S1E3: 8th Air Force in Europe, WW2: Part 3 - 1st Lt William Lawley, USAAF, B-17 Flying Fortress pilot

The Aviation Medals of Honor

Part 3 of 4 on the B-17 Flying Fortress and the 8th Air Force. 1st Lt William Lawley is the aircraft commander of a B-17G on February 20th, 1944, day 1 of "The Big Week". This episode takes us through the battle for air supremacy over Europe in late 1943/early 1944 including the Schweinfurt/Regensburg mission into the heart of Germany in August, the disastrous return to Schweinfurt in October that brought the 8th to a crisis point, and the rise of the escort fighter culminating in the crushing blow to the Luftwaffe that was The Big Week.

Selected readings:

Big Week: The Biggest Air Battle of World War 2, James Holland *

The Schweinfurt/Regensburg Mission: The American Raids on 17 August 1943, Martin Middlebrook *

The Road to Big Week: The Struggle for Daylight Air Supremacy Over Western Europe, Eric Hammel

Double Strike: The Epic Air Raids on Regensburg/Schweinfurt, Edward Jablonski

The Mighty Eighth series by Roger Freeman

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*Unless otherwise noted, all quotes come from these two books. Highly recommend reading.