Inferno
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Narrated by:
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Matt Godfrey
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By:
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Joe Pappalardo
About this listen
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 US 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 US 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.
A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press
©2020 Joe Pappalardo (P)2020 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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"With both his heroism and his flaws, Medal of Honor recipient 'Snuffy Smith' perfectly represents the dramatic and deadly campaign for control of the skies over Europe in World War II. The ornery, charming, and brave B-17 tail gunner anchors this thrilling tale of how, warts and all, we won that brilliant and bloody air war." —Tom Clavin, New York Times bestselling author
"Mr. Pappalardo, a veteran journalist, has a nice way with words. The mission itself, targeting German submarine pens in France, is fairly routine and brilliantly described...a wonderful yarn." —Wall Street Journal
“Inferno is written with the energy, resolve, bloody-mindedness of a B-17. This is the Greatest Generation reconsidered as a diminutive Michigan-born anti-hero who is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his amazing conduct on his first combat mission over Europe, May 1, 1943. Pappalardo's story takes on more than Maynard's Smith's pell-mell and eventually surprisingly sad life. The book reconsiders the still controversial American decision to carry out daylight bomber attacks, 1943-44, that led to well-documented and shocking casualty rates. This is a thrilling and important read." —John Batchelor, nationally syndicated radio host and author
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In March 1941 Jimmy Stewart, America's boy next door and recent Academy Award winner, left fame and fortune behind and joined the United States Army Air Corps to fulfill his family mission and serve his country. He rose from private to colonel and participated in 20 often-brutal World War II combat missions over Germany and France. In mere months the war took away his boyish looks as he faced near-death experiences and the loss of men under his command. The war finally won, he returned home with millions of other veterans to face an uncertain future.
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SKIP THIS ONE
- By G-Man on 05-13-18
By: Robert Matzen, and others
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Jayhawk
- Love, Loss, Liberation and Terror over the Pacific
- By: Jay A. Stout, George L. Cooper
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Born in the Philippines to an American father and a Filipina mother, George Cooper is one of the few surviving veteran pilots who saw action over such fearsome targets as Rabaul and Wewak. Not just another flag-waving story of air combat, Jayhawk describes the war as it really was - a conflict with far-reaching tentacles that gripped and tore at not only the combatants, but also their families, friends, and the way they lived their lives.
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An absolute must for any student of the Pacific Air War
- By Ginger on 10-07-20
By: Jay A. Stout, and others
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War's End
- An Eyewitness Account of America's Last Atomic Mission
- By: Maj. Gen. Charles W. Sweeney, James A. Antonucci - contributor, Marion K. Antonucci - contributor
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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On August 9, 1945, on the tiny island of Tinian in the South Pacific, a 25-year-old American Army Air Corps major named Charles W. Sweeney climbed aboard a B-29 Superfortress in command of his first combat mission, one devised specifically to bring a long and terrible war to a necessary conclusion.... The last military officer to command an atomic mission, Maj. Gen. Charles W. Sweeney has the unique distinction of having been an integral part of both the Hiroshima and the Nagasaki bombing runs.
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the history of the details.
- By Don on 10-23-24
By: Maj. Gen. Charles W. Sweeney, and others
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Fighter Group
- The 352nd “Blue-Nosed Bastards” in World War II
- By: Lt. Col. Jay A. Stout
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 17 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Jay A. Stout breaks new ground in World War II history with this gripping account of one of the war’s most highly decorated American fighter groups. Stout combines the storytelling gifts and careful research for a seasoned historian with the combat experience of a former fighter pilot to tell the remarkable story of the 352nd Fighter Group. This isn’t just the story of a single fighter group; it’s the story of how the United States won the air war over Europe.
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This is a fantastic, through, in depth, and personal history of the 352nd fighter group.
- By S. H. Moore on 02-23-21
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The Wild Blue
- The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany
- By: Stephen E. Ambrose
- Narrated by: Jeffrey DeMunn
- Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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The very young men who flew the B24s over Germany in World War II against terrible odds were an exemplary band of brothers. In The Wild Blue, Stephen Ambrose recounts their extraordinary brand of heroism, skill, daring, and comradeship. Stephen Ambrose describes how the Army Air Forces recruited, trained, and chose those few who would undertake the most demanding and dangerous jobs in the war.
