Perry Watts

This book captures the story of "Witchcraft," a B-24 Liberator, based in Rackheath, England, toward the end of World War II, that had a unique record in the 8th Army Air Force of flying 130 credited missions without aborting.This is a sequel to author Perry Watts' 2006 book (also published by Schiffer) on the 467th Heavy Bombardment Group, which sets this Liberator in context. In this book, Watts starts with Witchcraft's creation in the then-largest factory in the world in Michigan, then chronicles its transit like many Liberators to the UK via Brazil and Africa. The narrative provides detailed stories of Witchcraft's often hazardous missions with its Group over occupied Europe and during the battle for Germany 1944-5. This is a special testimony to why and how the B-24 played a key role in the World War II liberation of occupied Europe.

In this new 8th Air Force unit history, Perry Watts sets out the history of the USAAF 467th Heavy Bombardment Group, which was based at Rackheath, Norfolk, in the east of England, during 1944-1945. In contrast to the operational focus of many books on the USAAF in the period, the author presents the B-24 Liberator Group’s story as a seamless whole. The main feature of this work lies in its usage of a wealth of primary sources, ranging from contemporaries’ diaries and notes of airmen of every rank from private to deputy base commander, to USAAF official records of incidents and occurrences in the line of duty. To date, many of the works on this subject have relied on secondary borrowing or hearsay – this book lets the men who were there speak for themselves with their own voices. Yet while offering direct access to their experience, it also is unafraid to note ambiguities in accounts where these should be noted and to present all available information to enable the readers to decide for themselves.