A Mighty Fortress

by Alling, Charles B.

• ISBN13: 9781932033014
• ISBN10: 1932033017
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-10-01
• Publisher: Casemate Pub & Book Dist Llc

Summary

A Mighty Fortress is the personal account of the Captain and crew of a lead bomber in the enormous formation raids made by the 8th Airforce during the last few months of the Second World War.

It is an extraordinary tale of heroism and bravery on the part of the entire crew of just one B-17 amongst hundreds - but the one B-17 that meant the most to them.

Flying a total of 27 missions before the war came to an end in May 1945, Alling tells, with great restraint, the story of what it was like to be there, over the skies of enemy territory, constantly on the look out for German fighters; of the enormity of some of the raids they were part of and the consequences for those on the ground; of the planes around them that fell out of the sky under enemy attack, the horror and the determination to succeed. The book gives a unique insight into the lives of one crew of one plane as the war neared its end.

Table of Contents

Preface	viii
Through a Glass, Darkly	1	(20)
Sun in the East, Dead Ahead	21	(6)
Heartbeat F Fox	27	(18)
Assignment: To Hell and Back	45	(6)
Sweating It Out---Did I Hear an Engine Roar?	51	(18)
Near Miss	69	(8)
Merciless Hail	77	(14)
Code P: Dresden	91	(16)
Now the Day Is Over	107	(14)
Music of Angels	121	(18)
Many Thanks, Yanks	139	(12)
Victory in Europe	151	(10)
Flying Home on a Wing and a Prayer	161	(12)
Afterword	173	(8)
Endnotes	181	(3)
Index	184