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The Bomber Boys: Heroes Who Flew the B-17s in World War II
True tales of heroism and the men who fought and died in the skies of World War II Europe.
In World War II, there were all too many ways for a fighting man to die. But no theater of operations offered more fatal choices than the skies above Nazi-occupied Europe. Inside of a B-17 Bomber, thousands of feet above the earth, death was always a moment away. From the hellish storms of enemy flak and relentless strafing of Luftwaffe fighters, to mid-air collisions, mechanical failure, and simple bad luck, it’s a wonder any man would volunteer for such dangerous duty. But some very brave men did.
Some paid the ultimate price. Some made it home. But in the end, all would achieve victory.
Here, author Travis L. Ayres has gathered a collection of previously untold personal accounts of combat and camaraderie aboard the B-17 Bombers that flew countless sorties against the enemy, as related by the men who lived and fought in the air—and survived. They are stories of heroism, sacrifice, miraculous survival and merciless warfare. But they should all be remembered...
INCLUDES PHOTOS
In World War II, there were all too many ways for a fighting man to die. But no theater of operations offered more fatal choices than the skies above Nazi-occupied Europe. Inside of a B-17 Bomber, thousands of feet above the earth, death was always a moment away. From the hellish storms of enemy flak and relentless strafing of Luftwaffe fighters, to mid-air collisions, mechanical failure, and simple bad luck, it’s a wonder any man would volunteer for such dangerous duty. But some very brave men did.
Some paid the ultimate price. Some made it home. But in the end, all would achieve victory.
Here, author Travis L. Ayres has gathered a collection of previously untold personal accounts of combat and camaraderie aboard the B-17 Bombers that flew countless sorties against the enemy, as related by the men who lived and fought in the air—and survived. They are stories of heroism, sacrifice, miraculous survival and merciless warfare. But they should all be remembered...
INCLUDES PHOTOS
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
5 people are currently reading
115 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 13, 2017
This book was very interesting to me because my father was in the Army Air Corps and was stationed at Snetterton Heath in England during the WW II. Reading these stories made his experience more real to me, since he didn't really like to talk about that time. He was an aircraft mechanic who repaired the B-17 bombers when they came back from their bomb runs, and he would always insist on taking the bombers up for a test run by himself (usually out over the English Channel, he said) before he would allow any crew to get back into a plane that he had worked on. Reading about what the men in this book went through made the whole situation more horrifying than I had ever imagined, though intellectually I knew that, just not on an emotional level as connected to my father. The descriptions of the damages to the planes made me remember him talking about repairs he made on them. The men in this book had the same 'let's get the job done and do out best' attitude as my dad did throughout his whole life. (Unlike some of these men, my dad never lost his love of flying, and in fact, at one point in his life, built himself a two-person helicopter which he flew until he got sick at the end of his life.) We will never truly know how much we owe to these brave men who flew these missions and stopped Hitler from taking over the world. This book shows just how much they sacrificed for us and for our freedom.
January 27, 2020
“Many of the memories were painful to recall—awakening in midair, the bone-breaking impact on the mountain, the sense of being dead and the reality of seeing the lifeless body of one of his crewmates beside the smoldering wreckage of his airplane. But there were also good memories—the reunion with four of his buddies at the antiaircraft battery, a German New Year’s party, a pretty nurse who brought her enemy a book to read, Hans and Hanslow, and a little Austrian girl with the gift of an apple.”
“There were 594 American airmen missing in action. When the surviving crews began to relive the mission during their interrogations, it became apparent that many of the missing were most likely dead. Too many explosions and burning bombers, and not enough parachutes spotted. Friends were gone, many forever.”
As a long time student of World War II, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read for me. Not so much because of elegant prose or fascinating story-telling (neither of which are particularly fitting to describe the book) but more so because it was a dark reminder of times long past. Life was different, then, and what this book conveys is that these airmen will carry a load that very few today will come to understand in a lifetime.
Most fascinating to me were not the stories of death, or of the visceral terror that came hand-in-hand with being in the ball-turret of a B17. What will remain with me is the few glimpses of humanity--of German doctors celebrating new year's eve with American POWs in Italy, of friendships formed between Allied bombers and German fighters somewhere within the cramped Austrian hospitals, of the joint humanitarian efforts to relieve the starving people in Holland.
“There were 594 American airmen missing in action. When the surviving crews began to relive the mission during their interrogations, it became apparent that many of the missing were most likely dead. Too many explosions and burning bombers, and not enough parachutes spotted. Friends were gone, many forever.”
As a long time student of World War II, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read for me. Not so much because of elegant prose or fascinating story-telling (neither of which are particularly fitting to describe the book) but more so because it was a dark reminder of times long past. Life was different, then, and what this book conveys is that these airmen will carry a load that very few today will come to understand in a lifetime.
