The Mighty Eighth, Gerald Astor
The Mighty Eighth, Gerald Astor
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The Mighty Eighth
The Air War in Europe as Told by the Men Who Fought It

Author: Gerald Astor

Narrator: Kaleo Griffith

Unabridged: 23 hr 11 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 10/10/2017


Synopsis

Europe has fallen. Pearl Harbor is in flames. Enter: the Eighth.

In 1941 the RAF fought a desperate battle of survival against the Luftwaffe over Britain. Then, from across the Atlantic, came a new generation of American pilots, gunners, and bombardiers, a new generation of flying machines called the B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-24 Liberator, the P-47 Thunderbolt, and the P-51 Mustang fighter. Soon these brave young men were hurtling themselves and their unproven planes across the Channel and into the teeth of enemy firepower, raining down bombs on the German military machine, and going up against Hitler's best fliers in the sky.

This is the dramatic oral history of the Army Air Corps and the newly created Eighth Air Force stationed in Britain, an army of hard-fighting, hard-playing flying men who suffered more fatalities than the entire U.S. Marine Corps in the Pacific campaign of World War II. Here, in their own words, are tales of survival and soul-numbing loss, of soldiers who came together to fight a kind of war that had never been fought before--and win it with their courage and their blood.

But the road to victory was paved with sacrifice. From its inaugural mission on July 4, 1942, until V-E Day, the Eighth Air Force lost more men than did the entire United States Marine Corps in all its campaigns in the Pacific. The Mighty Eighth chronicles the testimony of the pilots, bombardiers, navigators, and gunners who daily put their lives on the line. Their harrowing accounts recall the excitement and terror of dogfights against Nazi aces, maneuvering explosive-laden aircraft through deadly flak barrages, and fending off waves of enemy fighters while coping with subzero temperatures.

Beginning with the opening salvos from a mere dozen planes, crewmen describe the raids on Berlin and Dresden, the fiasco at Ploesti, Romania, and Black Thursday over Schweinfurt. They fell to the terror of seeing aircraft destroyed--helplessly watching as comrades crash and burn, or parachute over enemy territory, where they will attempt to evade enemy capture through the underground. Others tell of mourning downed airmen murdered by vengeful citizens and soldiers, and of those who endured captivity in POW camps. -->

About The Author

Gerald Astor was a World War II veteran and award-winning journalist and historian whose articles have appeared in the New York Times, Playboy, and Esquire.


Reviews

Goodreads review by 'Aussie Rick' on December 05, 2012

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, experi......more

Goodreads review by Carol on May 24, 2022

Absolutely terrific and action packed, this is the story of the bomber and fighter crews who brought down the Nazi war machine in World War II. If you've ever seen "The Thing From Another World" (I mean the *original* thing from 1951, not the later abomination) Patrick Henry and his crew are all Eig......more

Goodreads review by Joe on April 08, 2020

This was a great and very detailed discussion of the role of the Mighty Eighth in World War II. A very in-depth explanation of the major group leaders.......more

Goodreads review by Stefanie on August 11, 2022

The 8th Air Force was established in 1942 as VIII Bomber Command. The first combat group to arrive in Europe was the 97th Bombardment Group. The first raid was launched on July 04, 1942. Regular combat missions began in August 1942. One of the men in this group during this time was Paul Tibbets, who......more

Goodreads review by Robert McKinley on August 23, 2017

Courageous Men Who Faced Death Almost Daily, But Still Went Up Good editing of a large number of memoirs and remembrances to put together a pretty good narrative of the horrors of trying to bomb the Nazis into submission. The effort proved the Billy Mitchell theory wrong. It also took boots on the gr......more


Quotes

"Great reading."
--Stephen Ambrose

"Bold, brawny, epic in scope...Astor captures the fire and passion of these tens of thousands of U.S. airmen who flew through the inferno that was the bomber war over Europe."
--Stephen Coonts