The Forbidden Diary: A B-24 Navigator Remembers

From the author's blow-by-blow diary kept during his tour of duty with the Eight Air Force, thirty-one bombing missions over Europe during WWII are described. Discussions of the art and skill of combat navigation and tales of R&R between missions round out the read. Striking photographs as well as other illustrations (maps & diagrams) add vivid depth to the narrative. Rain or heavy flak, bombed targets and sights of destruction, Air Base scenes, maps and insignia, and pub gatherings are depicted. Songs and poems of the era are also included. In an interesting appendix, portions of an Army Air Force manual, "Navigator's Information File, " are featured. Equipment, procedures and methods utilized are detailed-some of which retain importance today, and some of which ultimately served as prototypes for the technology evolved since.