Donald L. Miller's "MASTERS OF THE AIR"
Book review by Dennis D. McDonald
I’ve always been interested in the aircraft and how they are developed and used. This book is much more than that. Broad ranging and in plain English, Miller tells the story of how long-range “precision bombing“ was used by the Americans during World War II against Germany and how this affected those who planned, operated and suffered from those many missions, both in the air and on the ground.
Bottom line: a lot of people were killed on the ground and in the air. Very quickly it was learned that the Norden bombsight was not the magical device it was thought to be. Its actual use in real world air operations had never really been tested until the United States’ Eighth Air Force began flying in quantity from England. Only then was it learned that the realities of high altitude combat severely compromised the prewar theories about the Norden bombsight-based “precious bombing.“ Nevertheless, the book recounts in much detail how willingness to accept appalling losses led to going ahead with daylight raids.
Reading about the suffering daylight bombing generated for those in the air and on the ground makes for some very tough reading. It’s comparable to the terror Martin Caidin documented in Black Thursday: the story of the Schweinfurt Raid.
Especially galling is reading that numbers reported to the press on actions were often bogus or disguised. Top brass tried to disguise massive losses and/or minimal damage inflicted on the enemy. It’s doubtful that such inaccuracies could have been kept from the public today but Miller documents how constantly facing death mission after mission destroyed lives and morale.
Reading books like this is a good antidote to rosy flag-waving.
Review copyright 2021 by Dennis D. McDonald
