The Bridgebusters: The True Story of the Catch-22 Bomb Wing

by Thomas McKelvey Cleaver

Overview

"He had decided to live forever, or die in the attempt." — Catch-22

The men of the 57th Bomb Wing flew out of Corsica during World War II and bombed vital bridges throughout Italy to sabotage German supply routes. Their missions were dangerous and never-ending. One bombardier in the wing was a young New Yorker named Joseph Heller, who would later turn his experience into the classic 1961 war novel Catch-22. Now aviation historian Thomas McKelvey Cleaver takes a closer look at the real-life men of the 57th, whose camaraderie in the face of death inspired the raucous cast of heroes and antiheros in Catch-22.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781621574880
Publisher:	Skyhorse Publishing
Publication date:	05/09/2016
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 6.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Thomas McKelvey Cleaver, screenwriter and military historian, is a contributing editor of Flight Journal and the author of Aces of the 78th Fighter Group, Air Combat Annals, and Fabled Fifteen: The Pacific War Saga of Carrier Air Group 15. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War.

Table of Contents

Introduction xv

1 The Avignon Mission 1

2 Welcome Aboard the "USS Corsica" 7

3 The War No One Wanted to Fight 21

4 Point of No Return 37

5 The Crucial Month 51

6 The Worst Day 83

7 Shot Down 99

8 Sprogs, Sports, Old Sports, and Wheels 119

9 The Settimo Road Bridge 137

10 The Gothic Line 157

11 Eleven Keep 'Em Flying 179

12 Operation Bingo 193

13 Finale 221

Notes on Sources 239

Index 249