{"product_id":"deadly-sky-isbn-9780451475640","title":"Deadly Sky","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e“From the training camps to the combat missions, this is war from the perspective of the young Americans who lived through it: the pilots, the bombardiers, the navigators, and the gunners of all the combat services in both Europe and in the Pacific. It is an engaging and vivid portrayal of war in the skies from 1941 to 1945.”\u003cb\u003e—Craig L. Symonds, Author of \u003ci\u003eWorld War II at Sea\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e John C. McManus, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Dead and Those About to Die\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eSeptember Hope\u003c\/i\u003e, reveals the terror and triumph that shared the fiery skies of World War II—from the first dogfights over Europe to the last Kamikaze attacks over the Pacific.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e This insightful chronicle takes readers inside the experiences of America’s fighter pilots and bomber crews, an incredible assortment of men who, in nearly four years of warfare all over the globe, suffered over 120,000 casualties with over 40,000 killed. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Their stories span the earth into every corner of the combat theaters in both Europe and the Pacific. And the aircraft explored are as varied, tough, and legendary as the men who flew them­—from the indomitable heavy-duty warhorse that was the B-17 Flying Fortress to the sleek, lethal P-51 Mustang fighter.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e In \u003ci\u003eDeadly Sky\u003c\/i\u003e, master historian John C. McManus goes beyond the familiar tales of aerial heroism, capturing the sights and sounds, the toil and fear, the adrenaline and the pain of the American airmen who faced death with every mission. In this important, thoroughly-researched work, McManus uncovers the true nature of fighting—and dying—in the skies over World War II.“From the training camps to the combat missions, this is war from the perspective of the young Americans who lived through it: the pilots, the bombardiers, the navigators, and the gunners of all the combat services in both Europe and in the Pacific. It is an engaging and vivid portrayal of war in the skies from 1941 to 1945.”\u003cb\u003e—Craig L. Symonds, Author of \u003ci\u003eThe Battle of Midway \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eWorld War II at Sea\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“These extraordinary eyewitness accounts put a human face on the bombing campaign against Nazi Germany, and tell the story of its savagely contested battles with rare power and empathy. McManus is a master of the art of oral history and one of the outstanding historians of World War II.”\u003cb\u003e—Donald L. Miller, Author of \u003ci\u003eMasters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Using their own words, a vivid, thematic report on the personalities, thoughts, and experiences of American airmen in combat during World War II. An important book and an exciting read.”\u003cb\u003e—Gerald Astor, Author of \u003ci\u003eThe Mighty Eighth\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[\u003ci\u003eDeadly Sky\u003c\/i\u003e] is one of the most compelling books about men at war that I have ever read. It combines superb analysis of the World War II air war around the world with riveting, often heartbreaking eyewitness testimony from the participants...A truly great read.”\u003cb\u003e—Tom Fleming, Author of \u003ci\u003eThe Great Divide\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Especially moving are the words of the men who struggled to make sense of the horrors of war. They were not simply extensions of the war effort but fiercely independent men who thought seriously about what they were doing.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eSmithsonian Air and Space\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eJohn C. McManus\u003c\/b\u003e is an award-winning professor, author, and military historian, and a leading expert on the history of the American combat experience. He is the Curators' Distinguished Professor of U.S. Military History at Missouri University of Science and Technology, and is currently in residence at the U.S. Naval Academy as the Leo A. Shifrin Chair of Naval and Military History. His critically acclaimed books on World War II include \u003ci\u003eGrunts\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSeptember Hope\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Dead and Those About to Die\u003c\/i\u003e. His next book, \u003ci\u003eFire and Fortitude: The US Army in the Pacific War, 1941-1943\u003c\/i\u003e, will be published by Dutton Caliber in July 2019.1.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Who Were These Combat Airmen?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Our Crew was a not so unique composite of young men brought      together from scattered areas of the U.S. from Maine to      California. Our Crew represented 7 states and included young men      from 19 years to 33 years old. We blended into a team that was      concerned about the well being of each member.