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About
The true story of a little-known, yet remarkable World War II operation, which had all the hallmarks of a suicide mission.
Beginning with a crazy plan hatched by a suspect prince, and an even crazier reliance on the word of the Nazis, Operation Chowhound was devised. Between May 1 and May 8, 1945, 2,268 military units flown by the USAAF, dropped food to 3.5 million starving Dutch civilians in German-occupied Holland.
It took raw courage to fly on Operation Chowhound, as American aircrews never knew when the German AAA might open fire on them or if Luftwaffe fighters might jump them. Flying at 400 feet, barely above the tree tops, with guns pointed directly at them, they would have no chance to bail out if their B-17s were hit-and yet, over eight days, 120,000 German troops kept their word, and never fired on the American bombers. As they flew, grateful Dutch civilians spelled out "Thanks Boys" in the tulip fields below. Many Americans who flew in Operation Chowhound would claim it was the best thing they did in the war.
In this gripping narrative, author Stephen Dando-Collins takes the reader into the rooms where Operation Chowhound was born, into the aircraft flying the mission, and onto the ground in the Netherlands with the civilians who so desperately needed help. James Bond creator Ian Fleming, Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn, as well as Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and Churchill all play a part in this story, creating a compelling, narrative read.
Beginning with a crazy plan hatched by a suspect prince, and an even crazier reliance on the word of the Nazis, Operation Chowhound was devised. Between May 1 and May 8, 1945, 2,268 military units flown by the USAAF, dropped food to 3.5 million starving Dutch civilians in German-occupied Holland.
It took raw courage to fly on Operation Chowhound, as American aircrews never knew when the German AAA might open fire on them or if Luftwaffe fighters might jump them. Flying at 400 feet, barely above the tree tops, with guns pointed directly at them, they would have no chance to bail out if their B-17s were hit-and yet, over eight days, 120,000 German troops kept their word, and never fired on the American bombers. As they flew, grateful Dutch civilians spelled out "Thanks Boys" in the tulip fields below. Many Americans who flew in Operation Chowhound would claim it was the best thing they did in the war.
In this gripping narrative, author Stephen Dando-Collins takes the reader into the rooms where Operation Chowhound was born, into the aircraft flying the mission, and onto the ground in the Netherlands with the civilians who so desperately needed help. James Bond creator Ian Fleming, Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn, as well as Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and Churchill all play a part in this story, creating a compelling, narrative read.
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Reviews
"Prolific military historian Dando-Collins focuses on Chowhound, the U.S. mission to deliver food to Dutch civilians behind German lines…this absorbing, well-written account of a lesser-known operation should appeal to anyone interested in World War II, aerial campaigns, or relief missions."
Library Journal
"From Ancient Rome to the final days of WWII, Stephen Dando-Collins can be relied on to tell engaging stories with verve. His latest, Operation Chowhound, reveals the machinations behind WWII's greatest humanitarian missions."
Professor Peter Stanley, UNSW Canberra
"Against the backdrop of World War II's final days in Europe, Stephen Dando-Collins chronicles one of the most extraordinary but least known operations of the war. His narrative deftly places the reader beside the planners and the air crews behind the missions as well as the Dutch recipients of the food drops and the German occupiers who sanctioned the operation. Well-researched and clearly-written, this book explains why Chowhound was such a heroic precedent for the famed Berlin Airlift of several years later."
Phil Samponaro, Associate Professor of History, University of Texas at Brownsville