Target Berlin: Mission 250: 6 March 1944

This is the very best book about the minute by minute lives of American and German crews flying against one another during the early Berlin missions, 1944. The descriptions of the head on attacks are terror provoking, one wants to slide down in your seat , as the German head on tactic of killing the American pilots was more often successful than is reported in movies and fiction books. Hitting engines and starting fires, while deadly, was not as effective as the half second burst of gunfire into the B-17 and B-24 cockpits that sent the planes out of control into "flat spins" the centrifugal force of which prevented crews from bailing out. This is a tremendous research on one mission that explains the big picture at the same time.

Target Berlin deals with the first American raid on Berlin: Mission 250; 6 March 1944. Mr. Ethell and Dr. Price tell us the story of the men and their raid on the German capital. This book describes the preparation for the raid, the tactics used (a nice drawing showing the different tactics used by the 1st and 3rd Bombardment Divisions, also of what a bomber looks like on a head on attack at different ranges), and the running battle that ensued. The best part of the book is the appendix; they contain a listing of the aircraft lost by the Germans and the Americans and the cause of their loss. While I love books dealing with WWII aerial warfare, Target Berlin just isn't as good as others I've read. The authors do a great job telling us a story, but there's no love or life in the story. I'd rather read The Munster Raid: Bloody Skies Over German, or one by Martin Middlebrook. A definite 4 star book.

This is the best book on the air war over Germany that I have read. It is balanced - giving the perspective of the bomber crews, the US fighter pilots, the German defending pilots and the German antiaircraft crews and even the civilians. This is certainly hard given the obvious tendency to want to tell the story from the Allies side, but by doing that, it gives a better perspective. For example, it tells how the German pilots approached the bombers from the front and even gives examples of what a B-17 would like from different distances. This shows how difficult it was for our boys to defend themselves. From the front, a German fighter pilot would target the cockpit with a 20mm cannon that had a longer range than the 50 caliber machine guns, and with good aiming... well. It told the results of that too. But, then it told the results of the US fighter pilots bouncing the German fighters and shooting them down right before or after the Germans attacked our bombers. Then, in those rare instances, where someone survived and wanted to talk about it, the book provides their experiences. The story of the "bloody 100th" bomb group for example which experienced terrible casualities in this mission. Finally, it gives a balanced perspective of the results: the Germans won the tactical battle but lost strategically. The next day and the next day and the next day, the US bombers kept coming back. Which really highlights how we won this portion of WWII and in reality the war - through persistence and courage. Again, after (and during) reading this book, it gave me pause to think about what they did for us. Thank you to all veterans of WWII.

Target Berlin recounts the first daylight mission of the 8th Air Force into Berlin on March 6, 1944. The authors do a superb job of writing such that you have the impression of flying along with the pilots (both German and American) over Berlin. You ride along with the B-17 and the B-24 crews as they arise for the morning briefing. The ride continues as the crews assemble over England and head out for the flak-ridden skies over Europe. The story is juxtaposed with those of the "Little Friends" (the P-51 and P-47 fighter pilots), in addition to first-hand narratives by the German fighter pilots. This is a story which switches between the bombers and the fighter pilots which leads to a realistic "you are there" story. The reader is also treated to jumping out of the planes after being hit with flak or enemy bullets. You ride down through the skies watching the battle take place around you as you ponder what is must have been like knowing you were about to land in German territory. Once you get past the first chapter, the book literally takes off. The British have a tendency to go overhead talking about how many planes / bombs / guns each unit (on each side) had, so that first chapter gets a bit tedious. Get through that and you got it made!