 Mission
376
Battle over the Reich: 28 May 1944
By Ivo de Jong
Hikoki Publications, ©2004
ISBN 1-902109-03-1
Hardbound, 256 Pages
Available from Specialty
Press for $44.95
Every so often a book shows up that takes you totally by surprise. This
is definitely one of those books. Mission 376 is a snapshot of the Second
World War, a book about one mission, one day, over Europe. Because it
is not a comprehensive history is why it is so compelling. Reading this
book puts all those World War Two history books in perspective, showing
that every day during this war was important in some form or another.
Quoting from the preface:
"It was a peaceful, quite Sunday afternoon with fine spring
weather in the village of Groenekan, near Utrecht in occupied Holland.
Suddenly, barely missing a line of trees, a huge aircraft, accompanied
by two fighters overhead, roars in the direction of the village. Several
Dutchmen have a grandstand view of what is going to happen, including
18-year old Willem de Jong. The pilots of the aircraft make a perfect
belly-landing in a pasture and after it has crossed several ditches
the aircraft comes to a stop and bursts into flames. Crewmembers jump
out of the wrecked Flying Fortress, as it is now recognized by Willem
de Jong, as he runs towards it. One of the crewmembers, badly wounded,
is then carried by several Dutchmen to a barn, where he dies a few minutes
later. The surviving crew are quickly taken prisoner by German troops,
billeted in the nearby old fort Maartensdijk."
This anecdote would likely be the sum total of that day's mission in
a history of strategic bombing, as the missions on May 28, 1944 were not
spectacular like Schweinfurt or Dresden. But thanks to the son of Willem
de Jong, the witness to the above incident, we now have an incredible
piece of history that has never been done before. Ivo de Jong started
with his father's story and searched out the history of that fateful day
for that B-17 crew. While it started out as little more than a family
history, the project grew until it encompassed all the actions on that
day, from the American strategic bombing efforts, to escort missions,
to German intercepts, and even war crimes afterwards.
Ivo de Jong draws heavily on oral histories to paint the picture of
May 28, 1944, which has resulted in a text that draws you in and puts
you in the middle of the action on that day. His careful balancing of
those oral histories with other documented evidence shows that he has
taken every effort to provide a balanced viewpoint from all sides. In
some cases, though, this is not possible, such as the stories of those
bomber crewmembers that evaded German forces and managed to walk into
friendly hands. Overall, though, the balance of oral history and documented
research is excellent.
This book is simply stunning in its simplicity and thoroughness. The
text pulls you in and keeps you hooked through to the end. Adding to the
outstanding quality of the text are many quality photos showing the people,
places, and aircraft that took part in Mission 376. Appendices at the
end outline both American and German losses for that day, and include
marking information where known, a very useful reference for the modeler.
Although the book is aimed at the air war over Europe, this book should
find its way into the library of every historian or modeler of the Second
World War. My sincere thanks to Hikoki for publishing this great book,
and to Specialty
Press for sending this copy to me.
|
|