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e -David Redfern, waist gunner, 491st Bomb Group\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e They came from nearly every town, city, and state in America. They      were the sons of the elite, the impoverished, and everyone in      between in 1940s America. By and large, they had one thing in      common, no matter their background or their region of origin: They      all volunteered to fight the war in the air against America's      enemies in World War II. In order to achieve that goal, they      worked like demons and trained diligently to prove themselves and      earn the wings that would be their passport to combat. What did it      mean to be a combat airman in World War II? It meant that you      either were part of a bomber crew or were a fighter pilot. That is      how the U.S. military classified its combat air personnel.      Undoubtedly the transport pilots who flew the Hump over the      Himalayas in order to supply China, or those who flew paratroopers      into combat zones, or the others who piloted glider troops to the      battlefield, resented their status as noncombatants. After all,      they were at times in as much danger as fighter pilots and bomber      crews. But their danger was the exception rather than the rule.      For every C-47 pilot braving German flak to drop paratroopers into      Normandy, there were many more such pilots ferrying supplies in      secure rear areas. For most transport pilots, the main danger to      life and limb was accidents. For fighter pilots and bomber crews,      accidents were but one of many potential hazards, ranking a      distant third behind enemy fighter planes and antiaircraft fire.      The vast majority of the 121,867 casualties, including 40,061      killed, the Army Air Force suffered in World War II was among      fighter pilots and bomber crews. (The Air Force was part of the      Army in World War II.) In the cases of the Navy and the Marines,      almost all of the aviators who became casualties were fighter      pilots, torpedo pilots, dive-bomber pilots, or their accompanying      crewmen. Clearly, airmen from the official combat arms had the      most treacherous flying duty in the war.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Most of them were highly motivated, reasonably well-educated young      men whose desire for air combat bordered on eagerness. They      originated from no particular locale or region in any overwhelming      quantities. Instead, they hailed from everywhere. In terms of      social class and status, they generally had more advantages than      their ground-combat counterparts but still cannot be thought of in      any way as strictly products of America's elite classes. For      example, when the Army researched the educational backgrounds of      its entire population of enlisted men, it found that more than      half had not completed high school. In the case of enlisted combat      airmen, though, more than two-thirds had completed high school.      Some had even attended or graduated from college. These men were      better educated than enlisted men in other branches of the      service, but most still did not possess that true measure of elite      status in mid-twentieth-century America-a college degree.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In the first two years of American involvement in World War II,      the Army carried out a deliberate policy to channel the men it      thought of as bright, capable, and motivated into the Army Air      Force. Later in the war, when the Air Force had far more pilot      candidates than it could ever hope to train, and the Army brass      realized it would need large numbers of bright, well-trained      soldiers to win the war on the ground, such men were then      channeled into Army Ground Forces. Still, the Army experienced its      greatest growth during the first couple of years of the war and,      even late in the war, the Air Force continued to receive more than      its fair share of men deemed to be intelligent and motivated and      thus essential to the war effort.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The Army's most far-reaching barometer for evaluating the millions      of men who entered the service in the war years was the Army      General Classification Test, usually referred to as the AGCT. This      test, given to all recruits, was a forty-minute written exam      consisting of 150 multiple-choice questions designed to measure      intelligence and general aptitude. Most recruits tried hard to      score well on the test because they thought that a higher score      would lead to a better Army job. In grading the tests, the Army      devised five categories according to raw scores. Class I had a      score of more than 130; Class II, between 110 and 129; Class III,      90 to 109; Class IV, 70 to 89; and Class V, 69 or lower. Army      leaders put great stock in the results of the test and constantly      battled one another to acquire as many high-scoring men as      possible for their respective branches of the service. Although      the AGCT could certainly be thought of as \"culturally biased,\" and      sometimes revealed more about a recruit's level of education and      experience than his native intelligence, it nonetheless was still      a reasonable barometer of the ability level of Army recruits.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Throughout the war, the Army Air Force received a high proportion      of men who scored in Class I or Class II (those the Army evaluated      as high-quality manpower). This pattern of top scorers ending up      in the Air Force was especially true in 1942 and 1943. For      example, 44 percent of the Air Force's replacements in 1942 had      tested in Class I or II. Another 35 percent came from Class III.      