EIGHTH AIR FORCE: VICTORY AND SACRIFICE

The destruction of Germany's vast military-industrial base was the mission assigned to the RAF and US Eighth Air Force. Starting from scratch in July 1942 and operating from bases in England, the Eighth assumed the task of daylight precision bombing of Occupied Europe. In a three-year struggle against formidable German air defences and the legions of the Luftwaffe, the Eighth paid a terrible price. It suffered 55,000 casualties (killed, wounded and prisoners-of-war), more than any other numbered US military unit. This volume seeks to provide an historical perspective of the air campaign over Western Europe, with 270 photographs and detailed captions to depict the deadly nature of that aerial combat.