against Germany hurt it almost as much as the Russian steamroller on the Eastern Front. A very highly recommended book!

I have been a keen fan of Gerald Astor since I first read his book 'Operation Iceberg'. Up until that time I was not keen on oral histories but this author has changed my mind in regard to this style of history. In this book he once again produces an excellent and moving account of the strains, experiences and horrors that men bear in wartime. This book covers the American daylight effort in the airwar over Europe which was just as horrific as that of the British & Commonwealth nightime efforts. At times when I read this book I could picture the spinning and burning B-17's and B-24's going down and I think that this is a timely book to remind us of the young men who went down with those planes on behalf of their family, friends and country. The book offers a good overview of the terrible battles over Europe and also covers the efforts of the fighter pilots and ground crew. Enjoyable and sad!

Astor has done an incredible job with this book. His sources are sound and it's incredibly readable as well. The best part of this book is the fact that Astor uses so many incidents and details from the members of the 8th AF themselves. He really makes the reader care about the people he writes about and the entire 8th AF as a whole. Unlike other books he also brings the horror of even the air war to life. A reader vividly gets the feel that while the war on the ground was worse, the air war was no picinic either.

This book is a good starting place for those interested in learning about the U.S. Eighth Air Force in World War II. Astor has done a fine job combining the recollections of the men who fought in the air or supported the planes on the ground. He traces the history of the Eighth from its birth to the end of the war, covering events pretty much chronologically. There is also a fine index for those who like to use the book for reference or research. Mr. Astor is an adept oral historian and this book provides a solid base for learning about the 'Mighty Eighth'. I recommend it.

My father was a navigator on a B-17 in WWII and has passed away. I am interested in what his life was like back then. Even though it does not refer to his specific bomb group, I found it very interesting and detailed and gave me a good idea of the dedication and service of our veterans. It is amazing that anyone survived those times. I also didn't think much about how new aviation was at the time. This is a very readable history and I highly recommend it.

Gerald Astor has assembled many wonderful stories written by the men who are best suited to tell the story of the Mighty Eighth Air Force. This book was difficult to put down for two reasons: 1. The story it tells is extremely exciting and tragic at the same time and 2. The stories as told by the men who were there impart a quality and feeling that can be hard to find in more traditional histories. I definitely recommend this book.