November 1943 to May 1945. The US Army Air Forces waged an unprecedentedly dogged and violent campaign against Hitler's vital oil production and industrial plants on the Third Reich's southern flank. Flying from southern Italy, far from the limelight enjoyed by the Eighth Air Force in England, the Fifteenth Air Force engaged in high-risk missions spanning most of the European continent. The story of the Fifteenth Air Force deserves a prideful place in the annals of American gallantry.
In Forgotten Fifteenth Barrett Tillman brings into focus a seldom-seen multinational cast of characters, including pilots from Axis nations Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria and many more remarkable individuals. They were the first generation of fliers—few of them professionals—to conduct a strategic bombing campaign against a major industrial nation. They suffered steady attrition and occasionally spectacular losses. In so doing, they contributed to the end of the most destructive war in history.
Forgotten Fifteenth is the first-ever detailed account of the Fifteenth Air Force in World War II and the brave men that history has abandoned. This book is a must-read for military history enthusiasts, veterans, and current servicemen and their families.
Barrett Tillman is the author of forty books, including the bestseller Warriors and Clash of the Carriers. He has received five writing awards, including the American Aviation Historical Society's Outstanding Contributor Award, the Air Force Historical Foundation Writing Award, and the Admiral Arthur Radford Award for Naval Aviation History and Literature.
Robertson Dean has acted on- and off-Broadway and in many leading roles at regional theaters throughout the United States. His film work includes Star Trek: Nemesis and Vanilla Sky.