Wild Blue: 741 Squadron (741 Squadron: On a Wing and a Prayer Over Occupied Europe) - Softcover

Ambrose, Stephen E.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0743450620 ISBN 13: 9780743450621

Publisher: New York: Touchstone, Simon & Schuster, 2002

Synopsis

In the bestselling "D-Day, Citizen Soldiers, " and "Band of Brothers, " Ambrose portrayed in vivid detail the experiences of soldiers who fought on the bloody battlegrounds of World War II. "The Wild Blue" brings to life another extraordinary group of men--the pilots, bombardiers, navigators and gunners aboard the B-24s that destroyed the German war machine. of photos. Maps.

About this title

Review:

Long before he entered politics, when he was just in his early 20s, South Dakotan George McGovern flew 35 bomber missions over Nazi-occupied Europe, earning a Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery under fire. Stephen Ambrose, the industrious historian, focuses on McGovern and the young crew of his B-24 bomber, volunteers all, in this vivid study of the air war in Europe.

Manufactured by a consortium of companies that included Ford Motor and Douglas Aircraft, the B-24 bomber, dubbed the Liberator, was designed to drop high explosives on enemy positions well behind the front lines--and especially on the German capital, Berlin. Unheated, drafty, and only lightly armored, the planes were dangerous places to be, and indeed, only 50 percent of their crews survived to the war's end. Dangerous or not, they did their job, delivering thousand- pound bombs to targets deep within Germany and Austria.

In his fast-paced narrative, Ambrose follows many other flyers (including the Tuskegee Airmen, the African American pilots who gave the B-24s essential fighter support on some of their most dangerous missions) as they brave the long odds against them, facing moments of glory and terror alike. "It would be an exaggeration to say that the B-24 won the war for the Allies," Ambrose writes. "But don't ask how they could have won the war without it." --Gregory McNamee

About the Author:

Stephen E. Ambrose, leading World War II historian, was the author of numerous books on history including the Number 1 bestselling BAND OF BROTHERS, D-DAY (on which SAVING PRIVATE RYAN was based) PEGASUS BRIDGE and WILD BLUE. He is founder of the Eisenhower Center and the National D-Day Museum in New Orleans. He died in 2002.

About this edition

• Publisher: New York: Touchstone, Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0743450620
• ISBN 13: 9780743450621
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304