Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 051 - Down to Earth Strafing Aces of the Eighth Air Force

'Like The Long Reach, Down to Earth is a message from the battle at its height, told in their own words by the men who fight' - this is how Brig-Gen Francis Griswold, VIII Fighter Command, ends his introduction to this book. His official endorsement reveals just how important a document Down to Earth was to the teaching of tyro fighter pilots heading for action in the ETO. More leading aces were lost to flak whilst ground strafing than to German fighters. In this book William Hess has included biographies of all the pilots that originally contributed to this work back in 1943-44. This title covers the Eighth Air Force, which was the only fighting arm in World War II to give ground skills the same classification as aerial victories. It shows just how important a document "Down to Earth" was to the teaching of tyro fighter pilots. Maj Gen William F. Kepner firmly believed in taking the offensive, but it was to be several months after he took over VIII Fighter Command in August 1943 that he was able to put his principles into practice because of a shortage of aircraft. Beretter om luftangreb fra lav højde (Strafing) udført af jagerpiloter fra den amerikanske luftstyrke - 8th Air Force - under 2. verdenskrig