The numbers were roughly the same for 1943. The Air Force needed      generous numbers of intelligent and skilled men to handle the      rigorous challenge of operating high-performance, cutting-edge      aircraft in combat. Only men between the ages of eighteen and      twenty-seven were admitted for pilot, bombardier, and navigator      training, and they had to be in perfect physical condition with      especially keen eyesight. After that, they took rigorous physical      and mental tests. Many of those who made it past those      requirements were later rejected or \"washed out\" from pilot      training. Perhaps most important, only men who had volunteered for      air combat were accepted for training. No one was drafted and      forced into the role of combat airman. Many of those who ended up      in air combat volunteered because of the romance of flying. They      had been raised on tales of flying adventures from Eddie      Rickenbacker to Charles Lindbergh to Jimmy Doolittle and, if they      had to fight, they wanted to join the \"glamorous\" branch of the      service, where they would be treated like gentlemen. All of these      factors combined to guarantee that combat airmen would be highly      motivated warriors.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The Army confirmed this in a study of enlisted aircrew members. It      found that, in relation to men from other branches of the service,      combat airmen had higher AGCT scores and higher educational      backgrounds. There were a higher proportion of young men (younger      than twenty-five years old), a higher proportion of men in good      physical condition, and a higher proportion of men who volunteered      for the service. They also tended to be more content with their      roles as combat airmen than were their ground-combat counterparts.      In a survey, the Army asked a representative group from both      branches, \"How satisfied are you about being in your present Army      job?\" Seventy-two percent of combat airmen expressed some level of      satisfaction with their jobs, while only 21 percent of infantrymen      did so.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Needless to say, most of these combat airmen were white. In World      War II, the U.S. military, like much of the rest of society, was      segregated. In the case of the Army, most of the senior      commanders, from George Marshall on down, felt that      African-Americans were inferior and thus should serve in      segregated units and be withheld from combat. Often poorly      educated and hailing from low socioeconomic backgrounds, blacks      tended to score low on the AGCT. In 1943, more than 79 percent of      black recruits scored in Class IV or V. Such poor test scores only      served to confirm previously held assumptions of black inferiority      in the minds of senior officers, and they resolved to exclude      African-Americans from a significant combat role. However, there      were exceptions in the Army Air Force. Small groups of black men      began to receive segregated pilot training in Tuskegee, Alabama,      early in the war. These men had high AGCT scores and had passed      all of the other rigorous Air Force tests. They were trained as      fighter pilots and would one day make up the bulk of the 332d      Fighter Group, which saw a great deal of combat in Europe and      compiled a distinguished record of achievement. The Air Force      created and trained one other black unit, the 477th Bomb Group,      but never allowed it to go overseas.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Thus, with the exception of the 332d Fighter Group, the vast      majority of American combat airmen in World War II were white and      products of middle- and upper-middle-class families. By and large,      they were intelligent, idealistic, highly motivated young men who      yearned to serve their country and strike a blow at America's      enemies. In terms of regional background, class status, and      education, they were a reasonable cross-section of mainstream,      upper-middle-class America.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e C. L. Anderson, who flew with the 390th Bomb Group, offered a      snapshot of his crew as a microcosm of the America he knew: \"I was      a farm boy, born and raised near the little town of Patterson,      California. Our radio operator was also a farm boy, as was our      waist gunner, who came from a Texas farm. The navigator was a      percussion musician from New York. The tail gunner-a Golden Gloves      boxer-was a nineteen-year-old kid from Pennsylvania. The engineer,      also nineteen, was the son of a banker in Iowa. The bombardier was      from the outskirts of Chicago. Our pilot grew up on an Oklahoma      farm and had moved west with his parents to Stockton, California.      I guess we were just a bunch of kids.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Chester Bennett, a U.S. Navy psychologist, had the job of studying      combat airmen in his service. He recorded a dispassionate      assessment of them and their various backgrounds in a letter home      to a former colleague: \"I met . . . a couple of ministers' sons      and the son of a psychology professor, a country boy from      Warrensburg [Missouri] who went to the Teacher's College, a      U[niversity] of Missouri law student . . . and a San Jose,      California, boy. There's a tall Texan with a Master's Degree in      political science who 'comes from a family of teachers' and still      plans to teach, working out his Ph.D. if and when he can. There's      a 'West Virginia hillbilly' with a degree in agriculture,      supporting an invalid mother-who's going back to the farm just as      fast as the Navy will let him. There's a Montana forester who's      heading straight back to the woods. So there you are. The fact is,      they're a cross-section of American youth, as mature and as      flippant, as socially sensitive and as selfish as the mythical      average, but with more than average abilities.