Most fascinating to me were not the stories of death, or of the visceral terror that came hand-in-hand with being in the ball-turret of a B17. What will remain with me is the few glimpses of humanity--of German doctors celebrating new year's eve with American POWs in Italy, of friendships formed between Allied bombers and German fighters somewhere within the cramped Austrian hospitals, of the joint humanitarian efforts to relieve the starving people in Holland.
December 16, 2011
Ayres covers five 8th AF veterans: 305th BG bombardier Tony Teta, 384th BG waist gunner Peter Seniawsky, 301st BG navigator Art Frechette, 351st BG ball turret gunner George Ahern and 385th BG navigator Bob Valliere. One of his early contacts who helped him find other crew died before Ayres could get enough information from him to be included in the book.
The one-star reviewers of this book on Amazon have totally missed the point. This is NOT a book about B-17s or strategy or tactics. Nor is it intended to be "definitive nor highly accurate." It's a successful attempt to get the stories of several B-17 crew recorded for their families and the rest of us. He's taken the oral histories of five crewmen and molded them nicely into a very readable collection that provides a "slice of life" to help those of us who were fortunate enough not to have to experience what they went through and to give us a sense of their wartime service. For that he deserves our thanks.
Some remarkable stories here. I will summarize only one, but all are equally amazing. Art Frechette was the navigator on a B-17 flying missions out of Foggia, Italy when his plane was hit by flak, caught fire and then exploded blowing him and the other crew out into space at fifteen thousand feet. Frechette was knocked unconscious by the blast and awoke too late to open his chute. He was fortunate that their mission when they were hit was over the alps and he hit a mountain covered in deep snow at an angle which save his life but caused numerous injuries. He managed to slide, crawl his way down the mountain part way to a hut from which he saw smoke coming out the chimney. He was then taken to a small town and eventually to Moreno (a beautiful little town in the southern Tyrolean Alps that I must visit some day) where he recuperated with the help of reasonably friendly German doctors and nurses. Friendly that is until the day when the allies fire-bombed Dresden. Many of the staff had family there. (Ayres' comments regarding the bombing of Dresden are a bit simplistic, but no matter.) After several months of recuperation, Frechette was shipped out with other captured airmen to Stalag 18 where he remained, still partially crippled, until the camp was liberated in May 1945.
I really liked the followup at the end of each chapter in which Ayres reports how they all managed after the war, their children, jobs, where they are today, if still alive. It’s a nice human touch if a bit Pollyannaish (“he met a nice wholesome girl and married her,” that kind of thing - does anyone really talk about wholesome girls anymore? I mean, shucks, folks and golly-gee.)
Very enjoyable book especially for anyone interested in wartime personal experiences.
The one-star reviewers of this book on Amazon have totally missed the point. This is NOT a book about B-17s or strategy or tactics. Nor is it intended to be "definitive nor highly accurate." It's a successful attempt to get the stories of several B-17 crew recorded for their families and the rest of us. He's taken the oral histories of five crewmen and molded them nicely into a very readable collection that provides a "slice of life" to help those of us who were fortunate enough not to have to experience what they went through and to give us a sense of their wartime service. For that he deserves our thanks.
Some remarkable stories here. I will summarize only one, but all are equally amazing. Art Frechette was the navigator on a B-17 flying missions out of Foggia, Italy when his plane was hit by flak, caught fire and then exploded blowing him and the other crew out into space at fifteen thousand feet. Frechette was knocked unconscious by the blast and awoke too late to open his chute. He was fortunate that their mission when they were hit was over the alps and he hit a mountain covered in deep snow at an angle which save his life but caused numerous injuries. He managed to slide, crawl his way down the mountain part way to a hut from which he saw smoke coming out the chimney. He was then taken to a small town and eventually to Moreno (a beautiful little town in the southern Tyrolean Alps that I must visit some day) where he recuperated with the help of reasonably friendly German doctors and nurses. Friendly that is until the day when the allies fire-bombed Dresden. Many of the staff had family there. (Ayres' comments regarding the bombing of Dresden are a bit simplistic, but no matter.) After several months of recuperation, Frechette was shipped out with other captured airmen to Stalag 18 where he remained, still partially crippled, until the camp was liberated in May 1945.
I really liked the followup at the end of each chapter in which Ayres reports how they all managed after the war, their children, jobs, where they are today, if still alive. It’s a nice human touch if a bit Pollyannaish (“he met a nice wholesome girl and married her,” that kind of thing - does anyone really talk about wholesome girls anymore? I mean, shucks, folks and golly-gee.)
Very enjoyable book especially for anyone interested in wartime personal experiences.
