Brotherhood of the Flying Coffin

The Glider Pilots of World War II

By: Scott McGaugh

Narrated by: Geoff Sugiyama

Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

The first major history of the American glider pilots, the forgotten heroes of World War II, by New York Times bestselling author Scott McGaugh. A story of no guns, no engines and no second chances.

This audiobook distills war down to individual young men climbing into defenseless gliders made of plywood, ready to trust the towing aircraft that would pull them into enemy territory by a single cable wrapped with a telephone wire. Based on their after-action reports, journals, oral histories, photos and letters home, The Brotherhood of the Flying Coffin reveals every terrifying minute of their missions.

They were all volunteers, for a specialized duty that their own government projected would have a 50 percent casualty rate. None faltered. In every major European invasion of the war they led the way. They landed their gliders ahead of the troops who stormed Omaha Beach, and sometimes miles ahead of the paratroopers bound for the far side of the Rhine River in Germany itself. From there, they had to hold their positions. They delivered medical teams, supplies and gasoline to troops surrounded in the Battle of the Bulge, ahead even of Patton's famous supply truck convoy. These all-volunteer glider pilots played a pivotal role in liberating the West from tyranny, from the day the Allies invaded Occupied Europe to the day Germany finally surrendered. Yet the story of these anonymous heroes is virtually unknown. Here their story is told in full – a story which epitomizes courage, dedication and sacrifice.

©2023 Scott McGaugh (P)2023 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Critic reviews

"In this first-rate account of World War II’s unsung glider pilots, Scott McGaugh takes readers on a plunging ride into the crucible of combat. McGaugh’s vivid narrative combined with pilots’ eyewitness testimonies provide a page-turning story of these pioneering aviators who navigated challenges in the air and on the ground with courage and perseverance. Buckle up – you’re about to be towed over the battlefield in an engineless glider for a one-way trip into chaos." (James M. Fenelon, author of Four Hours of Fury and Angels Against the Sun)

"Scott McGaugh artfully blends the little-known tactical campaign history of WWII glider pilots with their individual heroism, courage, and sacrifice. This book reads more like a gut-wrenching novel with defenseless readers in the co-pilot’s seat as they land (or crash) in enemy territory ahead of every major Europe invasion." (Colonel Donald G. Patton, U.S. Army (Ret.) and Founder of World War II History Round Table)

"By focusing on a handful of young, incredibly brave glider pilots, Scott McGaugh has brilliantly and poignantly personalized the real-life terror of what these boys faced when they flew into Normandy in little more than crates. But the title is wrong: coffins were built much better than these gliders.” (Flint Whitlock, editor of WWII Quarterly and author of If Chaos Reigns: The Near-Disaster and Ultimate Triumph of the Allied Airborne Forces on D-Day)

Shedding light on unsung heroes

This book was fantastic. It sheds a light on an often time overlooked and unsung group of men who served valiantly in WWII. Everyone who is interested in WWII knows of the large Airborne operations and units that fought in them (specifically the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions). They know of the paratroopers jumping from C47 sky trains behind enemy lines. However, not all of the regiments in those storied and famous units were Parachute infantry. Both divisions had glider infantry units that would be flown in as reinforcements (or in some cases like in Operation Varsity the day of battle) shortly after the paratroopers jumped in. Glider infantry are often overlooked in their own right, but the pilots that flew them in essentially wooden freight cargo boxes with wings are even less remembered. It took a lot of guts and daring to fly behind enemy lines and try to gently crash land a wooden box with wings, laden down with glider troops / keep / ammo / medical supplies etc… the casualties were high, but the answered the call, and yet were overshadowed by their power plane pilot and parachute infantry brethren. They need to be remembered

Outstanding story of unheralded heroes

As a lifelong stud of history, this is one incredible story I knew little about,
We should all be grateful for Scott McGaugh in writing such a timeless masterpiece so these heroes are never forgotten

Great untold story

We owe a great debt to these guys Good personal stories with lots of good details I had heard stories where they had been mention Happy someone finally told their full story of Heroism and bravery

Fantastic Glider Research

The story is great. Narrator performance was pretty good. I wish he would have showed more emotion. More drama. All in all. you won't be disappointed.