I love American publishers ( and American bookdealers, for that matter ! ).

A recent visit to Deopham Green, wartime home of the 452nd BG, and the acquisition of a box of B-17 parts from a 452nd aircraft, led me to want to find out more.

Deopham Green today is a remote and lonely place ; this is the old main runway...



The 452nd wasn't a 'glamour' outfit like the 91st, 100th or 303rd BGs. Arriving in February 1944, the 452nd took some severe losses in the course of its 250 missions. Wanting to find out more, I did an assiduous search of bibliographies and the internet and was amazed at how many books I found, mostly at reasonable cost. They range from the original souvenir book published by the Group in 1945, through the 'official' history from the early 80s, to memoirs, stories, aircraft listings and a privately-researched book about one B-17.

As the veterans are sadly passing, I find it heartening that so much of the 'record' has been set down, hopefully never to be forgotten.

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

sweet selection of text memorbilia Martin ! good for you. any out buildings still left at the old field ?

thanks also for sending the cans of the Ju 88G's, much appreciated although I have everyone it was good to see the content within that book

E ~

Not much left now, and what there is won't be there for much longer : -

http://www.ww2forums.com/ubb/ultimat...c;f=2;t=000869

__________________
"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

I see you have the Hinrich volumes (you have a nicer edition of Missing Planes, though!) and Perry's The Sunrise Serenade. Great research books. I do envey your "older' books though...

Wasn't the 452nd a Pathfinder BG? Lending out lead planes to other BG's with radar equipped B17s? Or am I mistaken here?

BTW, are BRAVE MAN FALLEN and THE LUCKY BASTARD self published?

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"Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!" - Homer Simpson

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www.basher82.nl

There he goes again with the big words !

Peregrination and ablutions, erudites and assiduous. I am not sure these are names of body parts.

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Work Harder ! Millions on welfare are depending on you.

Ta - [img]tongue.gif[/img] !

Stevin - I believe the 452nd were chosen as a Pathfinder unit at the very end of hostilities ( the B-17G on the cover of 'Missing Planes' is HDX-equipped, certainly ). The 452nd were used in some 'experimental' ways ; they were one of the first Groups to use napalm, for instance.

'The Lucky Bastard' by John Prewit was self-published in 1983. Quality is rough, with typewritten typeface, but it's very interesting (and signed by the Author ).

'Brave Man Fallen' ( ISBN 1-57638-322-9 ) by Richard J Voynik is currently available from the USA via Amazon. It's published by Merriam Press ; I ordered it and found myself in a very pleasant exchange of e-mails with the publisher, Ray Merriam, who seemed a very nice guy and was delighted by my interest in the book.

I now have just one more memoir to locate and then I think I have everything on the 452nd. Unfortunately, the box of fragments I bought cannot recreate a complete B-17G.....

__________________
"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

A clue; that's not a type of tree! [img]tongue.gif[/img]

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Regards,

Gordon
History Vault Bookshop
FortressScotland-http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/Historian/

Thanks Martin!

Good luck with the big words, Ta. I myself am beyond reaching for the dictionary again...One thing, members here are eloquent...

__________________
"Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!" - Homer Simpson

(banner by Otto)
www.basher82.nl

Did you notice that the B-17G on the cover of Missing Aircraft has BTO radar installed in the ball turret position?