000			03145cam a22004218i 4500
001			on1363814978
003			OCoLC
005			20230503145731.0
008			230111s2023 enkaf b 001 0 eng d
040			_aUKMGB _beng _erda _cUKMGB _dJVK _dVP@ _dQX7 _dT7L _dUKMGB _dOCLCF _dNFG
015			_aGBC307683 _2bnb
016	7		_a020868987 _2Uk
020			_a9781472852946 _q(hardback)
020			_a147285294X _q(hardback)
020			_a9781472852953 _qpaperback
020			_a1472852958
035			_a(OCoLC)1363814978
092			_a940.5449 _bM145
049			_aNFGA
100	1		_aMcGaugh, Scott, _eauthor. _9233137
245	1	0	_aBrotherhood of the flying coffin : _bthe glider pilots of World War II / _cScott McGaugh.
246	3	0	_aGlider pilots of World War II
246	3	0	_aGlider pilots of WWII
246	3	0	_aGlider pilots of World War 2
264		1	_aOxford : _bOsprey Publishing, _c2023.
300			_a288 pages, 16 unnumbered leaves of plates : _billustrations (black and white) ; _c24 cm
336			_atext _btxt _2rdacontent
336			_astill image _bsti _2rdacontent
337			_aunmediated _bn _2rdamedia
338			_avolume _bnc _2rdacarrier
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
505	0		_aGuts and gliders wanted -- Crashing is a lonely sound -- "Prepare to ditch" -- Pea patch savior -- Popcorn popping -- "The Germans are coming!" -- "Our men were lucky" -- Like hornets at a church cookout -- They were invisible -- The hole in the donut -- Beyond commendation -- World War II's orphans -- Epilogue.
520			_a"This book distills war down to individual young men climbing into defenseless gliders made of plywood, ready to trust the towing aircraft that would pull them into enemy territory by a single cable wrapped with a telephone wire. Based on their after-action reports, journals, oral histories, photos and letters home, The Brotherhood of the Flying Coffin reveals every terrifying minute of their missions. They were all volunteers, for a specialized duty that their own government projected would have a 50 percent casualty rate. None faltered. In every major European invasion of the war they led the way. They landed their gliders ahead of the troops who stormed Omaha Beach, and sometimes miles ahead of the paratroopers bound for the far side of the Rhine River in Germany itself. From there, they had to hold their positions. They delivered medical teams, supplies and gasoline to troops surrounded in the Battle of the Bulge, ahead even of Patton's famous supply truck convoy. These all-volunteer glider pilots played a pivotal role in liberating the West from tyranny, from the day the Allies invaded Occupied Europe to the day Germany finally surrendered. Yet the story of these anonymous heroes is virtually unknown. Here their story is told in full - a story which epitomizes courage, dedication and sacrifice."-- _cBack cover.
650		0	_aWorld War, 1939-1945 _xAerial operations, American. _93642
650		0	_aGliders (Aeronautics) _xHistory _y20th century.
650		0	_aMilitary gliders (Aeronautics) _zUnited States _xHistory _y20th century.
994			_aC0 _bNFG
999			_c365731 _d365731