Thunder in the Heavens

Classic American Aircraft of World War II

Original First Edition

Hardcover 

Illustrated  1999 Coffee Table Size

The type of book you would sit on a balcony outside and read/look at while imagining a b-17 flying fortress flying right in front of you.....then you suddenly appear in the plane, the pilot is yelling for you to drop the bombs so you can get the heck out of there, but you have to wait till the target appears in your bomb site, then you flip the trigger......bomb after bomb fall into the clear sky as you watch the industrial plants and ship yards of Hamburg Germany ignite into a fireworks display......then you suddenly appear back on your balcony starring into the open clear sky, just hoping that big four engined, porky pined hunk of steel comes out of the sky ready to pick you up for another mission......Yes the book is that good...go get it now

Glorious air-to-air colour photography of 14 classic American combat aircraft, plus the wartime experiences of the brave men who flew them. Without doubt, air superiority was a crucial factor to the outcome of World War II. Skilled American pilots were able to achieve this, thanks to the capabilities of such aircraft as the B-17, B-24 and B-29, of which nearly 35,000 were built; the medium bombers such as the B-25 Mitchell; and the many types of fighter, including the P-51 Mustang and the F4F Wildcat -- a host of variants which brought the overall American contribution to Allied air power to over 200,000. Of this massive total, hardly any remain today; there is, for example, only one airworthy B-24 out of more than 18,000 that were built. Thunder in the Heavens features 14 preserved classic American combat aircraft. The "Big Friends," the heavy bombers that prosecuted the strategic and tactical campaigns in the European and Pacific theaters; the "Little Friends," the fighter escorts th