Nightstalkers: The Wright Project and the 868th Bomb Squadron in World War II

In August 1943, a top-secret US Army Air Force unit called the Wright Project was sent to Guadalcanal to fight the Empire of Japan. The project was unique because it used classified systems and B-24 Liberators that were built by crash. The airmen flew only at night, paving the way for the US to dominate the air war for generations. The unit was led by dynamic personalities and was a combat leader and technology innovator, evolving to become the 868th Bomb Squadron. This story, based on official sources and interviews with the airmen, reveals the untold story of the Wright Project and the young men who flew into the night.

Format: Hardback
Length: 432 pages
Publication date: 15 January 2023
Publisher: Casemate Publishers

In August 1943, a highly classified US Army Air Force unit, code-named the Wright Project, embarked on a mission to Guadalcanal in the South Pacific, where it joined forces in the fight against the Empire of Japan. Operating independently, under sealed orders drafted at the highest levels of the Army Air Force, the Wright Project was unique in its war-fighting capabilities, thanks to the ten B-24 Liberators brought to the war by this small group of airmen. These crash-built technologies played a pivotal role in the success of the project. The Wright airmen, known for their night operations, would fly as lone hunters of enemy ships, paving the way for the United States to enter and dominate a new dimension of war in the air for generations to come.

This is their story, from humble beginnings at MIT's Radiation Lab and their efforts to hunt U-boats off the eastern shore of the United States, to the campaigns of the war in the Pacific. The Wright Project would prove itself to be a combat leader on numerous occasions and an outstanding technology innovator, evolving to become the 868th Bomb Squadron. Along the way, the unit was embraced by unique personalities and dynamic leadership, ranging from Army Air Force General Hap Arnold to combat commanders who flew the missions.

In this account, the reader will meet radar warfare pioneers and squadron leaders who were never satisfied with pushing the men, the aircraft, and the technologies to their full potential. Comprehensive and highly personal, this story has been revealed for the first time, based on official sources and interviews with the young men who flew into the night.

Weight: 902g
Dimension: 246 x 179 x 30 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781636242057