ISBN 0-7643-2423-3
160 pages

Acknowledgments; Foreword; Introduction; photos; Bibliography

   Michael Hill has already made a name for himself with his previous USAAF titles, and his new book continues that tradition with another volume covering the 15th Air Force. In this case, Hill takes a somewhat unusual approach. Rather than writing a unit history, an account of a battle or campaign, or a biographical collection, Hill and his co-author have done an enormous amount of research and compiled an impressive compendium of data about individual aircraft flown by crews of the 49th Bomb Wing.
   The book opens with a Foreword by a veteran of the 724th Bomb Squadron and an Introduction by the authors, both slightly marred by some technical problems with word-processing software. The Foreword and Intro are followed by "History of the 49th Bomb Wing," amounting to six paragraphs spread over half a page.
   With those preliminaries out of the way, the authors launch the first of their three chapters. Each is devoted to one of the groups of the 49th: 451st Bomb Group, 461st Bomb Group, and 484th Bomb Group. The chapter begins with a half-page history of the Group and a half page overview of the Group's aircraft and their markings. The next sixty-plus pages are devoted to identifying every individual aircraft that served with the Group. While not every aircraft has a full range of data available at this distance from the war, the authors attempt to include the serial number, name, date of departure from the US, previous service with other units, date and squadron assignment within the Group, crew(s), number of missions flown, important/interesting incidents involving the plane, final disposition, etc.
   Here's an example of one page of aircraft listed for the 451st:

42-64449 WOLF WAGON (724th )
Pilot John O'Conner and his crew #11 left the USA on December 2, 1944, as part of the original cadre. Returned from the April 5, 1944, mission to Ploesti with over 350 holes from flak and German fighters. John O'Conner landed her with all three tires shot out. She came to a stop in three feet of water off the landing strip at San Pancrazzio. She was deemed Class 26 and salvaged for parts.

42-64450 BODACIOUS CRITTER (727th )
An original group aircraft, she left the USA on December 10, 1943, with Earl Monniger and Crew #69. Made emergency landing at Corsica, was repaired, and returned to service on June 11. 1944. Failed to return from Mission #66 to Szony, Hungary, June 26, 1944. Lost at 1050 hours near Varazdin, Yugoslavia. THE CRITTER was attacked by five ME-109s. The entire tail section was almost shot away by cannon fire. The top turret was blown away. After a running aerial gunfight THE CRITTER went down in flames. One member of Walter Oakes, Jr.'s. crew was killed in action (MACR #6172).

42-64465 MAC'S FLOP HOUSE (724th )
Departed the USA on December 4, 1943, as an original aircraft of the group. Flown overseas by Roger McCollester's Crew #18. Lost to flak on Mission #41 to Weiner Neustadt on May 10, 1944, with Benjamin J. Moore and crew. (MACR #4792) This was the only known aircraft in the 451st Bomb Group to have a shark's mouth motif painted on the nose.

   In addition to the aircraft data, each page contains multiple photos of planes and crews. Many of these feature interesting nose art, and there are also quite a few of formations of B-24s over the Alps as well as smashed aircraft on the ground.
   The next two chapters deal with the 461st and 484th in exactly the same fashion.
   While not likely to appeal to anyone other than those with an interest in the 49th Bomb Wing or its component groups and squadrons, for those specialists this will prove an incredible boon. Well done, Messrs. Hill and Beitling. However, as always, we need to note how the lack of an index in a book like this must be regretted, making it impossible to quickly locate individuals or to find aircraft by name without thumbing through page after page.
   Available from online booksellers, local bookshops, or directly from Schiffer Publishing.
   Thanks to Schiffer for providing this review copy.