Description: From 1942 until the end of the war in Europe, the aircraft of the US 8th and 15th Air Forces provided one of the main thrusts of the massive Allied bombing campaign against Nazi Germany.  Bombing by daylight in huge formations, casualties were heavy as aircraft after aircraft succumbed to flak and fighter defences. For those not killed outright by the onslaught only baling out – over hostile enemy territory – could offer a hope of survival.

Here, at first hand, are the stories of the airmen faced with sudden jumps into that dangerous unknown. For most, and particularly the injured, capture was immediate – imprisonment inevitable. For some evasion was possible, but rarely for long. For others, taken prisoner, escape became a constant preoccupation.

Martin Bowman’s revealing narrative, supported by dozens of rare and unusual photographs, describes in adrenalin-pumping accuracy the furious air battles that led to the predicament of many shot-down airmen as well as the personal campaigns they fought to regain their freedom. Fascinating for its gripping and factual re-creation of the bomber-fighter/flak encounters, the earthbound confrontations between POW’s and Stalag guards provide a real insight into the war as those who ‘fell from formation’ saw it.