Customer Reviews

THROUGH BLUE SKIES TO HELL: America's "Bloody 100th" in the Air War over Germany

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"Through Blue Skies to Hell," by Edward Sion, started out as a tribute to his uncle who flew 34 combat missions in a B-17 with the 100 Bombardment Group. He finished with his uncle's diary as the book's centerpiece, supplemented by very readable discussions of the technical and strategic contributions of the allied bombing campaign against Germany.

Sion's book is intended for the mainstream reader interested in World War II strategic bombing. His style brings to life dry topics such as the Norden bomb sight. Detailed discussions of this technological marvel could cure the most devoted reader's insomnia, but Sion's readable prose combined with apropos diagrams will keep readers engaged.

The Wizard's War between Germany and the Allies saw the development of numerous radar and electronic countermeasure systems. Sion includes chapters on some of these other technological marvels such as the German Wassermann, Freya, Würzburg-Reissen, and Lichtenstein radar systems. From the allied side, he includes radar guided bombing systems such as the GEE, H2S and H2X, the last of which is supplemented by an amazing photo of its radar image of the D-Day landings.

In warfare, technological advances drive new tactics and strategy. Sion again does an outstanding job describing contentious issues such as target selection, which caused a rift between US and British bomber strategists, into terms for the layman. More importantly, he provides the strategic context for how the ground war in western Europe was progressing, and how the bomber campaign contributed to the overall allied efforts.

With the technological and strategic environments in context, Sion then presents his uncle's diary. After each diary entry, he provides a layman's analysis of each mission describing the bomb payload and where the aircraft flew in the bombing formation. In a few instances, he also included personal interviews with other crew members to share additional perspectives on the more memorable bombing missions.

Sion concludes the book with a discussion on the moral implications of strategic bombing, again placing the bombings and destruction into strategic context. The intellectual arguments are very similar to those presented in other works such as "Among the Dead Cities", by A.C. Grayling. Sion's arguments are more succinct, yet just as effective.

My only complaint is that Sion seems to be unjustifiably critical of the British, especially his perspective that the tactic of area bombing used by the British was immoral. With the luxury of 5 decades of hindsight, it is difficult for today's strategists to appreciate the true historical context of these strategic decisions. He is equally critical of the United States' firebombing of Japan, but I just felt he was too harsh on the British.

This book is well-researched, well-supported by diagrams and photographs, and easy to read. I highly recommend "Through Blue Skies to Hell" for any airpower enthusiast. If you enjoyed, Stephen Ambrose's "Into the Wild Blue", you will enjoy this one too.

I bought this book with high hopes as I have long been interested in the Eighth Air Force during WW2 and especially the 100th BG. I was very disappointed. It is very poorly written, contains many basic factual inaccuracies, is incredibly repetitive (the explanation of what "Mickey" was is given at least seven times!). The book also has many spelling mistakes, Bernie Lay Jnr who is quoted extensively is misspelt on a number of occasions as Bierne Lay Jnr! Edward Sion seems to have done a lot of research and tried to fit a bit of everything into this book and in my opinion it just doesn't work! It strikes me that this book needed a proof reader with some knowledge of the subject to catch all the errors and an editor who could have put it all together properly. As it is it reads like an average High School project.
This is a shame as the author has attempted to construct the book around his Uncles war diary in an attempt to honour his role in the war. Unfortunately for the reader the diary only makes up a short part of the book with most of it being taken up by the authors jumbled ramblings.
If you want a good read about the 100th BG you would be much better off getting "A Wing and a Prayer" by Harry Crosby or "Target Berlin" by Jeffery Ethell and Alfred Price. For a general history of the Eighth Air Force you can't beat "The Mighty Eighth" by Roger A. Freeman, the "Eighth Air Force" by Donald L. Miller is also an excellent read.

"Through Blue Skies to Hell" delivers a real punch. It contains a mission-by-mission diary of 1st Lieutenant Richard R. Ayesh, from Wichita, Kansas, uncle of author Edward M. Sion and a bombardier who flew 34 missions over Europe in a B-17 "Flying Fortress" with the 100th Bombardment Group, 13th Combat Wing, 8th Air Force during the closing days of World War II. Among his combat awards were the Distinguished Flying Cross, Croix de Guerre and the Air Medal with four Oak Leave clusters.

"Through Blue Skies to Hell" begins with a brief biography of Lt. Ayesh, during the depression, in Wichita, Kansas to his arrival in England as a bombardier, assigned to the 100th Bombardment Group, through 34 missions and his return home.

Author Sion, PhD, and current Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Villanova University, then examines the bombs and bomb sight, the principles of American daylight bombing, bomber formations and tactics. He writes a brief history of Thorpe Abbotts, in East Anglia, just north of London, home of the 100th Group, followed by a mission-by-mission diary of Lt. Ayesh. The diary reminds us of the daily risks taken by young men seeing death on a daily basis, facing fields of flak, fierce enemy fighters and foul weather.

This is not a history of the 'Bloody 100th Bomb Group. That has been done before. It is a fine, straight forward, informative look at the air war over Europe after June 6th 1944, with a surprising amount of new perspective on the moral issues of area bombing with implications in the present century.

A worthy book about yesterday for today and tomorrow.

Richard N. Larsen
Reviewer

This book has allot to offer but for me the real exception is in the mission journal, summarizing what it was like for this B17 crew over 34 missions. You read it as the Bombardier recorded it and this crew had many amazing experiences. These were brave men who risked it all for their country. I was left satisfied with my understanding of their experiences and this is a big compliment. I discovered this book after it was published, finding that my Father (long deceased) was a member of the crew..