The Mighty Eighth in WWII : A Memoir

The Mighty Eighth

by J. Kemp McLaughlin

One of the great bomber pilots of World War II recalls his various missions over the European theater, from bombing heavy water installations in Norway to the raid that nearly wiped out German ball bearing production.

208 pages, Hardcover

First published August 17, 2000

Reviews

[Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book. This take from the pilot training all the way to a squadron commander and all the job in between. All the other histories I have read about the Eighth covered air battles and individual accounts, this is different in that it tells the command side, such as moving the whole group, three times from base to base. At the end when the author was transforming to the B-29, his comments about it being underpowered and sluggish on the controls was interesting. Realizing that the B-17 and the B-29 both had relatively short life spans. I enjoyd this book.

[Paul Belanger · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, I think the B-17 is the greatest bomber ever built. What the B-17 was able to accomplish with the young and talented and courageous crew assigned to her, was utterly amazing. The real unsung heroes of WWII were the people that designed, built, and maintained her. This aircraft could take so much damage and still be able to bomb her target, getting the crew safely home as well, in most cases. Many lives were lost, and McLaughlin manages to tell those stories too. This book is exciting to read, with humor spread throughout. I've read other books about the B-17 (see my first sentence) and this one never disappointed. Also, during the read, I learned a lot that I never knew about. McLaughlin was there early on and watched the build up and shift; from the devastating early raids to the later milk runs. This book is well worth the time to read.

[João · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not an introductory book to the 8th Air Force. It will give a few accounts of different, personal situations of the occasional interesting story, but it's definitely not a study of the 8th Air Force, its impact, etc.

Within that context, it's definitely a decent read.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book...personal account of McLaughlin in the 8th.