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special thanks to Bob Bender, our editor. Coalescing so much content into a beauti-

ful and cohesive print product was no small task. Associate editor Johanna Lis adept

guidance was invaluable at every stage. Ruth Lee-Mui, the books designer, worked

closely with the Rowan team to ensure striking visual impact. Jonathan Cox provided

valuable feedback on the manuscript, and Jonathan Evans led the copyediting effort.

Hilda Koparanian skillfully supervised production.

Our agent at the William Morris Endeavor agency, Eric Lupfer, was, literally, born

for this job. He made his earthly debut in Keller Army Community Hospital at West

Point when his father, Tim, was teaching history at West Point. He has ably led us

through the publishing industry.

Finally, Cliff, Ty, and Steve would like to thank the West Point History of Warfare

widows: our wives, Shelley Reid, Shari Seidule, and Sharon Waddell. We spent nearly

every evening and nearly every weekend for the past three years on this project and

we have many more months to go. Their love and patience made this book possible.

B oMBer s e xperience

Lieutenant Raymond J. Graves, 94th Bombardment Group, Eighth Air Force, Describes His Twentieth Mission

O ne of many bomber pilots who experienced damaging fighter

attacks, Lieutenant Graves served with the 94th Bombardment

Group, Eighth Air Force, in 1944. Here he describes a mission over

French territory after the landings in Normandy in June 1944 to drop

not bombs but resources for the French Resistance fighters. By this

stage, the Luftwaffe in the West was very weak but still able to inflict

damage. Graves was fortunate to survive the loss of two engines in

his B-17 Flying Fortress.

Everything is the same. You lie there half asleep, half awake,

expecting it to happen but hoping it will not. Then it hap -

pens, the crunch of footsteps in the gravel coming closer

and closer, the door of the quanset opens, a voice calls

out Graves, and you know youre on for todays mission.

Rise and shine at 0100 hours and go through the routine of

shower, shave, dress. Trying not to think too much of what

the day might hold for you. Emerge into the dark English

morning and continue the routine.

The scene in the briefing room this morning is the

same as many others. A lot of nervous small talk and pri -

vate thinking. A call to attention, and things start moving.

Immediately we are made aware that this one is different.

No bombs today. Today we are flying supplies and muni -

tions to the Free French in southern France. A mission of

mercy instead of destruction. A piece of cake, since the

invasion was already in progress [Normandy Invasion, June

1944], having been launched 20 days ago, and part of the

mission will be over occupied territory... Briefing over,

watches synchronized, equipment checked out, and a short

jeep trip to the hard stand, where the mighty B-17 Flying

Fortress stands at the ready, thanks to the ground crew

having spent much of yesterday and most of the night heal -

ing her wounds and coaxing her back to good health after

yesterdays mission into Germany...

Take off at 0345 hours into the first light of dawn over

the English countryside. Form into a flight of three, meld

into position with three other flights to form a squadron,

always in a gradual climb to altitude, and in time to join

forces with two other squadrons to form the group. Other

groups, having formed in like manner, will follow at inter -

vals to complete the Wing. This operation must rate high

on the list of well-orchestrated, finely coordinated mass ef -

forts of all times... As we leave the south coast of England

and head out over water, the signal is given to test fire the

guns, after which we settle down to staying in position in

the formation and keeping all eyes on the sky for Bandits.

We cross the French coast at 0723 hours. Beyond

Caen, and the relative safety of being over Allied occu -

pied territory, the group is hit by German fighters, one of

which seems to have a fascination for our position in the

formation. It is hypnotic to watch a plane closing in on you

with its guns winking at you as it comes closer and closer.

You are drawn to it, you must ignore it. Stay in formation.

Let the gunners worry about that. Suddenly the plane is

rocked by the force of an explosion. A shell has detonated

between Nos. 1 and 2 engines, putting them both out of

commissiona split-second difference, and the wing could

have been gone.

The procedure is well known. Feather the propellers

to reduce drag, increase power on the good engines to

compensate for the loss of half of your power, stabilize the

plane, drop out of formation, and call for a crew check to

assess damage to crew and plane. With the realization that

we are still flyable comes the decision to chuck anything we

can spare to reduce weight and help maintain altitude. This

is done in record time, and includes unbolting the ball turret

and dropping it on the French landscape... Freed of this

weight, and having decided we would not try the long trip

back to base over water, we head in search of a fighter strip

we can land on.

German aircraft industry was turning out more than 1,500 fighters a month in 1944;

the air defense units in the west had more than 1,000 operational fighters; and there

were 5,325 heavy and 9,359 light antiaircraft guns pointing skyward in Germany,

aided by a sophisticated radar network. Yet these figures disguise some important

weaknesses. Shortages of fuel and training resources cut the number of practice hours

for German trainee pilots from 210 hours in 1942 to 112 in 1944, and operational

training with the combat squadrons was reduced 50 percent. Around one-quarter

of the German fighters were twin-engine Messerschmitt Me110s and Me410s, armed

with cannon designed to hit the bombers. Against fast single-engine fighters, they

were easy prey. The German single-engine force was ordered by General Adolf Gal -

land, the general of fighters, to attack the American raids with up to 150 aircraft. But

not only did this mean losing time while the groups assembled, it also played into

Allied hands. American escorts, now numbering as many as 700 to 800 fighters, were

looking for large-scale air combat so as to impose insupportable attrition levels, and

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