In February 1942, a reconnaissance party of United States Army Air Forces officers arrived in England. Firmly wedded to the doctrine of daylight precision bombing, they believed they could help turn the tide of the war in Europe. In the months that followed, they formed the Eighth Air Force - an organization that grew at an astonishing rate. To accommodate it, almost seventy airfields were hastily built across the eastern counties of England.

At the heart of the Eighth Air Force were its bombardment groups, each equipped with scores of heavily armed, four-engine bombers. These Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Consolidated B-24 Liberators were soon punching through the enemy's defences to bomb targets vital to its war effort. They were crewed by thousands of young American airmen, most of whom were volunteers.

This book tells the story of just one "Bomb Group" - the 381st, which crossed the Atlantic in May 1943. Arriving at RAF Ridgewell on the Essex-Suffolk border, its airmen quickly found themselves thrown into the hazardous and attritional air battle raging in the skies over Europe.

Bomb Group follows the 381st's path from its formation in the Texan desert, to its 297th and final bombing mission deep into the heart of Hitler's Third Reich. It is the remarkable story of one group and the part it played in the strategic bombing campaign of "The Mighty Eighth."

About the Author
Paul Bingley has worked in the civil aviation industry for over thirty years. He is the current Chairman of the Ridgewell Airfield Commemorative Museum in Essex and regularly delivers talks about the airfield's history. Paul is acknowledged as being one of the best of the new generation of Eighth Air Force historians. Mike Peters is a retired Army Air Corps officer with more than thirty years of military service. He is now a full-time military historian and Chairman of the International Guild of Battlefield Guides. Mike has published books on the Glider Pilot Regiment

Reviews
The authors do a good job using the diaries, interviews, and books written by group members to convey a vivid - sometimes too vivid - picture of war at its most elemental. The human element is portrayed using the actual words of those who participated. Particularly poignant are the stories of rude awakenings of fresh arrivals to the cost of war on their first few missions. * The Journal of the Air Force Historical Foundation *
The authors' passion for their subject is obvious in the detailed research and meticulous organization of the book. Extensive use of veteran recollec tions bring life to the narrative. This book is a fitting tribute to the veterans of the 381st. * WWII History Magazine *
Bingley and Peters offer a wonderful accounting of how the 381st contributed to the strategic bombing campaign of the Mighty Eighth. * ARGunners.com 14/12/2022 *
I can not recommend this book enough. It is a fitting tribute to all of those who served in the 381st Bomb Group but also all of the personnel who served in the Eighth Air Force bomb groups. If you want to know what it was like to fly in, work on, or support a B-17 this is a book you must read. It is a testament to the subsequent generations that owe their existence to men like those described in this book. And finally, the last sentence of the book really hits home, "...just 25 percent completed their tour." * Aviation Enthusiast Book Club *
I think this is a great memorial to all those men who went to war from what is now a quiet corner of Essex. Definitely one I recommend to you. * Military Model Scene *
In an extraordinary achievement of marrying historical research with a smooth writing style, Bomb Group works as an introduction to the Eighth Air Force as well as required reading for the well-versed in the subject. Authors Paul Bingley and Mike Peters have produced a detailed account of the 381st BG, and at the same time overlaid the larger historical context of the United States' first air force with an offensive mission - an offensive mission unproven in its day. Richly researched and full of personal stories recalling training, the horrors and otherworldly nature of aerial warfare, sweating out missions on the ground and the sense of duty, Bomb Group is a valuable addition to the body of work on Eighth Air Force history. Be forewarned, after reading this book your debt of gratitude to these teenagers and young men of the 381st and the whole of the Eighth Air Force will grow exponentially. * Scott W. Loehr, President & CEO, National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force *



Book Information
ISBN 9781612009605
Author Paul Bingley
Format Hardback
Page Count 336
Imprint Casemate Publishers
Publisher Casemate Publishers