Coming Soon - "Harvest of the Grim Reapers" The Illustrated History of the 3rd & 27th Bomb Groups (1941-1942)

[bearoutwest]

Hello Edward,

Thanks for taking the time to let me know. I will contact Avonmore Books at the first opportunity.

Of particular interest to me are the numbers of RAAF personnel on temporary secondment to the USAAF bomber squadrons, including the A-20, A-24, B-17 and LB30 squadrons in those dark days of 1942.


Cheers & regards, ...geoff

[Edward]

Geoff,

Glad that this could happen with international shipping at an all time high.

>Of particular interest to me are the numbers of RAAF personnel on temporary secondment to the USAAF bomber squadrons, including the A-20, A-24, B-17 and LB30 squadrons in those dark days of 1942.

I devoted a lot of time researching & describing the lives of those RAAF personnel who were seconded to the 13th and 90th Bomb Squadrons in May 1942. The WAG's had a terrible baptism of fire on May 23 & 25, 1942 during attacks against Lae, New Guinea with a number killed or missing, one POW (later murdered) and one wounded. While USAAF records were often of very little help the personal diaries and photo collections of different U.S. pilots provide a good account of their actions. The personnel & casualty files at the National Archives, Australia were essential in telling the story of these RAAF air crew. It was certainly a pleasant surprise that all Australian veterans and their families who were contacted still retained their flight logs which were a precious record of the missions flown during 1942. We were also able to locate photos of about 80% of the RAAF pilots and WAG's who flew combat with the 3rd BG.

Edward

[Edward]

Available now!

The books arrived this morning from the printer in Dallas, Texas.

Pre-orders will start going out tomorrow.

Harvest of the Grim Reapers vol. I is only for sale from the publisher's website though will soon be available from our distributors in the U.K. "East Anglia Books" and Australia "Avonmore Books".

I feel certain that "Christian Schmidt" and "Sound Bücher Modellbau" will soon be carrying the book.

Edward

https://irandpcorp.com/products/3bg1/

[Rudi Penker]

https://sound-bm.com/de/eagles-over-...w-ii-voli.html

[Edward]

Thanks to Bill Stone at "Stone & Stone Second World War Books" for reviewing our history of the 3rd & 27th BGs.

Bill Stone writes:
"There are unit histories and then there are unit histories. . . . In this case, Hickey, Rogers, Tagaya, and Jonas have done a fine job constantly reminding readers this is a history of men, not airplanes. They animate every page of their book with lives of young airmen on the far side of the world all these many years ago."

". . . Harvest of the Grim Reapers is unsurpassed when it comes to providing a thorough, engaging history of the 3rd Bombardment Group and the ill-fated, short-lived 27th Bombardment Group. And the authors never allow readers to forget that every mission, every victory, and every loss involved young airmen far from home. This is a terrific book with a huge amount of appeal for anyone interested in the air war in the Pacific."

http://books.stonebooks.com/reviews/220130/

[Frank Olynyk]

Edward,

Given the time it took to publish the first volume of Harvest, what are the prospects for volume two? My copy of volume one arrived a few days ago; very impressive.

And what is the status of the two volumes of Sun Setters now?

Enjoy!

Frank.

[Edward]

Frank,

I trust that you will enjoy volume I.

Volume 2 has already been written with photos added to the layout. The histories for the aircraft color profiles need to be drafted and the manuscript needs a proofread along with a few updates for recently discovered material.

We hope to go to print at the end of the year but that is not a certainty.

I can't comment about the status of the two volumes on the 38th BG but I expect there will be an update this year. I can say that the low level combat photography of the Sun Setters equals and possibly exceeds that of the 345th BG. I hope that the books will be released soon.

Edward

Saga of the Sun Setters Vol. I: The Illustrated History of the 38th Bombardment Group During World War II: Prewar to September 1943
https://irandpcorp.com/products/38bg1/

Saga of the Sun Setters Vol. II: The Illustrated History of the 38th Bombardment Group During World War II: October 1943 to 1945
https://irandpcorp.com/products/38bg2/

[Frank Olynyk]

Edward,

Excellent news. I was afraid that without Larry's support the books might wither and die. I have put myself on the list to be notified when any of these books are published.

Enjoy!

Frank.

[Edward]

Volume 2 of the 3rd Bomb Group history will certainly have its share of spectacular low level combat photography.

I have researched the creation of the B-25 strafer by Maj. Paul "Pappy" Gunn and Jack Fox of North American Aviation and the men of the 81st Air Depot Group.

The Battle of the Bismarck Sea, war against Japanese barge traffic and the surprise low level attack against Wewak airdrome on 17 August 1943 will be covered in great detail using personal diaries, memoirs and interviews with the pilots and air crew including the RAAF pilots & WAGs seconded to the 3rd BG.

Photographs of most of the shark mouth and skull nose B-25 strafers will be included along with Jack Fellows' excellent color profiles of the 3rd BG B-25s and A-20s.

Coming later this year.

[AMC]

Originally Posted by Edward

Frank,

I trust that you will enjoy volume I.

Volume 2 has already been written with photos added to the layout. The histories for the aircraft color profiles need to be drafted and the manuscript needs a proofread along with a few updates for recently discovered material.

We hope to go to print at the end of the year but that is not a certainty.

I can't comment about the status of the two volumes on the 38th BG but I expect there will be an update this year. I can say that the low level combat photography of the Sun Setters equals and possibly exceeds that of the 345th BG. I hope that the books will be released soon.

Edward

Saga of the Sun Setters Vol. I: The Illustrated History of the 38th Bombardment Group During World War II: Prewar to September 1943
https://irandpcorp.com/products/38bg1/

Saga of the Sun Setters Vol. II: The Illustrated History of the 38th Bombardment Group During World War II: October 1943 to 1945
https://irandpcorp.com/products/38bg2/

I have this book. It was published in a one volume edition, by the 38th Veterans Association some years ago.
Brilliant, huge book, just lacking the colour profiles ( maybe copyright issues!!)
Unable to upload picture, (downside to this great Forum)