rapidfire
In Review
and historical signifi cance,
for these events “fi xed the
Empires of the Sea: The frontiers of the modern
Siege of Malta, the Battle
Mediterranean world.”
of Lepanto, and the Con-
test for the Center of the
World
The Brenner Assignment:
By Roger Crowley.
The Untold Story of the
Random House, 2008. $30.
Most Daring Spy Mission
ISBN 978-1-4000-6624-7.
of World War II By Patrick
K. O’Donnell. DaCapo Press,
Wars between Christian
2008. $25. ISBN 978-0-306-
and Islamic lands were
81577-5.
fought for centuries, but
A New Home
none was so vicious, sav- In 1944 and 1945, the
age, or important as the Brenner Pass through the
16th-century struggle Alps in northern Italy was
for control of the a key transportation
T
he significance of the EA-3B aircraft Mediterranean Sea. hub for Ger-
in naval history has been enormous. For more Historian Roger man military
than 35 years, the EA-3B operated from shore Crowley has written resupply
bases and aircraft carriers as the “electronic whale,” fl y- a gripping account of from Austria
ing electronic reconnaissance missions. this titanic to Italy; it
EA-3B No. 146457 has been on display in Rota, Spain, confl ict also was a
since its retirement in the early 1990s. When Naval between prime target
Station Rota needed to remove the aircraft for base im- European for American
provement and expansion, the plane was destined to be Christians OSS sabotage
destroyed. But with the USS Alabama Battleship Memo- and Otto- teams and Italian
rial Park museum looking for a Navy aircraft to display, it man Turks, partisans.
was a natural fi t to move the aircraft to Mobile, Ala. including the This is the dra-
The Naval Inventory Control Point in Naples, Italy, fall of Rhodes matic and excit-
owner of the aircraft, agreed to its transfer to the Naval in 1521 to the ing true story of
Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla., which would own Turks, the siege two OSS teams, led
and control No. of Malta in 1565, by bold and audacious U.S.
146457 once it and the climactic naval bat- Army offi cers, that battled
reached the U.S. and tle and decisive Christian bitter weather, forbidding
then loan it to the victory at Lepanto in 1571. terrain, relentless German
USS Alabama Battle- Crowley is a masterful pursuit, ruthless Gestapo
ship Memorial Park. storyteller; this nonfi ction interrogations, and trai-
The A-3 Skywar- work reads like a novel tor betrayal in an effort to
rior Association as he describes the bitter blow up the bridges, roads,
agreed to fund the political, economic, and and tunnels that led to the
preparation of the plane for transport to the U.S. This religious rivalries that fu- Brenner Pass.
turned out to be a formidable task, but after almost a year, eled the hatred and enmity This is a remarkable tale
the plane is nearly ready for sealift to the U.S. between cultures, as well of heroism, loyalty, war
For more information about the project, contact as the merciless warfare crimes, and bloody retribu-
Mark Swisher, Treasurer, A-3 Association, 4225 Inspi- waged by both sides. This tion, as Americans and par-
ration Drive, Benbrook, TX 76125, mark.swisher@att is an epic tale fi lled with tisans fought side-by-side
.net, (817) 819-6623. battlefi eld carnage, treach- deep behind enemy lines.
ery, cowardice, heroism, — William D. Bushnell
2 2 M I L I T A R Y O F F I C E R A P R I L 2 0 0 9 PHOTOS: CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT, PH3 FRANKLIN P.
CALL/DOD; STEVE BARRETT; DOD
AApr_RF.indd
22pr_RF.indd 22 33/5/09 4:13:45 PM/5/09 4:13:45 PM
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