Description:
A vivid history, packed with first-hand accounts, of the US Eighth Air Force's VIII Fighter Command from its foundation in 1942 through to its victory in the skies over Nazi Germany.
Brief description: Thomas McKelvey Cleaver has been a published writer for the past 40 years, with his most recent work being the best-selling Osprey titles The Cactus Air Force (2022) alongside the late Eric Hammel, Clean Sweep (2023), Turning The Tide (2024) Mediterranean Sweep (2025) and Bloody Skies (2026). Tom served in the US Navy in Vietnam and lives in Encino, California
Review Quotes:
"The European air war from 1942 to 1945 is a daunting subject, but Tom Cleaver's study of VIII Fighter Command contributes to our broader knowledge of 'The Mighty Eighth' with detailed coverage of personalities and events, plus insightful analysis." --Barrett Tillman, author of 'When the Shooting Stopped: August 1945'
"Drawing from USAAF and Luftwaffe post-combat reports, technical manuals, and personal accounts, Cleaver's work has a crackling immediacy, giving the reader a genuine sense of what these pilots and ground crews experienced, along with providing historical context to the decisions and actions taken by the combatants throughout the air war." --Lynn Ritger, author of 'The Messerschmitt BF 109' "The brilliance of Tom Cleaver's latest effort - Clean Sweep - rests on the back of his grub-around-in-every-corner-and-under-every-rock research. He brings shiny gems to us - accounts, recollections, facts and perspectives that are fresh, and that complete a story that is too often told with soulless numbers and numbing narratives. Heartily recommended." --LtCol Jay A. Stout, USMC (Ret.), author of 'Fighter Group: The 352nd "Blue-Nosed Bastards" in World War II' "This is a first class history of the campaign that was instrumental to Allied victory during the Second World War." --History of War "A well-focused history of the costly U.S. Air Force campaign over Europe that fatally degraded the Nazi war machine." --Library Journal "[A] fascinating tale with lots of detail." --The Armourer "While there have been many books on the US Army Air Forces' fighter and bomber operations from Britain during the Second World War, few, surely, have been as well written as this... A very worthwhile and highly readable tome." --Aeroplane "[This] is a first-rate single volume study that is highly recommended." --Aviation News "the author has done some excellent detective work in piecing together individual dogfights and operations in a way seldom managed." --Army Rumour Service