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Required Reading
- By Lyle on 11-22-11
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Jimmy Stewart: Bomber Pilot
- By: Starr Smith, Walter Cronkite
- Narrated by: Adam Grupper
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Of all the celebrities who served their country during World War II - and they were legion - Jimmy Stewart was unique. On December 7, when the attack on Pearl Harbor woke so many others to the reality of war, Stewart was already in uniform - as a private on guard duty south of San Francisco at the Army Air Corps Moffet Field. Seeing war on the horizon, Jimmy Stewart, at the height of his fame after Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and his Oscar-winning turn in The Philadelphia Story in 1940, had enlisted several months earlier.
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After-action intelligence report
- By David on 04-20-18
By: Starr Smith, and others
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Dead Reckoning
- The Story of How Johnny Mitchell and His Fighter Pilots Took on Admiral Yamamoto and Avenged Pearl Harbor
- By: Dick Lehr
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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“AIR RAID, PEARL HARBOR. THIS IS NOT DRILL.” At 7:58 a.m. on December 7, 1941, an officer at the Ford Island Command Center frantically typed what would become one of the most famous radio dispatches in history as the Japanese navy launched a surprise aerial assault on the American navy stationed in Hawaii. In a little over two hours, the Japanese killed more than 2,400 Americans and propelled the US’s entry into World War II. Dead Reckoning is the story of the mission to avenge that devastating strike.
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Half Soap Opera, target audience 20 something male
- By Donald L. Hogan on 03-20-21
By: Dick Lehr
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Vanished Hero
- The Life, War and Mysterious Disappearance of America’s WWII Strafing King
- By: Jay A. Stout
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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A hell-bent-for-leather fighter pilot, Elwyn G. Righetti remains one of the most unknown, yet compelling, colorful, and controversial commanders of World War II. Arriving late to the war, he led the England-based 55th Fighter Group against the Nazis during the closing months of the fight with a no-holds-barred aggressiveness that transformed the group from a middling organization of no reputation into a headline-grabbing team that had to make excuses to no one. Indeed, Righetti's boldness paid off as he quickly achieved ace status.
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Great Performance for a Great Story!
- By Carter L. on 11-03-17
By: Jay A. Stout
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Big Week
- The Biggest Air Battle of World War II
- By: James Holland
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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During the third week of February 1944, the combined Allied air forces based in Britain and Italy launched their first round-the-clock bomber offensive against Germany. Their goal: to smash the main factories and production centers of the Luftwaffe while also drawing German planes into an aerial battle of attrition to neutralize the Luftwaffe as a fighting force prior to the cross-channel invasion, planned for a few months later. Officially called Operation ARGUMENT, this aerial offensive quickly became known as “Big Week,” and it was one of the turning-points of World War II.
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War in the Air: Sets stage with gripping narrative
- By Nashville Cat on 11-17-18
By: James Holland
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Deadly Sky
- The American Combat Airman in World War II
- By: John C. McManus
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 17 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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This insightful chronicle takes listeners inside the experiences of America's fighter pilots and bomber crews, an incredible assortment of men who, in nearly four years of warfare all over the globe, suffered over 120,000 casualties, with over 40,000 killed. Their stories span the Earth, into every corner of the combat theaters in both Europe and the Pacific. And the aircraft explored are as varied, tough, and legendary as the men who flew them.
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Twelve O'Clock High Unabridged
- By Chiefkent on 05-23-17
By: John C. McManus
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Lucky 666
- The Impossible Mission
- By: Bob Drury, Tom Clavin
- Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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From the authors of the New York Times best-selling The Heart of Everything That Is and Halsey's Typhoon comes the dramatic untold story of a daredevil bomber pilot and his misfit crew who fly their lone B-17 into the teeth of the Japanese Empire in 1943, engage in the longest dogfight in history, and change the momentum of the war in the Pacific - but not without making the ultimate sacrifice.
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A WWII Pacific Tale
- By A. L. DeWitt on 11-15-16
By: Bob Drury, and others
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Enola Gay
- Mission to Hiroshima
- By: Gordon Thomas, Max Morgan-Witts
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
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Painstakingly researched, the story behind the decision to send the Enola Gay to bomb Hiroshima is told through firsthand sources. From diplomatic moves behind the scenes to Japanese actions and the US Army Air Force's call to action, no detail is left untold. Touching on the early days of the Manhattan Project and the first inkling of an atomic bomb, investigative journalist Gordon Thomas and his writing partner Max Morgan-Witts, take WWII enthusiasts through the training of the crew of the Enola Gay and the challenges faced by pilot Paul Tibbets.
