Turning The Tide: The USAAF in North Africa and Sicily

by Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

Packed with personal accounts of the action, this is a vivid narrative history of the often-overlooked USAAF campaign in North Africa and Sicily in World War II.

In 1942, the Western Allies needed to take the offensive against the Axis to relieve pressure on the Soviet Union. With planning for a cross-Channel invasion beset by logistical and operational difficulties, in May 1942 President Roosevelt ordered his military leaders to prepare to support the British in the Mediterranean. This led to the first USAAF units arriving in the Middle East in July, firstly as reinforcements for the British and later as part of the Operation Torch landings in French Morocco and Algeria in October.

In little over ten months from the summer of 1942, the USAAF in North Africa grew from nothing to a senior partner, providing aircraft and crews the other Allies were unable to match. The Axis forces that had controlled almost the entire southern shore of the Mediterranean had been swept from the African continent – thanks in no small part to the efforts of the USAAF.

Using first-hand accounts from pilots and other aircrew, Tom Cleaver describes how the USAAF units that landed in Morocco were forced to learn their own lessons in combat with veteran Luftwaffe units, and how the experience gained in the skies over North Africa and Sicily was invaluable in developing the air forces that would dominate the skies over Europe in the latter years of the war.

Genres: World War II

320 pages, Hardcover

First published May 7, 2024

About the author

Most of my non-fiction writing is in the field of aviation, primarily the history of people, units and events, though I am also interested in technological developments and their influence on events.

I first ran across "serious" aviation writing when I was 10 and found William Green's "All The World's Aircraft, 1954" - the first book I read that seriously dealt with aircraft development beyond picture books. Over the years I read many books by Bill (as I came eventually to know him), and 25 years later he was the first editor to professionally publish an article by me about an aviation topic (a feature about people in California who restored, owned and operated antique airplanes). Not only did he publish the article, he used my photograph for the cover of that issue of Air Enthusiast Quarterly! In the years that followed, Bill became a friend through the mail, a source of valuable insight about writing, and an enthusiastic supporter of my efforts. I've had a lot of success that way with fellow authors.

My interest in the field of aviation must be genetic. My mother's favorite tale about me was that my first word, spoken around age 1, was "o-pane!" when we were in a park in Denver, and I pointed up at a P-38 as it flew overhead.

My father was involved in aviation in the 1930s, and knew most of the Major Names of the era, like Jimmy Doolittle, Roscoe Turner, and even Ernst Udet. (As an aside, I met General Doolittle myself in 1976. Upon hearing my name, he looked me up and down, then shook his head and said "Nope, too young and too tall." Taken aback for a moment, I realized he was thinking of my father, also a Tom Cleaver. Once I identified myself, he told me a story about my father I had never heard before. I later discovered he had near-perfect recall of names and events.) I grew up looking at my father's photo albums of the old airplanes he had been around, which is probably why I most enjoy airplanes from those years.

In addition to writing about airplanes, I take pictures of them in flight. As a result of both activities, I have flown in everything from a Curtiss Jenny to an Air Force F-4E Phantom (definitely the best rollercoaster ride ever), and have additionally been up in World War II airplanes - the P-51 Mustang, P-40 Warhawk, SBD Dauntless, B-25 Mitchell, and many many many times in a T-6. As a pilot myself, I have about 200 hours in a Stearman biplane trainer as a member of a club back in the 1970s. I am certain my personal knowledge of flying as a pilot has helped me put a reader "in the cockpit" in my writing.

While I have advanced college and university degrees, I consider myself an autodidact, and I see the involvement with airplanes as my key to the world of self-education, as I would ask myself "what was that airplane used for?" which led to such questions as "how did that war happen?" I was also fortunate to grow up in a home with lots of books and a father who enjoyed history; between that and forays to the Denver Public Library (a Saturday spent in the stacks at the Main Library was a day in heaven), my education was very eclectic in subject matter.

My "film school" education came on Saturday afternoons spent at the old Park Theater on South Gaylord Street in Denver, where I went every Saturday from age 7 to age 15 when the theater closed, and watched everything that played on-screen. Somewhere along there, I learned the meaning of "good movie."

Reviews

[Patrick Pillow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should start this review by saying that this is one of the better books written by Thomas Cleaver. I’ll also say that I’m still not a fan of his work.

Why did I bother reading it then? It has been a long time since a new work on North Africa has arrived; especially the USAAF’s role in the theater before Sicily. This seemed to be a valid reason to give it a try.

3 stars for me; one of the lowest report cards I’ve given. Here’s why:

Positive: there was some unique information about Operation Torch and the early air battles that was new and interesting. Also, I felt he did a good job of explaining why the P-38 was a unique but flawed aircraft when not used to its strengths.

