400 Photos - A Collection of Articles by Veterans of the 449th - 482pages - 8-1/2X11- Hardback

Table Of Contents Preface Chapter 1: "And There We Were"                  Stories from Veterans of the 449th Chapter 2: "The Official Record"                  Missing in Action                  Killed in Action                  Prisoners of War                  Evadees of the Enemy   Chapter 3: "Aircraft of the 449th"                  Names, Serial Numbers                  History of Original Aircraft                  And the Last Mission Chapter 4: "Poetry and Art"                  By Members of the 15th Air Force                    Chapter 5: "Hits and Misses"                  Aerial Bomb Strike Photos Chapter 6: "Diaries and Journals"                  From the Pens of Flying Horsemen Appendices: Index, stories by authors                     Index, listing by pilots                     449th Monument story                     Errors, Corrections Book I, II                     Organizational Chart, 15th AF                     Cheap B-24, But you're too late                     449ers Make News                     449ers Rate in the States Epilogue

"Grottaglie, and Home” is the second volume published by the 449th Bomb Group Association dedicated to preserving the history of the 449th Bomb Group in World War II. The 449th -- equipped with B-24 Liberator bombers -- operated as a part of the 15th Air Force from their base at Grottaglie in southern Italy from January 1944 through May 1945. During this period the 449th flew 254 combat missions against axis targets in central and eastern Europe. Targets included Ploesti, Regensburg, Munich, Vienna, Bucharest, Budapest, Wiener-Neustadt, and many others. Over the course of these missions the 449th lost more than 100 aircraft. Chapter 1 presents the story of the 449th, mostly as told by the veterans themselves through their own words and photographs. From these stories one captures some idea of what it was like to be a part of the 449th Bomb Group from the early days of training in the States, to the movement overseas to Grottaglie, through the period of combat operations during 1944 and 1945, and then the return home after the war. The stories and photographs come from members of both the ground echelon and the air echelon, thus capturing the complete spectrum of group operations. Chapters 2 through 5 contain a wealth of detailed statistical information pertaining to the missions, the aircraft and the losses of the 449th over the course of its 254 missions. Through the contemporary diaries and journals of the men of the 449th, Chapter 6 presents accounts of what it was like to be there in 1944 and 1945. The appendices provide amplifying information related to the story of the 449th Bomb Group.