Filled with personal accounts of the action, this book details the USAAF's tactical and strategic campaigns in the skies over Italy in World War II.

With the defeat of the Germans and Italians on Sicily in mid-July 1943, all eyes turned towards the battle for the Italian mainland itself. This campaign has been called "forgotten" by many, with many of the best units from the North African and Sicilian campaigns withdrawn to prepare for the coming invasion of France, while those units that remained had a lower priority for replacements of men and material.

Despite these difficulties, the air war in the Italian campaign is a study in the successful application of tactical air power. Mediterranean Sweep describes how USAAF forces, alongside Free French, Italian co-belligerent forces, British and Commonwealth units and even a squadron of the Brazilian Air Force, took the war to the Axis in both the fighter-bomber war as well as Operation Bingo, the successful bombing campaign to strangle supplies to the German forces fighting on the Gothic Line.

Building on the story of the USAAF in North Africa and over Sicily told in his previous work Turning the Tide, renowned aviation expert Tom Cleaver uses a wide range of first-hand accounts form American, Allied, German and Italian pilots and other aircrew to bring to life the bitter struggle in the skies over Italy from mid-1943 through to the end of World War II.

Filled with personal accounts of the action, this book details the USAAF's tactical and strategic campaigns in the skies over Italy in World War II.

About the Author
Thomas McKelvey Cleaver has been a published writer for the past 40 years, with his work including the best-selling Osprey titles The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club (2021), Going Downtown (2022), The Cactus Air Force (2022) alongside the late Eric Hammel, Clean Sweep (2023), and most recently Turning The Tide (2024). Tom served in the US Navy in Vietnam and currently lives in Encino, California.


Book Information
ISBN 9781472863454
Author Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
Format Hardback
Page Count 320
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC