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The Bridgebusters: The True Story of the Catch-22 Bomb Wing
"He had decided to live forever, or die in the attempt." Catch-22"
The men of the 57th Bomb Wing flew out of Corsica during World War II and bombed vital bridges throughout Italy to sabotage German supply routes. Their missions were dangerous and never-ending. One bombardier in the wing was a young New Yorker named Joseph Heller, who would later turn his experience into the classic 1961 war novel "Catch-22." Now aviation historian Thomas McKelvey Cleaver takes a closer look at the real-life men of the 57th, whose camaraderie in the face of death inspired the raucous cast of heroes and antiheros in "Catch-22."
The men of the 57th Bomb Wing flew out of Corsica during World War II and bombed vital bridges throughout Italy to sabotage German supply routes. Their missions were dangerous and never-ending. One bombardier in the wing was a young New Yorker named Joseph Heller, who would later turn his experience into the classic 1961 war novel "Catch-22." Now aviation historian Thomas McKelvey Cleaver takes a closer look at the real-life men of the 57th, whose camaraderie in the face of death inspired the raucous cast of heroes and antiheros in "Catch-22."
288 pages, Hardcover
First published May 9, 2016
15 people are currently reading
281 people want to read
About the author
Thomas McKelvey Cleaver
25 books36 followersMost 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."
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."
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 26, 2025
An excellent account of B-25s in the Med, related in many different vignettes. The tie to Catch-22 is tenuous but there are characters, missions, events that are the basis for scenes in the book. 4 Stars
The mission for the BridgeBusters, cost 46 aircraft and over 500 KIA/WIA from the start to the end:
On November 1, 1944, the Allied Fifth and Eighth Armies halted their offensive in northern Italy, unable to break the German defenses on the Gothic Line after sixty continuous days of bloody fighting. That same day, the quartermaster general of the German Army Group C, which manned the Gothic Line with the Tenth and Fourteenth Armies, reported the army was receiving 24,000 tons of supplies daily through the Brenner Pass—600 percent of daily minimum needs—with trains taking eight to twelve hours to travel from Munich and Augsburg in Germany, arriving every 30 minutes at the Bologna marshalling yard, the center of the Webrmacht’s supply system for the Italian front. So long as this level of supply could be maintained, he stated, the armies should be able to hold out indefinitely in the war of attrition they had forced on the Allies in Italy.
The electrified double-track Brenner Pass rail line meant the Germans did not have to use their coal-fired trains or divert dwindling coal supplies to the southern front. Seventy-two trains a day ran through the route. If their electrical power supply could be destroyed, the Germans would be forced to replace the electric locomotives with steam locomotives, requiring diversion of locomotives and crews from elsewhere in German-controlled Europe at a time when the entire German rail system was under attack. And shipping space in the trains would have to be diverted to bringing coal to power the replacement trains.
On March 31, 1945, Army Group C’s quartermaster general reported that an average of 1,800 tons of supplies had arrived daily during the previous month, only 45 percent of minimum needs, with each shipment taking four to six days to make the journey through the blasted rail line, which was completely closed for over half those days.
This book does not talk much about Joseph Heller. It does cover some of the events and personalities that show up in Catch-22. Gen Dreedle is a caricature of BG Knapp-who was a real hero. Knapp trained the Doolittle aircrews and led a B-25 squadron in the Med through a full mission tour before being promoted. The bombing of Settimo Bridge was a breaking point for Heller and is recreated by a mission in Catch-22. Milo Minderbinder is based on this real individual:
Radioman-gunner Jerry Rosenthal recalled one young private who came into the 381st squadron in the spring of 1945 as a replacement in the ground echelon. When asked what his aptitude and abilities were, the private mentioned that he had a brother in the Navy who was currently a lieutenant commander in charge of the Navy Supply Depot in Naples. “That kid was promptly promoted to Sergeant and given an assignment that required him to fly down to Naples at least every other week if not more often and remain overnight. Our rum-runner always came back fully loaded with proof the Navy really did have the best chow.” Milo Minderbinder was an exaggeration of how the wing supported itself, but the ability of some to “make deals” made the work of the rest easier than it might have been.
The 57th sent war-weary, stripped-down B-25s all over the Med for good food and adult refreshments.
A crew chief "owns" his airplane and only lends it to the aircrew. Those ground crews poured their labor into keeping them flying, with some great results:
By the end of the war, after surviving the worst the Germans could throw at her, “Peggy Lou” would have 137 bomb symbols painted on her nose, never having turned back for a mechanical failure; she was definitely ‘Lucky 13,” her plane-in-squadron number.
The all-time record for operational survival in the 445th squadron was held by Dan Bowling’s B-25J “Pistol Packin’ Mama,” appropriately known to the ground crews as “Patches.” By the time she was taken off operations in March 1945, “Patches” had flown more than two hundred missions, had bellied in four times, and bore the scars of four hundred flak hits. The airplane had been bent so many times that it flew with eight degrees of left aileron trim and six degrees of right rudder. When trimmed, “Patches” flew with a profound bias that eventually led to her retirement since it was deemed “unsightly” for the first six planes of a formation to be flying straight and true while the remainder flying behind “Patches” were trimmed up in a crab and practically flying sideways. That the plane survived as she did was a tribute to the inherent toughness of the B-25 as a design—and to the dedication of the ground crews to “keep ’em flying.”
The mission for the BridgeBusters, cost 46 aircraft and over 500 KIA/WIA from the start to the end:
On November 1, 1944, the Allied Fifth and Eighth Armies halted their offensive in northern Italy, unable to break the German defenses on the Gothic Line after sixty continuous days of bloody fighting. That same day, the quartermaster general of the German Army Group C, which manned the Gothic Line with the Tenth and Fourteenth Armies, reported the army was receiving 24,000 tons of supplies daily through the Brenner Pass—600 percent of daily minimum needs—with trains taking eight to twelve hours to travel from Munich and Augsburg in Germany, arriving every 30 minutes at the Bologna marshalling yard, the center of the Webrmacht’s supply system for the Italian front. So long as this level of supply could be maintained, he stated, the armies should be able to hold out indefinitely in the war of attrition they had forced on the Allies in Italy.
The electrified double-track Brenner Pass rail line meant the Germans did not have to use their coal-fired trains or divert dwindling coal supplies to the southern front. Seventy-two trains a day ran through the route. If their electrical power supply could be destroyed, the Germans would be forced to replace the electric locomotives with steam locomotives, requiring diversion of locomotives and crews from elsewhere in German-controlled Europe at a time when the entire German rail system was under attack. And shipping space in the trains would have to be diverted to bringing coal to power the replacement trains.
On March 31, 1945, Army Group C’s quartermaster general reported that an average of 1,800 tons of supplies had arrived daily during the previous month, only 45 percent of minimum needs, with each shipment taking four to six days to make the journey through the blasted rail line, which was completely closed for over half those days.
This book does not talk much about Joseph Heller. It does cover some of the events and personalities that show up in Catch-22. Gen Dreedle is a caricature of BG Knapp-who was a real hero. Knapp trained the Doolittle aircrews and led a B-25 squadron in the Med through a full mission tour before being promoted. The bombing of Settimo Bridge was a breaking point for Heller and is recreated by a mission in Catch-22. Milo Minderbinder is based on this real individual:
Radioman-gunner Jerry Rosenthal recalled one young private who came into the 381st squadron in the spring of 1945 as a replacement in the ground echelon. When asked what his aptitude and abilities were, the private mentioned that he had a brother in the Navy who was currently a lieutenant commander in charge of the Navy Supply Depot in Naples. “That kid was promptly promoted to Sergeant and given an assignment that required him to fly down to Naples at least every other week if not more often and remain overnight. Our rum-runner always came back fully loaded with proof the Navy really did have the best chow.” Milo Minderbinder was an exaggeration of how the wing supported itself, but the ability of some to “make deals” made the work of the rest easier than it might have been.
The 57th sent war-weary, stripped-down B-25s all over the Med for good food and adult refreshments.
A crew chief "owns" his airplane and only lends it to the aircrew. Those ground crews poured their labor into keeping them flying, with some great results:
By the end of the war, after surviving the worst the Germans could throw at her, “Peggy Lou” would have 137 bomb symbols painted on her nose, never having turned back for a mechanical failure; she was definitely ‘Lucky 13,” her plane-in-squadron number.
The all-time record for operational survival in the 445th squadron was held by Dan Bowling’s B-25J “Pistol Packin’ Mama,” appropriately known to the ground crews as “Patches.” By the time she was taken off operations in March 1945, “Patches” had flown more than two hundred missions, had bellied in four times, and bore the scars of four hundred flak hits. The airplane had been bent so many times that it flew with eight degrees of left aileron trim and six degrees of right rudder. When trimmed, “Patches” flew with a profound bias that eventually led to her retirement since it was deemed “unsightly” for the first six planes of a formation to be flying straight and true while the remainder flying behind “Patches” were trimmed up in a crab and practically flying sideways. That the plane survived as she did was a tribute to the inherent toughness of the B-25 as a design—and to the dedication of the ground crews to “keep ’em flying.”
April 17, 2017
Catch-22 is my all time favorite book. So when I learned about The Bridgebusters: The True Story of the Catch-22 Bomb Wing, it immediately shot to the top of my Goodreads "Want to Read" list. It has everything to make it a perfect read for me: airplanes, history and Heller. Then I found out about The True Story of Catch 22: The Real Men and Missions of Joseph Heller's 340th Bomb Group in World War II, written by the daughter of the real Colonel Cathcart, so I daisy-chained right into what turned out to be the Yin for Cleaver's Yang.
The Bridgebusters is a history book of the 57th Bomb Wing in which Joseph Heller served as a bombardier on a B-25 during World War II. Cleaver details the missions primarily in the context of the Allied campaign to liberate Italy which, frankly, I am less familiar with than Operation Overlord and the action of the Eighth Air Force's B-17s bombing Germany from England. Heller is shown as the cog he was in the U.S. fighting machine that defeated the Nazis and Cleaver puts forth an interesting theory of the author's true relationship to Yossarian.
The True Story of Catch-22 is less a history book and more a collection of personal memoirs of the men of Heller's 488th squadron. As the daughter of the unit's commanding officer, Meder has a direct and much more personal relationship with the subject and her focus is mapping the novel's characters to real men fighting a real war, which is a much different story than Bridgebusters, but an equally interesting one, especially with all of the pictures she pulled out of her father's attic
Now that I've read "the rest of the story," as Paul Harvey was fond of saying, I'm re-reading Catch-22. On a personal note, having attempted a satirical novel (In the Black: 1965-1969) based on personal experiences and inspired by Heller's masterpiece, these books were a fascinating study in the tangled web of fact and fiction for me.
The Bridgebusters is a history book of the 57th Bomb Wing in which Joseph Heller served as a bombardier on a B-25 during World War II. Cleaver details the missions primarily in the context of the Allied campaign to liberate Italy which, frankly, I am less familiar with than Operation Overlord and the action of the Eighth Air Force's B-17s bombing Germany from England. Heller is shown as the cog he was in the U.S. fighting machine that defeated the Nazis and Cleaver puts forth an interesting theory of the author's true relationship to Yossarian.
The True Story of Catch-22 is less a history book and more a collection of personal memoirs of the men of Heller's 488th squadron. As the daughter of the unit's commanding officer, Meder has a direct and much more personal relationship with the subject and her focus is mapping the novel's characters to real men fighting a real war, which is a much different story than Bridgebusters, but an equally interesting one, especially with all of the pictures she pulled out of her father's attic
Now that I've read "the rest of the story," as Paul Harvey was fond of saying, I'm re-reading Catch-22. On a personal note, having attempted a satirical novel (In the Black: 1965-1969) based on personal experiences and inspired by Heller's masterpiece, these books were a fascinating study in the tangled web of fact and fiction for me.
June 18, 2016
The real story of the 57th Bomb Wing in Italy during WWII. This was the B-25 bomb group Joseph Heller, the author of Catch-22, flew with. A well written chronicle of the group from their stationing on Corsica to the end of the war. Insight into what influenced Heller to write his book is contemplated. You can get lost in the many names and fighting units on both sides, but it's a good telling of this often ignored part of WWII history.
February 13, 2021
If you know me in real life, you know that "Catch-22" is my all-time favorite book. It's certainly the one that I've come back to the most for re-reads, including two different occasions where it served as my go-to "book to read while substitute teaching during classes where I wasn't required to do much and had no access to the internet during the day" (so, you know, "working"). I've seen this book at my local library for going on four years now, close to five (the publication date was 2016, so I'm guessing it was there at the library not long after publication), but I've avoided reading it because I wasn't sure if I wanted to. I wasn't sure if it would deconstruct my favorite book and make me question why it was my favorite, or if the history behind the book would recast the novel in a new light.
Honestly, I shouldn't have worried: "The Bridgebusters" is a pretty okay history of the actual unit that author Joseph Heller served in during WWII, based not on Pianosa but on the much larger (and therefore more-able-to-accomdate-a-bomber-wing) island of Corsica. Cleaver doesn't spend a whole lot of time talking about Heller necessarily, and that's okay; the story of the unit is much bigger than one man's story, and the parts where he does crop up don't really do much to diminish my love of the novel. If anything, the story of how he was one of the bomber crews to vocally argue about bombing a small Italian town as a military target when it wasn't, and the possible "bargain" he struck with the Army Air Force to buy his silence, thus possibly fueling the rage that is palpable on every page of his classic novel, shows that Heller was a complicated figure whose masterpiece was born of disappointment at his own failings. Whether you buy author Cleaver's premise or not (I'm inclined to do so, because an incident where the bomb crews have to destroy a town only so that German troops can't use the surrounding roads for transport occurs in the novel), it humanizes the author of "Catch-22" as someone who had a lot more to say about the madness of war than a lot of other young men who went through the war without having morally questionable orders (or increased flight numbers before they could be rotated to the States, which actually did occur albeit after Heller had left the unit).
Like I said, this is a perfectly good account of the real bomber wing that Heller flew in and which inspired Yossarian and all the other mad characters of his masterpiece. If anything, it's fueled a desire in me for potentially yet another re-read of my favorite novel, which is never a bad thing.
Honestly, I shouldn't have worried: "The Bridgebusters" is a pretty okay history of the actual unit that author Joseph Heller served in during WWII, based not on Pianosa but on the much larger (and therefore more-able-to-accomdate-a-bomber-wing) island of Corsica. Cleaver doesn't spend a whole lot of time talking about Heller necessarily, and that's okay; the story of the unit is much bigger than one man's story, and the parts where he does crop up don't really do much to diminish my love of the novel. If anything, the story of how he was one of the bomber crews to vocally argue about bombing a small Italian town as a military target when it wasn't, and the possible "bargain" he struck with the Army Air Force to buy his silence, thus possibly fueling the rage that is palpable on every page of his classic novel, shows that Heller was a complicated figure whose masterpiece was born of disappointment at his own failings. Whether you buy author Cleaver's premise or not (I'm inclined to do so, because an incident where the bomb crews have to destroy a town only so that German troops can't use the surrounding roads for transport occurs in the novel), it humanizes the author of "Catch-22" as someone who had a lot more to say about the madness of war than a lot of other young men who went through the war without having morally questionable orders (or increased flight numbers before they could be rotated to the States, which actually did occur albeit after Heller had left the unit).
Like I said, this is a perfectly good account of the real bomber wing that Heller flew in and which inspired Yossarian and all the other mad characters of his masterpiece. If anything, it's fueled a desire in me for potentially yet another re-read of my favorite novel, which is never a bad thing.
December 6, 2025
Thomas McKelvey Cleaver’s “The Bridgebusters: The True Story of the Catch-22 Bomb Wing” is a compact but vivid operational history of the 57th Bomb Wing in the Mediterranean, centered on the bridge-busting campaign over Italy that gave Joseph Heller the raw material for “Catch-22.” It succeeds both as an introduction to a neglected theater and as an accessible study of medium‑bomber warfare at the sharp end. Cleaver reconstructs the 57th Bomb Wing’s year‑long effort to interdict German logistics by hammering bridges, viaducts, and rail yards from Corsican bases, using B‑25 Mitchells flying low and medium‑altitude tactical missions. The narrative highlights how this “bridgebusting” campaign systematically starved German forces in Italy of fuel, ammunition, and mobility, underscoring the strategic impact of air interdiction in a theater often overshadowed by Normandy and the Eastern Front. The book is most compelling when it connects the daily grind of the 57th’s crews to the absurdist tone that later defined Heller’s fiction. Cleaver uses episodes such as missions flown beyond the official tour, orders to bomb near civilians, and the dreaded “roadblock” sorties to illuminate the moral ambiguity and bureaucratic madness that Heller transmuted into satire, while never losing sight of the real casualties involved. Beyond crew‑level drama, Cleaver situates the wing inside the broader politics of the Italian campaign, including his critique of Mark Clark’s decisions, which he argues prolonged the fighting for personal prestige. The treatment of German flak, radar‑directed defenses, and the brutal attrition of low‑level bomber work gives readers a technically informed sense of just how costly tactical air power could be, even when “only” attacking bridges. Cleaver writes in a narrative style shaped by his screenwriting background, which makes complex operational detail readable without sacrificing seriousness. For readers interested in WWII air power, Mediterranean operations, or the historical roots of “Catch‑22,” “The Bridgebusters” offers an instructive and engaging look at how an ostensibly secondary campaign became a crucible of both strategic innovation and literary inspiration.
February 11, 2020
Great review of WWII in North Africa and Italy with air support from the B25 Medium Bomber. While the U.S. preferred direct confrontation with Germany in France and then into Germany, the British wanted to first attack Italy and gradually weaken the AXIS forces before the Normandy invasion.
Although the much larger 4 engine B17's and B24's had greater speed, ceiling, range and payload than the 2 engine B25's, it was determined that the B25 was ideal for combat in the Mediterranean and Italy in particular. It was more maneuverable, required smaller airfields (it took off from an aircraft carrier when bombing Tokyo) and great for supporting ground troops as well as attacking ships, ports, rail lines and bridges.
This was critical in the Italian campaign, which although involving smaller scale fighting around strong points such as the Anzio beachhead and the Gothic Line, also was the most costly in terms of infantry casualties for both sides.
Wonderful insight into the crews that manned the machines with their fears, hopes and aspirations.
Although the much larger 4 engine B17's and B24's had greater speed, ceiling, range and payload than the 2 engine B25's, it was determined that the B25 was ideal for combat in the Mediterranean and Italy in particular. It was more maneuverable, required smaller airfields (it took off from an aircraft carrier when bombing Tokyo) and great for supporting ground troops as well as attacking ships, ports, rail lines and bridges.
This was critical in the Italian campaign, which although involving smaller scale fighting around strong points such as the Anzio beachhead and the Gothic Line, also was the most costly in terms of infantry casualties for both sides.
Wonderful insight into the crews that manned the machines with their fears, hopes and aspirations.
January 3, 2020
A very well-written narrative that describes how a B-25 medium bomber wing supported Allied operations in Italy. The author had access to historical documents maintained by members of the wing and merged this information skillfully with the ebb and flow of the Allied effort. He also inserted many anecdotes about how the pilots, air and ground crew lived during the offensive. It also discussed that the Germans were no slouches and were conducting a successful defense. Joseph Heller, the author of "Catch-22" was in the wing. There's a bit of narrative describing why he ultimately did not fly the requisite number of missions and was able to leave the theater of operations.
October 21, 2018
Good accounting of the air war in Italy
Most accounts of the air war In WWII focus on the 8th air force’s B-17s and B24s. This book dealt with B25 units fighting over Italy. A much needed account. No matter what the target, or what the mission dodging 88s was brutal and losses were tragic. Crazy decisions were made and it’s easy to understand the anger and hopelessness that led Heller to write Catch-22. I think I’ll re read catch 22 now with a much different perspective.
