num_pages: 338
description: November 1943May 1945 The U.S. Army Air Forces waged an unprecedentedly dogged and violent campaign against Hitlers vital oil production and industrial plants on the Third Reichs 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 The Daring Airmen Who Crippled Hitlers 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 fliersfew of them professionalsto 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.
language: English
title: Forgotten Fifteenth: The Daring Airmen Who Crippled Hitler's War Machine
publisher: Regnery History