Negative: Cleaver very quickly tells you what’s not going well with certain aircraft or tactics; especially with the P-38. I can understand when he mentions it again in the next chapter. But, repeating it over 4-5 times throughout the book felt lazy and pointless. While not everyone will be aviation expert, I think you can trust your readers to remember SOME information later in the work.

I felt like once the Tunisian campaign was closed, the author flew through the Pantelleria and Sicilian campaigns too quickly and didn’t do them justice. It felt as if the author was ready to pack it in 100 pages before the end. Disappointing.


Overall: Again, take this review with a grain of salt; I am not a Cleaver fan. I think there are better aviation authors out there; If you want a better and more thought out work on these campaigns, I’d suggest the following (some are books even Cleaver referenced lol):

- Messerschmitts over Sicily
- Yellowtails and Mustangs
- I cannot think of the name, but there was an excellent 5-6 volume set by Christopher Shores which covered the entire air war in the Mediterranean. Brilliant work that is unsurpassed.

[Chad Manske · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas McKelvey Cleaver's "Turning The Tide: The USAAF in North Africa and Sicily" offers a captivating and detailed account of a crucial yet often overlooked chapter in World War II history. Released on August 13, 2024, this 320-page hardcover is a riveting exploration of the United States Army Air Forces' (USAAF) pivotal role in the Mediterranean theater. Cleaver masterfully weaves personal narratives into the broader historical context, bringing to life the experiences of pilots and aircrew who found themselves thrust into combat against seasoned Luftwaffe units. The book vividly portrays how these American forces, initially arriving as reinforcements for the British in July 1942, rapidly evolved into a formidable fighting force. The author's narrative skillfully traces the USAAF's remarkable transformation from its humble beginnings to becoming a key player in the Allied war effort. In just ten months, the air force grew exponentially, providing crucial support that the other Allies couldn't match. Cleaver's work highlights how this rapid growth and combat experience in North Africa and Sicily proved invaluable in shaping the air power that would later dominate European skies. One of the book's strengths lies in its exploration of Operation Torch, the Allied landings in French Morocco and Algeria. Cleaver's account brings to life the challenges faced by USAAF units as they engaged in their baptism of fire against experienced Luftwaffe opponents. The praise from renowned military historians and authors underscores the book's significance. Richard P. Hallion, former Historian of the US Air Force, commends it as a work that "both informs and entertains," while Chris Bucholtz lauds Cleaver for giving "long-deserved respect and attention" to this often-overlooked theater of war. “Turning The Tide" not only fills a gap in World War II literature but does so with a compelling narrative style that puts readers in the cockpit alongside the brave airmen. It promises to be an essential read for military history enthusiasts, offering fresh insights into how the USAAF's experiences in North Africa and Sicily shaped the air war strategy for the remainder of World War II.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate Cleaver shining a light on the USAAF role in the campaigns in North Africa through Sicily. Cleaver covers HALPRO and the USAAF role from Operation Torch through the invasion and capture of Sicily. I think the strengths of this book are that Cleaver is covering an aerial campaign that is often overlooked, provides context from the Axis perspective, sometimes cross-indexes victory claims against acknowledged losses, and provides context about elements of the campaign. I appreciated how he tied in the results of the various stages of the campaign with their broader impacts on the region and the effort to achieve air superiority. Cleaver provides a narrative history of the events and air battles, which is a challenging element for aviation historians, and I think the book sometimes bogs down as so much action and information feels almost shoved together.
In my view a worthwhile read in that in it covers an air campaign that is often overshadowed but had real significance.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typical of all of Cleavers books in his aviation history series, very well researched, written in a way that it takes tidbits of first person accounts to weave a narrative of a bigger story. The one downside of Cleaver’s approach is that it can make the information provided very “dense,” such as continuous references to various Fighter Squadrons, Bomb Squadrons, Groups, Wings, Commands and then further complicated by various nationalities.

I will say for this book, more so than his others, it would help to have some knowledge of the campaign on the ground, perhaps this is just because it’s a campaign that isn’t as well known. I had just finished Rick Atkinson’s Liberation Trilogy and feel I was able to appreciate “Turning the Tide” much more because I had this knowledge

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and detailed coverage of an often neglected theater of WWII. Aircraft and combat aside, I liked the political insight as to the decisions made and inter-service rivalry. It's a bit more wordy than it has to be, repetitive in spots, and there are occasional glitches in editing and typos--there were no 7.65mm machine guns in German aircraft (should be 7.92mm), it's the TBF Avenger, not the TFB Avenger, and a photo of an A-36 Mustang (Apache) is labeled as A-46. In the ebook edition, photos are in the back.

[Garhett Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best book I’ve ever read on this much forgotten part of the war. A good balance between big picture strategy, and first hand accounts. Death to the axis!

[Sam Hoffman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cleaver has accomplished the impossible: he made WW2 boring.