CLEAN SWEEP
A THOROUGH OVERVIEW OF VIII FIGHTER COMMAND AND ITS CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE LUFTWAFFE
Author: Thomas Mckelvey Cleaver Publisher: Osprey Publishing Price: £30 On Sale: Out now
VIII Fighter Command of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) was formed in the US in February 1942 and began to move to the UK in May. There, they were to take up a role in escorting the burgeoning offence of VIII Bomber Command, attacking targets across Occupied Europe and Germany. Initially it was a campaign neither force was well suited to. Both were small, inexperienced and feeling their way by trial and error. The fighters at least had the advantage of an experienced core built around the RAF’S Eagle Squadrons, transferred to the USAAF and formed into the 4th Fighter Group, and of a small number of pilots with experience in the Far East. However, their equipment was still lacking. Republic P-47 Thunderbolts and Lockheed P-38 Lightnings (the unsung heroes of the air war over Europe) faced a long struggle against technical issues to develop the reliability and range capability to be effective escorts, and the later introduction of the North American P-51 Mustang went through a similar arc.
Small numbers and short ranges limited the command’s effectiveness for their first 18 months of operations, as of course did the highly experienced German opposition, with correspondingly high casualties among fighters and bombers. Only in early 1944 did the balance begin to tip, with ‘Big Week’ in February marking the beginning of the end for the Luftwaffe. Even so, a long slog remained ahead and the Luftwaffe continued to fight hard to the very last days of the war, when the VIII Fighter Command found themselves facing the
new technologies of the Messerschmitt Me
163 Komet rocket fighter and Me 262 jet.
Cleaver has established a solid reputation as a historian of the US Navy and US air campaigns. Anyone who has read one of his books before will know what to expect – a detailed but readable story that deftly weaves together the technical, tactical and strategic while always returning to the human angle and personal stories. The development and background of the aircraft and tactics are presented in easily accessible narratives which underpin the development of the campaign and the experiences of the individuals.
The progress of the campaign itself is comprehensively covered, bringing in the stories of and memories from VIII Bomber Command, the IX and XV Air Forces, and the fighter units of the Luftwaffe who opposed them, to give a well-rounded view of events. Dozens of eyewitness accounts underpin the history, ranging from tales of derring-do to insights into the grim realties of the war in the skies over Nazi Europe. There are a few minor errors when describing the British side of the campaign, and it would have been nice to have more of a formal conclusion and summary, but even so this is a first class history of the campaign that was instrumental to Allied victory during the Second World War. As such, it is highly recommended.