Here, Sam McGowan takes a look at Ploesti and the first fully mechanized war in the context of oil.   More »

By Kevin M. Hymel
“Bombs away!”called out the bombardier of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber Great Speckled Bird, signaling the release of a full bombload over an enemy target. He was wrong. Two stubborn bombs refused to fall, remaining in their bomb bay racks.
The bomber’s radioman, Technical Sergeant Thomas Fitzpatrick,   More »

Controversial ‘Bomber’ Harris shaped the British strategic air offensive against Nazi Germany as head of the Royal Air Force Bomber Command.   More »

In 1943 during Operation Tidal Wave, American bombers attacked Romanian oil fields, which were vital to the Nazi war machine.   More »

By Duane Schultz

First Lieutenant Gilbert B. Hadley—he liked to be called “Gib”—wasburied back home in Kansas in 1997, some 54 years after he was killed in action on August 1, 1943. “He looked like Clark Gable,” a Kansas City newspaper wrote about Gib when he was young. He “could talk   More »

During Operation Frantic on the Eastern Front, American bombers used Soviet bases for shuttle runs against the Axis targets.   More »

While the British defense of Crete in May 1941 was considered a military failure, it altered Hitler’s future tactics.   More »

The B-17 Flying Fortress vs. the B-24 Liberator—veterans of air campaigns in Europe and the Pacific have long debated the merits of these aircraft.   More »

Ben Kuroki flew with the U.S. army air forces in four theaters of World War II.   More »

Legendary actor Jimmy Stewart piloted a bomber over Germany and retired after a lengthy military career.   More »