Review
The use of gliders in combat was unique to WWII. Entering battle in a plywood box with wings, a glider soldier put his life in the hands of the glider pilotto land the glider safely and smoothly behind enemy lines. It was a harrowing experience which many did not survive. Silent Wings Savage Death authored by Dr. Alfred J. Nigl and his brother Charles A. Nigl chronicles one of these glider units during WWII, the 319th GFAB of the 82nd Airborne Division. The book begins with an indepth look at the development of gliders for combat and their use by the Germans in their Blitzkrieg attacks. The book continues by looking at the British glider program as well as other glider units of the American Army. Although gliders have long since been relegated to the back shelf of history, the 319th continues to be at the fore front of the fight in Iraq and Afghanistan (ie the 319th Artillery Regiment) the sucessor of the 319th Glider Battalion is now the sole arm of artillery support for the 82nd Airborne. Reading this book one feels a sense of pride and tradition and espirit de corps as one reads the personal recollections of some of the men who entered combat in this way. This book records for prosterity the brave men of these specialized units so they will not be forgotten in the annals of history. I highly recommend this book for those interested in understanding the danger and self sacrifice that the men of these specialized units faced during the war. Dominic T. Beillo Webmaster US Airborne during WWII --Dominic T. Beillo, Webmaster, U.S. Airborne WW2

Product Description
The book is based on the official unit history of the 319th Glider Field Artillery Battalion, one of two field artillery battalions attached to the famous 82nd Airborne Division. The men of the 319th made two glider assaults during WWII, the first on D Day in Normandy (where almost 20% of the men were killed or injured in the multiple glider crashes behind enemy lines) and the second during the invasion of Holland. Gliders were used by both Allied and Axis armies in Europe to bring large numbers of fighting men, artillery and heavier weapons onto the battlefields as part of several large scale Airborne invasions. The gliders were towed by powered aircraft such as the DC-3 or various bombers (in the case of the British and German glider troops) and then were released behind enemy lines to float silently to the battlefield with no offensive weapons, no armored plating to ward off anti-aircraft or machine gun fire and no effective landing gear or steering mechanisms to avoid crash landing.Of the 16 million service men and women, who served the United States during WW II, less than 1% were required to ride into battle aboard these powerless, unarmed aircraft, in what the History Channel has described as "Suicide Missions" of WW II. However, because the helicopter had not yet been perfected, the men of the 319th provided sorely needed artillery support to the paratroops of the 82nd and fought alongside the men of the 504th, 505th, 507th, 508th and glider troops of the 325th regiments (82nd Airborne) in every major battle of the ETO. In this thrilling saga, follow the men of the 319th from N. Africa to Italy, then on to the British Isles, where they prepared for the Normandy Invasion on June 6th, 1944. In Normandy the 319th Glider artillerymen, along with the paratroops of the 82nd Airborne, set a record for 33 days of continual combat without relief. Then it was back to England for several months of training before embarking on Operation Market-Garden, the invasion of Holland. When the British First Airborne surrendered to the Germans in Arnhem, the 319th went fought defensive action for over 40 days supporting the British forces until relieved and sent to France for a much needed rest and retraining. This respite from combat did not last long however as the 82nd Div (including the 319th was called up to the front lines in December of 1944 to stem the German Ardennes Offensive. In January of 1945, the 319th was part of the attack on the Siegfried Line, the last western defense of Nazi Germany. Later the 319th liberated Cologne,Germany and was sent on a mad rush in April of 1945 to keep the Russians from coming too far West and possibly capturing Denmark. The 319th is one of the most highly decorated units among all of the U.S. Airborne forces, winning two Presidential Unit citations in WWII and then their third and fourth Presidential Unit citations for combat valor in Vietnam. During WWII,the men of the 319th fired over 88,000 high explosive shells against the enemy in five separate campaigns from Italy to the Siegfried Line, unleashing the equivalent destructive power of 3,345,786 pounds of TNT against German soldiers, troop vehicles, German artillery positions, Tiger tanks, 88 gun positions and pill boxes with devastating effectiveness.