September 18, 2017
Eye-opening. I started reading this book with very little understanding of what is was like to be in a bomber during World War II. Something that was surprising to me was how dangerous it was to be in one of these planes. This book described what it was like in such great detail and was very interesting and easy to read. The book was packed with action and kept me wanting to read on. Some of the stories were incredible and just showed how much bravery and sacrifice these men went through. After reading this book I have a new idea of what it was like to be one of these men and I respect them so much more. This book has made me want to read more on the topic and the bombers and men on board of them. One of my favorite lines from the book was “Now the lone B-17 would be under the wings of American or British fighters, in theory anyway. Peter kept a watch for “little friends” and sure enough an RAF spitfire soon pulled up just off the bombers wing.” because it shows how different countries help each other in times of need. And an act like flying next to a crippled bomber can save the lives of the crew if an enemy comes near. I would suggest this book to anyone who has an interest in WWII or is curious about the subject. You don't have to be a good reader, and it is full of action so it never gets boring. This book is a very good book and I suggest it to anybody.
June 27, 2019
My brother gave me this book as a gift, after he was able to ride on a visiting B-17. Our father was a copilot of a B-17 during World War II, stationed in Rattlesden, England. He flew between November 1944 and May 1945. This book follows the experiences of five men who flew in those planes. Very interesting to read—you get a sense of how frightening it was, and how dangerous. The author really got to know the men whose stories he wrote, and follows up on their later lives.
September 8, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed this book because my grandfather was a Bomber Boy. He was a tail gunner in a B17 Flying Fotress named the Gen’ril Oop. It was interesting for me to earn more about the workings of a B17 crew and the different types of missions flown by each crew at different points during the war.
February 25, 2024
A wonderful, well researched, and enlightening personal account of five Airmen who fought WWII aboard a bomb-laden B-17 over enemy territory, that was absorbing and well written. The sacrifices these men, and all those who flew bombers during WWII, come across the pages in an incredible story of survival and death.
July 20, 2019
I enjoyed it. The stories were interesting, with one being quite extraordinary!!
November 9, 2016
This book is incredible it talks about the veterans who were part of the 305th bomber squad. The main story is split into six different stories of people who had different roles in the B-17 bomber
February 18, 2015
This book was great the stories about the airmen in the book are very hard to believe and they are supposed to be the truth. One guy WALKS from parachuting into German territory all the way to Spain, he was the only airman to do this. Another guy bails out of an exploding B-17 and falls 15,000 feet without a parachute, only because he rolled down the side of steep mountain and broke several bones did he survive. And the great thing is Austrian strangers helped him. The "matter of fact" way the stories are told is a real kick too, "Oh yeah all this crazy shit happened, well what are going to do". I enjoyed the book very much.
April 7, 2022
Perfection! I felt like I was sitting at the table listening to my grandpa share his war stories with his crew mates. The book tells the personal accounts of 5 men who flew the legendary B-17 bombers in WWII. Perhaps because my grandfather was a ball turret gunner I felt so attached to this story. I was a young child when his first reunion with crew mates was held. I wish I had been older or wiser to listen more carefully. His stories in future years would only come in brief moments. I found this book to be told like a wonderful adventure story, with bits of wit. I enjoyed it so very much.
January 17, 2010
Some incredible stories, especially the guy who is blown out of the plane over the Alps, knocked unconscious and comes to after falling thousands of feet just as he lands on a snowy mountainside - and lives. You really get a feel for what it was like from these guys stories.
July 3, 2013
Book of stories from various B-17 Bomber crews. As a Military History buff, the experiences are typical, and tho so many crews lost their lives, several of these crews got the 35 required missions in.
May 10, 2020
I read this book immediately after reading a book about the Tuskegee Airmen and was immediately struck by the differences in how these boys were trained as opposed to the Tuskegee boys. But, nonetheless, these boys were just as brave and amazing.
February 19, 2010
Conventionally written -- but nothing can detract much from the compelling adventures that the author gleaned from a few surviving B-17 crewmen.
July 13, 2010
Five personal stories of the 'Bomber Boys' of the Mighty 8th.
December 26, 2010
best book i ever read this book is for people who love ww2 and airplanes. there is so much detal i fealt like i was there.
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August 9, 2011Definitly a great read....awesome stories and could not put it down.
May 16, 2012
deffientaly a good book if you like survival stories and world war two put into one book.
January 9, 2014
This was a great read - SO many stories of bravery and wit. The author does a great job of putting you into the action and intensity of the moment. Great work.
January 27, 2015
I love books that make history immediate and real. You feel their fear, you sympathize with their pain, you admire their courage and skill. An excellent book on an important aspect of WWII.
February 2, 2016
I found this so interesting as my dad was a pilot of a B17. It really gave me even more of a feel for what they went through.
June 4, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a series of fascinating accounts of individual members of B-17 crews. Some of the stories are truly amazing and unforgettable.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews