Hell In The Heavens "The Saga of a WWII Bomber Pilot"
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Hell In The Heavens "The Saga of a WWII Bomber Pilot"
In this firsthand real-life account, WWII bomber pilot Col. David Tavel recounts his experiences in the European Theater. His exciting pilot’s-eye view of the Great War takes you from bomber pilot training in the U.S. to actual bombing runs in Europe.
Fly alongside Tavel and his Virgin Wolves as the bomber squadron avoids enemy fighter planes and heavy flak to take out strategic enemy targets in Nazi-held territory. With detailed descriptions of the bomber squadron’s massive and costly efforts to bring down the Nazis, Tavel draws on his own wartime journal entries and memories of the early days of the U.S. Army Air Corps and the brand new 15th U.S. Air Force.
David Tavel's experiences through a great war provide the reader with a unique and vicarious experience. As a bomber pilot, he was supremely talented, and,—when combined with some luck, was able to bring himself and most of his fellow crewmembers intact from this ordeal against tremendous odds. His calm and descriptive first person narrative—despite the prospect of sudden death awaiting them at any moment—belies the chilling terror that any normal person would feel under such circumstances. His words thus allow us to gain a glimpse into his very being—highly intelligent, commanding respect and admiration both as a leader and follower, and able to focus on major issues under intense pressure. Although he used notes made during that momentous historical period, his memory of what happened more than fifty years ago is remarkable. During that wartime, however, everything was not always horrific; his account is laced with intermittent doses of humor, a feature that probably allowed him and his fellow warriors some degree of equanimity.
Very few war books contain words written by pilot combatants themselves. What is especially rare is that David not only survived the entire wartime period, but he remained in the European theater to its very conclusion. By contrast, after a finite number of missions, because of severe stress, most pilots and crewmembers were directed to return to the U.S.A. before the war had reached its conclusion, robbing the reader of the opportunity to see how everything eventually played out.
With additional material contributed by Morton Tavel, MD, this authentic firsthand account brings to life the courage, tenacity, and skill of the Allied pilots who helped defeat the Axis powers.