Fait Accompli: A Historical Account of the 457th Bomb Group (H); The Fireball Outfit

By James Bass

Fait Accompli: A Historical Account of the 457th Bomb Group This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0964892502
• ISBN13: 9780964892507
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: J M Productions
• Length: 408 Pages
• Weight: 1.80 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The 'Fireball Outfit' in Action! (Vol. 1)

Activated in July 1943, the 457th Bomb Group - the 'Fireball Outfit' - was one of the 8th AF's top groups. Flying combat from 21 February 1944 to 20 April 1945, the Group - commanded by Colonel James Luper and then Colonel Harris Rogner - racked up 236 missions in all. Three former members of the 457th combined their talents to produce this detailed, comprehensive and exciting account of the Fireball Outfit in deadly combat over Europe. FAIT ACCOMPLI tops out at 408 pages. After a brief history of the Group's creation, Briggs and Bass recount the Group's combat record month-by-month. This section takes up the lion's share of the book, being some 250-odd pages long. Much of the narrative is based on mission reports, other official USAAF documents and 457th personnel reminiscences. Most mission descriptions range in length from 1/2-page to a full page. Certain tough missions rated lengthier descriptions. For example, the 14 June 1944 mission to Le Bourget, which cost the Group five B-17s, rated 3 1/2 pages. The 7 October 1944 raid on Politz, Poland, which saw Colonel Luper's B-17 and five other Forts shot down, ran to four pages and so on. Following this Group history, personal reminiscences of former Group members are featured in the 'Stories from the 457th' section, which runs to 60 pages. The stories found in this section bring the 457th's air war to vivid life as aircrew describe terrifying clashes with Luftwaffe fighters, shootdowns due to devastating flak hits, etc. Various appendices - Group/Squadron insignia, Group/Squadron commanders, Group KIA/MIA and a complete mission listing round out the book. The text is illustrated with two dozen photographs, maps and illustrations. (A later volume, FAIT ACCOMPLI II, was published in 1998 and featured over 400 shots of the Group's life and times). In short, FAIT ACCOMPLI is an excellent summary of the 457th BG in combat and a fine tribute to all the men who served in the Fireball Outfit. Recommended.

They did the job they were assigned to do

Since I flew 35 missions with the 457th Bomb Group in 1944-45, I felt my opportunity to serve as editor of this book was a way to make sure of its authenticity. It turned out that there were not many editorial changes to make; the most challenging ones were to make sure the names of the targets in Germany were spelled correctly. I was impressed by the outstanding amount of research done by Mr. Bass and others. When Î want to verify or clarify some detail of the 457th's service in World War II, FAIT ACCOMPLI is my source.