Lost Destiny

Joe Kennedy Jr. and the Doomed WWII Mission to Save London

Nonfiction, History, Military, Aviation, World War II, Biography & Memoir, Historical
Cover of the book Lost Destiny by Alan Axelrod, St. Martin's Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Alan Axelrod ISBN: 9781466879126
Publisher: St. Martin's Press Publication: May 19, 2015
Imprint: St. Martin's Press Language: English
Author: Alan Axelrod
ISBN: 9781466879126
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication: May 19, 2015
Imprint: St. Martin's Press
Language: English

Alan Axelrod's Lost Destiny is a rare exploration of the origin of today's controversial military drones as well as a searing and unforgettable story of heroism, WWII, and the Kennedy dynasty that might have been.

On August 12, 1944, Lieutenant Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., heir to one of America's most glamorous fortunes, son of the disgraced former ambassador to Great Britain, and big brother to freshly minted PT-109 hero JFK, hoisted himself up into a highly modified B-24 Liberator bomber. The munitions he was carrying that day were fifty percent more powerful than TNT.

Kennedy's mission was part of Operation Aphrodite/Project Anvil, a desperate American effort to rescue London from a rain of German V-1 and V-2 missiles. The decision to use these bold but crude precursors to modern-day drones against German V-weapon launch sites came from Air Corps high command. Lieutenant General Jimmy Doolittle, daring leader of the spectacular 1942 Tokyo Raid, and others concocted a plan to install radio control equipment in "war-weary" bombers, pack them with a dozen tons of high explosives, and fly them by remote control directly into the concrete German launch sites—targets too hard to be destroyed by conventional bombs.

The catch was that live pilots were needed to get these flying bombs off the ground and headed toward their targets. Joe Jr. was the first naval aviator to fly such a mission. And—in the biggest manmade explosion before Hiroshima—it killed him.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Alan Axelrod's Lost Destiny is a rare exploration of the origin of today's controversial military drones as well as a searing and unforgettable story of heroism, WWII, and the Kennedy dynasty that might have been.

On August 12, 1944, Lieutenant Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., heir to one of America's most glamorous fortunes, son of the disgraced former ambassador to Great Britain, and big brother to freshly minted PT-109 hero JFK, hoisted himself up into a highly modified B-24 Liberator bomber. The munitions he was carrying that day were fifty percent more powerful than TNT.

Kennedy's mission was part of Operation Aphrodite/Project Anvil, a desperate American effort to rescue London from a rain of German V-1 and V-2 missiles. The decision to use these bold but crude precursors to modern-day drones against German V-weapon launch sites came from Air Corps high command. Lieutenant General Jimmy Doolittle, daring leader of the spectacular 1942 Tokyo Raid, and others concocted a plan to install radio control equipment in "war-weary" bombers, pack them with a dozen tons of high explosives, and fly them by remote control directly into the concrete German launch sites—targets too hard to be destroyed by conventional bombs.

The catch was that live pilots were needed to get these flying bombs off the ground and headed toward their targets. Joe Jr. was the first naval aviator to fly such a mission. And—in the biggest manmade explosion before Hiroshima—it killed him.

More books from St. Martin's Press

Cover of the book One Day Closer To Death by Alan Axelrod
Cover of the book Say Yes to the Duke by Alan Axelrod
Cover of the book Into Oblivion by Alan Axelrod
Cover of the book The Dead Road by Alan Axelrod
Cover of the book Weather Witch by Alan Axelrod
Cover of the book A Certain Slant of Light by Alan Axelrod
Cover of the book The Gravedigger's Ball by Alan Axelrod
Cover of the book Ascend by Alan Axelrod
Cover of the book Death, Taxes, and Extra-Hold Hairspray by Alan Axelrod
Cover of the book Cozy Case Files: A Cozy Mystery Sampler, Volume 2 by Alan Axelrod
Cover of the book Every Woman for Herself by Alan Axelrod
Cover of the book Turned at Dark by Alan Axelrod
Cover of the book The Fourth War by Alan Axelrod
Cover of the book Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo by Alan Axelrod
Cover of the book How to Climb Mt. Blanc in a Skirt by Alan Axelrod
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy