"Jump, Damn It, Jump!": Memoir of a Downed B-17 Pilot in World War II

by Edward F. Logan Jr.

Soon after the United States entered World War II, American ground and air forces were on their way to the European theater of operations. Among that offensive buildup was the 15th Air Force, consisting of four-engine heavy bombers--the B-17 and B-24--as well as twin-engine medium bombers and several types of fighter aircraft. The 15th was first stationed in North Africa and then in southern Italy, where pilots could strike at any military target within a 700 mile radius. After ferrying a B-17 to England with the 8th Air Force, Lt. Edward Logan was transferred to the 15th Air Force, Fifth Wing, 483rd Bomb Group, 817th Bomb Squadron in Italy. Logan and members of his unit were assigned to use American air power to destroy the German military's manufacturing and petroleum complexes as well as its intricate transportation system. This gripping memoir gives a detailed account of Logan's experiences throughout his Army Air Corps career. It outlines the progression of a determined would-be pilot through two years of training, his 1944 journey to the war's theater and advent into actual combat. While other missions are summarized, the work's main focus is the author's thirty-fourth combat mission, which took place in March 1945. During this operation, his B-17 bomber sustained damage so severe that he and nine crewmen were forced to bail out over enemy territory. Aided by Slovenian partisans, Logan and his crew evaded the German troops who were searching for them and returned safely to their base. This firsthand account includes insider details, technical specifications of the B-17 bomber and previously classified information. An epilogue provides additional information on the partisans and the composition of the 15th Air Force.

Genres: World War II

244 pages, Paperback

First published September 12, 2006

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm bias because he's my uncle and a great man but this is also a really good book and story.

[Dominik Golob · Rating 4 out of 5]

575

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

My personal connection to this subject matter arose from my great-uncle's experiences as a flight engineer/top turret gunner in the 8th Air Force, and his brief memoir relating his story. Since reading his account of enduring the hardships of being held as a POW by the Germans, I have immersed myself in the history of the strategic air campaign over Europe during WWII, reading every book about the subject that comes my way. This book provides a new perspective that I haven't encountered yet.

As is typical of these memoirs, the author begins with his induction into the army, and the training that qualified him to be a bomber pilot. He summarizes his combat career, but the focus of this book is his fateful 34th mission, where his aircraft was severely damaged and he and his crew were stranded behind enemy lines. Flying with the 15th Air Force from Italy, the author's plane is struck by antiaircraft fire over the target in Austria in March of 1945. The author nurses the plane south, over occupied Yugoslavia, hoping to reach areas controlled by Partisans friendly to the allies. In this he succeeds, and he and his crew are rescued by the Partisans, who go to great lengths to protect them and return them to Italy to continue the fight.

This memoir is written in a straight forward and concise prose, easy to read, but filled with fascinating details about the author's experiences after being shot from the sky over southern Europe. Because of the focus of the narrative on the author's experiences, it necessarily provides a mere glimpse into the conditions of the ground war in this region at this late point in the war. Nevertheless, it is interesting to get a glimpse of the complex situation in a area with no clear combat front. It is also heartening to find that not all the crews that were shot down over enemy territory were doomed to the hardships of being held as POWs.