A limited-number of prints are available autographed by two heroes from the legendary 8th Air Force

A limited-number of prints are available autographed by two heroes from the legendary 8th Air Force: Fred Wiese, a 35 mission veteran and pilot of the B-17 "The Little One" a Mischler, a 25 mission veteran and gunner on the B-17 "Pride of the Yanks."

With two editions already sold out, get yours today before they are gone forever at ValorStudios.com, link in bio!

"Black Thursday" by Gareth Hector

October 14, 1943: Deep into Germany and with their fighter escort gone, the bomber boys of the 8th Air Force are in the fight of their lives. More than three hundred “unrelenting” Luftwaffe fighters are trying to make them do the unthinkable: to turn back.

The ball bearing factories at Schweinfurt lay ahead, it’s a crucial target, and that leaves the 8th with one option: to fight their way through the maelstrom.

Jousts ensue at 23,000 feet as JG 3 ace Alfred Surau attacks in his Bf-109G. Sixty bombers will fall, including this B-17, “Wabbit-Twacks III,” of the 96th Bomb Group.

Today, “Black Thursday,” will be the costliest mission in 8th Air Force history, but in a mere six days the “Mighty Eighth” will be back in action, and within five months American bombs will rain on Berlin.

The Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission, more commonly known as “Black Thursday”, was the deadliest single day for the 8th Air Force as well as one of the largest aerial engagements of the war.

It was a double target raid, aimed at the crucial war production plants located deep in Germany at the cities of Schweinfurt and Regensburg respectively.

The 4th Bombardment Wing, led by Curtis LeMay, participated in this double-mission to Schweinfurt Regensburg and suffered dearly. The bombers were under constant attack from the moment they crossed over the Channel and until they returned home.

Crews that survived the ordeal remembered the path to the target being marked by parachutes gliding earthwards. By the days end, 55 bombers had been shot down and 550 crew lost- nearly doubling the previous deadliest day.

Comments

Meet The Man Who Broke World Record By Sleeping With 57 Women In 24 Hrs But Later Rushed To Hospital

Meet The Man Who Broke World Record By Sleeping With 57 Women In 24 Hrs But Later Rushed To Hospital Meet a man who managed to make it to the Guinness book of records after breaking a long standing world record of sleeping with 57 women in a span of 24 hours. The 34 year old man hailed from Singapore and broke the record in Prague, the capital of Czech Republic, in an annual event run by a local brothel. According to reports, the unnamed man disclosed that he had been training hard for months to break the previous record which stood at 55 and he was delighted that he broke it. Quoting him, he said, “I've always been a bit of a sex addict, and when I learned that the brothel was having a world record attempt I knew I had to come and give it a go. I take it really seriously and train for it just like an athlete would prepare for a marathon. In some ways, it's actually much harder than a lot of professional sports.`` The Singapore man was very focused on his goal in that by mid...

Honoring Leo Henry Schweiter: Veteran of World War II, The Korean War and The Vietnam War

Honoring Leo Henry Schweiter: Veteran of World War II, The Korean War and The Vietnam War Leo Henry Schweiter was born in Wichita Kansas on April 16, 1917. Leo enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1941. He then transferred to the 101st Airborne Division. While serving as Captain and Assistant Chief of Staff G-2 Intelligence Officer Schweiter took part in the Normandy airborne landings on June 6, 1944. During this time he was knocked unconscious by a grenade blast. Captain Schweiter was subsequently captured by the Germans but released a day later upon their retreat. A veteran of Operation Market Garden, the Siege of Bastogne and the counter attack at Haguenau, Schweiter remained in service with the US Army after World War II. Leo Henry Schweiter would go on to serve with the 7th Infantry Division during the Korean War. In 1959 he was named Chief of Staff of the 8th Infantry Division and later became Assistant Chief of Staff, G2, Headquarters, in the XVIII Airborne Corps. During...

The Holocaust: 18. War Crimes

**The Holocaust: 18. War Crimes** G.M. Gilbert was one of the prison psychologists during the Nuremberg war crimes trial. On April 9, 1946 he had a brief conversation with Colonel Rudolph Hoess, who had been the commandant of Auschwitz. The following is an excerpt of his book *Nurember Diary*: We discussed briefly his activity as the commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp from May, 1940, to December, 1943, which camp was the central extermination camp for Jews. He readily confirmed that approximately 2 1/2 million Jews had been exterminated under his direction. The exterminations began in the summer of 1941. In compliance with [Hermann] Goering's skepticism, I asked Hoess how it was technically possible to exterminate 2 1/2 million people. "Technicall?" he asked. "That wasn't so hard -- it would not have been hard to exterminate even greater numbers." In answer to my rather naive questions as to how many people could be done away with in an hour, et...

WORLD OF ALL

Search This Blog