Author :
Publisher : Turner Publishing Company
Page : 138 pages
File Size : 39,54 MB
Release : 1996
Category : Flight crews
ISBN : 1563112434
The 450th Bomb Group (H) contained the 720th, 721st, 722nd, and 723rd squdrons.
Author : Jeffrey Frank Jones
Publisher : Jeffrey Frank Jones
Page : 730 pages
File Size : 47,63 MB
Release : 2020-12-16
Category :
ISBN :
This is the story of my grandfather, B-24 Liberator Co-Pilot, Flight Officer and later Lieutenant, Francis Joseph Morrissey. This book chronicles his life: from growing up in Dayton, Ohio; becoming a factory worker just out of high school; enlisting in the Army Air Forces in 1942; completing Pilot School in Lubbock, Texas in August 1943; training to fly a B-24 Liberator; forming and training a crew in Clovis and Alamogordo, New Mexico with Pilot Francis S. Rzatkowski and Navigator “Handsome” Harry E. Parr; being assigned to Crew #302-9-59 in one of the four squadrons in the 450th Bombardment Group - the 722nd Bombardment Squadron (H); flying half way around the world from Herington, Kanas to Manduria, Italy in November and December 1943 with Rzatkowski and Parr on B-24H Liberator Serial No.41- 28603 - the “603” - - painted the “Chiquita Mia” around 10 November 1943; flying missions from Manduria Airfield on three ships; being shot down over Krizevci, Yugoslavia on 30 May 1944 on his 27th mission while Co-Pilot of B-24H Liberator Serial No. 42-94901; interrogation and processing at Dulag Luft; internment at Stalag Luft III; “The March” to Stalag XIII-D Nurnberg Langwasser starting on 27 January 1945; internment at Stalag VII-A; liberation by Patton’s Third Army on 30 April 1945; time spent in the Cigarette Camp Lucky Strike near Le Havre, France; the voyage home on Liberty Ship USS Monticello (AP-61) from 23 May to 3 June 1945; marriage to my grandmother on 16 June 1945; the remainder of his active duty service at Wright Field until October 1946; and post-war service in the Reserve and National Guard until 1972.
Author : James T. Controvich
Publisher : Scarecrow Press
Page : 200 pages
File Size : 30,94 MB
Release : 2004
Category : History
ISBN : 9780810850101
This bibliography lists published and printed unit histories for the United States Air Force and Its Antecedents, including Air Divisions, Wings, Groups, Squadrons, Aviation Engineers, and the Women's Army Corps.
Author : S. P. MacKenzie
Publisher : University Press of Kansas
Page : 264 pages
File Size : 31,30 MB
Release : 2017-08-04
Category : History
ISBN : 0700624694
During World War II, Allied casualty rates in the air were high. Of the roughly 125,000 who served as aircrew with Bomber Command, 59,423 were killed or missing and presumed killed—a fatality rate of 45.5%. With odds like that, it would be no surprise if there were as few atheists in cockpits as there were in foxholes; and indeed, many airmen faced their dangerous missions with beliefs and rituals ranging from the traditional to the outlandish. Military historian S. P. MacKenzie considers this phenomenon in Flying against Fate, a pioneering study of the important role that superstition played in combat flier morale among the Allies in World War II. Mining a wealth of documents as well as a trove of published and unpublished memoirs and diaries, MacKenzie examines the myriad forms combat fliers' superstitions assumed, from jinxes to premonitions. Most commonly, airmen carried amulets or talismans—lucky boots or a stuffed toy; a coin whose year numbers added up to thirteen; counterintuitively, a boomerang. Some performed rituals or avoided other acts, e.g., having a photo taken before a flight. Whatever seemed to work was worth sticking with, and a heightened risk often meant an upsurge in superstitious thought and behavior. MacKenzie delves into behavior analysis studies to help explain the psychology behind much of the behavior he documents—not slighting the large cohort of crew members and commanders who demurred. He also looks into the ways in which superstitious behavior was tolerated or even encouraged by those in command who saw it as a means of buttressing morale. The first in-depth exploration of just how varied and deeply felt superstitious beliefs were to tens of thousands of combat fliers, Flying against Fate expands our understanding of a major aspect of the psychology of war in the air and of World War II.
Author : Maurer Maurer
Publisher : DIANE Publishing
Page : 520 pages
File Size : 16,75 MB
Release : 1961
Category : United States
ISBN : 1428915850
Author : Mike Croissant
Publisher : Canelo
Page : 522 pages
File Size : 24,31 MB
Release : 2025-03-27
Category : History
ISBN : 1804369594
A visceral account of the white-knuckled bombing mission carried out on Hitler’s hometown. In April 1945, Linz was one of Nazi Germany’s most vital assets: a crucial transportation hub and communications centre, its railyards brimming with war materiel destined for the front lines. Linz was also the town Hitler claimed as home. Inevitably, it was one of the most heavily defended targets remaining in Europe. In their unheated, unpressurized B‐24 Liberator and B‐17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers, the young men of the US Fifteenth Air Force battled elements as dangerous as anything the Germans could throw at them. When batteries of German anti‐aircraft guns did open fire, the men flew into a man‐made hell of exploding shrapnel. Drawing on interviews with dozens of surviving World War II veterans and residents of Linz, as well as previously unpublished sources, Mike Croissant compellingly relates one of the war’s last truly untold stories – a gripping chronicle of warfare and a timeless tale of courage and terror, loss and redemption. With a foreword by Richard Overy, author of The Bombers and the Bombed
Author : Barrett Tillman
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 178 pages
File Size : 25,64 MB
Release : 2014-06-02
Category : History
ISBN : 1621572358
November 1943—May 1945—The U.S. Army Air Forces waged an unprecedentedly dogged and violent campaign against Hitler’s vital oil production and industrial plants on the Third Reich’s southern flank. Flying from southern Italy, far from the limelight enjoyed by the Eighth Air Force in England, the Fifteenth Air Force engaged in high-risk missions spanning most of the European continent. The story of the Fifteenth Air Force deserves a prideful place in the annals of American gallantry. In his new book, Forgotten Fifteenth: The Daring Airmen Who Crippled Hitler’s War Machine, Tillman brings into focus a seldom-seen multinational cast of characters, including pilots from Axis nations Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria and many more remarkable individuals. They were the first generation of fliers—few of them professionals—to conduct a strategic bombing campaign against a major industrial nation. They suffered steady attrition and occasionally spectacular losses. In so doing, they contributed to the end of the most destructive war in history. Forgotten Fifteenth is the first-ever detailed account of the Fifteenth Air Force in World War II and the brave men that the history books have abandoned until now. Tillman proves this book is a must-read for military history enthusiasts, veterans, and current servicemen.
