THE INCREDIBLE 305TH

When the Eighth U.S. Airforce showed up in England in late 1942, their faith in the use of the B-17 for daylight bombing of Germany was considered foolhardy by many. Night bombing, although it decreased accuracy, also meant less losses. The job of proving the efficacy of the daylight raid fell first to the ""Can Do"" 305th Heavy Bombardment Group. This is their story during 2(apple) incredibly violent years of warfare. Col. Curtis LeMay, of later SAC fame, was their first commander. LeMay even went on the raids over Nazi U-boat pens and other installations, to study the problems first hand. But ""problems"" is indeed an understatement! Day after day during 1943 the 305th pounded the enemy in the face of withering AA fire and savage fighter attacks. Planes were nearly shot to pieces but managed to make it back to England. When Col. Donald Fargo replaced the promoted LeMay, the B-17s were flying in tighter formations but were still suffering heavy losses. By 1944 as many as 150 Nazi aircraft were attacking the bomber formations during and after their runs. The planes kept flying however, kept dumping thousands of tons of high explosives on Germany, until the War was won. This book, carefully written to avoid the pitfalls of sensationalism yet retaining the high tension of those years, is a real tribute to the 305th. It will also be a welcome addition to any war or aviation collection.