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Poor reader
- By Dee on 04-17-22
By: Gordon Thomas, and others
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Hawkeye
- The Enthralling Autobiography of the Top-Scoring Israel Air Force Ace of Aces
- By: Brigadier General Giora Even-Epstein
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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For more than 30 years, Giora Even-Epstein flew fighters for the Israel Air Force, achieving recognition as a highly skilled military aviator and the highest-scoring jet-mounted ace with the most number of confirmed victories in the French Mirage. Having overcome numerous hurdles just to learn how to fly, he went on to compile a record of Arab MiGs and Sukhoi kills that bettered any other combat aviators' tally in the entire world. This fast-moving autobiography details his experiences particularly in the intense conflicts of 1967, the Six Day War, and 1973, the Yom Kippur War.
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Not a writer
- By Checco on 11-26-21
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Hit the Target
- Eight Men Who Led the Eighth Air Force to Victory over the Luftwaffe
- By: Bill Yenne
- Narrated by: Corey M. Snow
- Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Less than a month after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the US Army formed its first air force designated to operate overseas, the Eighth. Within four months they had set up base in England. Three months later they were bombing German targets in occupied Europe. The Eighth was the first bomber command on either side to commit to strategic daylight bombing. It was a major change in tactics - and the men of the Eighth paid the price in both lives and blood.
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Lots of history, kinda boring.
- By Annie on 11-12-23
By: Bill Yenne
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Shot Down
- The True Story of Pilot Howard Snyder and the Crew of the B-17 Susan Ruth
- By: Steve Snyder
- Narrated by: Richard Rieman
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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For the first time, the full and complete story of the B-17 Flying Fortress Susan Ruth is shared in unbelievable detail. Author Steve Snyder's story of his father, Lieutenant Howard Snyder, and the Susan Ruth crew, provides in-depth details about many aspects of World War II few understand or know about.
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One word: Horrible!
- By Anonymous User on 02-12-23
By: Steve Snyder
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must read
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A good story
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A Wing and a Prayer
- The “Bloody 100th” Bomb Group of the US Eighth Air Force in Action over Europe in World War II
- By: Harry H. Crosby
- Narrated by: Chris Monteiro
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
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They began operations out of England in the spring of '43. They flew their Flying Fortresses almost daily against strategic targets in Europe in the name of freedom. Their astonishing courage and appalling losses earned them the name that resounds in the annals of aerial warfare and made the "Bloody Hundredth" a legend. Harry H. Crosby—soon to be portrayed by Anthony Boyle in the miniseries Masters of the Air developed by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg—arrived with the very first crews, and left with the very last.
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love love love the history
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By: Harry H. Crosby
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Bomb Group
- The Eighth Air Force's 381st and the Allied Air Offensive Over Europe
- By: Paul Bingley, Mike Peters
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 19 hrs and 13 mins
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In February 1942, a reconnaissance party of US Army Air Force officers arrived in England. Firmly wedded to the doctrine of daylight precision bombing, they believed they could help turn the tide of the war in Europe. In the months that followed, they formed the Eighth Air Force—an organization that grew at an astonishing rate. To accommodate it, almost seventy airfields were built across the eastern counties of England. At the heart of the Eighth Air Force was its bombardment groups, each equipped with scores of heavily armed, four-engine bombers. This is the story of just one "Bomb Group".
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Reality
- By keith murchison on 04-25-24
By: Paul Bingley, and others
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Clean Sweep
- VIII Fighter Command Against the Luftwaffe, 1942–45
- By: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver, BrigGen Clarence E. "Bud" Anderson USAF (Ret.) - foreword
- Narrated by: Lance C. Fuller
- Length: 18 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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On August 7, 1942, two events of major military importance occurred on separate sides of the planet. In the South Pacific, the United States went on the offensive, landing the First Marine Division at Guadalcanal. In England, 12 B-17 bombers of the new Eighth Air Force’s 97th Bombardment Group bombed the Rouen–Sotteville railroad marshalling yards in France. While the mission was small, the aerial struggle that began that day would ultimately cost the United States more men killed and wounded by the end of the war in Europe than the Marines would lose in the Pacific War.