Most accounts of the air war In WWII focus on the 8th air force’s B-17s and B24s. This book dealt with B25 units fighting over Italy. A much needed account. No matter what the target, or what the mission dodging 88s was brutal and losses were tragic. Crazy decisions were made and it’s easy to understand the anger and hopelessness that led Heller to write Catch-22. I think I’ll re read catch 22 now with a much different perspective.
March 10, 2020
i enjoyed it. It came out around the anniversary of Catch 22. It's also a forgotten history of how the medium size bomber was quite effective against the Germans compared to the strategic bombers that couldnt hit a target for squat. The author traces its history from the start of the Italian campaign to its end. It also relates what the author believes to be the mission that prompted Joseph Heller to write Catch 22.
October 22, 2021
Very interesting and informative. This book was particularly interesting to me as my father served in the 5th army and kept a diary of places he fought in. This book names many of those locations as the fighting moves from Africa to Italy.
May 16, 2019
interesting, not great
June 30, 2019
Not laid out well. Author jumped around too much. Interesting facts though.
July 23, 2019
good book..a little too much on the technical sidehttps://www.goodreads.com/work/editio...
November 22, 2021
Great background story of the Catch-22 bomb wing made famous in Joseph Heller's book. Extremely well researched.
June 21, 2016
Review originally posted at Book of Bogan
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy through Edelweiss.
Bridgebusters is the story of the 57th Bomb Wing, whose primary claim to fame was that they were the inspiration for Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22. Flying B-25 Mitchell medium bomber/attack aircraft during the Second World War in African and European theaters, Bridgebusters takes you inside the planes, and inside the heads of the air crews who flew them.
There are a great many stories which are still emerging from the fog of war, and I was really hoping that this book would give me some different insight into the world of the bomber pilots. And to some extent it did, conveying the personal struggles - psychological and physical - they went through in fighting the war.
I guess if there could be one criticism of the book, it is that it lacks a certain amount of coherent thread to string the whole thing together. I get that the book hangs its hat on the connection with Catch-22, but I would have liked more of a personal insight and stories of the other individuals involved. The author is at his best when he is describing the action - told from both sides of the story - and the tension involved.
All in all, Bridgebusters is an interesting addition to the literature on World War 2.
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy through Edelweiss.
Bridgebusters is the story of the 57th Bomb Wing, whose primary claim to fame was that they were the inspiration for Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22. Flying B-25 Mitchell medium bomber/attack aircraft during the Second World War in African and European theaters, Bridgebusters takes you inside the planes, and inside the heads of the air crews who flew them.
There are a great many stories which are still emerging from the fog of war, and I was really hoping that this book would give me some different insight into the world of the bomber pilots. And to some extent it did, conveying the personal struggles - psychological and physical - they went through in fighting the war.
I guess if there could be one criticism of the book, it is that it lacks a certain amount of coherent thread to string the whole thing together. I get that the book hangs its hat on the connection with Catch-22, but I would have liked more of a personal insight and stories of the other individuals involved. The author is at his best when he is describing the action - told from both sides of the story - and the tension involved.
All in all, Bridgebusters is an interesting addition to the literature on World War 2.
July 19, 2017
I received this book for free through goodreads giveaways.
The numerous personal accounts included were the best part of the book. The stories that related to the novel Catch-22 were very informative, setting apart the fact from fiction, and giving an insight into certain events that shaped Heller's novel. Not just a story of the Bomb Wing but also includes a brief running account of the entire campaign in Italy, this was the part i enjoyed the least.
The numerous personal accounts included were the best part of the book. The stories that related to the novel Catch-22 were very informative, setting apart the fact from fiction, and giving an insight into certain events that shaped Heller's novel. Not just a story of the Bomb Wing but also includes a brief running account of the entire campaign in Italy, this was the part i enjoyed the least.
September 3, 2016
Three stars, but with reservations. Cleaver's an engaging writer, but this book is often as much about the ground war in Italy as it's about Heller's (large) Air Force unit ... and there's really not much of Heller in the book at all, which isn't what I was expecting. Especially considering the cover design (which is pretty great). Like a lot of books in this genre, recommended only for the aficionados...
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