The turning of the tide came when the air war was redirected to bombing communications’ targets in Northern France in support of the June D-Day invasion and the eventual break-out from the beachheads. Once the Normandy battle was won, missions were resumed against oil stores, factories, communications and other strategic targets. Often crews nursed their blasted and burning bombers back with flak holes and damage from fighter attacks, with feathered props and dead and wounded on board, but those that survived went out again the next day, the day after and the day after that, until their combat tour of thirty and later thirty-five missions was completed. A host of rank-and-file air crew members - many of whom became living legends in the annals of air warfare - describe these raids in vivid detail and with clarity and vigour. They are recalled here by one of the largest number of contributors - American and British - ever assembled. They tell of laughter, friendship, death, fear, exhilaration, stupidity, superstitions, discipline and indiscipline, lust and love, respect, disrespect and outrage.In this third volume, Martin Bowman tells the story of the Eighth Air Force’s campaign over Germany and Occupied Europe in the words of the men who flew the missions.