یک بال و یک دعا: گروه بمب‌افکن «صد خونین» نیروی هوایی هشتم ایالات متحده در عملیات‌های اروپا در جنگ جهانی دوم

“Written from the unusual perspective of a navigator, this is a compelling account of the air war against Germany.” —Publishers WeeklyThey began operations out of England in the spring of ’43. They flew their Flying Fortresses almost daily against strategic targets in Europe in the name of freedom. Their astonishing courage and appalling losses earned them the name that resounds in the annals of aerial warfare and made the “Bloody Hundredth” a legend.Harry H. Crosby—soon to be portrayed by Anthony Boyle in the miniseries Masters of the Air developed by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg—arrived with the very first crews, and left with the very last. After dealing with his fear and gaining in skill and confidence, he was promoted to Group Navigator, surviving hairbreadth escapes and eluding death while leading thirty-seven missions, some of them involving two thousand aircraft. Now, in a breathtaking and often humorous account, he takes us into the hearts and minds of these intrepid airmen to experience both the triumph and the white-knuckle terror of the war in the skies.“Affecting . . . A vivid account . . . Uncommonly thoughtful recollections that address the moral ambiguities of a great cause without in any way denigrating the selfless valor or camaraderie that helped ennoble it.” —Kirkus Reviews“Re-creates for us the sense of how it was when European skies were filled with noise and danger, when the fate of millions hung in the balance. An evocative and excellent memoir.” —Library Journal“The acrid stench of fear and cordite, the coal burning stoves, the heroics, the losses . . . This has to be the best memoir I have read, bar none.” —George Hicks, director of the Airmen Memorial Museum Harry Crosby, a navigator flying B-17 bombers with the 'Bloody 100th Bomb Group of the U.S. Eighth Air Force during World War II, was one of the few survivors from a kegendary group which flew missions almost daily against strategic targets all over Europe. Surviving 37 missions when most men were sent home after 25 Crosby tells his dramatic and moving story, including dozens of missions such as runs to Bremen which resulted in horrendous losses; to North Africa, East Germany and Russia; and of terrifying hairbreadth escapes from German anti-aircraft flak and fighter defences. He also includes amusing accounts of life for an American at an English air base, as well as a candid look at what the strain of constant exposure to danger and death cost him and his friends. History,Military,World War II The story of the author's experiences as a navigator with the 100th Bomb Group of the US Eighth Air Force during World War II. The 100th operated from an air base in East Anglia and suffered appalling losses. Crosby survived 37 missions flown over the last two years of the war. Previously published in 1993.