Summary
November 1943--May 1945 --The U.S. Army Air Forces waged an unprecedentedly dogged and violent campaign against Hitler's vital oil production and industrial plants on the Third Reich's southern flank. Flying from southern Italy, far from the limelight enjoyed by the Eighth Air Force in England, the Fifteenth Air Force engaged in high-risk missions spanning most of the European continent. The story of the Fifteenth Air Force deserves a prideful place in the annals of American gallantry.
In his new book, Forgotten Fifteenth: The Daring Airmen Who Crippled Hitler's War Machine , Tillman brings into focus a seldom-seen multinational cast of characters, including pilots from Axis nations Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria and many more remarkable individuals. They were the first generation of fliers--few of them professionals--to conduct a strategic bombing campaign against a major industrial nation. They suffered steady attrition and occasionally spectacular losses. In so doing, they contributed to the end of the most destructive war in history.
Forgotten Fifteenth is the first-ever detailed account of the Fifteenth Air Force in World War II and the brave men that the history books have abandoned until now. Tillman proves this book is a must-read for military history enthusiasts, veterans, and current servicemen.
Barrett Tillman grew up flying and has spent hundreds of hours in historic aircraft. His cockpit perspective gives his
writing about aerial warfare an unmatched immediacy. The author of more than forty books, including Forgotten Fifteenth: The Daring Airmen Who Crippled Hitler's War Machine and Whirlwind: The Air War Against Japan , he is a familiar television commentator, with credits on the History Channel and National Geographic Channel. His work has been cited in dozens of history books and integrated into coursework by the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. Tillman lives in Mesa, Arizona, with his wife, Sally.
