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Half a Wing, Three Engines and a Prayer: B-17s over Germany Review

In 1972, at the age of ten, I was first exposed to historic World War 2 aircraft in flight. In that moment, a lifelong fascination with the history represented by these planes was born. There were many planes present that day, bombers, fighters, transports and trainers; but for me, none of them captured my attention or my imagination like the majestic B-17 Flying Fortress. Since then, I have read books, watched movies and documentaries, spoken with veterans of the World War 2 air forces, walked through and even flown in a B-17. It's been almost like a desperate search to find some kind of comprehension or understanding of the magnitude of the commitment, dedication and sacrifice made by the men who fought in this unique theater of operations. Even though I know I can never truly relate to the experiences of these heroes, I keep trying.
Half A Wing, Three Engines And A Prayer by Brian D. O'Neill, is an amazing book. Through apparently exhaustive research and cross-referencing of records, and veteran recollections, Mr. O'Neill has given us an experience of actually flying daylight bombing raids over Europe that is unparalleled in depth and in its' multi-dimensional nature, conveying the spatial relationships of activity within the bomber combat formations. While following one particular crew through a 25 mission (late '43-early '44) tour, with the 303rd Bomb Group, "Hell's Angels", he visits other crews, corroborating combat events from differing points of view in the bomber formation. While one man, in one plane, in one position in the formation might've been looking up and to his left, when he saw a particular bomber explode in the midst of a formation; the same explosion was seen by a tail-gunner in another plane, looking down and right. Yet another airman, a co-pilot, watched the same plane disappear in a blinding explosion right off his right wing. With this type of spatial cross-referencing and "story-triangulation", the complex flight formations suddenly become three-dimensional. Fully-fleshed out and given personality in the non-flying moments of the book, the pilots, crews and even the individual aircraft, are then glimpsed, from all sides, as they go about their grim task.
I have spent the majority of my life, reading books on this one subject. I have, long since, had an organizational understanding of how "elements" are comprised of planes, "squadrons" are comprised of elements, "groups" are comprised of squadrons, "wings" are comprised of groups, and so on. For the first time, a book has given me some physical understanding of the movement of these huge numbers of combat aircraft through the European skies; as well as numerous harrowing, hair-raising, tragic and sometimes even humorous tales of the men manning those planes. From take-off, and assembly, over the IP (Initial Point) and target and through the agonizing, clock-dragging return home, this is one of the very best books ever written on this subject. Buy it.

Half a Wing, Three Engines and a Prayer: B-17s over Germany Overview

Incorporating a wealth of new material, here is the riveting story of the bombing raids that broke the back of Nazi Germany, praised as "a well-researched, highly readable account of a B-17 combat crew's experience ... excellent." (Roger A. Freeman, author of The Mighty Eighth)

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