It was upon this weather forecast that prompted a maximum effort mission by the 8th Air Force. December 24th, 1944 was the day that the largest air armada of strategic bombers ever would take to the skies. The mission: to severely hamper the Luftwaffe operations as well as attacking tactical targets.
Based on primary sources And then the sky cleared, December 1944: the largest mission of the 8th Air Force describes the planning process and execution of this mission in great detail. It was not only the largest mission ever, but also saw the loss of a General and other tragedies.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joost de Raaf (1976) is an aircraft maintenance instructor in the Royal Netherlands Air Force. Born and raised near Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, aviation runs through his veins as long as he can remember. After his study aircraft maintenance he joined the Royal Netherlands Air Force in November 1999. For thirteen years he worked in maintenance on the F-16 at Volkel Airbase. Eventually, he was qualified to release an F-16 for flight after critical maintenance.
Deployed twice, he spent around eight months in total in Afghanistan performing maintenance and scheduled inspections on the F-16. In 2014 he left the maintenance organisation to became an Junior Instructor, still based at Volkel Airbase. In 2020 he became a Senior Instructor and was promoted to Sergeant-Major.
Recently he followed and passed, the type rating course on the F-35 and simultaneously supported the military technical school.
Sandra –
Ik zit uit te kijken naar de publicatie. Ik heb al eerder iets van Joost gelezen, dus heb er alle vertrouwen in dat het een aanrader wordt voor de liefhebber van details en een geschiedkundig goede weergave van de missie!
Sandra –
Ik zit uit te kijken naar de publicatie. Ik heb al eerder iets van Joost gelezen, dus heb er alle vertrouwen in dat het een aanrader wordt voor de liefhebber van details en een geschiedkundig goede weergave van de missie!
Adam Meijer (geverifieerde eigenaar) –
… and then the sky cleared … wat een indrukwekkend boekwerk van een indrukwekkende operatie op 24 december 1944. Een meesterwerk, Joost!
Als lezer wordt je op een plezierige manier meegenomen hoe op deze ene dag de USAAF- bommenwerpermissie werd uitgevoerd, van organisatiebeschrijving van de 8th Air Force naar de voorbereidingen op verschillende niveaus, de planning, de start, de begeleidende P-51’s en P-47’s, de navigatie, de uitvallers, de doelen, het weerwerk en de terugkeer van de missie.
Kort, helder en gedetailleerd beschreven, afgewisseld met veel persoonlijke verhalen en schitterende foto’s uit die tijd. Ook de Luftwaffe-inzet wordt kort besproken om weerwerk te geven aan de letterlijk honderden B-17’s en B-24’s die tijdens die ene dag deze missie hebben gevlogen.
Een kloeke uitgave van, ruwe schatting, 2,5kg, in stevige omslag en met prettig leesbare tekst in fraaie pagina-indeling. De 457 pagina’s exclusief de tabellen en indexen leg je niet zomaar aan de kant, je blijft lezen, en opnieuw lezen. Je blijft proberen je een voorstelling te maken hoeveel (soms erg jonge) mannen en vrouwen op zo’n dag hun oorlogstaken hebben uitgevoerd en soms hun leven hebben gegeven.
Het boek is nog maar net binnen maar na een uurtje bladeren en lezen kan ik alleen maar zeggen: highly recommended
… and then the sky cleard … how impressive is this book of an even more impressive air-operation on December 24th 1944! A masterpiece, Joost!
On a very pleasant way of writing you will be reading how, on that very day, a USAAF bomber-mission was executed in detail, from the description of 8th Air Force organization through preparations for the operation on different levels, the planning, the beginning of the mission, the escorting P-51’s and P-47’s, the navigation, the aircraft that failed to take part, the targets, the counter-air of the enemy and the return from the mission.
Described briefly, clearly and in detail, interspersed with lots of personal recounts and magnificent pictures from these days. Luftwaffe actions are briefly discussed, reacting on literally hundreds of B-17’s and B-24’s being dispatched that very day on this mission.
A solid edition of roughly 2,5kg in a sturdy cover, with easy-to-read text in an attractive lay-out. You don’t put aside this 457 page edition easily, this is exclusive of tables and indexes. You keep reading, and reading again. You keep on trying to imagine how many (sometimes very young) men and women were busy executing their wartime orders and how many of them gave their lives.
Receiving this book only a couple of hours so ago, page-turning and reading, I can only say this: highly recommended.
Donald F. Kilburg jr. –
Mr. Joost De Raaf has done an extraordinary job of documenting DECEMBER 24, 1944: THE LARGEST MISSION OF THE 8TH AIR FORCE. From planning to Intelligence, to weather conditions to execution, De Raaf presents a spellbinding presentation of this extraordinary mission. My late father was the lead bombardier on this mission, and I was privileged to have known his pilot Cpt John Edwards many years after the event. The details of the 8th Air Force mission were mis-filed shortly after the war and the magnitude of that day in December 1944 were overlooked. Mr.De Raaf has done a great job of detailing and preserving the history of this extraordinary bombing mission. Anyone interested in the history of WWII, the US Army Air Force and the execution of the war in Europe will find this to be and extraordinary documentary.