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may be factual but poorly written
- By Bill Mackey on 01-08-24
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Mustang Ace: Memoirs of a P-51 Fighter Pilot
- By: Robert J. Goebel
- Narrated by: Gary Goebel
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
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When Bob Goebel left home to join the Army Air Corps in 1942, he was 19 years old and a high school graduate. Cadet Goebel worked his way steadily through Basic, Primary, and Advanced phases of military flight training, and found in himself an aptitude for flight. After graduation from flight school, with his new wings and new commission as a 2d Lieutenant, he and his classmates were posted to a fighter squadron defending the Panama Canal. By the spring of 1944 he was on his way to Italy and the 31st Fighter Group, one of the top fighter outfits of the war.
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Interesting personal account of a fighter pilot
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Damn Lucky
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Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was a world away from John Luckadoo’s hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. But when the Japanese attacked the American naval base on December 7, 1941, he didn’t hesitate to join the military. Trained as a pilot with the United States Air Force, Second Lieutenant Luckadoo was assigned to the 100th Bomb Group stationed in Thorpe Abbotts, England. Between June and October 1943, he flew B-17 Flying Fortresses over France and Germany on bombing runs devised to destroy the Nazi war machine.
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must read
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A good story
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They began operations out of England in the spring of '43. They flew their Flying Fortresses almost daily against strategic targets in Europe in the name of freedom. Their astonishing courage and appalling losses earned them the name that resounds in the annals of aerial warfare and made the "Bloody Hundredth" a legend. Harry H. Crosby—soon to be portrayed by Anthony Boyle in the miniseries Masters of the Air developed by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg—arrived with the very first crews, and left with the very last.
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love love love the history
- By Kindle Customer on 01-20-24
By: Harry H. Crosby
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Bomb Group
- The Eighth Air Force's 381st and the Allied Air Offensive Over Europe
- By: Paul Bingley, Mike Peters
- Narrated by: David de Vries
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Story
In February 1942, a reconnaissance party of US Army Air Force officers arrived in England. Firmly wedded to the doctrine of daylight precision bombing, they believed they could help turn the tide of the war in Europe. In the months that followed, they formed the Eighth Air Force—an organization that grew at an astonishing rate. To accommodate it, almost seventy airfields were built across the eastern counties of England. At the heart of the Eighth Air Force was its bombardment groups, each equipped with scores of heavily armed, four-engine bombers. This is the story of just one "Bomb Group".
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may be factual but poorly written
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When Bob Goebel left home to join the Army Air Corps in 1942, he was 19 years old and a high school graduate. Cadet Goebel worked his way steadily through Basic, Primary, and Advanced phases of military flight training, and found in himself an aptitude for flight. After graduation from flight school, with his new wings and new commission as a 2d Lieutenant, he and his classmates were posted to a fighter squadron defending the Panama Canal. By the spring of 1944 he was on his way to Italy and the 31st Fighter Group, one of the top fighter outfits of the war.
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What listeners say about Inferno
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- J.Brock
- 07-04-22
Good, but hard to follow at times
Joe Pappalardo has written on a most ambitious topic and one that never ceases to be of interest to WWII military historians. The only problem is the book stats out completely about the most unlikely Medal of Honor recipient Maynard Smith. He’s more the anti-hero in many ways.
But then after detailing his heroic and award winning mission, the book starts into an overview of Black Thursday, Big Week, and nearly the entire air war over France and Germany. Interspersed in this narrative is Smith. So it gets hard to keep up. But overall it’s very good and detailed. The narration os excellent.
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- Amazon Customer
- 06-21-21
Great listen I
I recommend this to anyone interested in learning about WW!!. I was familiar with the Memphis Belle story. Snuffy's story was just as heroic!
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- Bikeman476
- 08-09-22
Interesting story of a not-so-heroic “hero”.
Overall, this is the story of a jerk who did something heroic, then went on in his life to continue to be a jerk. Swindling, philandering and embellishing stories to the point of becoming fiction (not to mention outright lying whenever it suited him) is Smith’s legacy. Although he did one well-timed heroic deed (probably), he was not a hero himself. He was a lifelong self-serving minor criminal who leveraged that one incident for personal gain.
The book was fairly well written, jumping around in time far too much and with stories of modern air war updates included in a somewhat confusing, never-fully-connected fashion. The Audible performance featured a couple minor errors (once referring to the Congressional Medal of Honor as the “CHM”), but was overall well done.
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1 person found this helpful