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- Combat Crew: USAF B-17 Squadron's 1943 Battle Tour/ by John Comer 1988/ Download
Combat Crew: USAF B-17 Squadron's 1943 Battle Tour/ by John Comer 1988/ Download
Combat Crew
by John Comer
The Story of 25 Combat Missions in a B-17 Fortress in 1943/4.
Arriving at Ridgewell Air Base in Cambrideshire in July 1943, at a time when the loss rate for bomber crews was at its highest during the war, John Comer miraculously survived his prescribed quota of 25 missions before being allowed to return to his native shores. With the aid of his log books, he recreates the extraordinary tension-packed existence of those six months. The surreal life at the air base, the constant danger, discomfort and wafer-thin escapes of the missions themselves, including some on which only 1 in 12 aircraft returned, and the fluctuating emotions.
John Comer was a flight engineer in Flying Fortresses during the Second World War, the experiences of which form the basis for this book. After the war, he went into business. He now teaches business subjects at a college in Texas near his home.
Reviews:
"This is one of the best books I've read regarding the air war over Germany. The writing is so realistic that it makes you believe you are actually taking part in some of the battles. A very good read for anyone interested in this subject."
"John Comer's account of these missions flying B17s as top turret gunner/flight engineer are vivid and immediate; the reader gets to know the crews and the aircraft themselves over the course of the 25 combat operations carried out in daylight raids over Germany as part of the allied bomber offensive.
One of the best personal accounts of the bomber's war told from the American viewpoint
"I enjoyed the book, it took me there and I could feel part of things. Being written closer to the time of the action and linking things well chronologically helped immensely and the prose were helped by being written by an able author who had been there. It was particularly better on this aspect of the 8ths campaign than retrospective books written by some recent historians whom I have found disappointing."