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The last part of Bennett's passage is the most significant. Combat      airmen undoubtedly possessed \"above-average abilities.\" Sometimes      this was cultivated by advantageous educational opportunities and      socioeconomic backgrounds but sometimes not. Samuel Hynes, a      Marine torpedo bomber pilot, felt that in the Marine Corps,      ability counted for more than economic background: \"Those like      myself who felt provincial, or common, or underbred, chose the      Marine Corps, where those qualities wouldn't show. The Marines      that I knew, both the officers and the enlisted men, seemed to be      mainly southerners and midwesterners-country boys, rednecks, and      yokels. I don't think I ever met a Marine from New York or San      Francisco, or a rich one.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e For those who had the necessary test scores and physical      requirements to enter the air combat arms, there was a fairly      well-defined classification process. Meeting the basic      requirements did not guarantee that a young man would end up in      the cockpit of a fighter or bomber. In fact, 39 percent of those      who entered flight training in the Army Air Force did not end up      becoming pilots. Understandably, the Air Force sought to test,      classify, and prepare its future airmen as much as possible.      Before Pearl Harbor, anyone entering the air cadet program had to      have at least two years of college, but this requirement was      waived in January 1942. This paved the way for expansion of the      Air Force and opened doors for many bright      eighteen-to-twenty-one-year-olds who simply did not have the      social advantages necessary for a college education. After passing      the minimum requirements (AGCT, age, good health), young men were      immediately put through the extensive evaluation process known in      the service as the \"classification battery.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e If you were one of these potential air cadets, the classification      battery in practical terms meant being subjected to a battery of      psychological and motor tests. You would take aptitude tests known      as \"stanines,\" designed to determine your proficiency in one of      three jobs-pilot, bombardier, navigator. Each test had a scale of      one through nine; the higher the score, the better. The various      stanine tests measured such abilities as speed and accuracy of      perception, ability to read and understand technical information,      resourcefulness and judgment in problem-solving, as well as      knowledge of math and mechanical principles. Other tests measured      motor skills, coordination, finger dexterity, and reflexes.      Scoring high in the physical tests might slate you for pilot      training, while high scores on math and problem-solving tests      might point you toward navigator school.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e During the two weeks required for this process, you would also be      given a battery of medical and psychological examinations, all      designed to determine your mental and physical fitness for air      combat. Needless to say, the process was dizzying and required      complete mental and physical absorption for the potential air      cadets. Robert Goebel, a Wisconsin native who ended up flying      fighter planes with the 31st Fighter Group, recalled his      experiences at the classification center: \"We were a herd of nude,      two-legged cattle who followed signs, arrows, lines on the floor,      and pointed fingers that directed us from place to place to be      struck, stuck, pinched, and peered at. Only two verbal orders were      addressed to each of us . . . 'Bend over and spread your cheeks'      and 'Turn your head and cough.' To this day when I hear the      latter, I rise up on my toes in anticipation of that dreadful      stabbing finger in the groin.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Eugene Fletcher, who piloted a B-17 in the 95th Bomb Group, had      similar experiences: \"Some of the cadets actually fainted at the      thought and sight of needles penetrating the flesh of those ahead      of them in line. For me I thought both arms would fall off. Then      came the psychological, mental awareness . . . and motor skills      tests. The motor skills tests were used to measure manual      dexterity and reaction time. The mental tests were a little scary.      After all, who wants to tell some sinister stranger what he sees      in ink blobs. We all wanted to fly and we surely didn't want to      lose this opportunity just because an ink blob might look like      spilled ink, a naked lady, or some other screwy imagined image or      hallucination. We found ourselves giving answers to questions we      didn't even understand. No one knew why we had to respond to these      strange people.\"","brand":"Dutton Caliber","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46302521721061,"sku":"NP9780451475640","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780451475640.jpg?v=1767724846","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/deadly-sky-isbn-9780451475640","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}