The 44th Bomb Group in World War II
The 44th Bomb Group in World War II

Author: Ron Mackay

Publisher: Schiffer Military History

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13:

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The 44th Bomb Group, which flew the B-24 Liberator, was the "pioneer" unit for what evolved from the "Mighty Eighth's" 2nd Bomb Wing into a full-scale Bomb (and later Air) Division. The Group amassed an impressive 343 missions and won two Distinguished Unit Citations between November 1942 and April 1945, dropping nearly 19,000 tons of ordnance in the process including the legendary August 1943 Ploesti mission. These statistics were achieved at a material cost of around 200 aircraft, and a human cost of some 2,000 airmen MIA, as the 8th USAAF focused its strategic bombing campaign in the face of determined Luftwaffe opposition.

Norfolk at War, 1939–45
Norfolk at War, 1939–45

Author: Stephen Browning

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2018-10-30

Total Pages: 396

ISBN-13: 1473857007

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This year-on-year study of Norfolk at war is the first such for many years, which utilizes material that has not been published in book form before or, sometimes, at all. In both the First and Second World War, Norfolk was pivotal, albeit for different reasons. During the war of 1939-45 Norfolk was home to many bases of the USAAF, changing the area forever with bases remaining a fond feature of Norfolk life. Another unique and enduring legacy was the arrival and often permanent settlement of many Poles, who are commemorated today by a shrine in the Cathedral of St John the Baptist in Norwich. Norfolk was in many ways changed forever as it had largely, up until this time, been proudly, even stubbornly, isolated a feature that could not have changed more dramatically. This study is both inevitably a military and social study. The major events both at home and overseas are laid out, together with a description of how home life unfolded in very dark times when the stoicism and humor of the Norfolk residents were tested. Contemporary material from newspapers, diaries and local records, as well as over 200 photographs, are used to bring life and color and life to the account.

D-Day 1944
D-Day 1944

Author: Stephen Bourque

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2022-07-21

Total Pages: 97

ISBN-13: 1472847245

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An illustrated study of the little-known history of the failed Allied bombing campaign designed to shatter German defenses on D-Day. D-Day is one of the most written-about events in military history. One aspect of the invasion, however, continues to be ignored: the massive pre-assault bombardment by the Allied Expeditionary Air Force (AEAF), reinforced by RAF Bomber Command and the US Eighth Air Force on June 6 which sought to neutralize the German defenses along the Atlantic Wall. Unfortunately, this failed series of attacks resulted in death or injury to hundreds of soldiers, and killed many French civilians. Despite an initial successful attack performed by the Allied forces, the most crucial phase of the operation, which was the assault from the Eighth Air Force against the defenses along the Calvados coast, was disastrous. The bombers missed almost all of their targets, inflicting little damage to the German defenses, which resulted in a high number of casualties among the Allied infantry. The primary cause of this failure was that planners at Eighth Air Force Headquarters had changed aircraft drop times at the last moment, to prevent casualties amongst the landing forces, without notifying either Eisenhower or Doolittle. This book examines this generally overlooked event in detail, answering several fundamental questions: What was the AEAF supposed to accomplish along the Atlantic Wall on D-Day and why did it not achieve its bombardment objectives? Offering a new perspective on a little-known air campaign, it is packed with illustrations, maps and diagrams exploring in detail the features and ramifications of this mission.

2nd Air Division Air Force USAAF 1942-45
2nd Air Division Air Force USAAF 1942-45

Author: Martin Bowman

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2007-04-19

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13: 1844155471

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As part of the AHT series, the airfields and interest in this book are concentrated in a particular area - in this case Norfolk and Suffolk. The Second Air Division's first bombing mission was flown on November 7, 1942; the last on April 25, 1945. A total of 95, 948 sorties were flown in 493 operational missions by the division's B-24s, dropping 199,883 tons of bombs. Targets attacked ranged from Norway in the north, as far east as Poland and Romania, while several Mediterranean countries were reached from temporary bases in North Africa. Six 2nd Air Division groups received special presidential citations for outstanding actions and five airmen received the Medal of Honor (highest US award for bravery), four posthumously. In combat the 2nd Air Division gunners claimed 1,079 enemy fighters destroyed against losses of 1,458 B-24s missing in action and many others lost in accidents. This book looks at the history and personalities associated with each base, what remains today and explores the favourite local wartime haunts where aircrew and ground crew would go.

