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Black Thursday Mass Market Paperback – 1960

by Martin Caidin (Author)

102 customer reviews

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Black Thursday, first published in 1960, is the masterful retelling of the U.S. bombing raid on Schweinfurt, Germany on October 14, 1943. The mission's objective was to destroy Nazi ball-bearing factories (ball-bearings were critical in most machinery). Of 291 B-17 Flying Fortresses involved in the attack, 60 planes and 650 men were lost over this heavily defended region. Black Thursday provides an exciting look at the mission: the B-17's background, the briefings, the flight crews and ground crews at work, and, of course, the fateful mission itself. Included are 16 pages of photographs and numerous pen and ink illustrations.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product details

Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Dutton; 1st edition (1960)
Language: English
ASIN: B0007DXU98
Package Dimensions: 7 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
Average Customer Review: 102 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,146,877 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #14987 in Books > History > Military > Aviation
- #52289 in Books > History > Military > World War II

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Best of the Best From a Fabled Author of WWII History

ByStephen Harton October 10, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I initially read Black Thursday almost fifty years ago and would say it was one of the tales of WWI which triggered a lifelong interest in that conflict. It was that memory which led me to order the Kindle version.. And I found the book to be as much of a classic now as I did then

It tells the story of what was perhaps the most disastrous bomber Mission undertaken by the U.S. Air Force during the War from many perspectives - from the intelligence gathering through Mission preparation and the Mission itself.

Caidin's book spares no one in its graphic description of the horrors of air combat and it's written in a way that builds suspense in spite of the reader's knowledge that those airmen engaged on both sides are approaching their doom.

Caidin wrote many books about WWII and the air conflict in multiple Theaters. Having read a lot of them, this is his best.

0Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

The real SACRIFICE

ByDel K. Rykerton June 13, 2013

Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase

Mr. Caidin is one of those authors who expend a great deal of energy and time to get all his facts accurate. My Dad was a ball turret gunner and backup pilot in the B-17 in the 8th Army Air Corp. This book is told accurately in all regards according to my Dad who lived it and survived it. It is wirtten in such a way to help the readers understand the how and why some of the decisions were made and why the crews fought so determined. Many a german pilot had the utmost admiration for the tenacity of the crews and the feats they would pull off with their machines. It describes how subtle things the crews could do would foil the enemy in their attacks. If you apprecaite a historically accurate read of what and how some of these battles occured in the air over Euorpe then you will enjoy this book. I have read many of Mr. Caidin's books and have not found one poorly written. His reputation garners comments in waiting rooms of " Ah ~~ You got one of the good ones " " Great read isn't it ?" etc. I will look for it in hardback because I enjoyed it that much.

0Comment 4 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Good book depicting the raids on Schweinfurt

ByPete Stewarton May 25, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Good book depicting the raids on Schweinfurt. My mom was born there and lived through the raid and married my G.I dad there in 47' and I was born there in 48' . I have uncles who worked in the ball bearing factories. I've visited Schweinfurt several times over the years.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Black thursday

ByMiguel Bastos Romaoon May 25, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The best thing I had the opportunity to experience reading this book was the thrill, the anguish, the loneliness that mission overwhelmingly exerted on each of those flyers during the flight to/from Schweinfurt. I felt as I were part of those crews, inevitably flying to my death. Although naturally dramatic, the real possibility of not coming back to England could inflict a sort of fascination rarely compared to few events during WWII.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Excellant doesn't come close.

ByJim Borgeron May 20, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

If you have read other books by Caidin then you know that he was one of the best aviation writers. If you haven't read his works then you don't know what you're missing. You don't have to be into aviation to enjoy his books because he tells the story from the point of view of everyone involved, such as the crews that washed the bombs because the slightest bit of mud could affect the trajectory after release. I bet you never even thought about that and it's only one example of what it takes to pull off a successful mission. The mission this book is about was doomed from the start as very little went as planned. From the weather that grounded their fighter protection and other bombers that could have provided more covering fire against as many as 1,200 possible enemy fighters to the anti-aircraft batteries around the target it was a worst case scenario.

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Very Descriptive Accurately portrayed

ByDel K. Rykerton April 11, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Many of our Fathers and Grandfathers had to endure some terrible ordeals to win WW II. It came with great sacrifce from many fronts. This book accurately tells the brutal reality of what they went through to deliver their ordance where it would do the most damage no matter how badly the enemies tried to deny them. Many heroic stores are lost in history due to those not surviving and making it back to tell their stories.. But those that did see what they did and could tell what they witnessed help give credence to their heroic efforts. My Dad was a ball turret gunner / backup pilot on 17's and told me this book was very accurately written. He flew over 30 missions over some of the most hostile German targets and had 3 bombers shot out from under them. He has often spoken of the deafening sound during battle and the heavy smell of cordite as you fight for your lives with an airplane that is taking such a pounding you can feel every major hit on its frame and the pilots can tell as it becomes riddled. More drag and out of trim the plane becomes and sometimes only having 2 engines left to aim for home. There are stories of some of the 17's landing with everyone dead in the cockpit. Even once a 17 landed with no people on board. This book continues telling some of those types of stories and what a MAX effort truly meant.

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This is a classic!

ByMarkon July 28, 2013

Format: Mass Market PaperbackVerified Purchase

Martin Caidin's "Black Thursday" is a small book, but one that is powerful. Written in a "You are there" style, Caidin discusses the planning, the takeoff, and the mission in detail. He has a "time hack" chapter that talks about the mission from the perspective of individual aircraft and how they defended themselves. The exploits of a Polish-speaking gunner who was shot down, and evaded the Germans for weeks is fascinating.. He rode the trains and was eventually helped by the Resistance...he eventually made it back to the UK.

The story is powerful, thrilling, and heartbreaking. Read it and make it a permanent part of your library