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A Mighty Fortress: Lead Bomber Over Europe
A Mighty Fortress is the personal account of the Captain and crew of a lead bomber in the enormous formation raids made by the 8th Airforce during the last few months of the Second World War.
It is an extraordinary tale of heroism and bravery on the part of the entire crew of just one B17 amongst hundreds - but the one B17 that meant most to them.
Flying a total of 27 missions before the war came to an end in May 1945, Alling tells, with great restraint, the story of what it was like to be there, over the skies of enemy territory, constantly on the look out for German fighters; of the enormity of some of the raids they were part of and the consequences for those on the ground; of the planes around them that fell out of the sky under enemy attack, the horror and the determination to succeed. The book gives a unique insight into the lives of one crew of one plane as the War neared its end.
Charles B. Alling received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters during the Second World War. He graduated from Yale University in 1947. In 1988, he retired and studied Ethics at Oxford University Graduate School in England. In 1989, he founded the Alling Institute for Ethics. The institute is affiliated with The Foundation for Leadership and Ethics in New York City of which Alling is Chairman Emeritus. Alling serves on the Board of Visitors of the Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, an appointment by former Secretary of Defense, Bill Cohen. He lives in Kennebunk, Maine.
“In a fascinating way, Chuck Alling recalls his days as a pilot flying B-17’s over Germany. He is truly a member of ‘The Greatest Generation’ and from his book, written from the heart, people can learn a lot about the laughs and the tears of World War II.”
- Former President George H. W. Bush
Table of Contents
Preface
1 Through a Glass, Darkly
2 Sun in the East, Dead Ahead
3 Heartbeat F Fox
4 To Hell and Back
5 Sweating It Out—Did I Hear an Engine Roar?
6 Near Miss
7 Merciless Hail
8 Code Dresden
9 Now the Day Is Over
10 Music of Angels
11 Many Thanks, Yanks
12 Victory in Europe
13 Flying Home on a Wing and a Prayer
14 Afterword
Endnotes
Index
It is an extraordinary tale of heroism and bravery on the part of the entire crew of just one B17 amongst hundreds - but the one B17 that meant most to them.
Flying a total of 27 missions before the war came to an end in May 1945, Alling tells, with great restraint, the story of what it was like to be there, over the skies of enemy territory, constantly on the look out for German fighters; of the enormity of some of the raids they were part of and the consequences for those on the ground; of the planes around them that fell out of the sky under enemy attack, the horror and the determination to succeed. The book gives a unique insight into the lives of one crew of one plane as the War neared its end.
Charles B. Alling received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters during the Second World War. He graduated from Yale University in 1947. In 1988, he retired and studied Ethics at Oxford University Graduate School in England. In 1989, he founded the Alling Institute for Ethics. The institute is affiliated with The Foundation for Leadership and Ethics in New York City of which Alling is Chairman Emeritus. Alling serves on the Board of Visitors of the Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, an appointment by former Secretary of Defense, Bill Cohen. He lives in Kennebunk, Maine.
“In a fascinating way, Chuck Alling recalls his days as a pilot flying B-17’s over Germany. He is truly a member of ‘The Greatest Generation’ and from his book, written from the heart, people can learn a lot about the laughs and the tears of World War II.”
- Former President George H. W. Bush
Table of Contents
Preface
1 Through a Glass, Darkly
2 Sun in the East, Dead Ahead
3 Heartbeat F Fox
4 To Hell and Back
5 Sweating It Out—Did I Hear an Engine Roar?
6 Near Miss
7 Merciless Hail
8 Code Dresden
9 Now the Day Is Over
10 Music of Angels
11 Many Thanks, Yanks
12 Victory in Europe
13 Flying Home on a Wing and a Prayer
14 Afterword
Endnotes
Index
256 pages, Hardcover
First published October 25, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 23, 2008
"My dad served on a B-17 bomber crew during WWII but he never talked about it, so I'm interested in anything that tells me what his experience might have been like."
I wrote that paragraph when I first added this book to my list, and seeing it again just now made me roll my eyes. I mean, I read a lot of books about all different aspects of WWII and other wars and don't feel the slightest need to explain my interest in them. But whenever I read a book about B-17s and their crews, a topic so personal to me, I feel very defensive about it. It's weird. I don't understand it at all.
Anyway, this book was a good one. I picked up a lot of good insight from it.
I wrote that paragraph when I first added this book to my list, and seeing it again just now made me roll my eyes. I mean, I read a lot of books about all different aspects of WWII and other wars and don't feel the slightest need to explain my interest in them. But whenever I read a book about B-17s and their crews, a topic so personal to me, I feel very defensive about it. It's weird. I don't understand it at all.
Anyway, this book was a good one. I picked up a lot of good insight from it.
January 28, 2014
A fast reading account from a B-17 pilot over Europe late during the last phase of the air war. This book lays to rest the idea I've read elsewhere that all the late war raids were milk runs and they never saw flak or fighter aircraft, this crew saw it share. Worth reading.
May 1, 2016
Great war story! I may be biased, since this was written by my uncle.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews