From the dust cover -

“Shot Down” is no ordinary memoir of World War II. It reveals the hopes, dreams and fears of a remarkable group of men and people that loved, cared and hid them after their plane was knocked out of the sky over French/Belgian boarder.

Review

WOW what a read! I highly recommend this book to broaden your knowledge of air missions over Europe during WWII!

This book is a memoir of Steve Snyder’s father, Howard Snyder. Howard was the pilot in command of the B-17 Susan Ruthand along with the nine other members of his crew flew missions over Europe while attached to 306th Bomb Group.

The twin-engine Avro Manchester was used heavily during the first months of World War II. However, it was underpowered and not very reliable, and it fell short of the RAF’s expectation. The Avro engineers got busy and replaced the Manchester’s two 24-cylinder X-block Vultures with four V-12 Rolls-Royce Merlin engines. To accommodate the two extra engines, the Manchester’s wing span was increased. In turn, this caused problems with the airframe, so they enlarged the fuselage and redesigned the tail. Thus was born the Lancaster. It became an instant success, even though its defensive armament was somewhat light, consisting of eight .303 Browning machine guns.

I will not hide the fact I enjoy watching Japanese anime and the original “Last Exile” anime is one of my favorites. (No kidding). It represents a wonderful fusion of Sci-fi and the golden age of flight. The show centers around the orphaned brother & sister pair of Lavie Head and Claus Valcaat and their fathers old Vanship. Claus and Lavie work as commercial pilots who deliver messages, cargo and whatnot up until they are dragged into a war. The series is available to watch for free on Hulu.com and can be viewed in either the original Japanese (with subtitles) or it is also available dubbed in English.