Special Duties Pilot (ePub)
The Man who Flew the Real 'Inglourious Basterds' Behind Enemy Lines
Imprint: Air World
File Size: 23.6 MB (.epub)
Illustrations: 43 black and white illustrations
ISBN: 9781526786272
Published: 7th July 2021
Publicity!
World War II veteran volunteers to pilot life-saving flights from the NBC Nightly News
As featured by the Independent, click here to read the article online.
Article - Still flying at 97: Autobiography recounts WWII pilot's life as featured by Stars and Stripes
Military Times - Autobiography tells story of ‘Special Duties Pilot’
The Washington Post: John Billings, who flew Allied spies behind Nazi lines, dies at 98
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Special Duties Pilot Hardback Add to Basket | £19.99 |
“World War II is filled with heroic stories, but few measure up to the daring contributions of John Billings, an OSS pilot who was involved in a mission so daring it takes your breath away. Read this book and be grateful.” - Tom Brokaw, author of “The Greatest Generation"
If there was ever a man who was born to fly, it is John M. Billings. He took his first plane ride in 1926, began taking piloting lessons in 1938, and joined the US Army Air Force in July 1942. After training he was assigned to fly Consolidated B-24 Liberator long-range bombers. He joined the 825th Bombardment Squadron of the 484th Bombardment Group. After flying fifteen daylight strategic bombing missions, Billings was selected for assignment to the 885th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) (Special).
As its designation suggests, the 885th was no regular bombing unit. The 885th specialized in flying top secret, low-altitude missions at night in support of the clandestine operations of the OSS and the Special Operations Executive. The unit’s covert missions included parachuting OSS and SOE agents and supplies deep inside German territory.
The most eventful and dangerous of Billings’ thirty-nine secret missions with the 885th was his assignment in February 1945 to clandestinely insert a three-man OSS team, code-named Greenup, into Austria. The drop zone selected for the Greenup insertion was located on a glacier in a valley surrounded by mountains in the middle of the snow-covered Alps. Billings and his crew finally found the weather in the Alps clear enough to spot the drop zone, slip their unwieldy B-24 between the mountain peaks and descend to an altitude just a few hundred feet above the moonlit snow. On Billings’ signal, the OSS agents parachuted right on target.
The insertion of this OSS team was the inspiration for the feature film Inglorious Bastards. However, Brad Pitt’s vengeful character was far removed from the leader of the Greenup team, Fred Mayer, who achieved success by infiltrating enemy ranks to gain vital intelligence.
After the war, John Billings flew with Trans World Airlines and Eastern Airlines. He also flew more than 300 ‘Angel Flight’ airlift missions which involve the specialized aerial transportation of critically ill medical patients. This is one man’s story of a remarkable lifetime of flying, both in peace and in war.
As featured on World War II Today
WW2 Today
"An easy read, this book is recommended to anyone who enjoys sharing the joy of flying with another pilot. It provides an interesting glimpse of special-operation aerial activities in the Balkans and northern Italy during World War II."
Air & Space Power History, Summer 2022
"This 128 page book is one for your next beach holiday."
Helicopter International
"An accomplished pilot with decades of experience in military, airline and medical aviation, Billings is also an excellent writer. This memoir presents his unusual story in a fast-paced and highly readable style."
Aviation History
“World War II is filled with heroic stories, but few measure up to the daring contributions of John Billings, an OSS pilot who was involved in a mission so daring it takes your breath away. Read this book and be grateful.”
Tom Brokaw, author of “The Greatest Generation"
After the gentle self effacing progress of the book gos on you suddenly realise that he has flown half a tour with a B24 bomber squadron based in Italy. Mr Billings I’d suggest is a master of understatement and not a man to “blow his own trumpet”. It struck me that had this not been an autobiography then the accounts of various missions may well have been made more of.
Army Rumour Service (ARRSE)
Read the full review here
Still flying at 97: Autobiography recounts WWII pilot's life
The Independent 26/05/21
About John M Billings
JOHN M. BILLINGS took his first plane ride in 1926, began taking piloting lessons in 1938, and carried on flying ever since. Having joined the US Army Air Forces in July 1942, he was assigned to fly the Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber. He completed fifty-three missions during the war, thirty-nine of which were for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the wartime predecessor to the CIA, and the US Special Operations Command. After the war John was an airline pilot with TWA and Eastern Airlines. John is also rightfully proud of having flown 300-plus ‘Angel Flight’ airlift missions which involve the specialized aerial transportation of critically ill medical patients.
John Billings passed away in March 2022, aged 98.