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Inferno: the true story of a B-17 gunner's heroism and the bloodiest military campaign in aviation history

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Publisher:
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Publication Date:
2020
Language:
English

Description

"Joe Pappalardo's Inferno tells the true story of the men who flew the deadliest missions of World War II, and an unlikely hero who received the Medal of Honor in the midst of the bloodiest military campaign in aviation history. There's no higher accolade in the U.S. military than the Medal of Honor, and 472 people received it for their action during World War II. But only one was demoted right after: Maynard Harrison Smith. Smith is one of the most unlikely heroes of the war, where he served in B-17s during the early days of the bombing of France and Germany from England. From his juvenile delinquent past in Michigan, through the war and during the decades after, Smith's life seemed to be a series of very public missteps. The other airmen took to calling the 5-foot, 5-inch airman "Snuffy" after an unappealing movie character. This is also the man who, on a tragically mishandled mission over France on May 1, 1943, single-handedly saved the crewman in his stricken B-17. With every other gunner injured or bailed out, Smith stood alone in the fuselage of a shattered, nameless bomber and fought fires, treated wounded crew and fought off fighters. His ordeal is part of a forgotten mission that aircrews came to call the May Day Massacre. The skies over Europe in 1943 were a charnel house for U.S. pilots, who were being led by tacticians surprised by the brutal effectiveness of German defenses. By May 1943 the combat losses among bomb crews were a staggering 40 to 50 percent. The backdrop of Smith's story intersects with some of the luminaries of aviation history, including Curtis Lemay, Ira Eaker and "Hap" Arnold, during critical times of their storied careers. Inferno also examines Smith's life in a new, comprehensive light, through the use of exclusive interviews of those who knew him (including fellow MOH recipients and family) as well as public and archival records. This is both a thrilling and horrifying story of the air war over Europe during WWII and a fascinating look at one of America's forgotten heroes"--

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ISBN:
9781250264237
9781250264244

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Grouping Information

Grouped Work ID7b9ace79-de1b-2ffa-0b61-82ed2186a4f5
Grouping Titleinferno the true story of a b 17 gunners heroism and the bloodiest military campaign in aviation history
Grouping Authorjoe pappalardo
Grouping Categorybook
Grouping LanguageEnglish (eng)
Last Grouping Update2024-12-03 04:19:42AM
Last Indexed2024-12-25 02:12:56AM

Solr Fields

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author
Pappalardo, Joe
author2-role
hoopla digital
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Pappalardo, Joe
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Windsor Library
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Online Hoopla Collection
Windsor Non-Fiction
display_description
"Joe Pappalardo's Inferno tells the true story of the men who flew the deadliest missions of World War II, and an unlikely hero who received the Medal of Honor in the midst of the bloodiest military campaign in aviation history. There's no higher accolade in the U.S. military than the Medal of Honor, and 472 people received it for their action during World War II. But only one was demoted right after: Maynard Harrison Smith. Smith is one of the most unlikely heroes of the war, where he served in B-17s during the early days of the bombing of France and Germany from England. From his juvenile delinquent past in Michigan, through the war and during the decades after, Smith's life seemed to be a series of very public missteps. The other airmen took to calling the 5-foot, 5-inch airman "Snuffy" after an unappealing movie character. This is also the man who, on a tragically mishandled mission over France on May 1, 1943, single-handedly saved the crewman in his stricken B-17. With every other gunner injured or bailed out, Smith stood alone in the fuselage of a shattered, nameless bomber and fought fires, treated wounded crew and fought off fighters. His ordeal is part of a forgotten mission that aircrews came to call the May Day Massacre. The skies over Europe in 1943 were a charnel house for U.S. pilots, who were being led by tacticians surprised by the brutal effectiveness of German defenses. By May 1943 the combat losses among bomb crews were a staggering 40 to 50 percent. The backdrop of Smith's story intersects with some of the luminaries of aviation history, including Curtis Lemay, Ira Eaker and "Hap" Arnold, during critical times of their storied careers. Inferno also examines Smith's life in a new, comprehensive light, through the use of exclusive interviews of those who knew him (including fellow MOH recipients and family) as well as public and archival records. This is both a thrilling and horrifying story of the air war over Europe during WWII and a fascinating look at one of America's forgotten heroes"--
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Books
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Book
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7b9ace79-de1b-2ffa-0b61-82ed2186a4f5
isbn
9781250264237
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Non Fiction
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940.5449 PAPPALAR
Online Hoopla
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Admin and Storage
Bookmobile
Clearview Library District
Severance Library
Windsor Library
owning_location_clearview
Windsor Library
primary_isbn
9781250264237
publishDate
2020
publisher
St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Publishing Group
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
Aeronautics
Armed Forces -- Aerial gunners
Biographies
Electronic books
History
Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor -- Biography
Military
Military campaigns
Military operations, Aerial -- American
Regimental histories
Smith, Maynard H
United States
United States xHistory
United States. -- Army Air Forces. -- Air Force, 8th
United States. -- Army Air Forces. -- Air Force, 8th -- Biography
United States. -- Army Air Forces. -- Bombardment Group, 306th
United States. -- Army Air Forces. -- Bombardment Group, 306th -- Aerial gunners -- Biography
Western Front (World War (1939-1945))
World War, 1939-1945 -- Aerial operations, American
World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Western Front
World War, 1939-1945 -- Regimental histories -- United States
title_display
Inferno : the true story of a B-17 gunner's heroism and the bloodiest military campaign in aviation history
title_full
Inferno : The True Story of a B-17 Gunner's Heroism and the Bloodiest Military Campaign in Aviation History [electronic resource] / Joe Pappalardo
Inferno : the true story of a B-17 gunner's heroism and the bloodiest military campaign in aviation history / Joe Pappalardo
title_short
Inferno
title_sub
the true story of a B-17 gunner's heroism and the bloodiest military campaign in aviation history
topic_facet
Aerial gunners
Aerial operations, American
Aeronautics
American
Armed Forces
Campaigns
Electronic books
History
Medal of Honor
Military
Military campaigns
Military operations, Aerial
Regimental histories
Smith, Maynard H
World War, 1939-1945

Solr Details Tables

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hoopla:MWT16760477eBookeBookEnglishSt. Martin's Publishing Group20201 online resource (347 pages)
ils:202341BookBooksFirst editionEnglishSt. Martin's Press2020vi, 343 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps ; 24 cm

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