A Wing and a Prayer: The ""Bloody 100th"" Bomb Group of the U.S. Eighth Air Force in Action Over Europe in World War II

Crosby ``did everything wrong'' on his first WW II mission as navigator in a B-17 crew, but soon demonstrated a natural talent that elevated him to the position of navigator of a bomb group. This meant he was responsible for assembling as many as 2000 warplanes from various bases in England, leading them to their targets, then guiding the air crews home. The casualty rate was frightful, and Crosby here describes how he accomplished his intricate work despite growing fears of death or maiming. Anecdotes abound in these incident-rich pages, some funny, others cruel, like the tale of how a crew rid itself of an obnoxious member by convincing him that their plane had been hit so seriously that they had to bail out, and he alone did--over Germany. Written from the unusual perspective of a navigator, this is a compelling account of the air war against Germany. Crosby, now retired, is former director of Harvard's Writing Center. Illustrations. (Mar.)