Author : William H. Harvey
Publisher : Xlibris Corporation
Page : 202 pages
File Size : 38,77 MB
Release : 2011-02-14
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 145686758X
This is the story of an eleventh generation “Yankee”, who joined the military during WWII. After completing high school Harv enlisted in the military only to find himself on his way to Europe to serve as a B24 combat navigator –bombardier in the 15th Air Force. On April 25, 1944 Harv was on a raid to Varese, Italy when the 450th bomb group formation got into the clouds and the plane, Maiden USA, was struck by a force of German ME-109’s. The Maiden USA suffered severe damage as the Luftwaffe continued to attack. A number of crew members lost their lives while others were injured and parachuted from the aircraft. The nineteen year old “Yank” found himself a POW in Hitler’s Third Reich at Stalag Luft III. He participated in two of the infamous camp evacuation marches that occurred near the end of the war. Harv relates his experiences as the youngest member of the camps and how he survived. The book gives the reader a vivid first hand portrayal of a young American’s fear and hope during his capture and confinement by the Germans. During the ordeal Harv was able to see the humor in a tough situation.
Author : Kevin A. Mahoney
Publisher : Scarecrow Press
Page : 519 pages
File Size : 49,28 MB
Release : 2013-04-25
Category : History
ISBN : 081088495X
In Fifteenth Air Force against the Axis: Combat Missions over Europe during World War II, historian Kevin A. Mahoney provides a detailed combat history of the crucial role played by this air force from November 1943 through May 1945. Presented by month in chronological order, Mahoney describes all the major bombing and fighter missions carried out by this air force within a strategic context. Each chapter includes an introduction describing developments in the evolution of the strategic air campaign against the Germans, highlights the purpose and importance of the month’s operations, and reviews the Luftwaffe’s resistance and changes in tactics and important developments in the Fifteenth Air Force’s organization. Each monthly narrative further explores most missions, detailing the number of aircraft lost during these missions. Losses are based on an exhaustively researched database compiled by Mahoney that contains details of almost 3,000 aircraft. Target damage is mentioned, while enemy opposition is also described for each mission. Appendices include four short essays on bombing operations (planning and flying of missions, tactics and techniques, bomb types, and bombing accuracy), tactics employed by fighter escort in aerial combat and strafing, combat crews and their aircraft (including a comparison of American fighters and bombers, the training of the crews, and their combat tours), and the Fifteenth Air Force command structure (including the use of intelligence, photo and weather reconnaissance, and the considerable effect of weather on Fifteenth Air Force operations). This work of military history is ideal for students and scholars of the air war in Europe.
Author :
Publisher : Dog Ear Publishing
Page : 230 pages
File Size : 47,51 MB
Release : 2009-03
Category : Biography
ISBN : 1598589377
"A Fallen Eagle" is the true story of a young boy from East Texas, who volunteered for service in 1942. He entered the service with only a high school education and limited experience, other than working on a farm. His desire to be a pilot drove him to overcome numerous obstacles to be accepted into pilot training. He persevered through rigorous training to earn his wings. After receiving his wings, he became a B-24 pilot assigned to the 722nd Squadron of the 450th Bomb Group. When his unit training was completed, he was assigned to the 15th Air Force, operating out of Italy. He flew missions over most of Europe and the Balkans. Through over 75 of his personal letters, he shares his experiences, both emotional and physical, as he went from being a farm boy to being a heavy bomber pilot. He flew in dangerous combat situations, saw the horrors of aerial battle, and ultimately, gave his life in the service of his country. The human side of the tragedy is told not only in his letters, but by letters of the crew's next of kin and government correspondence in the aftermath. The final chapter describes the detailed government process to recover, make positive identification, and return his remains to the states. CLARENCE P. COWART was born in Groves, Texas, grew up in Jasper, Texas and graduated from Texas A & M College. Upon his graduation, he entered the service at Ft. Bliss, Texas and graduated from Missile School. After serving his active duty obligation, he returned to East Texas and joined the Army Reserves. His first assignment was as a Platoon Leader in an infantry unit. His next assignment was in an Artillery Unit in Beaumont, Texas where he served in several positions. He served four years as Headquarters Company Commander in a support group. Through the years he served in several units, the last was as the Commander of a transportation battalion. After twenty-one years of service he retired as a Lt. Colonel. While serving in the reserves, his civilian jobs involved working in numerous positions in municipal government in Southeast Texas. He retired from the City of Beaumont. He and his wife, Dixie raised two children. They now have four grandchildren and one great granddaughter. They are retired and currently live in Lumberton, Texas. Colonel Cowart is active in the church where he attends, is an avid hunter, competitive shooter, and military arms collector. He operates a part-time design and inspection service from his home. His interest in WWII history led him to write "A Fallen Eagle."
