Osprey Combat Aircraft 18 : B-17 Flying Fortress Units of the Eighth Air Force (1)

On 2 January 1942 the order activating the Eighth Air Force was signed by Maj Gen Henry 'Hap' Arnold, Commanding General, Army Air Forces. Six days later the US Army announced that VIII Bomber Command was to be established in England, and Arnold instructed Brig Gen Ira C Eaker to assist in the formation of a headquarters for the American air forces in Great Britain. The Boeing B-17 has come to epitomise the American war effort in Europe, the huge four-engined heavy day bomber taking the fight to Germany from the late summer of 1942 through to VE-Day. The primary operator of the Flying Fortress in Western Europe was the 'Mighty Eighth', who controlled no fewer than 27 bomb groups for much of the war. This book, which is the first of two dealing exclusively with the 'Mighty Eighth', covers the 15 Bomb Groups of the First Air Division, each of which controlled four squadrons. The evolution of the force is traced through first-hand accounts of those individuals that took part in the action, whilst the book itself is illustrated with period images of aircraft and aircrews, as well as 40 newly-originated artworks featuring aircraft from each of the air groups within the First Air Division. Text by Martin Bowman with illustrations by Mike Styling.

Contents

• Yankee Doodle Goes To War
• Spreading the Wealth
• 'Black Thursday' and Beyond
• 'Big Week' and 'Big B'
• Final Victory
• Appendices