Bloody Skies - Fifteenth Fighter Command Against all Odds

This book details the operations of the USAAF''s overlooked Fifteenth Fighter Command that protected the bombers during the campaign against the Romanian oil fields in World War II. Formed in the fall of 1943, the Fifteenth Air Force was popularly known as the "The Forgotten Fifteenth," as its achievements were overshadowed by more glamorous exploits of the Eighth Air Force in the air war over Germany. Nevertheless, the Fifteenth''s contribution to Allied victory was crucial, and a vital part of that was the role played by the escorting fighter groups from the Fifteenth Fighter Command who protected the B-17s and B-24s from the Luftwaffe in the skies over Romania. In this new history of the campaign, renowned aviation historian Tom Cleaver tells the story of the Fifteenth''s air war through first-person accounts of the fighter pilots of the Fifteenth Fighter Command, including such famous units as the Red Tails - the Tuskegee Airmen - the 82nd Fighter Group and the 325th''s "Checkertail Clan," and with his ability to place wartime events in their greater context.

About the author

Thomas McKelvey Cleaver has been a published writer for the past 40 years, with his most recent work being the best-selling Osprey titles MiG Alley (2019), I Will Run Wild (2020), Under the Southern Cross (2021), The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club (2021), Going Downtown (2022), The Cactus Air Force (2022) alongside the late Eric Hammel, and most recently Clean Sweep (2023). Tom served in the US Navy in Vietnam and currently lives in Encino, California.

Product details

• Authors: Thomas Mckelvey Cleaver, Thomas McKelvey Cleaver, McKelvey Cleaver Thomas
• Publisher: Osprey Publishers
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 10.02.2026
• EAN: 9781472865625
• ISBN: 978-1-4728-6562-5
• No. of pages: 320
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; USA, Germany, HISTORY / Military / United States, Italy, Romania, Air forces & warfare, Second World War, United States of America, USA, c 1938 to c 1946 (World War Two period), Air forces and warfare, c 1939 to c 1945 (including WW2), HISTORY / Military / Aviation & Space, History / Wars & Conflicts / World War II / European Theater