Gregory Fremont-Barnes examines the lives of the American Bomber Crewmen of the Eighth Air Force, "The Mighty Eighth", who crewed, maintained and repaired the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and the B-24 Liberators that flew from the airfields of Norfolk and Suffolk and other counties of England during World War II (1939-1945). He highlights the physical and psychological strain placed on these brave men. Long bombing missions called for brute strength to control the aircraft and extraordinary endurance to fly for hours at 20,000 feet at temperatures below freezing in unheated, unpressurized cabins. Then there were Luftwaffe fighters and anti-aircraft fire to contend with and it required incredible skill and some luck to return from a mission unscathed. This book is a fitting tribute to these often uncelebrated heroes who took the war deep into the Third Reich, as well as a fascinating historical account of the experiences they went through.

Introduction · Chronology · Recruitment and Enlistment · Training · Appearance and Dress · Equipment · Daily Life and Conditions of Service · Experience of Battle · Aftermath · Collections and Museums · Bibliography and Further Reading · Index

Gregory Fremont-Barnes holds a doctorate in Modern History from the University of Oxford and serves as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of War Studies at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. A prolific author, his books include Waterloo 1815: The British Army's Day of Destiny and many others on military and naval subjects covering the 18th to the 21st centuries. Holding a particular interest in insurgency and counterinsurgency, his wider work for the UK Ministry of Defence on these subjects regularly takes him to Africa, the Middle East and South America. As an academic advisor, Dr Fremont-Barnes has accompanied many groups of British Army officers and senior NCOs in their visits to numerous battlefields of the Peninsular War, the Waterloo campaign, Normandy and the Falklands.
Adam Hook studied graphic design, and began his work as an illustrator in 1983. He specializes in detailed historical reconstructions, and has illustrated Osprey titles on the Aztecs, the Greeks, the American Civil War and the American Revolution. His work features in exhibitions and publications throughout the world.