The men who flew American heavy bombers over Europe in World War II were very young--most were either in their early twenties or late teens. Moreover, before they deployed overseas, they were military amateurs who knew nothing of the violent, dangerous world of air warfare. Heavy bombers flew over Europe in steady formations at high altitudes. There they faced a gauntlet of razor sharp antiaircraft artillery bursts and cannon-firing fighter aircraft that shattered Plexiglas, metal, engines, and bone. It is no wonder that bomber crews suffered some of the highest casualty rates of any service in the war. Yet, their courage and sacrifice would help the Allies secure an overwhelming victory over Hitler's Germany. That courage and the extreme dangers these young men faced in combat over Europe are vividly portrayed in The Cruel Sky: A Heavy Bomber Group in World War II. Using the 451st Bombardment Group (Heavy) of the Fifteenth Air Force as the focus for this compelling narrative, author Robert Thompson describes how the bomber group was established and trained, what is took to fly its aircraft--the Consolidated B-24 Liberator--and the tells the harrowing stories of the missions for which the group received three Distinguished Unit Citations, an achievement garnered by only one other heavy bomber group during World War II. Relying on the personal experiences of those who actually flew with the 451st, the book provides a fresh and very human perspective of the deadly air war over Europe that was critical in defeating the Nazis and liberating millions.