Chapter 1. First Evaders -- Chapter 2. Pat O'Leary Line -- Chapter 3. Comet Line -- Chapter 4. Shelburne and Other Lines -- Chapter 5. Chutes -- Chapter 6. Walkers -- Chapter 7. Helpers and Hides -- Chapter 8. Appendix B.: Intelligence -- Chapter 9. Appendix D.: Escape Aids Kits and Purses -- Chapter 10. Pyrenees -- Chapter 11. Spain -- Chapter 12. Switzerland -- Chapter 13 Sweden -- Chapter 14. Italy -- Chapter 15. Romania -- Chapter 16. Yugoslavia -- Chapter 17. D-Day and the Maquis -- Chapter 18. Airborne and Infantry Evaders -- Chapter 19. Atrocities -- Chapter 20. The Germans -- Chapter 21. Humor and Religion -- Chapter 22. Odds and Ends -- Chapter 23. After Return -- Chapter 24. News -- Chapter 25. V-E Day and Beyond -- Chapter 26. Legacy -- Appendix I. American Aircraft -- Appendix II. German Aircraft -- Appendix III. German Antiaircraft Defense.
Summary:
Michael Lee Lanning tells the story of the courageous airmen who evaded capture and escaped to safety after being shot from the skies during World War II. Lanning covers the hows and whys of escape-and-evasion and aerial combat in the European theater, but also vividly captures the stories of the airmen who did the escaping and evading. "During World War II, some 10,000 American bombers and fighters were shot down over Europe. Of the crews aboard, 26,000 men were killed, while 30,000 survived being shot down only to be captured and made prisoners of war. Against the longest of odds, nearly 3,000 airmen made it to the ground alive, evaded capture, and escaped to safety. These men proudly called themselves the Blister Club. The Blister Club is history with a punch. With a historian's eye, Lanning covers the hows and whys of escape-and-evasion and aerial combat in the European theater, but the book also vividly captures the stories of the airmen who did the escaping and evading, including that of a young pilot named Chuck Yeager, who, during his own escape, aided the French Resistance and helped another downed airman to safety--and then begged to fly again, eventually securing Eisenhower's approval to return to the air, where he achieved ace status."-- Amazon.com.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.