Squadron of Deception: The 36th Bomb Squadron in World War II, by Stephen Hutton, Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., Atglen, Pa., 1999, $39.95.
For another change of pace from the usual fighters and bombers in the Schiffer series, Squadron of Deception: The 36th Bomb Squadron in World War II, by Stephen Hutton, deals with missions that were somewhat different from those flown by the 8th Squadron in the Pacific. Using specially modified Consolidated B-24 bombers, the 36th Squadron’s job was to deny intelligence to the Germans, as the only radar countermeasures unit in the Eighth Air Force.
By jamming German radar, the 36th may have saved the lives of as many American bomber crews as did its escorting fighters. The men who developed and operated the unit’s electronic devices were engaged in an ongoing struggle with their German counterparts that, while less publicized than the fighters’ battle for air superiority, was no less relentless. Compiled from once-secret records, personal diaries and interviews with crewmen, Squadron of Deception sheds some light on the vital contribution of a unique, once-classified squadron of the U.S. Army Air Forces’ mightiest component of World War II.
Jon Guttman
