Brotherhood of the Flying Coffin: The Glider Pilots of World War II

by Scott McGaugh

Overview

The first major history of the American glider pilots, the forgotten heroes of World War II, by a New York Times bestselling author. A story of no guns, no engines and no second chances.

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 cable wrapped with telephone wire. Based on their after-action reports, journals, oral histories, and letters home, this book 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 it is told in full – a story which epitomizes courage and sacrifice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472852946
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	03/07/2023
Series:	'dwsadmin'
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	372,052
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Scott McGaugh is a veteran journalist and published author of Honor Before Glory (Da Capo, 2016), the New York Times bestseller Surgeon in Blue (Arcade, 2013), Battlefield Angels (Osprey, 2011) and Midway Magic (CDS/Perseus, 2004). Midway Magic became the basis for a History Channel program, Hero Ship: The USS Midway. McGaugh served as the founding marketing director of the USS Midway Museum in San Diego, the most visited floating ship museum in the world. He lives in San Diego.

Table of Contents

Preface

Author's Notes

List of Illustrations

Introduction

1. Guts and Gliders Wanted

2. Crashing is a Lonely Sound

3. “Prepare to Ditch”

4. Pea Patch Savior

5. Popcorn Popping

6. “The Germans Are Coming!”

7. “Our Men Were Lucky”

8. Like Hornets at a Church Cookout

9. They Were Invisible

10. The Hole in the Donut

11. Beyond Commendation

12. World War II's Orphans

13. Epilogue

Acknowledgments

Glossary

Selected Bibliography

Endnotes

Index

Editorial Reviews

10/31/2022

Historian McGaugh (Honor Before Glory) highlights in this vivid and inspiring account the exploits of Allied glider pilots during the liberation of Axis-occupied Europe. Making their combat debut in the invasion of Sicily in 1943, Allied glider pilots carried troops and supplies from bases in Tunisia. Though more than 600 men and officers died in Operation Ladbroke, most of them by drowning, generals Omar Bradley and Dight Eisenhower committed to using gliders to ferry troops and equipment to Normandy on D-Day. McGaugh also documents Market Garden, “the largest glider mission of World War II,” when 2,000 gliders supported the Allied offensive across Holland. “The glider pilots knew their mission was to deliver the infantry and their supplies under enemy fire, likely by crashing their gliders, then get back to their base hundreds of miles away, as quickly as possible, and be ready for the next assignment,” McGaugh writes. Gliders also played key roles in supplying besieged American forces at Bastogne and winning the Battle of the Bulge. Mothballed after the war, the glider program’s tasks were assumed by cargo aircraft and helicopters. Throughout, McGaugh draws on firsthand accounts to convey the terror and thrill of piloting noiseless, fabric-skinned aircraft with no engines, defensive armaments, or parachutes. This WWII history soars. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

In this first-rate account of World War II's unsung glider pilots, Scott McGaugh takes readers on a plunging ride into the crucible of combat. McGaugh's vivid narrative combined with pilots' eyewitness testimonies provide a page-turning story of these pioneering aviators who navigated challenges in the air and on the ground with courage and perseverance. Buckle up – you're about to be towed over the battlefield in an engineless glider for a one-way trip into chaos.” —James M. Fenelon, author of 'Four Hours of Fury' and 'Angels Against the Sun'

“Scott McGaugh artfully blends the little-known tactical campaign history of WWII glider pilots with their individual heroism, courage, and sacrifice. This book reads more like a gut-wrenching novel with defenseless readers in the co-pilot's seat as they land (or crash) in enemy territory ahead of every major Europe invasion.” —Colonel Donald G. Patton, U.S. Army (Ret.) and Founder of World War II History Round Table

“By focusing on a handful of young, incredibly brave glider pilots, Scott McGaugh has brilliantly and poignantly personalized the real-life terror of what these boys faced when they flew into Normandy in little more than crates. But the title is wrong: coffins were built much better than these gliders.”” —Flint Whitlock, editor of 'WWII Quarterly' and author of 'If Chaos Reigns: The Near-Disaster and Ultimate Triumph of the Allied Airborne Forces on D-Day'

“An unforgettable read, revealing incredible stories throughout.” —History Book Chat

“This is the first book that I have seen which focuses on gliders and their story. It's a fantastic book worthy of its subjects. Verdict: Read it!” —History Nerds United Podcast

“Meet the gutsy aviators who drifted silently into battle… Scott McGaugh does those fliers a great service by telling their story.” —Washington Independent Review of Books

“Historian McGaugh highlights in this vivid and inspiring account the exploits of Allied glider pilots during the liberation of Axis-occupied Europe… This WWII history soars.” —Publishers Weekly

“The tale he tells in Brotherhood of the Flying Coffin is jaw-dropping at times for the built-from-scratch nature of the glider program and the courage of the pilots.” —San Diego Union Tribune

“Feel your emotions expand in appreciation and gratitude as you are glued page after page reading how these all-volunteer glider pilots played a pivotal role in liberating the world of the Hitler-Mussolini tyrannical Nazi-Fascisti “guttersnipes”. A superlative Selected Bibliography, Glossary and 30 b & w photos, hitherto unseen in major publications, testify to Scott's scholarship, which makes the book even more rare and worthy of purchase to add to the diversity of WWII subjects in one's growing library.” —ARGunners

“McGaugh highlights the stories of these battle-tested individuals, bringing to the forefront unsung and often anonymous individuals who contributed to the Allied victory in Europe. His detailed analysis of their contributions, along with transcribed oral histories, brings to life another chapter in the history of World War II.” —1776 Books

“Brotherhood of the Flying Coffin is a good book which focuses on a particular part of World War II which is rarely focused upon.” —Just About History

“Almost forgotten today, these proved the most hazardous flights of the war, with the highest casualties…The Brotherhood of the Flying Coffin offers insight into a forgotten and dangerous war. It is worth reading” —Ricochet

From the Publisher