2nd Air Division Air Force USAAF 1942-45
2nd Air Division Air Force USAAF 1942-45

Author: Martin W. Bowman

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2007-04-19

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 1473812585

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As part of the AHT series, the airfields and interest in this book are concentrated in a particular area—in this case Norfolk and Suffolk. The Second Air Division's first bombing mission was flown on November 7, 1942; the last on April 25, 1945. A total of 95, 948 sorties were flown in 493 operational missions by the division's B-24s, dropping 199,883 tons of bombs. Targets attacked ranged from Norway in the north, as far east as Poland and Romania, while several Mediterranean countries were reached from temporary bases in North Africa. Six 2nd Air Division groups received special presidential citations for outstanding actions and five airmen received the Medal of Honor (highest US award for bravery), four posthumously. In combat the 2nd Air Division gunners claimed 1,079 enemy fighters destroyed against losses of 1,458 B-24s missing in action and many others lost in accidents. This book looks at the history and personalities associated with each base, what remains today and explores the favourite local wartime haunts where aircrew and ground crew would go.

An Emotional Gauntlet
An Emotional Gauntlet

Author: Stuart J. Wright

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2011-04-21

Total Pages: 548

ISBN-13: 147381183X

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A moving account of the lives of one diverse WWII American aircrew, “filled with humor, chaos, horror, and tragedy” (The Freeport Journal-Standard). In this book, Stuart J Wright tells the gripping story of a World War II American aircrew flying missions from Old Buckenham, England in a B-24 Liberator bomber they nicknamed Corky, based on years of research and correspondence with crew members and their families. Wright adds a dimension rarely explored in other World War II memoirs and narratives, beginning the chronicle during peacetime when the men of the aircrew are introduced as civilians—kids during the 1920s. As they mature through the years of the Great Depression to face a world at war, questions are raised about “just” and “unjust” wars, imperialism and patriotism. Jingoistic sentimentality is resisted in favor of objectivity, as the feelings and motivations of the crew members are explored: the Chinese American air gunner had hoped to serve in the U.S. Army Air Force to fight against the Japanese invaders of his homeland; the Jewish navigator felt compelled to join the battle against Nazi Germany. In recounting the harrowing conditions and horrors of bombing missions over Europe, An Emotional Gauntlet emphasizes the interpersonal relationships within the crew and the spirit these men shared. As pilot Jack Nortridge regularly assured his crew, “If you fly with me, I'm going to bring you home.” This book is a testament to their strength and determination. Includes photographs “Compelling…stands out for its integration of pre-war civilian life with wartime experiences. To me, this is the essence of America's story in the war, and I am glad to find a book that comprehends this and tells the story from this perspective.”—Jerome Klinkowitz, author of Yanks Over Europe: American Flyers in World War II

Airfields Of 8th
Airfields Of 8th

Author: Roger Freeman

Publisher: After the Battle

Published: 1978-02-28

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 1399076868

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A unique, nostalgic look at the airfields used by the Eighth in the United Kingdom during the Second World War. Conceived in war, the airfields experienced their moments of glory and, when the war ended, were left empty and derelict to die. The few which remain virtually intact have only survived because some private or public concern has formed a practical use for them, although not always as airfields. Some of the more remote airfields still dot the countryside the same as when the last plane left their runways and the last truck departed through the main gate. They are bleak, windswept and moldering but they retain the atmosphere of the fine, high endeavors of the people who inhabited them and the aura of ineffable sadness that hangs over memorials to fighting men. For such they are.