Book Review: Matterhorn
Posted by Michelle Howard
July 19, 2016
Photo: Schiffer Publishing
Matterhorn: The Operational History of the US XX Bomber Command from India and China: 1944-1945 is the operational history of the XX (20th) Bomber Command and its combat missions from India and China.
The book traces the development of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress program and the Allied plans to stage long-range bombers through China for strikes against Japan’s strategic industries. Each of the 49 combat missions flown by the XX Bomber Command from India and China is examined, producing the first detailed history of the B-29 campaign flown from these countries.
The book is written almost exclusively from primary source material—World War II documents, crew member memoirs, and personal interviews. Special sections within the book examine issues related to flying across the “Hump” between India and China; General Curtis LeMay’s reorganization of B-29 operations; and the night fighter defense of the B-29 forward airfields in China.
Size: 8 1/2″ x 11″ | 414 b/w photos | 304 pp
ISBN13: 978-0-7643-5074-0| Binding: hard cover | $69.99
About the Author: Terry M. Mays is a professor at The Citadel in Charleston, SC, where he has taught since 1992. He is a US Army/Army Reserve retiree with 30+ years of service. Mays is the author of twelve books including Night Hawks and Black Widows: 13th Air Force Night Fighters in the South and Southwest Pacific, 1943-1945. He has written numerous academic journal and popular magazine articles on WWII aviation subjects. His other books are in the fields of multinational peacekeeping and the American Revolution.
